Day 83: Apollo from the Water

Welcome to the Lost Gardens of Apollo! OK, most of you have probably heard about this place already. But since I came here twice this week, I thought I should at least mention it. (And no, its not what you think; I came here to CHAT with friends, OK? :P)

So I thought I could put a different spin on this...Im a mermaid again today! Yay! :)



Bet youve never seen Apollo like this :)

Like Bliss Basin, Apollo is a dating destination. But whereas Bliss focuses on romantic walks around the lake, Apollo is about finding a secluded spot for some conversations with your friends. (Not sure if you want me to mention your name...)



And there are lots of secluded spots with pose balls for this purpose. But before you leap to conclusions, Apollo is designed for talking only. No funny stuff! :P

But if you are looking for a place to sit and chat (doesnt have to be romantic), Apollo is just perfect for that. The areas are set far enough apart to provide a little privacy (if you are concerned about privacy, you can use IMs). And almost every spot has a wonderful view, whether of the sea or gardens.



Apollo also has a number of destination spots. Im standing on the Bridge to Nowhere. Across the gardens is Salsas y Boleros, a couples dance area. There are also a number of shops near the harbor.



Heehee and there are these floating pools, perfect for a mermaid to take a dip! :) Theres also a big waterfall, with interesting poseballs underneath (guys, remember to bring a ring :P).



And dont forget to visit the Apollo Towers, 2 giant towers each with multiple floor! There are teleporters from the ground that will take you into the towers. This is the top of the taller tower. Its so high, all you can see are clouds! :) However...



Its good for skydiving! Ever seen a mermaid skydive? :P

To come to the Lost Gardens of Apollo, click the Search button at the bottom of your screen, select the Places tab, and enter "apollo" as the keyword. The SLURL is Apollo (177,119,25).



Youve probably noticed my new set of mermaid tails! :) Since Ive been wearing the same tail for weeks now, I figured I needed a new set. Also, Ive never made a set of mermaid tails before, so today is as good a day as any.

This mermaid tail uses the same texture as the skirt from the Small Town Girl outfit. I chose this texture because the raw texture has a scale-like appearance to it. Its also shiny and pretty :) Unfortunately, the texture is not repeating, so there is a seam between the front and back panels. The seam is OK on cloths, but mermaids arent supposed to have seams! So next time, I will have to use a repeating pattern to make the seam less noticeable.

When a mermaid has her tail on, her feet are kept together with toes pointed straight down all the time. This is done via a special Animation Override (AO) with some mermaid animations. Here is more information on becoming a mermaid.

The tail actually has many components. The main part of the tail is a long skirt, incidently called a mermaid skirt because of the long, tight fit. Underneath, I am wearing pants with the same texture, since the legs occasionally poke through the skirt when moving. On top, I am wearing a shirt that has only a small strip of texture. The shirt blends the mermaid skirt into the body using irregular edges.



Just below the skirt, there are lower leg attachments that join the bottom of the skirt to the feet area. These are 2 tapered cylinders, one for each leg. Below that, I am wearing a pair of shoes with a completely transparent texture (Alpha Channel all black) and all zero settings. I am also wearing a pair of socks with the same texture as the skirt. All this serves to minimize the appearance of the feet.

Below the feet, there is another prim that extends my legs slightly (because mermaids are supposed to have long tails). The fins are actually made up of 3 flexi prims. The center one uses the same texture as the skirt and acts as the base for attachment. The other 2 flexi prims sandwich the center one and has the mermaid fin texture.



I had a hard time making a fin texture that looks even decent. Because the rest of the tail has such a complex texture, I could not simply use a solid color for the fin. I ended up using the skirt texture for the opaque portion of the fin. For the semi-transparent bottom part of the fin, I cut away part of the skirt texture and added a strip of white just below the skirt texture. Then I used the Smudge Tool with a Strength of 90 and started pulling down lines from the edge between the skirt texture and the white strip, similar to how furballs are made. I reduced the Strength gradually as I moved towards the outer edge to produce shorter strokes.

Whew! Thats a lot of pieces for a tail. :P But it looks pretty good! Next time, I will definitely use a repeating pattern in order to minimize all the seams.



Hmmm...ever get the feeling youre not alone?