Skin Appreciation Society (proposal for group)

Hello,

Hopefully this is the right place for this post.

I want to sart a group for those interested in photorealistic skins on the avis. Currently they are all expensive and you mostly have to make your own, which is a hard proposition without some kind of examples to start from.

The group would be people in the same situation as me mostly struggling to make their first skin. Instead of several people all working in the dark in this way I propose that we collaborate and share.

The idea is that being a member of the group allows you access to 10 or 20 skins (or however many people join) as opposed to just the one that took you 6 months to make.

so...

"Skin Appreciation Society" is group

Titles (tentative) are:

"SAS Skin Goddess" (I know corny) for officer
"SAS Skinner" for member
and
"SAS Skin Afficiando" for related (not full) members


Membership:

1) you need to one skin to join, given to group, (full copy and mod)

(yes this means if you want to make that "special" one for yourself still that you now have to make *two* skins)

2) skins would be *adjudicated* by members and must pull say ... average of 8 out of 10 to be accepted. (no hangers on here)

3) must be *photorealistic* skin with any other stuff that is needed for avi included
(mostly this means that if for big girl, or small girl then body form should be included)

4) must continue to produce skins. (If you only make the first one there should be way of being booted if you never make anythign again.)

5) we would hold chat sessions about skin techniques, skin parites where we admire each others naked ness and so forth.

The eventual idea is that this might bring down the high price market on skins and the group skin repository might eventually become free to the public but that can develop naturally.

Group is open for three days.

You dont have to have skin fiished to join you can be "pending completion" (I am)

any interested parties repsond to this thread or IM me in game


Dianne Mechanique

[DRAMA]
I am terribly offended by the sexist nature of this statment. Are you trying to state only women are welcome to the group, or that men have no skinning talent?
[/DRAMA]

That was a joke by the way.

Hmnnn... Create an avatar for the group. Would you still be allowed to sell it?

Well the tiltles are definately negotiable, but yes, women are better at everything.

It looks like this is not going to happen anyway though.

Have to pay 100 Lindens to start the group and if three people don't join then nothing happens.
(except I lose 100 Linden).

Funny, I would have thought this was a no brainer in a community of artists who all need to get a good skin to look good in SL.

Apparently no one is interested however.

The idea is to share amoungst the group so yes you could still sell the skin but eventually if the idea catches on it will eventually affect the market for skins and lower the amount of money one could get for one. That would take a long time though.

that might be why you're not getting interest. the people who would join are the ones who make skins. the ones who make skins are the ones who would be hurt if skin prices drop.

Nail hit right on head.

Perhaps if the group dealt with knowledge and technique as a commodity rather than the textures themselves, then the right talent might be willing to join for that reason. Then again, this forum has all that to offer as well

Funny thing is, one of the more expensive skin vendors is also someone who releases for free tools to help you make skins.

Makes it hard to work up any indignation

Well if that is the reason it is nonsensical. What I am trying to do is exactly the kind of artisan group/knowledge sharing that this place is supposed to be all about.

Any impact on skin prices and skins as a commodity would be excrutiatingly slow to develop, (if at all). I merely mentioned it as an interesting point. These kinds of groups ultimately have those kinds of effects.

Nothing is envisioned here except skin sharing, and the sharing of information on how to make skins. The idea is that members of the group would have access to skins made by other members and thus increase the amount of skins they have.

If those who make the skins now were freely sharing this kind of information, or if there were even a few "starter" sample skins to work, with I would not be even asking.

Some of the great skin makers in SL were kind enough to give me copies of their creations when I started and it was an immense benefit to me.

To sucessfully make one however you really need more than just templates, and the sharing of these kind of resources seemed like a natural to me.

I guess if no one is interested, then no one is interested.

But a loose canon like myself would do less damage in a group.
What's to say for instance that I won't single-handedly flood the skin market in a fit of pique?

Well if that is the reason it is nonsensical. What I am trying to do is exactly the kind of artisan group/knowledge sharing that this place is supposed to be all about.

Any impact on skin prices and skins as a commodity would be excrutiatingly slow to develop, (if at all). I merely mentioned it as an interesting point. These kinds of groups ultimately have those kinds of effects.

