Modeling in Second Life
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Let's face it. In the real world most of us do not have the looks or body to go into the modeling industry but in Second Life the problem of genetics doesn't exist and opens new doors for new and exciting experiences so why not take the bull by the horns and ride hard?! Being a model in Second Life is relatively easy although it does take a lot of work and commitment on your part if you want to reach fame and Second Life fortune.

What you need to get started:

Quality Hair
Quality Clothes
Quality Skin
Quality Shape
The right Accessories
Committed attitude
The willingness to work and put forth the effort
An outgoing and friendly personality
Professionalism
Punctuality
Fashion know-how

Looking at the list, you can tell that everything is something that can be acquired through hard work or with the right resources. Search around Second Life and take your time in finding the right look for your avatar. Don't be in such a hurry to rush through the process of glamming up your avatar because this will be who your clients and employers see and you want to make the best impression possible. You want them to see that you put time, money, and effort into your look and didn't throw the first few acceptable pieces together to start modeling. I list a few great quality stores later in this post. When shopping for clothes you want to make sure that you have plenty of every variety that you can find: Casual Dresses, Pant outfits, Jeans, Cocktail Dress, formal gowns, heels, boots, flats, jackets, hair of all styles and colors that suit your avatar, jewelery, bathing suits, lingerie, etc. But you also want to make sure that they express your personality and personal fashion style as well.

Here are a list of places in second life that are affordable and high quality. Be sure to check them out!

Clothing
Skins & Shapes
Hairstyles
After you have gotten a sufficient amount of clothing stocked up in your inventory it's time to organize it because I'm pretty sure that it's a mess by now since you forgot to organize in the midst of your shopping spree. You want to be able to access all your clothes easily and without very little fuss. So making a folder for Clothing, Jewelery, Shoes, Accessories and then making sub folders for the several varieties of those pieces is a good way to keep organized and make sure that every outfit is handy.

Now we've addressed the list and the look. Now that you have those things down it's time to get down to business. As a model, you have to be willing to invest money into your avatar as well as time and work. Being a model is not just having a nice looking avatar because there are so many out there that you have to compete with. One thing you should have is a portfolio of professionally made photos of your avatar. Whatever skin you apply for a job with make sure it is the skin that is displayed in the photographs. An adequate portfolio consists of about 5-10 photos and making them varied in styles helps your cause because it shows your avatar diversity for different products and clients. As you go along through the industry and gain more experience and work you'll continually add to your bulging portfolio. I will be sure to add a list of great and affordable photographers that you can use for your portraits and photos later so keep a look out. Also be sure that your photos are organized into a folder of their own and labeled with your name and maybe a short little description of the photo like "Bikini".

Here are some places you should check out that may be helpful. I've also listed some Photographers that I've found are talented and awesome in what they do.

Poses
Photographers


After getting those things it's time to go on a search for an agency. Now, having an agency is not a requirement to get the job with a client but they are savvy and have tremendous resources to help you look for clients. They also help to make sure that you are getting paid what you are worth and not a cent less. This is your business and Second Life livliehood so you have to be willing to be a go-getter and working your ass of to get the job.

Now there will be places that say that they offer training for new models for a "small" fee and I have to say that these are usually scams because it is not all that hard to become a model in second life. You dont really need to know how to walk on the runway as long as you have an attractive AO and know how to reduce lag during a runway show. Taking photos is not a huge daunting task that you need to have a full course on it worth 2000L. Most agencies are willing to give you tips for free to get you going and help you out because it takes about 30 minutes to impart their all important knowledge.

Another thing is you should be aware of Second Life fashion and it's designers. Just as in real life you would study up on your clients and possible employers you should be willing to do the same here. The designers work hard on their products and designs and put a lot of effort into their advertisements so the least one can do is make a note of their name and specialties. Also, something that may help your cause is putting your information in your profile such as your position, your agency, and things of that nature so that a designer would see you and then may decide to ask for your services on the spot. You have to be meticulous and ready to get out there. During a photo shoot, it is important to have positive energy and to follow directions of your photographer. Making them feel at ease makes the shoot go by a lot faster, smoother and with very little problems and that, in the end, is what you are looking for- a satisfied customer!

