Once upon a time in a vast world called The Asset Server there were ways to make avatars move. These limited, though still entertaining animations were used widely by SL residents. Noobs and Oldbies alike all danced in similar fashion without a care in the world. We even jump-kicked around like a Redneck Lord of the Dance. No one could escape the call of rating parties while dancing, chatting, and passing out random things to one another.
Times were simpler then. Prim hair was attached to system hair bases, folks had figured out how to build shoes with prims instead of using the previous method of putting a texture on a template - and the first prim skirt was not yet 'invented'. Yes, those were the days.
The days when 'dancing sexy' meant taking off your clothes while doing dance14 and no one cared what you wore. Everyone looked like shit - but we all thought we looked awesome. Our dances looked like shit but we all thought they were the coolest thing since 90210.
Although the rating system is gone, as well as the parties - those days are not forgotten. Even though the freebies being passed around are the same freebies which made their rounds back in 2005 - noobs are still appreciative. And even though these 'old' dances have lost their top seat in chimeras and dance machines in every club in SL - some of us remember.
Owenimations had created the then cutting-edge of club necessity when the Chimera was released. Finally you could dance in sync with other club goers! Long before the Dance Foo, and not long after dance bracelets-we celebrated our synchronized dancing with MORE dancing. Yes the times have changed.
The way folks flock to Sine Wave Island now days is how we had all once flocked to Owenimation vendors. There were so many dances to choose from! The floor in front of the clicky-wall to demo the dances was always packed with all the girls wearing Washu wigs, the men wearing the same Lost hair (all hair was pretty much either blonde or black - those were your only choices back then) and we thought we were badasses.
Dancing in only the past 3 years has gone from jerky movements where your arms randomly flail about and your joints break to smooth, realistic, almost artistic movements of fluidity. There is more to gain from those 'old' dances than mere nostalgia though, my friends. Oh yes! If you don't have at least 4 of these dances somewhere in your inventory then you're probably an alt - funded by your better known, richer self.
Once a means of entertainment, now some sort of 'chic' thing ... dancing is one thing that will evolve for the better in SL. Fashion may bomb into nothing but tank tops, blue jeans and neko ears - but dancing has and always will be an art of self expression that will never go out of style. I still say that Dance14 is the ONLY dance that can be recognized (by resident majority) in a snapzilla snapshot NO MATTER where the snap was taken during the animation loop.
I present: The Evolution of Second Life Dance
Showing posts with label animations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animations. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
AO-ver Done
In the world of SL creations - the AO (or Animation Overrider) is the most easily abused. Why? For one its nearly always on. The only time anyone says "ao off" is when they are about to do a different animation, such as dance. I would consider AOs a fairly new thing. Early '05 brought attention to the fact that "Hey this stand is fuckin lame!" as well as the laughable default run. So everyone rushed out to get their Wet Ikon in order to start lining up poses to cram the thing with.
At first they were all static poses, and though it was funny to watch someone switch from one pose to another with a swift jerky movement - it was better than standing with your fists in your hips. As most everyone knows, the freebie poses are awesomely bad but for the most part - that's all we had to work with. In mid/late 05 perhaps has late as early 06 ushered in the animated pose. Boy did we all flock like white trash to Hooters for those!
"These are great" I had thought when I purchased my first animated pose from a vendor at the old Naughty Designs store. I think I still use it, even! At any rate a few other folks jumped on the animated stand-wagon and it was almost fun to stand around with a big group in suspense "Ooooh what stand is SHE gonna do next?!?" though those days are long gone.
The poses had gone from jerking from pose to pose to the fluid movement of stands that no one would ever really do, to the new craze: realism. I'm all about bringing realism to SL in most cases ... but I swear to the stars if one more person does a thirty second stretch while I'm talking to them that I'm gonna choke a bitch. Seriously!
I have no idea who makes this ao animation/pose. I just know that they have clearly made a good amount of money off it. Everywhere I go there is at least one neko girl, white trash barbie, or girl with a weave that has it in their AO. Why? Isn't it considered rude to yawn while someone is talking? So when did it become socially acceptable? Did I miss something?!
You know the pose. They stand, pull their arms in close before straightening out their arms to their sides and slowly reach for the sky. The avatar momentarily stands there in their blissful "better than sex" stretch before their arms lower slowly and they put both hands on their love handles (or lack thereof), bringing the animation to an end. I had prepared a video demonstration, but got a bit over saturated with the animation between seeing it everywhere in SL as well as editing footage of it to make a video. I feel that's a bit unnecessary though, as I'm positive everyone knows the pose I'm talking about.
This sequence drives me absolutely bonkers. I can't stand to look at it! When someone is stretching like that it makes me want to pull out a dropkick animation. Stop doing that while I'm talking to you! I could totally see it being used in a gesture or something of that nature .. but in an AO?! Please.
If your SL is so boring that you need an animation to convey that you're tired, bored, unenthused etc ... you need to go hang in a sandbox. What's worse is there are different variations of this same pose floating around. Evidently its the 'thing' to have because I see so many with their AOs just stretching away ... but I personally don't see the appeal. Again it goes back to the 'rude' factor. No, I don't claim to be a socialite or even be able to hold a steady conversation without dumping the clutch and switching the gears to something random ... but don't friggin' yawn and stretch while we're talking! Even if you are legitimately interested in what I'm saying ... your AO says otherwise.
Seriously? I'm all for AOs conveying your mood. By all means switch your poses up as often as you feel necessary .. but save the yawns, stretches, ass scratching and nut adjusting for your poseballs at your house. For conversational purposes, pack your AO with interesting poses that are aesthetically pleasing or at least mildly entertaining. And who said you couldn't put a dance animation in an AO?! Do it! Be free!
