Skin by Mazzo Design - Aldo darker with A&A Silvio hair

Don’t believe the self-administered hype that many skin shops make.  Just because they say they have the best skins doesn’t make it true!  Soooo many bad skins out there.  And, importantly, don’t buy based on the very gorgeous and highly photoshopped vendor pic.  Another thing to look out for is that often you will have a very well done face and…uh-oh!  What is up with that body!  Try before you buy whenever possible.  Many will have free demos or ones that cost L$1 but its well worth it if it prevents you from having L$800 to L$1500 worth of buyer’s remorse.   Hopefully this guide will cut down on your wild goose chase.  For your convenience (and sanity), here is a compilation of the skin shops that I think offer the best skins for men…a work in progress but hopefully a good start for you.  You will find the shops listed in no particular order.  Following their listing is their blog if they have one, where you can get a peek of their skins.  Also listed is the slurl to their shop.  Best of luck!  (Please send me LMs of any shops you recommend!)

TOP SKIN SHOPS FOR MEN:

Signature Skin Labs

• A great variety and huge selection which includes ethnic skins.  Distinct personalities.  3-6 skin tones and each skin has 10 or more facial hair choices.  Bonus – the sim is uber cool!
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Signature/128/128/2017

Redgrave

• Detailed features, not generic looking.  Celebrity, model looks.  5 skins with various shades and facial hair choices.
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/REDGRAVE%20Mens%20Fashion/96/116/21

Second Skin Labs

• While not a huge selection, this shop has some of the best made skins which includes one of the best male asian skins and the best aged skins that I’ve seen in SL. I also highly recommend you take a teleporter ride.  Srsly.
• http://www.secondskinlabs.com/start.html
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Koss/75/15/128

Belleza

• Gorgeous, young, model looks here.  Amazing skin shading and features.
• http://www.bellezaskins.com/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Belleza/128/128/23

Mazzo Design

• This humble shop may very well be my favorite skins for the male body.  The amazing photorealistic details don’t look out of place in SL as many photorealistic skins do.  Faces are attractive too.  So, while creator Mac Ayers proclaims his skins to be the “Best Male Body Skins”, I find it hard to disagree with him.
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seymour/77/42/104

Unique

• Distinct faces, ethnic selections, fantasy looks, multiple facial hair options.
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/UNIQUE%20MEGASTORE/137/179/32

Pulse

• Pulse has an interesting selection which includes aged skins (for example “20+, 30+, etc.) as well as a broad range of skin tones. They also have several selections of facial hair as well as body hair options.
• http://slpulse.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-male-skin-tone-kissed-new-eyes.html
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Twisted%20Bliss/60/97/26

The ABYSS

• 3 tones, 8 facial hair options, clear and distinct facial features.
• This sim is worth visiting alone.  It’s amazing!
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Abyss/96/136/238

Fallen Gods, Inc.

• Wonderful fantasy/RP skins here.  Do explore the sim if you’re an adventurer.  Look for clues lying about.
• http://fallengodsinc.blogspot.com/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Selidor/239/133/22

ISPACHI

• A HUGE selection of great skins for men!  Multiple skin tones, 10 facial hair selections and either eyeliner or no eyeliner options.
• http://ispachi.com/blog/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISPACHI/220/127/22

PXL

• 3 skins, 4-5 tones, 15 facial hair options.
• http://pxlcreations.wordpress.com/pxl-products-2/pxl-products-mens-skins/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cindel/142/97/26

Adam n Eve

• Ethnic skins, 4 facial hair choices, 4 skin tones.
• http://www.adam-n-eve.co.uk/?cat=9
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Genesis/92/165/39

Millage Valenti

• Skins offered in 2 skin tones and 5 facial hair choices.
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Millage%20Valenti/116/128/22

CheerNo

• Great fantasy skins, sci-fi, emo, hipster, multiple makeup options.
• http://www.cheerno.com/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/CheerNo/96/123/27

The Body Politik

• 2 main skins in 6 or 7 shades with 16 facial hair options.
• http://blog.thebodypolitik.net/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eventide%20Far%20East/135/171/42

Sakurako

• Asian skins
• http://sakurakoskin.blogspot.com/
• http://slurl.com/secondlife/sunset%20resort2/239/231/25

