Super Sad :(

Linden Labs CEO, Philip Rosedale has been quoted saying he is "super sad" in regard to some of the serious problems Second Life is experiencing. This inspired my creation of an emo superhero named Super Sad. Sometimes, laughter takes the edge off. I hope this will put a smile on some faces. The thought of emo super hero made me chuckle. Anyway, the t-shirt is available for FREE at Nocturnal Threads main store in Pimushe. You can also get a real life version in my online store along with more SL humorous apparel and GingerDead merchandise.

In case you are wondering, yes I sent Philip a tee in world today when I released it. I think he has a sense of humor and wont want to kick my virtual ass or anything. :)

OTHER NEWS:

For Christmas I received some things to keep my creative juices flowing. Clay, Sculpey, sculpting tools and acrylic paints in black, red and white (GingerDead colors) as well as a full version of ArtRage. The clay was given to me because I have been toying with the idea of doing some one of a kind GingerDead stuff. I guess I have no choice now. (thanks mom!) As for ArtRage, I've had the free version for some time but it is too damn limiting. Working with 'wet' digital paint and not being able to use layers is impossible. So now that I have the full version I'm trying to learn to really make use of this awesome program.

I did one airbrush style painting last week that I thought would be interesting on clothing. It worked out better than I expected. Today's release, Skull Graf is the result. If I can get better at digital drawing and painting, you will see more artwork on apparel from Nocturnal Threads.

Second Life has quite frankly been pretty damn awful lately. It has taken me two days just to get these two shirts created, boxed and up in my store. Needless to say, I'm super sad that the functionality of SL is slowing down my ability to release new items. I really hope they pull it together soon.

Keep an eye out on January 1st for an article about me in SL Business Magazine. I haven't read the article or seen the layout yet, but they seem really professional and I have a feeling it will be great.

As the year closes, let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been supportive. Nocturnal Threads customers, GingerDead fans, without you it would be pointless for me to continue. Thanks sincerely for buying my stuff, sending me encouraging messages about my designs and reading my webcomic. I plan to continue to put my heart and soul into everything I do and hope to keep improving. I hope your New Year is anything but super sad. :P

Flexi Plaid, Christmas Noose and SL fun

Poor Vendetta has been neglected in the GingerDead Collection thus far. She has some tees but not an outfit of her own. Since she is so sassy (ok bitchy, but i'm being nice!), I gave this one an extra dose of attitude.

I have been thinking a lot the fashion in Second Life and it's ability to translate into real life. This outfit was designed with that vision in mind as are a lot of my outfits. I think it's quite possible we will see new fashion trends emerge from virtual reality. More on that topic another time.

In GingerDead news, a new comic is up: Christmas Noose Haiku. This is the second one that I have gotten more experimental with and used a haiku in the strip. Last time I did that the response was great and a lot of fans posted replies in haiku form. I invite you to do so this time around as well. I loved reading your contributions on the Friendship haiku and look forward to reading some more. www.GingerDead.com

In SL news - BLEEEEHHHHHH! I crash every few minutes. It may be my puter and I will troubleshoot the hell out of it tomorrow. I had an interview today, new products to post and a store to move and rearrange and let me tell you spontaneous crashing is no where near as fun as combustion. Anyone who has IMd a question or comment and not gotten a reply, this is the reason. It's been this way for days now and it's making my Second Life quite hellish. Sorry, if your message went unanswered. I'm not a snobby designer who ignores customer IMs, I promise. I simply lose them due to crashing. :(

Have a lovely Solstice and happy holidays to all.

Despite the universe's efforts to smite me....

I managed to release a new outfit today called Oceana. It's another one inspired by graphic novels, female action figures in films and just plain girls that can beat up boys. I'm happy with it, but it was not the release I had hoped for.

In the wee hours of the morning (lately i get to bed at 6 or 7 am ) I was in this cool zone working on a very detailed addition to the GingerDead collection. I had all my pieces ready and was just figuring out where I wanted character embellishments placed when Photoshop exploded. This has happened a few times in the last week or so and I have lost work, but not to the extreme I did last night. Hours of work just poof... gone. :( I know I should save often, but PS had always been reliable until now and I was just so into the work that I never got around to saving. BLEH.

