Goofing off in Photoshop - Profile Pics

I occasionally get asked to work on a profile pic by people who know I do it. It's not my main gig and I don't ever really want it to be so I probably shouldn't share it here, but this one just turned out so well....

Asaf Outpost ~ Arabian Fort!

So I promised a look at the other texture of the Maero Arcis, this is it, the Asaf Outpost, exactly the same prims, but a layout for Gorean or Arabian sims, not much more of a story other then that someone wanted the look of the Arabian Dreams in this layout, so not going into full build details. Here's the picture and brochure:

Brochure: Asaf Outpost is a direct descendant of my most popular build, the DarkRayne Fortress. It's slightly smaller in length and is much more intimate with a layout that includes a master suite on the second floor, a see through dance floor, a dining area downstairs. And best of all a fully secure wine cellar with lockable storage for those special vintages. This isn't a small build at 30x40 but it does fit on a relatively medium sized parcel and is beautifully textured. When you tell people it's 159 prims they will be shocked. As always it is mod/copy so you can change textures as you wish. If you prefer a more gothic look then check out the Maero Arcis, same layout, different textures.

Visit my site to see my other designs: http://ingmanndesign.com

Live Music Sundays ~ Damian Carbenell

Damian Carbenell is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's today at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer songwriter and support his continued success.

Guitarist/vocalist Damian Carbenell picked up the guitar at age ten and added the keyboards soon after. He began to write his own music at age 15 and now has an extensive collection of originals and cover songs under his belt. A typical Damian performance might include the Eagles, Green Day, Jack Johnson , Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Rob Thomas, or even Garth Brooks and Toby Keith. His wide variety in music style is sure to please everyone. His MySpace page is here.

Background Music

I often get asked what music I am playing on Natalis. There are two main stations if someone isn't picking songs on the Jukebox both of which come from Sky.fm. I am very eclectic in my music personally and my favorite type is jazz inspired Rock, where the jam is the thing. However, I think music that is a nice counterpoint to any activitiy is better then something that takes you out of the moment so for Natalis I choose either Sky.fm Clasical Guitar which is flamenco and jazz inspired guitar, or Sky.fm solo Jazz piano which is the same thing with that instrument. It's nice to listen to, not boring, and dosen't take away from the people you're spending time with to say, "Ooooo, wait, I gotta hear this song." or even worse, "This song isn't right for this moment." If you want to have fun teasing your companions with song selections feel free to use our Jukebox on the beach, I've been known to have groan sessions with my friends on it. Last one to tp out wins!

Sky.fm streams are here.

Have fun, see you all Sunday for Damian speaking of Music.

Do you think I'm Sexy? Or someone else?

OK, so not sure this is in the spirit of things but... if you know a sexy male avatar or you just want to nominate a friend, head over here before Friday. It's good exposure for whoever gets chosen and a fun little beauty pagent for the guys this time. Oooo, and if you need incentive, here's a pic of me topless.

If you don't feel like nominating me, what about Damian, or Oscar?

Live Music Sundays ~ Damian Carbenell

Damian Carbenell is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's this Sunday at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer songwriter and support his continued success.

Guitarist/vocalist Damian Carbenell picked up the guitar at age ten and added the keyboards soon after. He began to write his own music at age 15 and now has an extensive collection of originals and cover songs under his belt. A typical Damian performance might include the Eagles, Green Day, Jack Johnson , Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Rob Thomas, or even Garth Brooks and Toby Keith. His wide variety in music style is sure to please everyone. His MySpace page is here.

Maero Arcis ~ Gothic Flavor with Wine Cellar!

The Brochure: Maero Arcis is a direct descendant of my most popular build, the DarkRayne Fortress. It's slightly smaller in length and is much more intimate with a layout that includes a master suite on the second floor, a see through dance floor, a dining area downstairs. And best of all a fully secure wine cellar with lockable storage for those special vintages. This isn't a small build at 30x40 but it does fit on a relatively medium sized parcel and is beautifully textured. When you tell people it's 159 prims they will be shocked. As always it is mod/copy so you can change textures as you wish.

The Story: The DarkRayne as you know is my very first castle. It holds a special place in my heart being the first product I came up with, however, people keep asking for something a bit smaller and I wanted to see what I could do with what I learned. So I built this. The windows are better as I finally got an understanding of how to avoid flash in different viewers. (Hint: 1mm isn't enough of a difference to prevent flash in the most recent viewers.) I also used sculpted stairs instead of ramps in this one to give it a bit more realism. It's a simpler build, not as spread out with small cloisters as the DarkRayne, instead having a 'master suite' upstairs and a decent dormer downstairs. But the real crowning achievement of this build is the 'wine cellar' basement. I managed to use my prim torture techniques to make that dungeon while still keeping it low prim. It's really a gorgeous build and has become one of my favorites.

