Until now we have dealt with 3D-worlds, but also in the 2D-Web we can find fascinating virtual worlds art, which dos really break the real world records.

“In yet another example of how online social communities are impacting our offline world, a social networking website last week announced the breaking of a decidedly real-world record. Without a paint brush in sight, the largest piece of collaborative art has been assembled beneath the art critics noses, using nothing more than the humble computer mouse and the creativity of over 25,000 willing doodler. In the dim and not so distant past, such a feat would have presented huge logistical challenges. The previous world record for the largest number of contributors to a single painting was set in the state of Texas, USA where a steady line of budding artists added their own blob of paint to a canvas during a period spanning 3 years and seven months. The final image, tangible as it was, was essentially nothing more than a giant paint numbers, designed and lorded over by artist Jim Campbell.

Cue the internet revolution, birth of social networking and another artist with grand plans. This time round however the discernibly more left wing project architect, Paul Fisher, is less inclined to get his (or his participant’s) hand’s dirty. In laying out a vast digital canvas and some structured democratic rules, his Million Masterpiece (millionmasterpiece.com) has taken on a life of its own, breaking the record set by Jim Cambell’s monolith and creating something with almost infinite interpretations…..

The potential for this kind of collaborative artwork has been spotted by others. The infinitely layered graffiti wall we know as Drawball (drawball.com), and Markus Weichselbaum’s brilliant global mosaic theBroth (thebroth.com) both explore the concept of mass participation in single artistic projects that become more complex and meaningful over time.”

This article was published already 2007
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/virtual-world-art-breaks-real-world-record-189149.html

Which may be today the largest Canvas in the Web?

“Webcanvas is a large online digital painting project. A large ‘artwork’ that is purportedly the largest collaborative painting in the world. It is free to look at and you have to register (for free) to add your own graffiti to it – because that is essentially what it is – a giant digital graffiti wall.”

“You are given a couple of levels of zoom to get a broader overview of a segment of the wall, but the facility to look at the wall as a whole is not yet possible.”
http://petermcclory.com/2008/06/webcanvas-collaborative-online-painting/

I don’t know if  webcanvas.com is really the largest canvas in the web. Maybe you know a larger. But it is really great :0))).

More interesting online-painting tools you can find here:
http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicsblog/2008/05/online-drawing-tools-free-online-painting-sketching-tools/
http://www.go2web20.net/#tag:paint

I have added here and there a small piece  in this great pictures, which does tell its own stories about us, who have became a part of this collaborative work. This really was fun.

Greetings
Tesira

Time to tell you about my last journey. I became stranded on a pirate island in Grid4Us.

http://www.grid4us.net

And yes, at first I was a bit in fear :0))). But as I have cooked a meal for the pirates, they have allowed me to have a look at their wonderful ships.

Have you ever thought about, why a ship does swim in a virtual world and why you do sink on the ground of the Oceans? Well in our real world Archimedes has long ago given answers to these questions.

“The most widely known anecdote about Archimedes tells of how he invented a method for determining the volume of an object with an irregular shape. According to Vituvius, a new crown in the shape of a laurel wreath had been made for King Hiero II, and Archimedes was asked to determine whether it was of solid gold, or whether silver had been added by a dishonest goldsmith. Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not melt it down into a regularly shaped body in order to calculate its density.”

“While taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water in the tub rose as he got in, and realized that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. For practical purposes water is incompressible, so the submerged crown would displace an amount of water equal to its own volume. By dividing the weight of the crown by the volume of water displaced, the density of the crown could be obtained. This density would be lower than that of gold if cheaper and less dense metals had been added. Archimedes then took to the streets naked, so excited by his discovery that he had forgotten to dress, crying ” Eureka!” – “I have found it!”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes

Would Archimedes come into a virtual world, he would find similar physical laws. But here doesn’t act the same powers. Here the physics is implemented in the program. Who knows, maybe it is similar in our real world. We probably never could find it out.

Diabolus Svenska, the creator of this impressive ships has made with me a little tour through the Megasim.  His ship not only looks really great, it also does really float and sail. So an exiting day does end, but sure I will come back and search for the sunken treasure.

Greetings
Tesira

“In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatāra refers to a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, and is mostly translated into English as “incarnation”, but more accurately as “appearance” or “manifestation”.

Well as I have created some years ago my avatar in Second Life, I haven’t had the feeling to come from heaven to the earth. But yes – first I have dealt with my appearance in this world :0)))

I was a bit gray and  it has needed some time for this metamorphose.

“The Sanskrit noun avatāra is derived from the verbal root tṝ “to cross over”, joined with the prefix ava “off , away , down”……Related to the concept of avatar is that of vibhūti, that is, the idea of manifestations of the divine in various aspects of human life and the natural world.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar

Yes we create us in the virtual worlds and this lets feelings in us and also the Divine in us.

But what do we want to be in this worlds? There are so many possibilities.

“Digital media allows us to make both dramatic and subtle changes to our self-representations with an ease not available elsewhere. These changes can greatly affect how we interact with others in virtual environments. For example, facial and behavioral mimicry can make us more likeable and persuasive. In addition to gaining social advantages, our avatars (digital representations of ourselves) can also change how we behave. This occurs via conforming to expected behaviors of the avatar – a process referred to as the Proteus Effect….”