]]> http://metaverseguide.com/2010/04/25/top-mens-skin-shops-in-second-life/feed/ 0 barbarellanoel Vitruvian Man pose http://metaverseguide.com/2010/04/20/bamboo-china-walk-into-a-chinese-ink-painting/ http://metaverseguide.com/2010/04/20/bamboo-china-walk-into-a-chinese-ink-painting/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:39:32 +0000 barbarellanoel http://metaverseguide.com/?p=1092 ]]>

http://slurl.com/secondlife/China/150/205/1994

Walk into sublime elegance in Bamboo China.  Who knew that such a limited palette could create such beauty and peace?  I only wish there was some beautiful music to go with the amazing scenery, but just add your own to make this a wonderful experience.  Its quite fun to hang around and meet interesting people.  Hmmm, even as I type this I’ve begun to hear piano music.  Someone has rezzed and is flying…wait for it…a concert grand piano.  Perfect!

Its mainly a scenic sim but one you will definitely want to visit.  I rate this a MUST SEE destination!

While Bamboo is up in the sky, below is a deserted industrial warehouse area.  It’s sprawling and intriguing.  Now curiosity makes me wonder what this space is used for…role-play?  battles?

I open up the “about land” tab and look at the land description.  I read:

Bamboo, Ink, Rice Paper

a quite place for hanging out, afking and/or do random thoughts….

to be closer to youre\s self.

I quite like this description…and plan to do just that.

I see that Aston Leisen is the creator and owner of Bamboo.  I also see from his profile that he has a shop on another sim.  (Note to self, check out Aston’s shop asap.)

TIP 1:  Many scenic sims are built for others to enjoy at the creator’s expense.  They will often discretely display a tip jar to support the sim and to keep it going.  If you enjoy the sim and want to let the owner know you appreciate their contribution to the virtual community, do try to donate something.  Even small amounts help to keep the sim alive.  If there are no shops or rentals then the owner must cover the entire expense and we know it’s not cheap.  So, be kind and give what you can.

Tip 2:  If you find a creator that you admire, dig into their profile.  If you’re lucky then you may discover they have a shop of wonderful things…or at least some favorite picks that can lead you to wonderful things.  Ok, and some will just be lewd, crude, and…well, you know.  Builders…gotta love em!

]]> http://metaverseguide.com/2010/04/20/bamboo-china-walk-into-a-chinese-ink-painting/feed/ 0 barbarellanoel Bamboo - China_001 Bamboo China_015 http://metaverseguide.com/2010/03/01/a-peek-at-peek360%c2%ba-view-an-in-world-location-without-entering-second-life/ http://metaverseguide.com/2010/03/01/a-peek-at-peek360%c2%ba-view-an-in-world-location-without-entering-second-life/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:15:51 +0000 barbarellanoel http://metaverseguide.com/?p=959 ]]> You may be asking yourself – What is Peek360º ?  I know I was asking this after a friend informed me about an interesting new application that allows one to view a location in Second Life without even having to enter it.  I decided to take my avatar and check it out.

I first went to the website http://www.avatrian.com/Peek360/ to get started.  I then entered a location in SL that I wanted to view.  I chose Las Arenas Rosadas by the creator Naiman Broome – a master creator as you shall see.  I then chose a location I wanted the 360º view from.  I chose X-94  Y-64  Z-20.

Once I entered the info on the website, including my email address which is needed for confirmation and for receiving the video, I took some steps back from the location to give the robot room to work.  Yes, a bot, computer controlled, lands on that exact location and takes several pics in a 360º pivot on that very spot. She’s a cute avatar named Paparazzi Artful.   She’s dressed in a denim mini-skirt, black fedora hat, gray turtle-neck sweater, and Maitreya Bloom boots.  In fact,  she’s wearing the same boots as I am, so I gotta give the bot some style points!  She also has a press card around her neck with her name on it.  She has an empty profile with no explanation for her purpose on the sim.

Face to face with the Peek360º bot Paparazzi Artful

The above pic is a previous test run with Paparazzi.  At Las Arenas Rosadas I actually placed her below ground level because I found it gives a better view of the sim.

