Metaverse people: Conniesec

When I asked Conniesec how much her avatar looks like her rl persona, she replied: "My AV is a Idealized version of me, except I'm not blond, early 20's, a model or photographer. The shape and skin are something I put together myself."

Indeed, all the art of Conniesec is about idealization of: beauty, sensuality, femininity. When you look at her gallery (look here in Koinup) you're impressed by such a mix of realism (even hyper-realism) and idealism.

Trough the lens of Conniesec, Second Life doesn't have more to envy other 3d programs made ad hoc to create characters (Daz Studio or Poser).



READ THE INTERVIEW



Q: Tell us something about your background in virtual worlds and art
creation?

A: I had no idea what second life was when I joined in April 07. So for almost 6 months it was a learning curve. an eye opener and a virtual adolescence :) I didn't come into SL to do Pics, it sort of happened as I rediscovered my love of self expression via graphical means in
SL. My art experience was confined to school art, My RL was music and
I now have a Laboratory Technology Diploma and am a recent Graduate in
Environmental Science.

My influences are mainly "classical" Art,
recent Chinese Art and the experiences I have in SL. For me,
"classical" Art had meaning, from the placement of a hand to the choice of flower in the foreground that has a certain meaning. Because it took so long to to do a painting in those days, every nuance was a consideration, perhaps less so these days.





Q: When you're creating new artworks, where do you draw ideas and
inspiration from?

I am inspired by the past, by the works created in world and the actual purpose of any pic I do. I am inspired as much by classical portraiture as I am by pics in Vogue magazine. My aim is to bring out detail and "realism". I'm not a fan of FX. I much rather any post work enhance rather than obscure what I see on my monitor.

I am a fan of composition, light and dark. I want to learn all the time, new techniques and new styles perhaps. I would much rather not repeat myself. I may do a face portrait which my look like another portrait i have done, but every one is either an experiment in a different way of doing things or a trial of a new angle or form and learning to use a viewer such as the Kirstens Shadowdraft viewer. I am hoping that anyone looking at the first pics I posted in Flickr, through to the latest, will notice improvement. If a"fashion pic" for example, I think it is the clothes or objects that are the "star". If you can't see the object, no matter how "artful" the shot, then to me, the picture has failed in its purpose. Conversely, much "Art" to me, whether from SL or in real Life, seems to be obscure with no message or emotion. You seem to need a dissertation on a wall to explain what the artist is trying to express. My feeling is if the "Art" cannot stand on its own two feet, then it has failed. I'm personally not impressed by PS technique if the only reaction it gets from me is that wow, they know their "stuff". Every pic i do has a purpose, If only for a designer, or as a personal message to a special person that perhaps only they can interpret. I will leave the interpretation of whether what I do is "Art" to others


Q: What's the potential of second life art for and real world art (if there's any)

A: My personal opinion is that we began with stone walls and ochre, through tempura and oils and even photocopying. Virtual image sourcing is just another tool in the arsenal for self expression.


Q: I see that you use unofficial viewers for most of your creations, what's the benefit of them and specifically what are doing now with them?

A: I've used a shadow viewer in some form for almost every pic since Jan 09. To me they give better results than the traditional viewer. All lights cast a shadow and to me, use of local lighting with no shadows cast by them, even if subtly, is unrealistic and cartoon like. My next
step is to meld pics together. My reason for this is that shadow viewers in SL can only cast light and dark from one light source. I have experimented and found that i can meld 2 shots together with changes in the sun direction. in each shot. This can provide me with 2 light sources for a shot and each allowing proper use of light and shade


Q: Second Life is still the main platform for creation in the virtual worlds
area. But there are some new interesting entries. I think about BlueMars.
Have you tried it? And What you expect from other worlds, expecially for the
field of art & creativity?

I have been a Dev in Blue Mars (BM) since July. I think it has great potential for the likes of me. BM's engine can generate proper lighting that casts shadows from local sources as well as the sun. I plan to do shapes and skins in BM. My skin in SL is one I've worked on for myself for use in "shadow viewers" In a way, using shadowdraft, doing my own skin and shapes in SL is practise for what I hope to achieve in BM, which is having an AV with a higher poly count, a more detailed skin and better environmental lighting control.

Q: Some of the koinup blog readers are artists, too or beginners in the
field of art. Give them some tips to start with the metaverse art
creation...

Learn to use the environmental controls !! You don't need PS...use Gimp. Learn to use a shadow viewer. It is the future really. Become a member of flickr and look at other people's works, and look at RL pics. SL pics can be stuck inside the Pond we call SL

Look at pics created using CG techniques in programs like DAZ or higher end programs. They can be truly inspirational. E.G. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lTfF6GDL0


Q: A request to submit to the developers of virtual worlds? What are the
features you'd love to see in the metaverse?
A: They wouldn't listen to me anyway, so I wouldn't waste my breath :)