Beginnings
Spider has always been artistically inclined. From the early age of five or six years old, Spider loved to draw. He wanted to be a cartoonist. He was fascinated by claymation in the 80s.
He started out drawing with pen and paper. Now, he is the proud owner of a Wacom Intuus and he just loves using it. It has given him more room to exercise his creativity and bring his visions to life.
Technology has been vital in the production of this avatar. He learned zbrush and blender. At first he created his animations with QAvimator, but now he relies on Blender and Avastar.
In the 90s, he worked as a Disc Jockey in several clubs. He got into SL because of music actually. A friend from Gridstream Productions told him about SL and he started out as a DJ in a small lounge, Voodoo Lounge. He has been playing the drums for 8 or 9 years. That lounge later became an entire sim. The response from his fans was enormously amazing. He took requests, got personal with the audience, and made dedications. He was running that show for 2.5 years, Hardcore Primetime with DJ Spider then he decided to quit. It was time for him to move on and "evolve" into something bigger and better. He wanted more time to release his products.
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| November 25, 2005 |
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| 3/2/06 |
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| crowd shot at Hardcore Primetime Show |
Spider Productions
Spider Productions started a few weeks after his DJ career in SL took off. He would tinker around making little items like wristbands, skull rings...things from the punk/goth genre, just things he likes to wear in real life. People at his shows would come up to him and ask him where he got his stuff. Later on, a friend bought him his first vendor system from Jevn and Spider Productions was born.
The skull ring at his main store was his first test in mesh. The eyes look excellent and clear. Here is a link to one:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/SP-Sinister-Skull-Ring-SE-BLACK-V2-SteelBlackBlue/4246619
Technology of the Dragon Guardian
While the dragon's body is rigged mesh, the eyes are prim. He made the eyes prim so that the textures could be changed and animated separately from the body. The tail is rigged as well, having 3 positions. Later on he plans to release modification packs for the next generation Dragon Guardian avatars.
The wings are truly phenomenal! He built several joints in each wing and they flap so realistically in a very fluid motion. You have to see it up close to believe it!
The great thing about this avatar is that it uses very few scripts so lag will not be an issue.
It will fit in any roleplay sim. It can be a quadriped avatar or biped avatar. To get the quad effect you need to get the quad mod folder from the package and be sure to wear the deformer and the shape. It is as easy as that!
The jaws even move! He created 3 jaws and they move up and down to simulate talking when you voice or type in local.
Did I mention the claws and ridges can be recolored? They sure can. It is similar to how you would recolor nails. You can recolor the bones along the wings as well. This dragon is so customizable you will think it must be rather amazing and too expensive. The good news is, it is affordable and not going to break your bank. Spider wanted it to be available to anyone.
Uniqueness
It is inspired by video games and movies like Dungeons and Dragons, Eragon, Dragon Heart, and Lord Of The Rings.
Availability of the Dragon
The dragon will be available for purchase starting on November 30th. You can see his flickr for photos.
Future plans
In the future, he intends to sell accessories for the dragons like dragon armor, dragon clothing, and weapons.
He definitely has plans to return to DJing. A friend of his did a survey about 2 weeks ago about whether anyone remembered a DJ Spider. Out of 1500 people surveyed, 95% remember who DJ Spider was and wanted to see his shows again.
Parting Words
Spider believes that his Dragon Guardian avatar is his "greatest achievement and it was one hell of a journey." He learned so much about scripting and the new technology made available by Linden Lab.
That is all I will share for today. I have other photos I will share, but another time!
Have fun and enjoy the art!
Victoria Lenoirre
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