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2021 – Monthly Update #9/10

This month, I’m merging two months’ worth of stuff together. Not just because of the amount of stuff I’ve been doing, but it’s also connected to unforeseen delays in deliveries.


3D Models & Second Life

Things in the 3D modeling department are starting to slow down now, as my muse drifts from its latest fixation of Blender work to something else.

Over the course of September, I have been hard at work finishing up on the Second Life dinosaur avatars, refining existing ones, and making more tutorial videos. You can see another one down below.

The line of Dinosaur avatar is nearing completion. Once the last set is finished, I will only be making individual species heads and selling them separately. I will also be providing the body on its own for sale too.
See below for the available sets, and which remain to be finished.

⦿ Generic Herbivore Body (Set is completed)
Triceratops
Styracosaurus
Stegosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus

⦿ Hadrosaurid Body (Set is completed)
Iguanodon
• Parasaurolophus
• Corythosaurus
• Edmontosaurus

⦿ Therapod Body (Set is completed)
Spinosaurids
Allosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus
Pterosaur
Tyrannosaurus

⦿ Dromaeosaur Body (Set is completed)
Velociraptor
• Utahraptor

⦿ Sauropod Body
• Brachiosaurus
• Camarasaurus
• Diplodocus
• Armagasaurus

A bonus “Feral Raptor” avatar was also made using a 3D model I crafted earlier this year, based on Jurassic Park raptors. Why? Because “I was too busy thinking if I could, and didn’t stop to think if I should.” JP fans should get that reference. 😉

Finishing the dinosaurs wasn’t the only thing on my to-do list in September either; I wanted to improve the customizability of the avatars. Yes, you could make them any colour you wanted, make them super shiny, or glow like radioactive Fallout monsters, but there was something I wanted to do originally with the bodies that I couldn’t before; and that was make a body part hider.

With the Dromaeosaurs, I was able to create an option in the customization HUD that allows the user to hide body parts, for better fits to clothing. Now you can hide hands, arms, neck, torso, legs, and feet all at the click of a button. My scripting is still bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s functional. Something else I had been meaning to do was correct the static eyes on the herbivore bodies, and fix the odd rigging I did on the fingers. Right now, only the Hadrosaurs have been “fixed”. The rest will be done at a later time.

Rest assured; if you bought ANY Dinosaur avatar before this post I am making now; you’ll get the updated version for free. I issue auto-redeliveries with the new items and fixes inside, but if you don’t receive it then you can request redelivery via the marketplace.

Over the course of October, I plan on getting the Sauropod body at least stable enough to use. Right now I am having issues getting the neck to be as long as I want to make it, whilst also allowing it to bend neatly. Aside from this, I also hope to get the fixes pushed out for the remaining herbivore bodies, pop out a new dino head or two, and then start work on the clothing line for the bodies themselves come November.


Book/Writing Progress

Specimen G-13: Heart of the Feles, had a sizeable chunk written for it this month. It is now 50% drafted and has its own hardback redesign for Amazon. Yes, you read that right; Amazon is now providing hardback book printing!

Available now are Specimen G-13 and Wrath of the Lancer. The difference between these and the previous “Deluxe” editions? Nothing but the covers, really. I was just limited by what was on offer before and had to print hardbacks elsewhere. Now I advise my readers to buy my new hardbacks from Amazon, as they are not only cheaper than LuLu’s, but they’re also better quality.

I have also modified my reviews on print-on-demand services to reflect this new change and split them up into 3 categories (a 4th will come in the future). You can view two of the categories below by clicking the buttons.

No further work on books has been done this month, though I have been doing some test recordings for audiobooks. Right now I am not satisfied with what my tests have yielded, so nothing further will come of it for the time being.


Dreamie in a Bottle

I have been working hard alongside my sister to create, package, and market her line of macrame friendship bracelets. This October, and beyond, I aim to continue down that path.

You can see a few of the bracelets I am making for here by clicking the below button. My first set of designs are Minecraft-inspired!


Final Thoughts

I have more bracelet designs to work on, plus some dino-heads to get working on (hopefully) soon; drop me a message over on Twitter with any suggestions for Second Life dino’s you want to see made!

Thomas

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