Kat Johnston

Category: second life

  • Drip, drip, drop.

    Kat Johnston Sketch: drip, drop, drip, drop, a steady constant stream of dripping and dropping….

    Its been a frantic few days with the final reopening of my Sanu store on the Scribble sim – but how perfect is that name? A sim called Scribble! There is just something deliciously right about a name that fits in with me. Not to mention the fact that it compliments my store so well: most of the sim is in glorious shades of monotone, which tends to lend an incredible amount of vibrancy to my corner of it. What is even better, is that the owner and the other residents of the sim are just fantastic and as quirky as I. I think it is a glorious match. Within the next few days I’ll dig out some piccies from the opening party and get them up for you to see.

    Today’s picture is just a simple one – something I was scribbling as I was sitting in front of the media machine, watching some show or another – I think it was Life, to be honest, but it could well have been something else… I watched quite a range of tv today, alongside playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village on my DS Lite.

    I don’t mind Professor Layton, but I do so wish that they would integrate the puzzles into the story-line a touch more to make them ‘relevant’ rather than simply a string of non-related pieces loosely tied together to form a narrative. I adore a well done puzzle game, but this one… well… I can’t help but get the feeling that it could have been done better, you know? As if it just had so much potential, and it just keeps on falling just short of the mark. That said, it is still fairly entertaining, and I’m still playing despite its flaws. Oh, but give me a Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney any day: best DS game ever.

    That’s all for tonight!

  • Just testing out a new pen… don’t you love blue?

    [image title=”Kat Johnston Sketch – this is maggie… I was testing out a new pen.” size=”large” id=”1097″ align=”center” alt=”Kat Johnston Sketch – this is maggie… I was testing out a new pen.” linkto=”viewer” ]

    I was wandering casually up and down the aisles at the supermarket no more than a block away from my home, perusing the shelves stacked full of various things splashed with a gaudy display of imagery supposedly intended to urge me to buy them, to set them above and beyond their paler, dowdier cousins. And yet, there tucked away in a dusty corner of the stationary section with a home-brand label on them lay a set of ‘5 gel ink pens’, rather modestly sealed in their little plastic pocket. They were thirty cents. I needed them – not need need, but wanted nonetheless.

    Therefore, after stuffing my basket full of all the strict necessities (you know… feta, lettuce, a kilo of stuffed green olives…) and my thirty cent set of gel ink pens, I paid for my goods and headed home. The groceries went away, lunch was prepared… two turkey salad sandwiches, in case you were curious… and I skipped downstairs, plonked my plate down, took a delicious first bite and reached for my sketchbook.

    You see, the fun thing about new pens, is finding out just what their quirks are, quite what the colour is like… quite how you’re going to use them. You see, not all pens are created equal – the smooth, confident strokes of one just may not feel comfortable with another. On top of that, there is the colour – the blue of this particular pen makes me all gooey on the inside. Its a perfect, rich, gorgeous shade of blue, rather than a pale, washed out imitator of such a brilliant hue. Oh the disappointment of finding out that that perfect looking pen has uninspiring ink! Such things are a travesty.

    Anyhow… above was the test piece for one of my five gel ink pens… though I really only need to test three – luckily for me, for my thirty cents I got blue, black and even a nice looking red!

    On the Sanu front, I’ve just released my new set – two sets, actually, though they are really the one split into two parts. The bunny featured just a couple of days ago is the focus, which, if you buy both parts contains a massive 28 pieces. Here’s a couple of images of them, for those who haven’t checked them out in store yet.

    Sanu Stuff: the signage for the Cameo set part 1.

    Gotta love a jewelry set that comes complete with mini top-hats and finely detailed eye-patches, yes? Well… I think so, anyway. Sorry, you may just have to zoom in close to see any detail on these ones… I told you the other day they were small!

    Sanu Stuff: The second image for the Sanu Cameo set… this time, part 2!

  • Not Quite There.

    Kat Johnston Sketch – Some days… I’m just not quite there.

    Know how there are some days that you’re just not quite there, despite every effort you’ve been making to get with the program? Today’s just one of those days. Eh. They happen. And there is somewhat of an upside, when you think about it: without a ‘meh’ day, this little girlie would not have been drawn! And I think she’d be rather disappointed if she were left in the far less trafficked back rooms of my mind. At least I make it nice and cozy back there for them… and make sure they have plenty of cookies!

    Ok, onto the Sanu stuff for the day! For those SL readers, if you haven’t heard about the Greatest Love Gridwide Hunt yet, where have you been? I’ve been accepted into the hunt, and will be participating by offering my own little present for all of you celebrating this season of lurrrrve. That said, I’ve actually made it with a duel purpose in mind: while it is decorated with love-hearts, I do believe that it is suitable for all-year-round type wearing. Themed seasonal hunts are all fun and all, but I have to say, I hardly ever wear a generic Christmas costume after the Christmas season is over – same goes with Valentines.