Anyway, I spent time troubleshooting and then doing a 'repair' of PS, so hopefully it's okay now. To test it I created Oceana, never saving as I went along and daring PS to smite me again. It did not.

New Release

As promised, I'm trying to release new outfits all week. This one took me longer because Photoshop exploded in the middle of designing it and I lost everything. :( Nimbus is all hand drawn and shaded and has a cute flexi skirt similar to those catholic school uniforms that make boys drool. I love the stripey socks and colors. Wearing the set earlier, I received several compliments from strangers, so I think that's a good sign it will be a hit. I hope you enjoy.

Reminders:
Today is Wednesday and that means there is a new comic up on GingerDead and Friends. Check it out. :)

It's also an update day so no Second Life until 12pm SLtime. Let's keep our fingers crossed this one goes nice and smooth.

Top Model fans: the British premiere is tonight at 8pm. Yeah, I know it's no Project Runway, but I really love to see the creative photoshoots and they often are modeling some designer threads, so it's something to watch until Project Runway returns.

Something new at last!

I must have cursed myself when I said December looked like it might get off to a slow start. After SL Troubles died down from that horrific update, I had to set up new stores, move a couple of others, etc. By the time I got caught up and was ready to design I got really sick. I haven't had a geniune flu for about two years. Anyway, it knocked me out of commission for a good week but I'm back. :)

Whenever I can't design for more than a week, it makes me mental. I feel so much better having finally completed something. RAWR is now available at Nocturnal Threads main store in Pimushe. The outfit is inspired by the incredibly sexy women in graphic novels that can kick some serious ass.

As you know I replicated outfits from films such as Aeon Flux, Tank Girl , the Fifth Element and Fight Club. It was a lot of fun doing those, but it's more fun to pull from my own imagination. I pictured this one as something that could translate well into a film. I always thought that would be an amazing job to have (designing wardrobes and costumes for movies) and in Second Life I can do that. YAY! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

I didn't make a huge announcement about this, but I did release some GingerDead holiday cut out decorations. They are really inexpensive (50L and under) and are copy and mod so you can rez a bunch if you like and decorate your home or club. These are only available at my main store. Also, I released one winter themed art print of Lenoir entitled "Let it Snow". incidentally these designs are available in real life on apparel and as greeting cards in the GingerDead Section of my store. You can also still shop for humorous tees based on our Second Lives here.

I'll leave you with a photo of the art print: Lenoir - Let it Snow:

Hello December

November wasn't as productive as I would have liked, but I did manage to release some designs that I'm really pleased with. SUGARrush pictured here is one of my faves. It's my first babydoll style and I feel like I have really mastered the flexiprims on this one. I feel like a cupcake when I wear it. :) I think I'll do some more babydolls very soon.

It's a little discouraging right now as SL's new update is really making things impossible to work. I'm afraid December is going to get off to a slow start until I can work again.

If you would like to see all of November's new releases check out my news area of my site. I find it much easier to post images there and keep a nice archive of latest NT and GingerDead news.

Speaking of GingerDead, the webcomic is really coming along nicely. I'm gaining readers each week and getting some encouraging feedback.

I had a lot of fun with one strip I did which was experimental and included a haiku and image, rather than the usual style. I was surprised at the terific response and the fact that readers began replying in the comments area in haiku format. Thanks Gabe for starting the trend. Here's the comic if anyone wants to get in on the haiku action.

To kick off the holiday season, I did some drawings of each GingerDead character which I used to design some real life greeting cards and shirts in my cafepress store. I think the idea of goth or alternative christmas / holiday greeting cards is pretty cool. Most people will prefer Hallmark, I'm sure. But, why bore your cool pale pals with the usual stuff when you can send them a GingerDead card instead? :P Of course I did versions of the designs for SL too, so currently you can get special GingerDead holiday tees and sweater sets at my main store through Christmas.

Finally, a pic of my latest mens release called Unsteady. I really enjoyed combining different patterns for an ecclectic look. It's mod and transfer. Girls just mod the fit of the pants and this set will look great on you too.