By the way, the name means Fort of Sorrow in Latin, or my closest approximation thereof.

In a day or two I'll show you the other flavor it comes in.

A place for New Residents!

Tymmerie Thorne is a much more famous blogger then I am concerning Second Life, it's worth reading her blog to see what she talks about, it's quite a glimpse into the social life of a Second Life resident and how much we invest in this world. But what I wanted to talk about today is her new 'academy' for new residents called Starting Point. I've been accepted as a Helper into this group and I'm happy to share the accumulated knowledge of 4 years in world. (Even if it only fills a thimble.) If you know of someone you've always wanted to introduce to Second Life or you have been itching to try it yourself, hit the link on the left to sign up then look for Starting Point and join in the fun with some mentoring and availability of gracious helpers. Thanks to Tymmmerie for creating yet another grassroots way to help people, that's what the spirit of Second Life has always been and I'm glad she hasn't forgotten it.

Live Music Sundays ~ Stella Silvansky 7PM Today!

Okay...so Stella is a girl who has no problem being the center of attention. :)

Stella Silvansky is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's Today at 7pm! Please come hear this talented singer and support her continued success.

Stella Silvansky streams her sultry voice live from Western Maine to her adoring fans in SL. Singing everything from Jewel to Norah Jones, from Sheryl Crow to Indigo Girls, Stella thrives off making a true connection both to her songs and to her audience.

She's also been fortunate to sing original songs by other incredible SL artists like Raspbury Rearwin, and she really comes alive when she gets to sing live with Maximillion Kleene.

Stella loves suggestions from her fans, and it rocks her world when she can find a new and unusual approach to a song everyone knows.

You can check out her websites here, and here.

I need a new laptop!

OK, so I don't even have a laptop, except for the one work grants me the use of and in all honesty it sucks for gaming and I don't want to mess with it for that anyway. Now it's not that I need a powerhouse gaming rig, but circumstances are changing for me, and I need something i can travel with and use to play Second Life when on the road. So.... I am thinking of this.

Am I being stupid, I mean I'm a tech geek, but am I going to be frustrated trying to run sl and photoshop on a 10 inch screen? Give me some feedback people.

Live Music Sundays ~ Stella Silvansky

Okay...so Stella is a girl who has no problem being the center of attention. :)

Stella Silvansky is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's this Sunday at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer and support her continued success.

Stella Silvansky streams her sultry voice live from Western Maine to her adoring fans in SL. Singing everything from Jewel to Norah Jones, from Sheryl Crow to Indigo Girls, Stella thrives off making a true connection both to her songs and to her audience.

She's also been fortunate to sing original songs by other incredible SL artists like Raspbury Rearwin, and she really comes alive when she gets to sing live with Maximillion Kleene.

Stella loves suggestions from her fans, and it rocks her world when she can find a new and unusual approach to a song everyone knows.

You can check out her websites here, and here.

Test your Color IQ!

I scored a 49, lower is better, see how you do and tell me in the comments.

Go here.

What We Do.

Welcome to Ingmann Design, or IDG. Since I guest posted at TJ's blog I thought maybe possibly I might get a traffic spike that knows nothing about Second Life or what we do here. Essentially what we do is build digital art in Second Life to people's specifications. We try and create environments for companies and individuals to enable them to work and play in their dreams. Second Life is interesting because everything in it is built by the users. Our design team has hundreds of hours of experience and our job is to make our clients happy with what surrounds them. Feel free to read through our site to see what we do and how we can help you. We are happy to do teaching, building, scripting or just shoot the breeze.

Live Music ~ Damian Carbanell @ 5pm

Damian Carbenell is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's this today at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer songwriter and support his continued success.

Guitarist/vocalist Damian Carbenell picked up the guitar at age ten and added the keyboards soon after. He began to write his own music at age 15 and now has an extensive collection of originals and cover songs under his belt. A typical Damian performance might include the Eagles, Green Day, Jack Johnson , Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Rob Thomas, or even Garth Brooks and Toby Keith. His wide variety in music style is sure to please everyone. His MySpace page is here.

Diabetes Walk-a-thon and donations.

First, watch this:



I was diagnosed with Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes when I was 5 years old. The disease is chronic, systemic, and uncureable. Yes there is a treatment, but it does not make it livable. Diabetes is never-ending for those who suffer from Type 1. It is not caused by weight or bad eating habits, it is a disease we have through no fault of our own.

Having diabetes isn't something you can ever forget, one of the big myths is, "Shots 'cure' it." or "You can just take your medication." It dosen't work that way, breathing, eating, sleeping, playing, sex, drugs for colds, colds, social interactions, brain chemistry, mood swings, depression, happiness, conversation, everything affects and is affected by this disease. No matter how much we fake it we aren't allowed to live normal lives if we have this and again, IT NEVER GOES AWAY.

