Inara Pey : Simurg’s mythical beauty in Second Life
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15793-inara-pey-simurg%E2%80%99s-mythical-beauty-in-second-life/

"Located within the north-west corner of a Full private region which has been sub-divided into a series rental parcels, and which leverages the Land Capacity bonus, Simurg occupies a little under 4096 sq metres and is held by Lintu (KorppiLintu). It is offered as public space for visitors and photography, redressing it to suit the season and / or to offer different themes. The iteration I visited at the start of June 2024 carried the sub-title Ancient City, and contained a mix of ancient history wrapped with a touch of fantasy mythology." Read more on the blog

Novata : Second Life FREE Heads | AKERUKA Group Gift Limited time
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15794-novata-second-life-free-heads-akeruka-group-gift-limited-time/

Watch the video on YouTube

Graves : A Really Basic PBR Guide
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15795-graves-a-really-basic-pbr-guide/

"PBR isn’t going anywhere! If anything, a good amount of creators are excited to use it & not rely on legacy textures. So now’s a good time to learn what physically-based rendering is & how you can transition to it with the least pain!" Read more on the blog

SL21B Town Halls & Community Roundtable - Submit your Questions!
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15806-sl21b-town-halls-community-roundtable-submit-your-questions/

Are you ready to celebrate Second Life’s 21st birthday with us? The festivities begin on June 21st and will run through July 21st.



During the celebrations, there will be a series of Town Hall events where you can meet the Lindens and Moles as well as our second Community Roundtable with Second Life Leadership – all held live at SL21B! Here’s your chance to meet and interact with executives from Second Life as we celebrate 21 years of Second Life!



The founder of Second Life Philip Linden and Executive Chairman Oberwolf Linden will be among the participants, which also include many leading executives and team leads from Second Life’s Product, Engineering, and Product Operations departments.



Do you have questions you want to ask any teams or executives? Submit your questions at this link no later than June 20 to be considered for inclusion in the Q&A during these live events.



This year’s Birthday theme is Elements. This theme invites us to explore the fundamental components that make up our vast virtual landscape and the diverse communities within it. From the fiery passion of creators and artists to the fluid adaptability of our social environments, from the solid bonds within our communities to the fresh breezes of innovation that propel us forward, "Elements" is a celebration of the core forces that shape our experiences in Second Life.



Keep an eye on our blog and socials for all the announcements and teleport links next week!

The Gazette : The Future of Mentoring in SL | Events & Announcements | New Locations
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15796-the-gazette-the-future-of-mentoring-in-sl-events-announcements-new-locations/

"In recent announcements, Linden Lab outlined its vision for integrating AI into the Second Life® platform, aiming to enhance user experience and streamline various functionalities. While this technological advancement holds exciting potential, it also raises important questions about the future of mentoring within the virtual world, especially concerning the invaluable contributions of human mentors." Read more on the blog

Mousy : Second Life -Welcome to Hunidbloc RP Sim
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15797-mousy-second-life-welcome-to-hunidbloc-rp-sim/

Watch the video on YouTube

Consuela Blanche : Second Life | The Rizzlers are Back!
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15798-consuela-blanche-second-life-the-rizzlers-are-back/

Watch the video on YouTube

The Fashionable Heart : Old Town
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15799-the-fashionable-heart-old-town/

Style info on the blog

WrenNoir Cerise : Worshipful
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15800-wrennoir-cerise-worshipful/

Style info on Flickr

Susanne's Ideas : Dove
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15801-susannes-ideas-dove/

Style info on the blog

Tomomi Homewood : little friend 🐛
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15802-tomomi-homewood-little-friend-%F0%9F%90%9B/

Info on Flickr

Launching Mirrors, PBR Terrain and 2k Textures in Second Life!
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15807-launching-mirrors-pbr-terrain-and-2k-textures-in-second-life/

We are thrilled to officially launch three groundbreaking updates designed to elevate your virtual experience: Mirrors, PBR Terrain, and 2K Textures.







Mirrors: Step into a more immersive world with real-time reflections. Our new mirror functionality uses reflection probes, providing stunning and dynamic reflections. Perfect for adding realism to your virtual environments, whether it's for a sleek modern home or a bustling cityscape. You will find the options to make a reflection probe on the Build window, under Features.







