Artist Home

Artist Documentation
This page contains information about content creation for OpenSimulator including best practices, guides, tools, examples, collaborative projects and of course Creative Commons licensed content.

Discussion group for people interested in creating content for Metaverse: [Open Content for Metaverse]

Some useful resources of free material:

A great summary sheet: [3DCG for the hobbyist -- useful products and links]

A hobbyist animators blog with all kinds of goodies: [cgspeed]

A source for free animations, 3d models, textures, etc.: [ShareCG]

A huge 3d graphics source: [Renderosity]

A 3d Artists community: [3dcommune]

Runtime DNA: [www.runtimedna.com Free Downloads]

Adult oriented content: [RaunchyMinds Freebies Download]

This is not an exhaustive list, please add to it if you can!

I have tried to include sites which have free Poser/Opensim compatible content which could be used for "personal use" in your own "world". You must check the licensing for any commercial uses.

Textures
Textures are images used to cover surfaces of 3d models and terrain. Textures can be anything form 1x1 to 1024x1024 images. Most of the textures for buildings, items and clothes are usually 512x512.

Guides

 * Creating tileable textures: []
 * Creating and Using Shadow Maps by Robyn Huffaker

Tools

 * [GIMP] - GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Content Libraries

 * Torley Textures is a collection of over 600 textures by Torley Linden. (New download location: http://torley.s3.amazonaws.com/Torley-Textures.zip)

Models
Models are 3 dimensional objects which are formed from faces and textures. Models come in many flavors but currently OpenSimulator supports parametrized primitives and sculpted primitives. Parametrized primitives can be created in world with build functionality. Sculpted primitives are defined by a special bitmap image which can be created with 3d modeling programs which support sculptures.

Yet unsupported in core OpenSimulator are 3d models which can be created with 3d modeling softwares like Blender and be saved in various formats. RealXtend module to OpenSimulator already supports 3d models.

Guides

 * Learn to Make Second Life Sculpties in Blender by Robyn Huffaker

Tools

 * [Blender] - Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.
 * [Wings 3d] - Sculpty editor
 * [Qavimator] - Animation for OpenSim avatars

Projects

 * OpenSimulator Avatar

Terrain
Currently OpenSimulator terrains consists of heightmap and textures for different directions and heights. OpenSimulator terrain can be imported in raw terrain format from several terrain editor tools.

Guides

 * Terrain Tips
 * Using L3DT
 * Terrain making
 * Detailed cross-region terrain making

Tools

 * L3DT

Content Libraries

 * Free Terrains

Additional Terrain Resources
TERRAIN EDITING

There is now a Plugin made and available for the free program GIMP by Domino Designs. See http://dominodesigns.info/project/gimpterrainwhich is easy to install and allows you to bring in RAW files and edit them.

GIMP is available free and downloadable at http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ GIMP is available for most Operating Systems and Platforms and is User Supported with many features and functions far beyond Terrain Editing.

REFERENCES / SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCES &amp; APPLICATIONS: http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Tweaking Tutorial: Creating OpenSim terrain with Blender http://stringofbits.net/2009/09/tutorial-creating-opensim-terrain-with-blender/ Some Free &amp; Some Not, Terrains @ http://www.rexxed.com/category/terrain/ Tutorial on creating terrain files with Terragen as well as using Photoshop to edit terrain files and create megaregion terrain with a library of free terrain files

Spinmass Virtual Creations, Has Two Products for Terrain Making and Generation which are Free Downloads. Look at Terrain Sculptor &amp; Bailiwick. They are available from http://www.spinmass.com/

Three easy to use Online Image Splitters

[Http://www.chami.com/html-kit/services/is/ http://www.chami.com/html-kit/services/is/]

http://www.sliceimage.com/

http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/online-image-splitter/

Sounds
Sounds clips can be used within (scripted) objects and as part of gestures. Current OpenSimulator sound formats are PCM WAVE (.wav) 16-bit/44.1KHz/mono or stereo with a maximum length of 10.00 seconds.

Tools

 * [Audacity] - Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

Content Libraries

 * [The Freesound Project] - The Freesound Project is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds.

Music
Music can be played via parcel media as either streamed or from a single music file.

Content Libraries

 * [Jamendo] - Jamendo is a community of free, legal and unlimited music published under Creative Commons licenses.