JDRF has several other facts about Type 1 Diabetes and sponsors a walk for a cure every year in over 200 cities and it's a great way to support research into a true cure for diabetes. 40 kids per day are diagnosed with this in the United States alone.

If this video touches you, if you want to find a cure for the millions of kids and adults who suffer, please consider donating to a walker. You can find one here. If you wish to donate directly that can be found here.

All profits from the month of September from IDG will be going to the JDRF. Please buy or support one directly, and if you're involved, leave your team name and state in the comments.



Note - THIS POST WILL REMAIN UP UNTIL NEXT WEEK - I'm not blogging so that this remains on the front page.

I Love Your Eyes Contest Winners

Tyssen Laville wearing NYCNights wins 1000L and first place - just love the sultry look of this one.

Templar Graves wins 500L and second place - Great presentation of NYCDays.

Redgrrl Lewellyen wins 300L and third place wearing Glowworm.

Thanks to all who entered and each of these people will be featured in posters in the store very soon.

Live Music Today at 5pm ~Stella Silvansky

Okay...so Stella is a girl who has no problem being the center of attention. :)

Stella Silvansky is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's this today at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer songwriter and support his continued success.

Stella Silvansky streams her sultry voice live from Western Maine to her adoring fans in SL. Singing everything from Jewel to Norah Jones, from Sheryl Crow to Indigo Girls, Stella thrives off making a true connection both to her songs and to her audience.

She's also been fortunate to sing original songs by other incredible SL artists like Raspbury Rearwin, and she really comes alive when she gets to sing live with Maximillion Kleene.

Stella loves suggestions from her fans, and it rocks her world when she can find a new and unusual approach to a song everyone knows.

You can check out her websites here, and here.

Shadows! An experiment.

So, my thanks to Vint Falken for pointing me towards the open source version of the viewer created by Kirstenlee Cinquetti. (She didn't do this personally, it's on her blog.) I personally have two very good video cards in SLI in my rig and so I was pretty sure it would work. But I'm thrilled.... take a look....

Neit's Treehouse... those shadows are done by the client, not 'drawn' as part of the build!

Neit's Treehouse but look at the detail on the stairs.

Proof that it's fairly dynamic as you can see my shadow on the wall of my store.

Trees and my shadow on the hill.

Kirsten's viewer is very nice, it's like the dazzle version but with a darker blue to the buttons which has made all the difference to me as the aqua color makes my eyes water. I highly recommend it if you've the hardware to run it.

Now, what this means as a builder, I'm not quite sure, I've not been one to incorporate a ton of drawn shadows into my builds, but I could easily see building a shadow version and a non shadow version using this to point out where I should put the 'drawn' shadows as oppossed to the dynamic ones that this edition of the viewer provides. I'm not sure that's a well constructed sentence, but I'm off in search of more eye-candy.

Kessa has her own blog!

So Kessa Corvale designs for IDG and we love having her here, she also has her own blog talking about a bunch of stuff. You can keep up with it here.

Live Music ~ Introducing Stella Silvansky on Sunday at 5pm!

Okay...so Stella is a girl who has no problem being the center of attention. :)

Stella Silvansky is now playing a one hour set every other week for us and it's this Sunday at 5pm! Please come hear this talented singer songwriter and support her continued success.

Stella Silvansky streams her sultry voice live from Western Maine to her adoring fans in SL. Singing everything from Jewel to Norah Jones, from Sheryl Crow to Indigo Girls, Stella thrives off making a true connection both to her songs and to her audience.

She's also been fortunate to sing original songs by other incredible SL artists like Raspbury Rearwin, and she really comes alive when she gets to sing live with Maximillion Kleene.

Stella loves suggestions from her fans, and it rocks her world when she can find a new and unusual approach to a song everyone knows.

You can check out her websites here, and here.

What Did You Call Me!

From the Urban Dictionary:

prim whore:
Second Life reference. "Prims" are the building blocks that much of SL is made of. If you wanna build, have a house or a chair, it all takes prims. A prim whore is a SL avatar that makes excessive use of prims - hopefully to maximum effect - in creating sommat.
i.e. Hannibal made an awesome house, but man, that guy is a prim whore

We at Ingmann Design are not prim whores for the most part, though we sometimes have fun with things. Someone pointed out that my castles have ramps, and that's true. But the reason they have ramps is because a ramp takes one prim where stairs take at least two and sometimes more. If you want stairs, I'm happy to put them in, will take me 2 minutes. If you like the term take a look at some of these clothing items....here.

And to browse through click here, some of them are dated, but in SL I'm ancient. 

Low Lag - Efficiency - and Endless Nights.

So I promised you some talking about how I designed and built a full combat/rp sim and managed to keep the lag to levels very low. It's helpful to have some background information and Gwyn has of course spoken my thoughts in a more elegant way then I ever could. First go read her post here.