Paparazzi work can be very difficult

The result is this:   http://www.avatrian.com/Peek360/viewer.php?id=1787

What do you think?  Not flawless…I can see the seams of the pics pasted together.  But overall, it really does give a great view of the sim.  So in that respect, for getting a 360º peek at a sim without entering Second Life, Peek360º works quite well.  One would need to know the coordinates to take the pics from for the best results which defeats the purpose of the program, or one could just guess at coordinates or go by posted coordinates.  I imagine that it can be very handy to view real estate eliminating the need for teleporting to multiple locations.

However, while this application was created for good, can it be used for evil?

The first thought of many is that it may be used for spying.  I must say it crossed my mind too, and after trying it out, I really can’t say whether its a threat or not.  There are, as you can imagine, robust debates on other sites such as Wagner James Au’s blog,  http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2010/02/peek360.html, which I’d encourage you to read.  It includes comments by Chenin Anabuki of Avatrian, the creators of Peek 360º.

I should mention that the bot’s first arrival to a sim is often not at the coordinates entered.  In fact, in my first attempt I found her half a sim away from the coordinates.  I assumed it didn’t work but I soon recieved the video from the point of view with the correct coordinates.  This implies that the bot was able to cam to the coordinates.  Usually, on the second attempt, she lands squarely on the spot.  If you want to be in the shot, you need to take several steps back and smile.  So, should one be concerned about spying?

In the video I posted above, you can see the results and the quality of the pics.  (I use a Dell 2407WFP (Digital) on NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS, just for a reference to the quality.)  I was first startled and creeped out by the image of the male avi behind me.  I did NOT know he was there when I was testing this.  He did, however, introduce himself after I viewed the video and we had a polite and short conversation.  But the point is, I cannot see his features very well.  He was standing only a few steps behind me and I find it hard to distinguish his avatar from a million others that I see in SL.  Good for spying?  Hmmmm.

There certainly are some interesting advantages to using Peek360º, I can imagine there are great uses for educators and businesses.  However, there are some questions to be answered and more experimentation to be done and possibly room for improvements.  It’s encouraging to read Chenin Anabuki’s response on the New World Notes blog that they are very open to comments and welcome feedback.

So why don’t you do just that?  Try it out and answer some of your own anxious questions.  In the meantime, if you are worried about spying…set up your privacy settings for your land and ban Paparazzi Artful from your sim as it is reported that she is the only bot working for the company.

~ I”m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me.  Paparazzi.

Update: I found more info from one of the head honchos at Avatrian at Snickers’ Doodles blog:

“The app will not work on sims that are: a) non-accessible to the public, b) have “no-scripts allowed” set, and c) sims that have specifically banned our bot, named “Paparazzi Artful”

Rodion Resistance
Creative Director, Avatrian LLC, creators of Peek360

]]> http://metaverseguide.com/2010/03/01/a-peek-at-peek360%c2%ba-view-an-in-world-location-without-entering-second-life/feed/ 0 barbarellanoel peek360_009 peek360_013 http://metaverseguide.com/2009/10/07/oubliette/ http://metaverseguide.com/2009/10/07/oubliette/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:27:39 +0000 barbarellanoel http://metaverseguide.com/?p=839 ]]>

Found!  Gown by Evie’s Closet

Found!  Baby Doll dress by Evie’s Closet

Do you like flat, square sims?  Shops all lined up straight in a row?  Non-landscaped parcels of mish-mash items for sale?  Vendors all lined up in rows and rows on uninteresting walls?  Do ya?  Well then,  DON’T come to Oubliette!  Oubliette is for dreamers, the curious, the dramatic, those who love fine quality goods, and for those who love The Hunt!  Right at this VERY moment there is a terrific hunt going on there called Pieces of You…and I mean a quality item hunt, not a freebie junk give-away.  See the dresses above?  I found those items only moments ago…gorgeous, gorgeous items by Evie’s Closet on Oubliette.  And I’m not finished!  I will NOT leave until I find Saiyge Lotus’ Strange as Angels collection.  I have one earring at the moment and as soon as I post this, I will continue until I own every prim of that collection!  I’m a huge fan of Saiyge Lotus’s shop Balderdash.  Isn’t that a fun name?  I recommend that you visit her shop here and take lots of lindens.  Every time I enter her shop I buy pretty much everything she has that is new since my last visit.  Her items are creative, unique, exquisitely detailed, and simply beautiful.  No, not simply at all.  Neither her designs nor her landscaping and terraforming of the sim are simple.  Complex is the word.  A master’s touch.  That makes this hunt all the more worthwhile…her sim is endlessly surprising and beautiful.  The fact that you get these amazing purple boxes of treasures (12 in all) is icing on the cake!