Nothing is envisioned here except skin sharing, and the sharing of information on how to make skins. The idea is that members of the group would have access to skins made by other members and thus increase the amount of skins they have.

If those who make the skins now were freely sharing this kind of information, or if there were even a few "starter" sample skins to work, with I would not be even asking.

Some of the great skin makers in SL were kind enough to give me copies of their creations when I started and it was an immense benefit to me.

To sucessfully make one however you really need more than just templates, and the sharing of these kind of resources seemed like a natural to me.

I guess if no one is interested, then no one is interested.

But a loose canon like myself would do less damage in a group.
What's to say for instance that I won't single-handedly flood the skin market in a fit of pique?

I have posted a free skin in this forum as well as shared my knowledge in too many threads to list here.

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Many other skin/tattoo designers frequently post very helpfull knowledge (ahem, high rez templates) in this forum too. When I started in SL, I didn't know my head template from my upper left lower body template (that was a joke), or that this forum even existed. That did not stop me from seeking the knowledge.

As far as giving away the tools that I use to help make my skins like Photoshop, Deep Paint 3D, Procreate Painter, and various 3rd party plugins (several funded by skin sales), I don't think those are mine to give away for the same reason I wouldn't want to just give away my own hard work, or have anyone else sell it for thier own profit.

It's all part of my fiendish master plan

Chip plants subliminal messages in his templates on the least significant bit of the red channel. You are all slowly becoming skin zombies

Luckily, I have corrected this on the templates I downloaded, so I am safe

Damn, they're on to me!

*swings watch furiously*

sleep... sleeeeeeeep...

Ok point taken.

I don't want this thread to turn into a "Dianne hates skin makers" thing (I dont). That is why I included the comment about how wonderfully helpfull those that I have met have been to me.

Still, I am a big open source supporter and definately not a supporter of capitalism as a model for artistic interaction.

No offense to Chip or anyone, (really, I am using some of your templates right now ), but releasing tools is Microsofts way, releasing the source is the only appropriate model IMO.

It's the same with the clothes and the furniture. Most people I talk to are of the opinion that releasing items with at least copy and mod turned *on* is the only really fair way to approach distribution or sales. A lot of people say this all the time on these forums.

I just think skins should be the same way.

It's too late for the SAS group anyway.
I will merely release any skins that *I* make, (over and above "my" skin), as FREE with all permissions enabled. I will encourage others to do the same, but anyone can do as they wish of course.

Again, the intention is *not* to "wreck the market," it is to share.

For the record, I would also point out...

1) The free skins I got when I joined I must have showed to at least several dozen people by now, not to mention the Lensey one I wear as "me" 24/7. This has likely boosted the artists sales and skin sales in general.

2) I have also bought skins (two) even though I had some top quality ones given to me already.

3) I (like most I believe), will still buy skins even if there are hundreds of free ones around if they are well made and I want/need them.

Fake Nudity for All!

* yaaaaawn *

Don't mind me grumbling.... I'm just vacillating between saving up for one of Chip's admittedly fantastic productions or going through the agony of trying to smooth over the #$%&* seams in my homespun skin. Again. And again.

good... Gooooooooood.... your eyelids are getting heavier...

Thank you Dianne for the plug, very nice of you. I guess i got inspired by my 2nd sl bf Jimmy Thomson, and always wanted to make, but no clue how (even before Chips wonderful templates .. ty chip).. I never gave up. Usually, I'm medicated and don't really remember how i do it.. everyone seems to think i'm crazy, so why not keep up the act. I've been informed by my husband to stop spending so much time on them, no one will appricate them but me.. so that delays me sometimes. I don't mind giving out free skins, it's nice to see ppl appricate stuff. ty (that keeps me going)

I would like to open up a shop for those of you who are new at making skins or older ones who are not not to stuck up to join my new Skin shop, you can set up there for free once we get it built. I'd like for some of use to work together, so if one can't do a job, another one might? But it's hard for me to get some to even talk to me.. Location will be Pando once built. Anyway Blah Blah Blah.. meds kicking in ...