PBR Terrain: Prepare to be amazed by the next level of terrain detail. With Physically Based Rendering (PBR), you can now apply advanced GLTF materials to your landscapes. This means your terrains can have intricate normal maps and metallic-roughness maps, bringing a new depth and realism to the ground beneath your feet.







2K Textures: Say hello to high-definition details. We have increased the maximum texture size from 1024x1024 to 2048x2048 pixels, allowing for more detailed and efficient textures. This upgrade is perfect for creators looking to enhance the visual richness of their builds, clothing, and objects.



These updates are designed to help you create more realistic and visually stunning environments in Second Life. Whether you're a seasoned builder or just starting, these tools offer new possibilities for creativity and innovation.



Dive into these new features today and transform your creations. For more details and to stay updated on all the latest advancements, visit the Second Life Community Blog.



Download Second Life to enjoy these three new features now.



Thanks for your continued creation of beautiful content in Second Life. We can't wait to see what you create with these exciting new tools.

Luane Meo : Le Monde Perdu Summer 2024
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15803-luane-meo-le-monde-perdu-summer-2024/

Info on Flickr

Daniel Voyager : Vote For 2025 Relay For Life of Second Life Season Theme
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15804-daniel-voyager-vote-for-2025-relay-for-life-of-second-life-season-theme/

"It’s time to vote for 2025 theme for Relay For Life of Second Life season next year. Last weekend marked Relay Weekend for the 2024 RFL of SL season which was very successful and pretty popular." Read more on the blog

Seanchai Library : TUESDAY, June 11th: Russell Eponym at The Glen, and This Year's Newbery Medal Winner Continues
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15808-seanchai-library-tuesday-june-11th-russell-eponym-at-the-glen-and-this-years-newbery-medal-winner-continues/

"@ Noon: Russell Eponym, Live at The Glen
@ 7pm: Caledonia continues Dave Eggers' The Eyes & The Impossible"
Read more on the blog

Prim Perfect : Designing Worlds returns to Raglan Shire and the Art Walk
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15809-prim-perfect-designing-worlds-returns-to-raglan-shire-and-the-art-walk/

"Raglan Shire is the home of the Tinies, but artists (and visitors) of all sizes are welcome at the event, which extends over several regions and features the work of over 130 artists working in all kinds of media. The bulk of the display of 2D art is held in a giant tree with a maze of hedges on which the art is mounted. There are also sculpture gardens for 3D works and interactive exhibits." Read more on the blog

How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it?
I have been in Second Life for the better part of 10 years. The first few years I joined, I never logged in constantly enough to really feel part of the community. It wasn't until about my 5th year after having joined Second Life, that I became a regular resident who logged in daily. Ever since then, SL has become a part of my RL. I've always been sort of a geek about virtual worlds ever since I was young. I would join so many different virtual worlds and at some point, I would try to learn how to create in that world. I heard about Second Life while in another virtual world. Some people I met would tell me to go check out Second Life and learn how to create there too. I eventually took their advice and created my Second Life account...the rest is history.







You create some of the most popular animations, poses, and couple’s HUDs in Second Life. How and when did you get started?
I've always loved the beauty of the human body, studying art and design in school and always sketching, sculpting, drawing and painting human forms was a theme in any art I did. So it felt natural to me to want to create that in Second Life. When I would login to Second Life, I felt like that was something that was always missing for me. The animations and poses that were available to me then, never felt realistic/natural or allowed me to feel like I was expressing myself the way I wanted to through my avatar. I would search high and low looking for a store that would just make me feel more connected to my avatar the way I wanted. From this need I started researching how to create animations. Needless to say, I was very overwhelmed for a long time learning programs, ways of working, and all the technical information about animation. With no real world training or experience in animation and not knowing a single soul that had experience with animation, I felt like I was being swallowed up just trying to learn a few basic things. I was relentless however, spending much of my free time watching tutorials, reading anything to do with animation, trial and error. Spending countless days and nights staring at my PC screen with tears in my eyes shouting "Why can't this just work the way I want it to?!" Feeling defeated most days and then one day things just started clicking, making more sense. From that day on I was officially hooked and was unstoppable. That was almost 4 years ago now, and I'm still learning every day.