So there is your simple crash course in the world of modeling. The main thing you should always remember is to be yourself and it will shine through to your avatar!


hp85wbv3mf

Labels: , ,

 
posted by Unknown at 11:56 PM | Permalink 0 comments
Second LIfe Advanced Tutorial Links
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
 
posted by Unknown at 11:15 PM | Permalink 0 comments
Exotic Dancers in Second Life
Saturday, April 25, 2009
One of the most popular career areas in second life is the life of an exotic dancers or stripper at various clubs. It's a simple job once you get the hang of things in second life and can earn you a pretty decent salary if you learn to do your job well. I will be giving a few tips to those that may need help, just joined, or looking for a refresher course!

Firstly, you have to make sure that you have the beginnings of becoming a great Dancer, for men and women of SL! The main requirements that will get you through the business are Good Quality Skin, Quality Hair, Quality Shape, Quality clothing, An Outgoing and Friendly personality, Emoting abilities (this can be learned), and a mind to seduce!

All of these requirements can be taught, bought, or perfected through experience so have no fear! Quality skin is not so hard to find if you look in the right areas but they can be expensive! Redgrave and Emporio are two good companies for skins. There are tons of shapes around SL if you shop around and find a modifiable one. You could even get a freebie shape or very cheap shape and modify it to your liking. It takes time and patience but if you have those two things then your avatar shape will come out looking great and unique! There are several Hair shops that sell very high quality hair for low prices such as Magicka and Goldie Locks! They have areas that display discounted hair and also goldie locks has a freebie area for new members to grab some nice selections to get started. Clothing, again is not so hard to find if you are willing to do the work to search for it. A lot of freebie clothing are of low quality but sometimes if you go to high end stores and look around you can find discounted clothes and freebies of good quality. A great store with low prices is "Hoodgirlz & Hoodboyz" (later on I will add a surl to get you to these stores) where you can find an entire outfit (clothes, accessories, shoes) in an entire package for under 300L!!!! If you're new I will tell you that THAT is a steal right there! So be sure to pop that into your search engine!

Now if you're a quiet and wilting butterfly that feels like they are about to pass out at the mere thought of trying to talk to other people first then you will have to get over that. As a dancer in second life, you have to be willing to go for it and greet others, get to know them and make them feel comfortable and at ease in the club. You want to build a rapport with them so that they will feel a friendly connection and want to come back for more. Also, friends are more likely to tip you than a complete stranger. Do you want to seduce them? Yes. But you also want to get to know them!

Emoting in second life is basically the writing of actions in the chat dialog box. If you have ever emoted in chat rooms then you know what I am referring to. I do not mean smilies or gestures that your avatar performs. I mean the describing of actions in detailed ways to show your readers and audience.

Here is an example:

/me smiles softly, her lips turning up slightly in the corners, causing a small dimple to appear in each cheek as she views the children running with abandon in the park.

When emoting in second life you want to type /me and then your action. There is no space between the slash and the me but there is between the me and your string of action. I would suggest that to get into the habit and practice of it, emote all your feelings or actions. Instead of saying "lol" emote a laugh; instead of a smiley face emote yourself smiling. (i.e. /me smiles, /me laughs)

I tail all the dancers that I train to look at it like this: Picture a blind man/woman and you want to describe a particular action. In second life you cannot "feel" an action being done to you so description is the next best thing. It brings the image of you to life in their minds eye. It invokes the senses to put them to work. Basically, you are becoming a writer of your own story. You want to affect your audience with your words and actions. And it is entirely possible! So do not dispair. Just remember to use as much description as possible. Say how you are doing it, where, when, to whom, etc. Be detailed in your posts. Not to say write an entire huge ass paragraph that everyone will have to scroll up and down to see in their chat box. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 full sentences, 3 is good as well.