Now Gwyn is talking about the absence of limits, but the important thing to remember is that we do have limits and that the basis of low lag design currently will always produce lower lag design in the future. The math is stated in Gwyn's paragraphs here...

Let’s take a simple example. A cube has one polygon per face; 15.000 cubes would be 90.000 polygons to be rendered, assuming that all cubes are not tortured prims. The higher the prim torture, the higher the number of polygons on that prim; as a rule of thumb, worse-case scenarios are torii and sculpties, which can quickly get to a thousand polygons each. But avatars are even worse — they count almost 7.500 polygons each (not counting attachments, of course)! Now do your math: one scene with 15.000 prims, all of them sculpties, and a hundred avatars (not to count attachments) will quickly have about 16 million polygons to render.

Is that a lot?

Well, low-end graphics cards — the ones that power perhaps 80-90% of all computers in the world — tend to be able to render about 5 million polygons. Per second. So the scene just described above — all 15.000 prims in front of your screen with a 100 avatars dancing in front of them — would be rendered at 0.3 FPS. Now you know why.

So how do other virtual worlds deal with this nightmare? They do the maths the other way round: knowing that the low-end cards can render 5 million polygons per second, they know they can, at most, have scenes with 200.000 polygons in sight (so that the card can easily do 25 FPS without stress), but possibly even less. That’s why World of Warcraft’s avatars just have 1.500 polygons (and most of the MMORPGs do the same). They rely on insanely good graphic designers to get the most out of those 1.500 polygons — and get some help from the current generation of graphics cards to do a lot of special effects without any extra “cost” in GPU processing. These games look awesome because the graphic designers and 3D modellers can figure out beforehand what path your avatar will take, and make sure that all scenes are rendered with just 200.000 polygons. Granted, sometimes you get hundreds of avatars in a raid or so, and your graphic card will start to skip frames due to the extra polygons that suddenly require to be drawn, so lag exists elsewhere in the Metaverse, too!

So, how do we as sim designers deal with this in an intelligent way that keeps the dual seemingly opposing natures of good art and good programming? There are lots and lots of answers to that very complex question. For me and my designers here are a few things we did on Endless Nights.

First, talk to your client very clearly about what is important: Feeling of the Art, Efficiency of the Lag, or Detail of the Design.

These aren't opposing concepts, rather complimentary ones... If you can find out how people rank these then you can determine what's truly important to them. You never want to sacrafice one for the other, but it gives you a priority. Using Endless Nights as an example, the clients determined that the Feeling and Efficiency were the top two things they wanted. The detail was important as well, but it was third on the list. This gave us the freedom to not be concerned that they wouldn't like the 'look' of low prim design as long as we textured and constructed it well and kept the 'feeling' of the sim in place.

As a result we ended up creating all the major builds of the sim and the infrastructure of paths and trees and such in under 3100 prims, most of which were cubes. So using the math above:

7 * 3100 = 21700 polygons

That's being efficient. Then we start to look at the textures that we used. A technique if you are building an homogeonous sim is to use a very low number of textures and strategically offset or color them to make each build look different. The difficulty with this for Endless Nights is that we had several different 'regions' for the hybrid nature of the sim. We have a medieval setting, a semi-modern but rundown city, a more natural area... You see the issue. So we use the same idea in a localized way. Each area uses around 10-20 textures. The benefit is that once the texture is downloaded into the cache of the client, it dosen't have to request it again from the server. So if you are in the city, the city will load quickly from then on, if you move to the medieval portion of the sim, it may slow for a few seconds but it won't have to reload every time you have to go around in that area and look at a new building. So, knowing this I made sure that all my textures were 512x512. So again, this is about the efficiency of getting the client to perform quickly and not mess up the ability of the avatar to run or shoot or enjoy the roleplay.

So I hear some of you thinking, "How do you do a whole sim in 3100 prims? That's gotta look horrid!" The answer to that is that it's a tradeoff. My personal machine has two SLI top of the line video cards in it. So I can see everything anytime, it's very rare that I lag in SL. However, for a mass audience you have to design correctly... We design low prim because we're good at it and we don't see the point of wasting the resource limit that we currently live under. Believe me, we can be prim wasters if we are told to or want to. I made a plate of onion rings in Endless Nights that is over 60 prims, that's more then some of the buildings. We just don't do it as standard operating procedure. We start from a point of optimization and move towards the unoptimal as discussions with the client indicate we should. The majority of people seem to find our builds 'pretty' or 'beautiful' and don't notice the techniques that are different,

We like our low prim designs, we think they add charm and that the tradeoffs are worth it. But again, our job is pleasing the client. Don't hesitate to get ahold of us and let us please you, by doing something low prim like Endless Nights, or by using every single prim on a sim in one massive castle.