Second Life/Building
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Contents |
Getting Started
In Second Life, objects are created by using prims (or primitives) which are 3D polygonal shapes. 13 basic shapes are offered for users in order to construct desired objects.
How to Create Prims
First, click on the tab titled "Build" at the bottom of your screen. A window should appear in the upper left hand corner. Next, within that small window click on the "Create" button - the fourth button from the left with a wand on it. Once this button is clicked you will see various prims. Click on the the prim you wish to use then click on the land with your mouse button to place the prim in land.
Modifying Prims
Refer back to the "Build" window and click the button titled "Edit". This will bring up a variety of options such as "Position Rotate, Stretch" etc. Each option will create different "handles" on the prim in order to manipulate its current state. You may use your mouse and alter these handles manually with your mouse. Another option and a more precise way to alter the prim is to click on the tab "More >>" within the window. This will bring up 5 new tabs including General, Object, Features, Texture and Content.
General
- Name
Within General you can name your object. I highly recommend naming your objects if you are going to save them to your inventory. It will help you stay organized as well as indicated what the object is.
- Description
You may also type a description of you object to help you stay organized however I rarely use this feature.
- Creator, Owner & Group
These just indicate who has created the objects and who is the owner as well as the group the owner belongs to. The creator and the owner are not necessarily the same. Creators can give special permissions of sharing their objects.
Permissions
There are four boxes that you can check in order to create specific permissions for an object.
- Share with Group
Within SL, people create groups as a way of communicating common interests with others. You have to be invited to a group as well as confirm this invitation. If you are unsure whether or not you belong to a group or are unsure of all your groups - simply right click on your avatar. Click on either "profile" or "groups" and this will give you a list of your groups.
Clicking on the box to "Share with group," simply means that anyone from your group can copy and/or take the object you have created.
- Allow anyone to move
Checking this box means that anyone SL can move your object. I strongly suggest clicking this box if you are just experimenting. If you are in a "sandbox" then it is unnecessary to be concerned with checking these boxes.
Sandboxes are designed for beginner builders as well as experiential building. Sandboxes are "cleaned up" after a number of hours ridding of any prims that lay in the area so make sure to save any objects you want to your inventory (right click on object and "take copy"). You can find sandboxes by clicking the "Search" tab on the bottom of your screen and typing "sandbox" - a list will appear. Click on one of the places and then click on the tab, "Teleport" on the right of the screen. Allowing others to move your object and sandboxes are important because you don't want to accidentally rez (or lay down) a prim in an area that is not yours.
If you are building on your own property or have permissions to build on someone else's property for something that you want to be permanent and do not want to be altered then leave this box unchecked. You don't want to spend time building a house, for example, to have it accidentally damaged by others.
- Allow anyone to copy
Simply means anyone in SL can copy your object.
- For Sale
This option allows you to put objects that you have created up for sale. To put and object on sale, click the "for sale" box and then name the price in the box labeled "Price L$______"
- Next Owner Can
This option allows you to determine whether or not the next owner can modify, copy and/or resell/give away. The next owners not only include people you have sold to but also people that you have allowed to copy/take objects.
Object
- Position, Size & Rotation
X, Y and Z coordinates are given for precise alignment. Especially useful when working with more than one prim.
- Building Block Type
This option allows you to change the shape of a highlighted prim.
PATH CUT
Two different path cuts, B & E, allows you to make standardized cuts into a highlighted prim.
HOLLOW
This option allows you to make a solid prim hollow to the degree of your choice.
TWIST, TAPER & SHEER
Three more options provided in order to alter the state of your highlighted prim.
Texture
Default Texture & Color
SL gives you a variety of default textures. To change the texture of a prim(s) simply highlight the prim(s) and click on the tabtitled texture within the build window. Double click on the box titled texture and another window should appear. Browse the different textures by scrolling through them or try searching for a texture by typing in a word at the top (i.e. metal). Adjust the texture mapping by adjusting the boxes on the left under the title "Face" (Repeats Per Face: Horizontal & Vertical, Rotation, Repeats Per Metere and Offset: Horizontal & Vertical. To adjust the color simply double click on the box titled color and choose the color you wish.
Mapping, Shininess, Bumpiness
Alter the mapping, determine the shininess and/or bumpiness by clicking on the corresponding boxes and then scrolling down to desired choice.
Importing Texture
It cost L$10 to import a texture into SL. Importing a texture allows you to have more options and variety for the type of texture you want and applying an imported texture to an object makes it more unique.
To import a texture you must first find a texture to import. You can create your own textures by using a computer program such as photoshop or you can draw your own and then scan the drawings into the computer. Another and simpler approach is to find textures on the web at a copyright free sight (i.e istockphoto.com). It it necessary to pick a copyright free texture because the same copyright laws apply in SL as they do in real life. Save the texture to a place that is easy to find. Next, refer back to SL and click on "File" and scroll down to "Upload Image" or your can just push the keys Command U. A window will pop up in which you will need to find your saved texture. Once you find it, click on the file. Another window will pop up in which you will need to name your texture. After you have done that click on the button "Upload $L10". You will receive confirmation that your texture has successfully uploaded. To apply the texture to the object first click on your object so that it is highlighted yellow. Then refer back to the "Build" window and texture tab. Proceed to apply the texture as described earlier. It will probably be easiest to find your texture by typing the name in the search bar.
Content
Scripting
Scripts allow prims to gain life. Putting scripts on different prims, can allow prims to change their location, alter their appearance, and to coordinate tasks with other prims.
Land
This tab located in the Build window allows you to adjust the terrain in which you are going to build on. Experiment with the seven land tools - Select Land, Flatten Land, Raise Land, Lower Land, Smooth Land, Roughen Land and Revert Land - in order to achieve desired terrain.
Linking Prims
As you start becoming more of an experienced builder, you will want to use multiple prims to create an object. It is important to "link" these prims. Linking prims allows a multi-prim object to become one cohesive object. There are two ways of linking prims. First, hold down the shift key and left click on two or more objects that you would like to link (the prims should all be highlighted yellow). Then, click on "Tools" at the top tool bar and scroll down to the option "Link". All the prims should turn blue except for one yellow. This lets you know that your prims are now linked therefore they will all move in sync and are dependent of one another. The second and faster way of linking is to highlight the prims by pressing the shift key and left clicking on prims and then press the command key and the letter "L" and this will achieve the same effect.
Unlinking Prims
To unlink prims simply shift and then click on prims you would like to unlink and then go to "Tools" >> "Unlink" or simply press command key, shift key as well as "L"
note: You can only link prims that you own.
Building and Viewing Angles
Here is the easiest and most effective way of viewing objects while building: first, press the alt key - a square magnify glass with a plus sign in the middle should appear. Next, click on the object that you would like to rotate around then keeping the alt key pressed down use your left/right arrow keys to move around the object and your up/down keys to zoom in and out. You can also view the top and bottom of an object by pressing the apple key while simultaneously pushing the alt key then use the up/down arrows.