Now that you have the tools needed to become a dancer it's time to look out in the world and find yourself a job...

The first thing you want to do is search in the classifieds section of the Search Engine under Employment for Dancers or Strippers. These are the best keywords to use when looking. Then just go down the list to see which place may suit you best. Teleport by the location and follow the directions they have in the descriptions box under their parcel image in the classified ad. Fill out the application and turn it in as they direct. Some clubs or areas do not allow you to work there if you're rez date (sl start date) is too young. Most believe that you do not have the knowledge or resources yet to become an adequate dancer in their club. Some, however, do not care and will interview and look at your skills and not your age. Also at most clubs now, you must be an age verified adult or have payment information used. This is pretty simple to set up in the second life website under your account information. At the left hand side you see a option to Update billing information. Click on that and go through that process of setting up your credit card information. Do not worry, This does not mean you are paying for anything whatsoever and there will be no charge made to your account by doing this. There are no hidden fees whatsoever to it. This is basically just another way to check your birthdate since very few minors are able to have credit cards. This is not a full proof system, true, since most teenagers have the ability to get their hands on their parents credit cards nowadays but it is the only ways they have at the moment to do this.

But if you ever decide to buy Lindens, your information will be set up and ready to go. You are able to buy lindens in world by clicking the small blue and white button at the top right hand corner next to the time display. A dialog box will appear and the default buying amount will be 1000 Lindens. The exchange rate is usually 4.16 USD for 1000 Lindens (L) just fyi. Again, you do NOT have to buy anything when setting up your credit card information so do not worry.

Later I will update this post with some stores that you may find good cheap quality clothing, skins, shapes, hair, etc. So stay tuned!

Labels:

 
posted by Unknown at 2:53 PM | Permalink 0 comments
Careers in second life introduction!
There are a variety of careers that you can choose from in second life- just as much variety as there is in second life. You can manage a business, become a dancer, escort, business owner, Host, Model, photographer, web specialist, and so much more! I will just be giving a few tips on the careers that I am familiar and comfortable with. The ones that I have gained extensive knowledge in that may help you in your journey through second life. I have trained Exotic Dancers and Escorts in second life for my clubs. I have also been a host and manage and run my own club in the second life world. So check out my posts to help you get started and learn new tricks of the trade for your budding career to start earning those Lindens!

Labels:

 
posted by Unknown at 2:49 PM | Permalink 0 comments
Second Life Video Tutorial Links!!!
Here are a bunch load of links to help you get started in second life....

Basics
Video Tutorial for Chatting in Second Life
Learning how to use the chat interface and getting familiar with local chat in Private Messages/Instant Messages (IMs).

Tutorial for Friendships in SL

How to add friends and manage your friends list.

Tutorial for Moving & Flying in SL
Navigating your way through the SL skies.

Tutorial For Searching

Learn how to utilize the resourceful searching tool.

Tutorial For Editing Appearance
Learn how to modify your avatar and make it your own!

Tutorial For filling out your profile

How to introduce yourself through your profile!

Tutorial for Creating/Joining a group
Maintaining your second life groups.

Tutorial for Looking around with camera controls
Utilizing your camera.

Tutorial for Buying linden dollars
How to buy Second Life Currency.

Tutorial For shopping
How to buy clothing and outfit your avatar!

Tutorial For sending a postcard
How to send notecards to your friends or other second life members.

Tutorial for Landmarks and Teleporting

How to get around second life instantly

Tutorial for using the pie menu

The Shortcuts through your pie menu

I really hope that these videos help you in your journey through second life!!!

Labels: ,

 
posted by Unknown at 3:05 AM | Permalink 0 comments
A Crash Course in Second Life
If you've decided to go ahead and join second life there are a few things you'll have to do...

