Monthly Archive for January, 2010

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Sketch: I’m baaaa-aaaack.

Published on January 7, 2010 in 'The Hubby', Cartoon, Ratties and Sketch. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .
Kat Johnston Sketch: Isn't she adorable? Who needs to stuff a bag full of test tubes when you can just take the lab rat?

Aha! A sketch! An actual, honest to God sketch!

I know, I know. It has been quite a while. It’s been a hectic few months, from real-estate troubles and sickness through to the annoyances that only the festive season seems to cause… I’ve only just gotten over a very ugly bout of the flu that had me moaning and groaning for weeks over Christmas and even into the New Year. It feels mighty good to be somewhat healthy again. So anyhow, all that horrid stuff aside, I’m finally able to get back into things – and what better way to get back into the swing of it with a sketch?

I really don’t have a hugely long-winded explanation for today’s picture. As per usual for quick character sketches, I pretty much let her just draw herself. The side-caption-thingie came after, not before. She was going to have a teddy in her backpack, to begin with, but she rather put her foot down and demanded a rattie instead. I wonder why that is?

But now, dear readers, I am afraid I must depart. You see, my darling hubby has demanded (nicely, mind you) that I do some tidying today. I’m afraid that the place must simply sparkle from top to toe before he arrives back at this humble abode in approximately five hours. Ok… maybe not ‘sparkle’, so much as ‘glimmer’; even ‘gleam’ might, I admit, suffice in a pinch. So long as it looks a bit neater and tidier than it has been in the clutter of after-festivities disarray, I think it might be a good step in the right direction.

If I’m lucky, I might even be able to bribe my sister into helping out too. Ahh, sibling bribery… almost as good as rivalry, don’t you think?

Sanu Stuff: A little inspiration from Shakespeare

Published on January 6, 2010 in Digital, Sanu Stuff and second life. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .
Kat Johnston: Ahhh, it really is a gorgeous piece of work, if I do say so myself. This has to be my favourite skybox in SL, and not just because I made it!

Ok, so my hubby still doesn’t have the scanner set up… so I’m going to show another Sanu related item! I’m saying this, by the way, as he is dutifully plugging it in beside me.

Anyhow… this is not a recent recent release – it was put out a little while ago. It is, however, one of my favourite releases ever. This lovingly made little skybox is just gorgeous, with luscious textures and little details that make me smile. Working curtains that pop back and forth with a click, a placard with multiple Shakespearean play titles built in, so that you can have a different one set up every day, and even a built in pose so that you can be the star of the show without much ado.

Making it was a bit of a laborious process, because I wanted everything just so. I had a little vision in my head of what this skybox would look like, and it really needed to be fulfilled. There was quite an amount of ‘umming’ and ‘ahhhing’ as I was testing out extra little bits and pieces – candelabras, wall sconces, additional decoration… but in the end, what was created, when finished, did exceed my every expectation.

I’ve got to admit, that is one of the things that I do so love about Second Life – the creativity and freedom to explore an idea without as much trouble of ‘messing it up’ because you did one thing wrong. So long as you back up your work along the way, you’re fairly fine. You can explore all your options, tweak and obsess until you get it juuuuust right… which is a great thing for me, because I am a bit of a tweaker (something, I must admit, gets me into trouble now and then with media that can’t be reverted back to a previous version with a click).

As this post draws to a close, it would appear that my dear scanner has finally been plugged in and is ready again to scan away to its heart’s content – so you can expect a post with an actual drawing soon!

Are you in Second Life? You can get your own Shakespearean Theatre Skybox by teleporting to my store here. There is a demo set up too, so you can see it in person before you buy!