What kind of tools and techniques do you use to create your content?
There isn't that much information about creating animations for Second Life out there in the world and much of what is out there is dated or not the best ways to work. A lot of the techniques I use I've had to develop personally over time, trial and error and just seeing what works best for how I like to work. I do all my animation in Blender. I have tried other programs that are wonderful but I think because I learned most of what I do in Blender it has just become something I am familiar with and allows me to feel more unrestricted when I create. Most of my work is all manually keyframed. Basically that means that every movement, big or small, was created intentionally. The best way to describe what I mean by keyframe to some that may not know what that is, is like in school when you make a flipbook of still images and each image is slightly different from the next. As you flip though the book quickly you can see the still images come to life as if they were moving. Keyframes are points of movement that are set. To some that is a painfully detailed and boring process, but for me it gives me complete control over every slight movement. I could spend the next week talking about all the techniques I use to create, because there are so many, but I don't think I have enough spotlight time for that lol.

Where do you get the inspiration and what are some of your favorite items that you have created?
Inspiration is literally all around me. It's when I walk to the park and see people living their lives or two people talking outside a restaurant. When I watch a movie or listen to music. The wonderful thing about creating animations is that there is an abundance of inspiration in everything. Emotions are in everything. Bodies speak their own language and much of the communication we have with others is non verbal. If you pay attention and look close you can see it all. Recreating that in my work is what I feel makes my animations realistic and provokes emotions. Some of my favorite things change all the time. Oftentimes my favorite thing is always something new I am working on or have just released because in the creation process you sort of become obsessed with whatever it is you are working on and other work you have done just sort of fades away temporarily, at least that's what happens for me. The HUDS I make are definitely some of my favorite things, much of the reason behind that is because people have told me how much it has affected their lives and how they connect with others in Second Life and that makes me so happy that my work has allows people to express themselves and show love and affection to someone that might be miles away or in an entirely different part of the world. All we really want in life is to connect to each other and I feel blessed and honored that I can be a part of that connection in some way.







Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL who inspire you and whose work you admire.
Oh my gosh! There are so many people that inspire me in SL. From random strangers I don't even know to people I have known for years. The amazing thing about Second Life is that you have the opportunity to be exposed to people you may have not ever had an opportunity to know. You can learn and be inspired by so many people from all around the world. Some of the people who inspire me are my small but mighty team at OMY which consists of Wolf, Veronica (Puddles), and unofficially Mulder. They are some of the best people I have ever known, ridiculously inspiring, creative, and talented. We are always bouncing ideas off each other, close enough to give constructive feedback and always hyping each other up. I wouldn't have the success I do without them in my corner and I'm very blessed.



Some other people who inspire me and whose work I admire are Nata from Tetra, Vrutega, Jake from Fancy Decor, Masa from Deadwool, Tink from Never Sleep and co-owner of Anthem/Shotgun Popup Events, Coral from Miss Chelsea, Nova from Nova Hair, Marina from GBTH, Ara from Lelutka, Kal from Kalback, Ryan and David from Doux, Jay and Danna from Avarosa and Ken from Avi-glam to just name a few, I know I have missed a bunch of others too.



The creator community is vast and they all have been so amazing and supportive. They inspire me with their dedication and love of their craft. Also, all the amazing bloggers who inspire me with how they use my animations in their content to create such amazing things, it blows my mind daily.







Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts.
I am most active on Flickr, Facebook and Discord.
Flickr
Facebook
Discord:
This is my Linktree with all of my socials. https://linktr.ee/shellinaomy



I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported my work and OMY. Linden Lab for creating and maintaining this platform and creators and residents for filling it up with such amazing things for so many years. Being able to create and share my work in Second Life has opened many doors for me personally and professionally and without the love and support I receive, none of that would be possible.




Thank you Shellina, for enriching our virtual experiences and giving us a glimpse into your creative process.

Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup

Vic Mornington : Morningtons at...Magnolia City
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15810-vic-mornington-morningtons-atmagnolia-city/

Watch the video on YouTube

aliya Ashton : Let's go
https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/15811-aliya-ashton-lets-go/

Style info on Flickr