  1. Go to the website www.secondlife.com and sign up. You will have to fill in some information about yourself -just bare facts to have you on file so don't worry that it will ask you for your credit card information. I meant it when I said it was free to sign up and download. You will have go choose a name for your in-world Character- Your first name is your own, in this life you get to choose your own name from birth. *laughs* For your last name they have some computer generated names on file for you to choose from. You will also be asked to choose your character. It doesn't really matter what character you choose. I would suggest to choose one of the gender you are so you won't be walking around as the opposite sex. *giggles* The characters you choose from are very basic and you will get to modify and customize them later on in second life after you gain some knowledge on where to look. Also please put in a valid email address. This is so that when you get an offline IM from someone it will show up in your emails so you won't miss anything. This is not so they can spam you with repeated offers of various kinds. You will be directed to download and install the second life program. I would suggest you take a look at the system requirements to confirm that your computer will be able to run second life. It is a very high graphic program and takes up space, RAM, and processing space. Do NOT try to run several programs with while you are using this. You may be able to get yahoo but even then it will slow your computer down unless you have a super high speed computer (not internet but computer). You'll also be asked if you would like to join a community. This really doesn't matter; it is just a place where you will log into. Some communities have helping areas and nearly all of them have mentors on hand to help and guide you if you ever need assistance.
  2. After you have finished downloading the program and went to your email to verify you account information you are ready to sign into second life! Just load up the program and type in your first and last Second Life name and password and hit login. It will take a few minutes to load but when it does you will be in an area and viewing your second life character from behind. You may also get a tutorial guide at the top to help you out and show you around the controls a bit. But here I will give you some guidance....
  • To move around in-world use your arrow keys
  • Up-forward
  • Back-backward
  • Left/Right- Turning your avatar to face in that direction.
  • B. On your screen you will see a few items of importance so I will go over them with you. Let's go left to right, bottom to top to make it easier.
  1. At the very most bottom to the left you will see a little chat icon bubble which will toggle the local chat bar above it to visible or invisible.
  1. You will also see a button labeled Communication with an arrow to the right of it. If you click the large communication button (not the arrow next to it) you will bring up the contacts list. In this menu you will see a Friends and Groups Tab at the top and to the right you will have the Im/Call, Profile, Teleport, Pay, Remove, and Add options. Let's quickly go over each of these to get familiar....
  • The IM/call button allows you to open a chat dialog box and start IMing a person in your friends list. At the moment you are new so you have no one to test this out with. But what you would do is highlight their name in the contacts list and then press the IM/call button.
  • The Profile button allows you to open and view the profiles of those in your friends list or whoever you have highlighted in the list. (We'll go over the profile later on in this tutorial...)
  • The teleport option allows you to select an person in your contacts list and offer them to bring them to your location, hence the name "teleport" being that it is instantaneous but only if they accept your request. Others may teleport you to their locations and you will be asked to accept or deny it.
  • The pay option allows you to select a name and pay that person Lindens or Second Life dollars (again..we will go over this later in the tutorial)
  • Remove allows you to select the name and remove that person from your friends list.
  • when clicking the Add button, you will bring up another dialog box labeled "choose resident" and underneath it you will have a text box where you may click the person's name in and hit the find button. When you highlight their name, you click select and then add. It will send them a request to add them to your friends list. Once they accept you will get a dialog box at the lower right hand corner saying they are online and now will be able to see when they are online or offline. If they are bold then they are online.
  1. Now if you click the groups tab at the top of your contacts box you will see a blank box where the groups you join will be added. Every time you join a group their name will be added to the list. Everyone can join a maximum of 25 groups. In the right side you have another serious of buttons similar to the other set in your friends list with a few variations. You still have the IM/call button which allows you to IM the entire group. the Info will bring up the group information box, activate will activate the tag over your head to a certain title, Leave allows you to leave the highlighted group, Create allows you to create your own group for 100L and search brings up the SL (Second Life) search engine to search groups of the keyword you enter.
  1. now that we've gone over your contacts lets have a look at the tab at the bottom labeled "Local Chat". Local chat allows you to type and talk to others near you up to a distance of 20 meters. Beyond that they will not be able to hear you and you will have to shout. To do this you just type in what you want to say and click the arrow next to "say" to the right and select shout. To just type and say you can just hit enter on your keyboard or to shout a shortcut used is control + Enter. Shouting allows people over the entire Sim/Island to hear you. Be careful of shouting too much because it can be seen as grief or harassment and you could be banned or reprimanded for it by the owner of that location.