“….I conducted a series of four pilot studies that explore the Proteus Effect. In the first study, I found that participants in attractive avatars walked closer to and disclosed more information to a stranger than participants in unattractive avatars. In the second study, I found that participants in taller avatars negotiated more aggressively in a bargaining task than participants in shorter avatars. In the third study, I demonstrated that the Proteus Effect occurs in an actual online community. And in the final study, I showed that the Proteus Effect persists outside of the virtual environment. Placing someone in a taller avatar changes how they consequently negotiate in a face-to-face setting.”

http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001569.php

Over time I have learned to create my own skins and shapes. Every avatar has his or her own character and every character has changed also my behavior a bit and I have expressed new sides of me. My avatar has taught me more about me, than I ever could imagine and sure it is the creation of us in virtual worlds also a very personal art.

From time to time I see now a avatar in a skin, I have created. Sure they are familiar to me, but also they bring much new in this character, which lets me always smile. It seems, we give our avatar a soul – “from heaven to earth”.

If you would like to make your own skins, have a look at the great free templates, which the brilliant creator Eloh Eliot has made:

http://sites.google.com/site/another/resources

Don’t miss, to watch the 1000 avatar project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwihVB2g8Eo&feature=youtu.be&a

Greetings,
Tesira

Where we will go today? Well that’s clear. Our way dos lead us to Cologne.

Let’s start  in front of the Cologne Cathedral.

“Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans.”

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/292

And here today also will start the 3D Carnival street parade in Second Life.

“The “fifth season of the year” as Carnival is called, begins on November 11th at 11:11 AM. But the real “crazy days” do not start before the so-called Weiberfastnacht (Shrove Thursday), the Thursday before Rosenmontag (Carnival Monday). The “crazy days” of Carnival are celebrated with parties on the streets, in public squares and in pubs. Closing times for pubs and bars are suspended for the duration of the festival.

Traditionally the gathering of the colourful Corps troops can be seen on Saturday at the Neumarkt. On Carnival Sunday school groups and borough parades take place all over the city. But the highlight of the street carnival is Rose Monday with the march of “Cologne’s Dreigestirn” or Triumvirate – the Prince, the Peasant and the Maiden – in the kilometre-long Rosenmontag procession going through the city. Carneval ends two days later on Ash Wednesday.”

http://www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/events/cologne_carnival

“If you ever wanted to attend a special German Carnival Parade, then you should not miss the big Germany in 3D “Rosenmontag” (Carnival Monday-which is one of the biggest Carnival days in Germany) event on several regions in the Germany in 3D inworld area – A Resident run project, that is offering a wide variety of content, events and experiences for the German speaking community and is supported by Linden Lab. – I am sure, also as a non-German speaker you are very welcome ”

“Cologne, Koblenz and Munich – plus a number of inworld institutions such as the Magic Builder from GNC and the Greenies are going to perform a Carnival street parade, that is going to start off in front of the Cologne Cathedral, then heading to Koblenz and from there to the Munich region where the  attendees will be welcomed with a dance show. After the parade, Cologne and Munich are inviting to their Carnival Parties.”

https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/events/blog/2010/02/15/carnival-parade-and-events-in-germany-in-3d

I have met there already the first Carnival guests. It is a great fun. Meet you there.

Helau & Alaaf
Tesira

Maddy Gyniod has brought  this article on the way of the Second Life History.

Well  I couldn’t determine if the Beach Ball, which was built by Philip Linden on April 4, 2002, or the Beanstalk  from Steller Sunshine, the first resident of Second Life ^® is the oldest object in in SL.

“A beach ball is the answer!”

“Have you been to the Beanstalk (the oldest User-Generated Content in Second Life?”

But from the top I have had a great view and I have found much more places, which tells about the history of Second Life ^®.  This is  really a journey worth taking.

“Reportedly, this all started when Phillip Linden was in the shower. He envisioned this vast green, continuous landscape, distributed across multiple servers…  and went on to build it…..”

Dip in the LindenWorld August 2001:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK3×3FNlleU

Following these  footsteps, I have found the Valentines Sun and an old Map.

“Snakes and birds roamed the land, feeding on abandoned objects. You could shoot trees, watch them catch fire, and it would spread to other trees.You could “Edit” other people’s avatars, and move them around. Steller apparently had lots of fun throwing Mac off of cliffs in the early days. :) No economy, or currency, or permissions, or any concept of ownership. ……”

Have a look at the timeline.

“On March 13th, 2002, the first resident  (Steller Sunshine) joined Second Life and the public beta started seven month later in October. The grid consisted of 16 regions, , the first one beeing called Da Boom, which might be a reference to the Big Bang of the virtual world. Da Boom, as well as the other early region additions were all named after alleyways in San Francisco. This was a nod to Linden Lab’s original location on Linden Street. The original San francisco regions, from November of 2002, included Clara, Clyde, Da Boom, Federal, Freelon, Hawthorne, Minna, Natoma, Ritch, Shipley, Stanford, Stillman, Taber, Varney, Welsh, and Zoe.”

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/History_of_Second_Life

“Behold the primitar, in all it’s ancient glory! They once were the AV of Linden World, but are now merely a fading memory in SL’s past. Help keep the memory alive and learn more about where SL has been by enjoying this recreation of our avatar ancestor. ”

Here in the Historical Museum of Second Life ^® you can get this avatar and much more information about the good old times of Second Life ^®.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Phobos/220/158/42

Greetings
Tesira