Exploring Second Life

Tag: Dinkies

  • 100th by Cica Ghost

    100th by Cica Ghost

    As usual Cica’s monsters are cute rather than scary

    Opening Impressions

    Cica Ghost’s latest build, 100th, opened on Saturday 8 November. Although I visited on the 8th,unfortunately real life has kept me from writing about it until now. This installation feels celebratory and bright, as though Cica has marked an important milestone with a small firework of colour.

    As usual, Cica has added a quotation to accompany the build. This time it is Frank Tyger’s line, “When you like your work, every day is a holiday.” She has also created a unique environmental setting for the region, which she considers an essential part of the experience.Please use it, you will see 100th exactly as she intended.

    100th by Cica Ghost

    First Impressions of the Landscape

    The first thing you notice on arrival is the colour. Many of Cica’s recent installations have used limited palettes, such as soft greys or gentle greens. 100th is quite different. Everywhere you look there are vivid reds, blues, greens and yellows, arranged in bold patterns that lift the mood at once. Just standing there made me feel more cheerful.

    whimsical red tulip like flowers
    The flora of Cica Ghost builds merit an article in itself: here giant red tulip-like flowers reach into the sky

    The island is full of steep hills, brightly painted in two or three wide bands of colour. To the south there is a natural gap between the hills.

    a bird-eye view of the island of 100th by Cica Ghost
    You can see the brightly coloured hills and the path down to the sea in this overehead picture

    A path lined with small coloured stones leads you toward the water, and if you follow it you will see Cica sailing quietly in her boat. I gave her a wave, and you may wish to do the same.

    W
    Waving to ‘Cica Ghost’

    Creatures, Details and Small Surprises

    There is so much to discover as you wander. A comical cow wearing bright blue socks stands outside a house. Huge butterflies stand here and there, their eyes moving, which is one of Cica’s familiar touches. A bright yellow dragon watches you with interest. A group of children are gathered, one of them pulling a bunny car on a string.

    a whimsical cow with bloe socks
    All the most fashionable cows wear blue socks

    Curiously the children have no facial features, which feels striking in a world where even the animals and vehicles have moving eyes. Perhaps there is a reason for it. I hope to ask Cica one day.

    whimsical children in Second Life
    Faceless children at 100th by Cica Ghost

    There are duck car rezzers to ride and places to dance, and the list of small delights continues in every direction.

    Duck car rezzers at 100th by Cica Ghost

    Rather than describe everything in detail I will simply say that it is a place worth exploring at your own pace. You will probably find other visitors enjoying themselves too. When I was there a lively group of Dinkies were having great fun.

    'Dinkies at rest at 100th' by Cica Ghost
    Dinkies at 100th by Cica Ghost – Photographer Minerva Treat
    'Dinkies' having fun at 100th by Cica Ghost - Second Life
    ‘Dinkies’ having fun at 100th – Photographer Minerva Treat

    A dear friend of mine, who sadly no longer comes to Second Life, was convinced that Cica always included a cat in her builds. If she could see this installation she would be pleased. There are three cats here, of course amusing to look at and with moving eyes as well.

    three comical-looking cats—100th by Cica Ghost
    Three cats—100th by Cica Ghost

    A Remarkable Milestone

    The name 100th is literal. This is Cica Ghost’s one hundredth installation in Second Life, which is an extraordinary achievement. She has created a Flickr album with one picture from each of the hundred builds, forming a beautiful visual record of her work. You can see it here:

    A whimsical yellow dragon lays with his chin on the ground
    A friendly looking yellow dragon – 100th by Cica Ghost

    Cica’s installations are sometimes thoughtful, often whimsical, and always full of charm. They are wonderful places for photography and even better places simply to enjoy yourself. That spirit of playfulness is alive and well in 100th by Cica Ghost.

    a giant whimsical green-bodied butterfly with yellow wings - 100th by Cica Ghost Second Life
    A giant butterfly—one of the many amusing characters in 100th by Cica Ghost

    Useful Links

    Cica’s Inworld Shop
    Cica Ghost on Marketplace
    Cica’s personal Flickr stream
    Cica Ghost Flickr Group
    All my posts about Cica Ghost and here

    A smiling sun shines over the whimsical characters of 100th by Cica Ghost in Second Life
    The Sun shines down on 100th

    If you’d like to see more places like this, follow my blog, Exploring Second Life, where I share both the grand builds and the smaller “quick stops” that make the grid so rewarding.

    Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group, where bloggers share new finds.
    Photographers: post your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.