Saiyge Lotus’ Strange as Angels collection

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Oubliette/180/144/26

To join in the hunt just click on the sign upon entering and rezzing on the sim.  You will need to join the hunt group at a cost of $88L and then each box is $1L for a total expense of $100L.  More than a fair deal!  The gown and dress I’ve already found is easily valued over $1000L.  Not to mention the fun of the hunt!  Take friends to make more of a game out of it…see who can get the whole collection first.  They aren’t easy to find, but wandering the sim and taking in the sights is half the fun.  If you really really can’t find a few boxes, then look in the notecard given when clicking the start board…there are clues in there for locations.

Balderdash keeps good company too.  The other shops on the sim are Winx, Evie’s Closet, and Frippery…all high quality designers and shops worth checking out and they’ve all contributed to the hunt items that you will find.

Well, I must go…got some hunting to do.  Happy hunting to you all!

Tip: There are many Hunts offered in SL.  They vary in quality, but it’s a great thing to participate in.  Join them all if you can…they will lead you to new discoveries and give you a great education on what good products vs. bad products are.  They will also lead you to wonderful and little known sims.  Some of my best discoveries were found this way!

DeeTaleZ environment settings without facelights

Default environment settings without facelights

Default environment settings with facelight

I played around alot with the settings trying the default and the DeeTaleZ settings alternately at different times of the day.  Sometimes the default looked better, and sometimes the DeeTaleZ setting looked better.  I say you should give it a try and see for yourself.  Personally, I’m impressed and may be heading towards the end of my facelight use…Gasp!

But back to the DeeTaleZ outfit I bought at Xtreets which I’m wearing in the pics above.  I LOVE it!  Enough that I felt a visit to the mainstore was in order.  But I want to save this visit for it’s own VERY special post   I want to leave this post dedicated to the use or non-use of facelights.  Let me know if you try these settings and tell me what you choose!  Thank you to Steffi Villota, creator of DeeTaleZ, for kindly tucking the notecard into my purchase package, and for the great outfit for 50L…I really do love it!

]]> http://metaverseguide.com/2009/09/22/deetalez-alternative-to-facelights/feed/ 2 barbarellanoel DeeTaleZ environment settings_001 Default environment setting no facelight_001 Default environment setting with facelight_001 http://metaverseguide.com/2009/09/07/about-face-the-use-of-facelights-in-second-life/ http://metaverseguide.com/2009/09/07/about-face-the-use-of-facelights-in-second-life/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:26:13 +0000 barbarellanoel http://metaverseguide.com/?p=792 ]]> When I first discovered facelights, it was a revelation.  This was before SL adopted the use of Windlight and the harsh SL lighting, especially in the afternoon hours, was exceptionally cruel.  The shadows created by the lighting made the best skins look terrible.  And being a bit of a vain character, I instantly fell in love with facelights and I now never leave home without them.  However, now with Windlight, there is some controversy about the use of the lights.  Many find them not only useless, but annoying and many SL photographers will tell you to leave them at home when coming to a photo shoot.  However, I find that the shadows can still cause some undesirable effects so I continue to use them.  But I’m a bit more cautious.  Before, I often cast a powerful beam on my face to counter the dark shadows even at nighttime, becoming a light source for the entire sim.  Now, I only use as much as I need…and on occasion, none at all.

I do have some friends who don’t use them.  And I occasionally find it difficult to make out their facial features in certain light settings which can be frustrating.  So I’m guessing that it may possibly be the settings on my computer…a variable that we can’t all measure very well since we all have different levels of graphic cards and settings.  What you see and what I see will often be different.  So as a compromise, I’ve taken down the wattage of my facelights.  The powerful ones aren’t really needed anymore in Windlight…but I still want to control the shadows.  And I’ve now got the perfect solution which I will share with you all.

A good facelight will mainly illuminate your face and body with only a mild light cast elsewhere.  It will also cast an upward glow to your face to eliminate shadows and not washout details of the skin.

