Tonight, I'm going to show you how to make your own art to decorate your SL home.
Step 1 First, find the image you want to use. Save the image to your hard drive. This can be a family photo, or any image you find on the internet that you like. You should avoid using copyrighted or trademarked images if you are going to share or sell your art.
The image I'm going to use for our little tutorial is this cute photo titled "Puppy Love" by H. Armstrong Roberts. Here is the image I found on the internet:
Click on the thumbnail of the picture to see the full size. It's necessary to find an image of sufficient size, at least 3 inches by 3 inches or so, to have a reasonable resolution on the image you will upload into SL. Notice that this image already includes the frame. That makes it easy. We'll talk about making frames for your unframed photos and paintings later.
Step 2 Upload the image to Second Life. There is a fee of 10 linden for the upload. That's why I sell most of my art for 10 linden. It's just as cost effective to buy my art as it is to make your own! Of course, if you make your own, you have the satisfaction of creation. Imagine someone complimenting you on your art selection and you say, "Oh, that! I made it myself."
To upload your image, you must be logged in to SL. Now, click "File" at the top left hand corner of your screen. A drop down menu will appear. Click "Upload Image L$10". This will bring up a browser screen in which you can select your image. If you don't know where your image is, get out of SL and use the Search menu. I'm a Microsoft Windows user, so if you use another Operating System your screens may look different. :)
Once you have selected your image, a preview screen will appear. Here you can see what your image will look like when it is uploaded. If it looks blurry, wait a few seconds for it to "rez". You will see that the name of the image is highlighted. It's a good idea to save the name on the clipboard by hitting Ctl-C. Now, Click the button that says "Upload (L$10)".
The image is now uploaded as a "texture" in SL, and the texture will appear on your SL screen. The texture will have the same name as your image. If you don't like that name, now is a good time to change it. Open your inventory, right click on the name of the texture, select "rename" and overtype it with the name you want. You will also notice an informational message from SL saying "You paid L$10 to upload." Your account will be debited 10 linden. If you have difficulty uploading, check your account balance. If you have less than 10 linden in your account, the image will not upload, and the error message is not very informative.
Step 3 Build an object on which you can display your image.. The texture you have just created needs to be "applied" to an object before it will appear inworld. We'll build a small flat panel that you can use for this purpose.
You must have build permission in the space where you will be building. If you do not have an SL home, you can use a sandbox for building. To find a sandbox, just search for "sandbox" in the SL search menu. If you have the build permission, there will be a button at the bottom of your screen that says "Build". Alternately, you can bring up the "edit" menu by entering Ctl-3 and then select the thing that looks like a magic wand. We're going to use the default build mode and create a wooden box.
When you press the "Build" radio button, notice that your cursor turns into a magic wand! How cool is that? Place the cursor where you want your box to appear, hit the left mouse key and, voila, you have built a box!
The edit menu will also appear on your screen. We will need to edit the box so that it will look good hanging on you wall. We'll do this by using just one function in the edit menu. You will see in the edit menu that the default edit tool "Position" is checked. Click in the space next to "Stretch". Now the "Stretch" tool is turned on.
Click the box again. Now you will see small boxes around the edges of your box. Each of these smaller boxes is a handle that you can click and drag to change the shape of your box. Click and drag the green handle to make the box wider. Click and drag the red handle to make it longer. When you have the box as big as you want it to be, it's time to flatten it! Use the blue handle to flatten the box. Make it as flat as you can without making it disappear :).
Step 4 Hang it on the wall.. Go back to the edit menu and click "Position". Click the box again. Red, green, and blue arrows will appear on your item. Click and drag the blue arrow to life the box up to avatar eye level. Now click and drag the red arrow to slide the box near the wall. The green arrow can be used to move it from side to side.
Go back to the edit menu and click the space next to "Rotate". Circles will appear on or near the box. Click the green circle and drag it to rotate the box until it's flat against the wall.
Step 5 Apply the texture.. Go back to the edit menu and click on the tab named "Texture". If you don't see tabs, click on the radio button labeled "More". In the Texture tab, you will see a square on the left hand side with the word "Texture" underneath it. Click that square, and yet another menu will appear. This menu will bring up a list of all the textures in your inventory. Scroll through the list, or use the search box at the top to find your new image. Select it, and it will appear in the menu.
Click the radio button labeled "Select". There is your new art, hanging on your wall!