    Therefore, just for you, here is a sneak peek at what I’m going to be giving for this hunt: a monocle and Marilyn piercing set, each of which is offered in 6 colour combinations, just for a nice amount of versitility. Keep an eye out – the hunt starts soon!

    Sanu stuff: A close-up of my offering for the hunt item for the Greatest Love Gridwide Hunt.

  • Alex is unimpressed. Not everyone likes ice-cream.

    Kat Johnston Art – When you get into a food fight, not everyone comes out on top… even if it is fun, ice-cream in your hair is not good.

    I’ve been making some fun things recently – one of them has been an ice-cream in Second Life that sits atop your head and has a few drips scattered on the face. Its cute! However, not everyone is as dignified as I. This is Alex. She’s not a fan of having ice-cream messing up her hair, let alone her make-up. Suggestive as those little splatters are on her face, I swear I was thinking of ice-cream… nothing else, naughty people!

    I adore that she came out with a curve to her lips, lending her the start of a wry smile… a gleam in her eyes as she tries to resist showing her amusement. You know those times when despite the fact that you should be furious with someone, you can’t help wanting to laugh at the same time? When someone else’s infectious humor starts weaseling its way in even though you should be shaking your fist? Well, this is one of those times. For all that Alex here is grumbley, she’s quite amused at the ridiculous predicament she’s in too. Who wouldn’t be?

    And now to give you a peek at the item in question. The group for Sanu in SL has now peaked over the 350 mark – I celebrate each 50 with the release of a special gift, which in this case, happens to be ice-cream. Mmmm… tasty purple ice-cream… with a bunny on top! Yum!

    *Sanu store group giftie! Yes, its ice-cream. Yes, there is a tiny little bunny perched on the top! With a flag!

  • Pip’s Quest: an epic tale of love, loss, and bunnies.

    Kat Johnston – Pip’s Quest: an epic tale of love, of loss, of bunnies and pretty little love-hearts!

    So, since I’ve started integrating the Second Life me and the Real Life me into one nice big mega-me… perhaps you’d like to see what I’ve been doing, huh? I know I sent you onto my Second Life flickr account yesterday, but hell, this deserves a post of its own.

    One of the fun things about Second Life is its ability to set up events such as these: hunts. With the opening of my new online store, I set up an interactive story which leads participants towards fun prizes, while following ‘Pip’s Quest’. Long story short, Pip is a bunny whose heart has been broken. It is up to the hunt participants to comb over an island I’ve created to find the pieces of his shattered heart and put it back together again. Each piece of the story gives a clue as to where the next piece is hidden. Fun, huh? Well, this is the signage which was done up for the event… a little rushed, but not tooo bad, either.

    The story itself is presented in 10 parts and does come with the obligatory happy ending. It was written on the go, so its not as polished as it could be… but its just a bit of fun, really – never meant to take the world by storm. Since most of my current readership here probably won’t ever get the chance to read it in the game, I’ll post the first part here just for you! Please enjoy part one of Pip’s Quest.

    “There is a tale among rabbits which is unlike any other, about a young buck by the name of Pip. Pip was a shy lad of tender years, still learning what it was to be a rabbit of his kind.

    Though fully grown, he was still unsure of himself; had never revealed to his childhood companion Chloe that he adored her in more than a friendly way. He thought Chloe was the most beautiful doe in the warren, and for that matter, the world.

    The moon rose above the water one evening, as he sat perched upon one of the over-sized toadstools that dotted the green of his home. His ear twitched, and drawing in a deep inwards breath, he bounded across to his secret love who was picking wildflowers nearby.

    ‘I love you!’ he cried, his little heart fluttering wildly in the hollow of his chest, ‘Chloe, I love you and I want you for my own!’

    Chloe raised her head, a smile curving her mouth, her laughter dancing upon the evening breeze. ‘Oh Pip, you are a joker. Thank you so much for making me smile. Here. A little blue wildflower for your coat.’

    Pip feigned a half-smile as he accepted his gift, pretending as best he could that his confession had been just as she said, a silly joke to make her laugh. But it had not been. His heart had been shattered.

    ‘I must go,’ thought Pip. ‘I must go, and gather them together again, else I shall never be complete. But this is no small task. Perhaps if I think on it, I will know best where to go next. I know this quest is urgent, but perhaps some meditation is in order before I continue on.’ He spied the zen gardens just a few hops away – Pip had started his quest.”