I used to use a freebie facelight with only one setting, for all occasions.  But a friend shared with me a wonderful facelight called  the CG Facelight 3.0.  It is an absolutely wonderful item!  You wear the facelight as well as the hud.  With the hud you can control the brightness level (dim, normal, bright, blinding), the radius, and light color for some pleasing effects with about 9 softly colored lights to choose from.  This amazing tool is not only well made….but its FREE!  You can find it here at CogNation where it is provided free and full-perm by the creator, Cognitive Gears.  What a guy!  You gotta love him for that…thanks Cog!!!  I just love the generosity of some people who use their powers for good and not eeeeevil!  In fact, according to his profile ALL of his items in his shop are free and full-perm!  Wooohooo!  I know where I’m going after I post this blog!

Another wonderful facelight that I just discovered at June Dion’s store, Bare Rose is designed to be used with Windlight.  It is also a complimentary gift and offers several lights for different effects.  You’ll find it here in the freebie/gift area of the sim.  I really love the first one in the pack called 2points/windlight.  It casts a soft glow that seems useful in many settings and lights up the body as well as the face for a great effect.  Especially good when showing alot of skin.  Thanks June!!!  (the post to Bare Rose is forthcoming…it’s a MUST SEE)

One tip is that the lights can be directional.  There are occasions to just light the face, and times you want to have a glow on your entire avi.  Some skins are designed to be lit up to enhance a glow effect, so keep that in mind.  This is why some skins don’t look as good to you after you buy them.  Lighting is everything.

So, my final word about facelights is this: use them with discretion and keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way.  Use good manners.  In sims where the light setting is set to midnight or low light settings, take off your facelight.  The light from your light source can ruin the environment for others.  When in doubt, do without.

CG Facelight 3.0 settings

If you think we don’t have this problem in real life, you should watch the episode on Seinfeld where Jerry’s date is either pretty or ugly depending on the lighting.  Funny stuff!  If only I had a rl facelight.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Black%20Spot/149/164/24

Got a little Captain in you?

Black Spot is a pirate lover’s dream.  Gorgeous and intricately made ships can be found here for purchase as well as other sundries.  But as usual, I prefer sims that don’t overtly hawk items and Black Spot is one of those sims.  It offers some amazing vistas and beautiful water.  Lots of dramatic scenes and mood to be found here.  It begs for exploration, and you will be rewarded if you do.  There are interactive rides and hidden passages leading to…..?  You should find out!  I’m once again awed by another’s creative talents…this time by Lia Woodget, creator of Black Spot.  I really can’t say enough about her amazing creation…other than its on my MUST SEE list!  Hmmm…I fully expect to see Johnnie Depp in full pirate gear any minute now.  Not that that’s a bad thing

TIP: I don’t use photoshop in my pics…mainly because I want you all to see the images as I see them.  But also because I’m photoshop illiterate!  (Anybody wanna school me?)  But I did play with the windlight settings as seen in the pics above.  I was afraid to do this, but I’m over it now.  It won’t mess up your settings!  You can always go back to default.  But if you click world tab on the top of the screen, then environment settings then environment editor, then advanced sky (whew), then at the top in that box find sky presets…just click any or all of those for some amazing tweaks to your screen shots.  It’s lots of fun!  And can really create a mood – spooky, sunny, alien…whatever look you want, you can create it.  Try it and have some fun!

***Note:  It appears that the 100 or so sky presets are only available with the Emerald viewer.  The Linden Lab viewer has presets too, but only about 15 or so.  I gotta say, I’m loving the Emerald viewer.  Lots of fun options and I don’t see any downsides so far.  Here’s the link to download the Emerald viewer if you’d like to try it:

http://modularsystems.sl/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=sections&Itemid=5

There are two parts to download:

1. GreenLife_Proprietary_Pack_Voice-Support-FPS-Boost.exe

2. GreenLifeSetup_1-23-673(Optimized).exe

This was a very painless and problem free download for me.  Best of luck!