Now close out that dialog box by clicking the small X in the right hand corner or your small dialog box. It will disappear, leaving you with the image you had before.

At the bottom next to the communications button you have the fly button which allows you to fly and move around easily. The controls are basically the same but the down arrow makes you fly down instead of backwards.

The snapshot button lets you take screen shots and whatnot but costs 10L to upload in-world.

clicking the search button will bring up the SL search engine. This will be your best friend in second life and your greatest resource. You can search anything in here. Clicking it will bring the main page and some ads of shops in SL. at the top you can type in any word you want to search such as "clothes", "hair", "mall", "park", etc. and it will bring up several options and pages to browse through. You will see small icons next to your links, (a green crossroad sign=location, person icon=a person's name, two people icons= a group, and calendar=event).

I will go into more depth on each of these in another blog...

close out of that box and you will see next to search a build button which you do not have to worry about at the moment since you will probably not have the ability to build on the land you are at. The map allows you to see where you are and navigate through second life. Will go into more detail in another blog.

Your inventory...Now clicking on this will bring up another dialog box labeled inventory. This is basically where everything you collect in second life will be stored including clothes, hair, skin, shapes, shoes, furniture, etc. You have two main folders "My inventory" and "my Library". The my inventory already has folders in it for later use when you gain items but they are empty at the moment. The library contains some default items that you can get familiar with later on...

Close out of that box and let's move up...

You see a button labeled local chat above the talk bubble that we first discussed. and next to it you will see a text box where you can type in things that you would like to say and press enter to talk more easily with people than bring up the dialog box. The chat box is handy when you want to go back to see what someone has said earlier but it makes it more difficult when you want to move faster. Next to the text box, you see the gestures menu and a little arrow pointing down. Clicking on it will bring up a list of gestures that your avatar can perform with animations and text as well as audio. You also have a little musical button and if you click play you will be able to hear parcel music that is playing. You have a volume control next to that to lower or raise your volume settings. The talk button next to it allows you to chat on microphone with others. You can see how will be able to hear you by a little white dot over their head. Although some people have it activated but cannot hear due to having volume off or other problems.

Now you are familiar with the basics of your second life user interface. In my blogs I will also give links to Linden video tutorials that may prove helpful and useful to you as well...
 
posted by Unknown at 2:05 AM | Permalink 0 comments
An Introduction....
Greetings to all that decide to read my blog here...


My Name is KaylenaMaria Destiny. No, this is not my actual name but my second life name. If you have ever heard of it then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, then let me explain dear reader...


Second Life is a virtual community, an online medium, where people of all walks of life and all over the world may come together and share their ideas, knowledge, views, wisdom, opinions; it's a place where one may laugh, love, cry, make friends, enemies, family and experience so much and so many range of emotions and situations. It is just what the name suggests- a second life.

Now why would anyone want to get a second life you may wonder. What is so wrong with your first one that you would want to run to look for an alternative life? Do you actually have a real life? You should probably stop living in the virtual world and get off your computer to get out more and truly experience what life is all about. These are probably things you may be thinking at this point and time. Let me clarify a few things...

Second Life is for those that would love to experience things far outside their reach at a certain point in their lives. Technology has increased our scope of understanding and the distance between worlds that would've been vast years before. It has bridged the gap between cultures and worlds so different they would've seemed miles apart at any other time. Second Life can be so many things. It is not much more different than going to a chat room or forum and talking with others. It's just a more advanced way of doing it. But it gives you so many options to do things. You can create businesses, careers, role play in certain areas, meet and fall in love, build lasting friendships and family, etc. Nothing is unattainable or unreachable when the human imagination and mind are put to the test! It is one of the most amazing features of Second Life. It is a program but with the people and their imaginations and ingenuity and resources it becomes a world alive! If you are into that sort of thing or if what I have described intrigues you, then go ahead and try it out. It's completely free and you don't have to buy anything if you don't want to. This blog will do many things besides share my opinions but also my knowledge as well. It will soon be filled with resources for new members and old members that would like to learn more to come and gain more insight and ideas.