Maybe I just take my typing conversations a bit too seriously - and I know in the world of IMs and voice chat that most likely the person I'm talking to has gotten distracted at more than one turn in the road ... but don't remind me of that by yawning and/or stretching for half a damn minute!
At first they were all static poses, and though it was funny to watch someone switch from one pose to another with a swift jerky movement - it was better than standing with your fists in your hips. As most everyone knows, the freebie poses are awesomely bad but for the most part - that's all we had to work with. In mid/late 05 perhaps has late as early 06 ushered in the animated pose. Boy did we all flock like white trash to Hooters for those!
"These are great" I had thought when I purchased my first animated pose from a vendor at the old Naughty Designs store. I think I still use it, even! At any rate a few other folks jumped on the animated stand-wagon and it was almost fun to stand around with a big group in suspense "Ooooh what stand is SHE gonna do next?!?" though those days are long gone.
The poses had gone from jerking from pose to pose to the fluid movement of stands that no one would ever really do, to the new craze: realism. I'm all about bringing realism to SL in most cases ... but I swear to the stars if one more person does a thirty second stretch while I'm talking to them that I'm gonna choke a bitch. Seriously!
I have no idea who makes this ao animation/pose. I just know that they have clearly made a good amount of money off it. Everywhere I go there is at least one neko girl, white trash barbie, or girl with a weave that has it in their AO. Why? Isn't it considered rude to yawn while someone is talking? So when did it become socially acceptable? Did I miss something?!
You know the pose. They stand, pull their arms in close before straightening out their arms to their sides and slowly reach for the sky. The avatar momentarily stands there in their blissful "better than sex" stretch before their arms lower slowly and they put both hands on their love handles (or lack thereof), bringing the animation to an end. I had prepared a video demonstration, but got a bit over saturated with the animation between seeing it everywhere in SL as well as editing footage of it to make a video. I feel that's a bit unnecessary though, as I'm positive everyone knows the pose I'm talking about.
This sequence drives me absolutely bonkers. I can't stand to look at it! When someone is stretching like that it makes me want to pull out a dropkick animation. Stop doing that while I'm talking to you! I could totally see it being used in a gesture or something of that nature .. but in an AO?! Please.
If your SL is so boring that you need an animation to convey that you're tired, bored, unenthused etc ... you need to go hang in a sandbox. What's worse is there are different variations of this same pose floating around. Evidently its the 'thing' to have because I see so many with their AOs just stretching away ... but I personally don't see the appeal. Again it goes back to the 'rude' factor. No, I don't claim to be a socialite or even be able to hold a steady conversation without dumping the clutch and switching the gears to something random ... but don't friggin' yawn and stretch while we're talking! Even if you are legitimately interested in what I'm saying ... your AO says otherwise.
Seriously? I'm all for AOs conveying your mood. By all means switch your poses up as often as you feel necessary .. but save the yawns, stretches, ass scratching and nut adjusting for your poseballs at your house. For conversational purposes, pack your AO with interesting poses that are aesthetically pleasing or at least mildly entertaining. And who said you couldn't put a dance animation in an AO?! Do it! Be free!
Maybe I just take my typing conversations a bit too seriously - and I know in the world of IMs and voice chat that most likely the person I'm talking to has gotten distracted at more than one turn in the road ... but don't remind me of that by yawning and/or stretching for half a damn minute!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Get Your Groove on...
Introducing Animazoo Animation Centre - Mocapped (I have no idea what that means) animations made for SL, AOs and tutorials. If you read my personal blog, you've already heard about these animations, probably more than once. Everyone jumped on the Sine Wave bandwagon, including myself, for a bit and after awhile just like everything else in SL, the dances grew stale & new releases seemed repetitious. Now there's Animazoo by Dave Bellman... Best way to show ya is video... Enjoy!
There's so much more than what's shown in the actual video (animated AO stands for male & female, funny walks, sits, etc) soooo... Now click here & GO! GO! GO!
Animating for Second Life
Starting with natural human movement, Animazoo animation production techniques have been carefully developed to produce natural and realistic looking animations for your avatar.
What Animazoo offers
At Animazoo you'll find dances, walks and stands for male and female avis, AOs and more. In addition to their animations, they offer free animation overriders and tutorials for configuring your AO (including a video tutorial). There are also links and landmarks to other animation resources. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the freebies by the entrance!
Custom Animations
If you can’t find what you need they are happy to help with their custom animations service. Please IM Dave Bellman for more details.
Updates group
They update the range regularly, so make sure you come back to check out new arrivals. If you would like to receive notifications on updates to the range, just search for the 'Animazoo' group and join - membership is free! If you have any suggestions or queries please IM Dave Bellman.
There's so much more than what's shown in the actual video (animated AO stands for male & female, funny walks, sits, etc) soooo... Now click here & GO! GO! GO!
Animating for Second Life
Starting with natural human movement, Animazoo animation production techniques have been carefully developed to produce natural and realistic looking animations for your avatar.
What Animazoo offers
At Animazoo you'll find dances, walks and stands for male and female avis, AOs and more. In addition to their animations, they offer free animation overriders and tutorials for configuring your AO (including a video tutorial). There are also links and landmarks to other animation resources. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the freebies by the entrance!
Custom Animations
If you can’t find what you need they are happy to help with their custom animations service. Please IM Dave Bellman for more details.
Updates group
They update the range regularly, so make sure you come back to check out new arrivals. If you would like to receive notifications on updates to the range, just search for the 'Animazoo' group and join - membership is free! If you have any suggestions or queries please IM Dave Bellman.
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