***I just found that you can have hundreds of sky presets with the LL viewer.  Just download them from the LL website via Torley’s post:     http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/WindLight_settings

Greetings from Barcelona.  Having a great time – wish you were here!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tumotiko%20East/69/136/0

I’ve not been to the real Barcelona, so I can’t say if this sim is similar to the real deal or not, but I can tell you that it’s gorgeous, very well designed, appealing to the eye, and a great place to hang out in general and meet folks.  It’s good if you know a bit of Spanish as there are many Spanish-speaking people around.  It offers a cozy cafe to share a latte with friends or to have a dance.  There are assorted shops and art galleries.  And in addition to the city feel, the edges are beach covered and offer sights to see, boating interactive activities, and more hang out spaces.  The music is a soothing Latin station, good for chatting with friends or dancing.

Here’s a tip…do visit sims that have a majority of non-English speaking residents.  Don’t be afraid!  It’s a wonderful way to experience another culture without a passport or even leaving your home.  There are translation devices easily found in SL, many of them free.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but it’s well worth it.  Its a terrific way to learn a foreign language or practice your rusty skills in a language you are semi-literate in.  I’ve had many non-English speaking friends do this very thing in order to practice their English and I’ve seen them become remarkably proficient by the exercise and rather quickly too!  Overall, it’s a great way to expand your world and your skills while having a great time.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/SIXTY%20NINE/128/128/2

At Sixty Nine, you’ll find a great selection of women’s hair.  I know, I know…you poor fellas.  Only one choice at this shop, with or without the hat.  But a good one, nonetheless.  For the lucky women, there are some really beautiful looks here…very complimentary styles for when you want to put the glam on.  So, what makes good hair?  Gotta be good with the flexi, and NO helmet hair!  And the colors gotta be alive, not flat.  You’d be surprise how hard it is to get black right.  Not all black tones are the same, and even black needs a soft highlight to combat that flat look.  Kumii Yoshikawa has carefully balanced these features to give you hair that gives depth and sways with the gentle SL breeze.  Love it!

This hairstyle is called Miracle, dark olive from the ash pack.  You get 5 shades for $200L.  Also, the bow is color change…click the bow and you get a menu with 4 color choices.  Not a bad deal!

Here’s a little tip:  I wanted to modify a strand of hair to get it out of my face.  To do this, first make a copy of the hair for backup.  Wear the hair then click the hair to edit.  In the edit box click edit linked parts and select the object you’d like to modify.  When done, close the box and you’re done!  Not hard at all.  I’ve often shortened bangs, made BIG hair smaller, and even tweaked the color a bit (Insilico post hair).  As long as you make a back up, no problem…have a go at it!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Natoma/210/164/28

After spending over 2 years in SL, I’ve finally decided to make a genuine attempt at building something.  I’ve always wanted to, but never got around to it.  But I’d like to share with you THE  place to go when you want to learn to build – the Ivory Tower.  It is a “Self-Guided, Self-Paced, Comprehensive Building Tutorial” and there you will find essential information to help you become an excellent builder.  Don’t blow this off thinking its just like all the other newbie introductory tutorials.  This place has even complex building tips, and even more advanced builders come here to pick up a trick or two.  Also, use search to find places that offer classes and live demos.  These are great places to meet new friends…which is great ‘cuz you’ll have a friend to build and learn with which always leads to tons of fun!  This is all free, btw.  You can also find free textures all over SL.  Go ahead and start small then work up to the big stuff.  It does take some patience but there is something very satisfying about making your first creation.  Don’t toss it in the garbage though!  Keep it!  Because someday, when you are a famous builder, you will want to pull that first creation out and smile with fond memories.  I know I do every time I whip out my “Pyramid Temple”!

But the best, BEST way to learn in SL is to buddy up.  This may sound a bit cheesy and overly sentimental, but honestly, to contradict all the sordid headlines and news articles about SL, I’ve never met a more generous group of people.  “Pay it forward” is a common mantra in here and everywhere you go, someone is offering their assistance and help.  Really…it’s heartwarming.  But what I’m getting at is that SL is loaded with talented and creative builders who in real life may be architects, web designers, graphic artists, fashion designers, interior decorators, engineers, artists, professional musicians, business entrepreneurs, and so forth.  How do I know this?  I’ve met them!  They are my friends!  And they’re always eager to help and give their advice and time.  Many even like to take on “students”.  Just be curious, ask questions, be polite, work hard, don’t be a leech, and you may find yourself in this happy situation yourself.