As promised, I grabbed Lash Xevious and forced her to give credits to her AVATAR-inspired look! Here are two of the AVATAR skins available for purchase in-world from different brands, credits at the end of the post.
As you can see they both look quite different but both are amazing and quite similar to the movie.
Big huge thanks to Lashy for sharing the credits and also for modeling both of the skins! <3
What Lash is wearing (and her comments on the items too):
Skin, Eyes: DerGant, Fiore Gant
Comment on DerGant: This skin package does not come with custom ears. It does have nice eyes and a sculptie tail. Though this tail isn’t similar to the one seen in the movie. It’s more simple and doesn’t have the tiger like pattern as in the movie.
Other skin: (lighter blue version)
Skin, Tail: CREDIT REMOVED
Comment on NAME REMOVED: This skin package offers two lipstick versions with each purchase and more accessories to complete the look. They include custom ears, tails, and sell these items separately as well. There are several skin versions for sale where the difference is in the tattoos on the face. Slight seam issues, but not too noticeable given the busy pattern on the skin.
Hair: Gritty Kitty, Noam Sprocket
Outfit: Black Orchid, Heather Rau
Bow: Harbinger & Stormie Desgins, Navar Harbinger
Ears: Aitui, Jesseaitui Petion
/ update /
I have been informed that the 2nd avatar skin is using a modified Laqroki Imani skin, therefore the credit has been omitted entirely. Yikes. Shame on that brand, I will not be giving them any coverage.
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Also worth taking a look at De La Fae productions “Fileidae Elves” (Which means cat-like elves apparently she had to rename them for copywrite issues) .. they are really really well made. I bought hers the day it came out and was floored by how pretty the skin is and how close to the Na’vi. She has started making other colors then blue also which is really really neat and gives them alot of different uses in SL.
Its good to see how many designers embraced the movie. I fell in LOVE with the Na’vi when I saw the movie and had to have an ‘avatar’ of my own. I wear the skin, ears and tail and such with just normal clothes in SL almost as if it was a neko or something. I’m hoping to see more stuff from the movies including tech from the marine side. I love science fiction.
Hi Ayami, I demo’d De La Fae skins too and they are indeed nicely done and I love the different makeup and colours version they offer. I’m just into the softer belly look which is why I finally went with the two skins mentioned above. But De La Fae is a great find too!
I’m also looking around for more things that my Na ‘vi could play with. Especially hoping there are dragons out there we can fly on next. 🙂
would love the face of skin one on the body of skin 2 :DD, i normally stick to the “normal” look in sl, but after seeing this i may be very very tempted to try it out.
@ Lizzie
So you support the theft of a ‘supposed’ original idea, for one’s own profit?
Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? :/
Unless the person who has re-made the skins recieved the ‘go-ahead’ from the originators, then sure, selling them is fine. If not? It is considered stolen.
It’s amazing how people go from bawling about copybotting to squealing about wanting to have their freedoms in SL.
Don’t get me wrong, freedom isn’t a bad thing, but you must remember that the people making money from this idea, are not the ones who created it. Whether or not they are legally allowed to distribute it is another story.
YAY Doom – we all love the copyright police taking away all our fun. Lighten up good god.
Will you also be reporting the umpteen hundred vendors that sell Chuck Taylors in SL to converse too? Or how about the tons and tons of transformer and anime avatars? I mean I’ve seen so much Final Fantasy content its ridiculous, including entire RP sims. Oh after that can we go after the skin makers who produce celebrity look alikes? I mean the law states specifically ‘likeness’ so it doesn’t actually have to be a perfect match. Heck lets start reporting clothing designers for making knock off jackets of real life ones they saw in a magazine last week. Seriously? Heres the thing. Few things are truly original. Take something that exists, make a tweak here and a change there and make a buck off of it. Thats not even unique to digital or second life, its kinda just the way of the world.