  • A Second Look at Cica Ghost’s A-Maze-Ing

    A Second Look at Cica Ghost’s A-Maze-Ing

    Two whimsical cheerful snails meet at A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost in Second life
    Two smails meet up at A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost

    I decided to return to Cica Ghost’s current build, A-Maze-Ing, because after seeing more pictures on Flickr, I realised there was still much I hadn’t shown the first time around. Cica’s worlds are like that; they reward return visits, always offering another small detail or whimsical surprise. You can read about my first visit here

    Cica’s Cat

    One thing I missed the first time was Cica’s cat. Not always present in every build, but often appearing in one form or another, her feline friend feels like a recurring character. This time I made sure to catch it

    Whimsical cat figure at Cica Ghost’s A-Maze-Ing in Second Life, standing against a wall on which are painted daisy like flowers
    Cica Ghost’s cat at A-Maze-Ing – Second Life

    Wall art

    I also wanted to look more closely at the wall art scattered throughout the maze. Forget Banksy; these playful, cartoonish drawings aren’t rebellious so much as lighthearted and funny. They’re simple, but not amateurish, and they made me smile as I passed.

    Playful cartoon wall art, showing a nervous sheep and a flying bee inside A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost in Second Life
    Wall art at A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost – Second Life
    Whimsical drawing on the maze walls in A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost, showing a large blue whale and a smiling starfish
    Wall art at A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost
    Whimsical drawing on the maze walls in A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost, showing a large green frog and a blue daidy like flower
    wall art at A-Maze-Ing – Second Life

    Sleeping Monster

    Another detail: inside one of the little houses I found a sleeping monster. My photo doesn’t show it, but in-world you can see its chest rise and fall as it breathes. A tiny touch, but absolutely adorable.

    Sleeping monster with rising chest animation in A-Maze-Ing Second Life build
    The sleeping monster – Absolutely adorable

    Textures and Atmosphere

    The whole build has a kind of cartoonishness, but not in a crude sense, more like a deliberately stylised storybook world. The wheeled wooden animal rides, for example, hold up beautifully even zoomed in with ultra graphics. The overall light is soft and hazy and sepia tinted.

    A wide view of Cica Ghost's A-Maze-Ing, showing the sepia-tinted sky, bottle-shaped buildings, and, in the foreground, the maze.
    A wide view of A-Mazing showing the Sepia tinted sky

    Rides and Interactions

    I didn’t ride the wooden animals on my first visit, except to test out the small rides designed for Dinkies, so I made a point of testing them this time. Each one has its own whimsical pose:

    • On the duck, you sit cross-legged.
    • On the giraffe, you lie on your stomach, knees bent, feet in the air.
    • On the horse, you recline on your back, arms folded behind your head.
    • On the elephant, you sit upright, feet on either side of its head.

    There are also plenty of seats, benches, pods in the trees, and places tucked inside houses. Each has several poses, some playful, like doing a handstand on the back of a bench

    Second Life avatar riding wooden duck with playful pose at A-Maze-Ing by Cica Ghost
    Riding the wooden duck at A-Maze-Ing – Second Life
    Whimsical bench pose with avatar doing a handstand in Cica Ghost’s A-Maze-In
    Doing a handstand at A-Maze-Ing – The things bloggers have to do!

    A Visit Worth Making

    The maze itself, the bottle-shaped houses, the ladders and rides , I wrote about those in my first post, which you can find here. This follow-up is really about the little details that give A-Maze-Ing its character.

    The build is open for a week or two more, so I encourage you to visit before it’s gone. While I was there, I ran into a group of role-play campers and their leader, having a wonderful time running through the maze. It was the perfect reminder: Cica’s worlds aren’t just about looking; they’re about playing, laughing, and discovering together.

    Useful Links

    For other relevant links, see Cica’s Inworld Shop, Cica on Marketplace, Cica’s personal Flickr stream, and the Cica Flickr group. 

    For other bloggers’ views and photographs of A-Maze-Ing, take a look at posts by Inara Pey, Susann Decuir, Yse Dido Petra Haas, Hans van der Velden, Bsukmet Imniali, Bruno Denis and Caity Tobias

    A link to see all my posts about Cica Ghost.is HERE

    📌 Follow this blog for more Second Life destinations, art, and oddities.

    🌍 Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group where bloggers share new finds.
    📸 Photographers, share your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.

  • A-Maze-Ing – Cica Ghost’s New Second Life Build

    A-Maze-Ing – Cica Ghost’s New Second Life Build

    A-Maze-Ing - a Second Life build by Cica Ghost – A whimsical rideable wooden giraffe on wheels, set against a sepia-toned landscape with brick walls and painted flowers.
    A rideable wooden giraffe on wheels, at Cica Ghost’s new build ‘A-Maze-Ing’.