The website is: http://www.secondlife.com

Now that I've explained the purpose of this blog and my creation of it, let me go on to describe a bit about myself. I have been in second life for over two years now. To some it's not very long but it's enough to learn new things and to gain enough knowledge to get me through second life and to avoid some of the pitfalls of it. I am shy on first meeting me and can be somewhat quiet but once you get to know me and get past that, I can be very outgoing, friendly, talkative, helpful, and a huge smart ass. I love to laugh and am always cracking jokes. I also love to help others so if you are new feel free to throw me an IM and let me know. Come by my club to enjoy some good music and friendly conversation and a good time. Just search for Black Lace Destiny and you'll be sure to find us in no time. Also be sure to join our VIP group by searching the name of the club again and hitting the group icon link to join. It costs nothing to join and we send regular updates and hold events. We also have a small mall area with cheap and high quality clothing- vanilla and BDSM related- so be sure to check that out as well.

I have a family on second life- a brother and sister who's name I will not mention to keep their privacy but if you ever meet me then you will soon find out. They mean the world to me and have been with me through thick and thin. I also have a wonderful daughter who owns an awesome clothing line "da funk" (be sure to check her out as well). She has been a ray of sunshine for me. Just like me in a lot of ways with her smart mouth but is always there by my side when I need her as I will be there for her always no matter what. My family and friends mean everything to me and I will always be there for each and everyone of them when called upon.

I am also a Domme on second life as well. Yes, I regularly practice the BDSM lifestyle as a Top. If you do not understand this then please do not judge before knowing more. It has been commercialized to be seen as something that is completely insane or extreme when you would have to understand the mind of each individual in that situation to understand the entire scope of what it is all about. I'll explain all this later in a later blog. But I do have several pets- three at the moment whom I cherish and love having around me. I will keep their names private at the moment to safeguard their privacy as well.

I like interesting people and I am a self admitted shop-a-holic. Second life is the only place I can satisfy my craving and addiction without hurting my real wallet. *laughs* I do love it and I love finding deals and bargains. I especially love when my pet helps me shop. *sticks out her tongue playfully* I love to explore and I love playing around and having a good time. I am not a person to do drama and I do not believe in lies at all. I also have a very short fuse but mess with my family or friends or call me a liar then I will blow up pretty damn quick. I know what I am and who I am. I make no apologies for the person I am. I may seem conceited or arrogant but that's just confidence and you have to learn the difference. I am humble and I know that no matter how much I learn there is always more to know out there. First and Second life have both left me humbled at the feet of God because I know that I am small in comparison to what He wanted or created. But I also know my worth. God created me and that is all that anyone really needs to say. We were so important and loved that he created us.

In my first life I am 20 years old, part native American and African American, and in college studying Accounting and Criminal Justice. II plan to either go into law enforcement or run my own interior design, club, or food business alongside my family. *smiles* I have two brothers- one older and one younger, and an older sister as well as 9 nieces and nephews. My father passed away a week after my 16th birthday but I still have my wonderful and loving mother which I thank God for everyday. Business is in my blood. *laughs* Do not take my age to mean that I have no idea what I'm talking about or to dismiss me...But if you decide to then that is on you and your choice. *shrugs* I am here to share the knowledge I have gained with others and it is up to you to take it and use it for your own or not...

But this is me. It is who and what I am and I share it with you openly...I will leave you with a quote that I found....

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

I'll allow you to make your own interpretations on that...

~~*KaylenaMaria Destiny

Labels: ,

 
posted by Unknown at 12:31 AM | Permalink 0 comments