    A new build by Cica Ghost opened on Monday, 11th August:A-Maze-Ing. As usual, it’s accompanied by a thoughtful quote:

    “At some point we all look up and realize we are lost in a maze.” – John Green

    Before you explore, I recommend turning on the shared environment:
    World → Environment → Use Shared Environment.
    Here, the light matters; the sepia tones, soft shadows, and muted skies are part of the experience

    A whimsical maze landscape featuring red brick and grey plaster walls under a brown sepia sky, with wooden toy animals such as a giraffe and elephant in the foreground. Part of Cica Ghost's latest build A-Maze-Ing, in Second life
    The maze at A-Maze-ing

    First Impressions

    This is quite different from Cica’s previous build Among the Hills. The sky is a brown sepia, scattered with drifting clouds. Below, an island-sized maze stretches out, its walls of red brick and grey plaster intersecting at perfect right angles. The floor beneath your feet is brick too, patterned in circles like an old patio.

    Here and there, steep little hillocks rise almost vertically. Many have a single tree at the top; others are bare, and a few hold bottle-shaped houses. At the very centre, on a raised area, stand more bottle-shaped houses, mostly brick, some with partial plaster coverings, looking like something from a dream. 

    A whimsical scene featuring several bottle-shaped houses with a mix of brick and plaster, set against a cloudy, sepia-toned sky. The landscape includes twisted branches and a large wheel structure in the background. Part of Cica Ghost's latest Second life build, A-Maze-Ing
    I think the houses look like bottles – do you agree?

    Exploring the Maze

    Your arrival point is on the east of the island, where four large wooden animals wait: a giraffe, an elephant, a horse, and a duck, all with wheels and ready to ride. In true Cica style, there’s also a second, smaller set so Dinkies can join in the fun. 

    A whimsical scene featuring wooden toy animals, including an elephant, a horse, a giraffe, and a duck, all mounted on wheels. A small black cat figure sits atop the elephant. The background features a sepia-toned landscape with gentle hills.
    A second set of rideable animals is available for Dinkies

    At one end of the island, a small shop sells some of Cica’s whimsical “monsters,” including the wheeled animals. 

    Cica Ghost's small shop with whimsical art displays featuring wooden animals and snails for sale, set against a sepia-toned background, at A-Maze-Ing, in Second life
    There is a small shop if you want to buy a souvenir

    This time, there are no towering creatures like in some of her earlier builds, but I spotted a few snails and a strange rabbit-like being. And yes, their eyes move, as always. 

    a white coloured whimsical rabbit like figure, standing in front of a red background
    I think this is a rabbit – Iooks like one

    Colours, Details, and Surprises

    True to form, there are also trees and flowers, all in sepia or white, matching the sky and stonework

    viewed from above, low growing little white flowers, without visible leaves. on a stony brown substrate,. Designed by Cica Ghost. Part of her Second life, A-Maze-Ing build.
    There are always new flowers with each build by Cica – I like these.

    The only real splashes of colour come from a few painted red sections of wall and charming line drawings of cats and other animals. 

    four amusing colourful cat figures painted on a red wall. Standing in front of that is a rather grumpy looking anthropomorphic, whimsical black cat
    There were cats painted on the wall so I joined them with my grumpy Magurami cat

    The quiet charm of this build is in its details. the interplay of light, texture, and geometry, and the unexpected little discoveries around each corner. 

    a whimsical snail with large eyes, with building in the background
    A cute snail, naturally with moving eyes

    Supporting Cica’s Art

    In these tightened times, when money is scarce, I know it’s a lot to ask, but if you enjoy Cica’s work, consider leaving a contribution at one of the tip jars or perhaps buying a monster as a souvenir. Your support helps her continue to build these playful and imaginative spaces for us all to enjoy.

    a tree with the top bent horizontally, bearing grey flowers, no leaves visible. In the background is a sepia sky
    A flowering tree

    A-Maze-Ing is exactly what the name promises: a playful labyrinth, an atmospheric landscape, and another reminder of how Cica Ghost can turn the simplest shapes into something magical.

    For other relevant links, see Cica’s Inworld Shop, Cica on Marketplace, Cica’s personal Flickr stream, and the Cica Flickr group. 

    For other bloggers’ views and photographs of A-Mazing-ing, take a look at posts by Inara Pey, Susann Decuir, Yse and Dido Petra Haas

    A link to see all my posts about Cica Ghost is HERE

    📌 Follow this blog for more Second Life destinations, art, and oddities.

    🌍 Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group where bloggers share new finds.
    📸 Photographers, share your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.