Are the na’vi inspired avatars original? Well … no. Like the stuff mentioned above they are knock offs designers in SL produce to cater to a popular desire right now, that being movie inspired merchandise. Its hardly new. Pick a big movie or even video game and you will find stuff inspired by it in second life, I guarantee. And I also guarantee you that 90% of them have no granted rights or privileges. Is it right, is it wrong. Personally I don’t try to over think that. I love the movie, fully intend to buy it when it comes out on blue ray, went to see it twice. If the original designers opened a shop in SL and made avatars I’d be all over that. Something tells me they don’t intend to. And actually I kinda wonder if they really will care when you do report it. Till then I’m gonna keep rocking my blue and teal fileidae elf skin proudly and in love and adoration for the movie and the tribute to the aliens in it. Just like a guy wheres spock ears to a star trek convention.
Whatever happened to the right to derivative fan art? I don’t think the skin from DerGant is an exact copy of the skins used in the movie. I can buy any blue skin out on the grid and slap on tiger-like tattoos and achieve the same look. I wouldn’t necessary call it stealing, as their not claiming the race as their own idea. But I do wonder how they are marketing this or advertising it.
But before we start calling foul on the creators/designers, I think they should be informed of the possible infringement they are doing so they can sort it out with Mr. Cameron. A lot of people do not have the laws of copyright stuck in their head. Nor are all of them from the US, so some laws they just might not have heard of all together. I don’t know them all myself.
We really need a copyright lawyer to come in and educate people more on this. We shouldn’t be coming in here and saying things are black and white when we aren’t that knowledgeable on the bibles we’re beating on.
I am entirely with Ayami on this one; unless you’re going to go sim to sim and report everyone, what is your problem?
Avatar wasn’t even original. The entire plotline is just Pocahontas, with “Native Red Skins” replaced by “Native Blue Skins”.
Hi all, I spoke with the designer on the light blue skin. She had already taken that line of skins down and is very embarrassed. She’s actually very nice and courteous. She assured me the skin she created had been done with the belief that the templates she acquired 1 year ago were legitimately sourced. When she found out this week that they apparently weren’t, she took the skins down with no debate.
I feel bad, cuz she did put a considerable amount of work into them only to find out she had been duped. I do look forward to her next line of skins. This time she will be certain the templates she uses are credible.
I do feel better now after speaking with her. I bought them in good faith, and she had used the templates in good faith. It sucks though that someone else further down the road wasn’t as honest.
Hello there!
I am the owner of Tribal Soul Designs and I thank you so much for posting this here for me. I only became aware of this post today (Yeah Feb 14th!) and I would really like to extend the offer to the blog owner to come pick one of my new skins that replaced this line 😀
Indeed, I spoke to Winter and Mallory and the matter was resolved between us with me bringing down the problematic skins right away! 😀
Lesson learnt and gave me the chance to come up with a much more extensive line!
Please, feel at home to visit my main store which is now much larger than before 😀
xoxo
Peace,
Syndel Daviau
Damn I love the 2nd one! will she make another Blue skin?
Doom your analogy with copybotting is pretty lame.
Would be more accurate to say ‘someone saw the ‘amateur work’ you designed in SL and made thier own version of it because they liked it and it inspired them to make something’
To liken anything to copybotting would be pirating actual the movie and selling it thus directly hurting the studio/investors etc. See the difference?
To be inspired by something is a wonderful thing and i dont always agree with copyright laws. If every single thing on the planet was copyrighted and jealously guarded we would progress at a snails pace, be it art, technology, literature whatever.
As someone mentioned, pretty much everything in SL drew its inspiration from something irl for right or wrong. Some are even direct copies.
Leave people to play dressup and check your own inventory for hairstyles, clothes, vehichles and you’ll probably want to delete the majority of it if your as self ritcheous as you proclaim to be
Ill leave you with the words of Jean Luc Goddard
inspiration – ‘its not where you take something from, its where you take it to’
lash, let her know about both the Splendor skins and Eloh Eliot open source skins that she can download and completely open source. I no longer have splendor’s link but here is the link to eloh’s blog..she’ll find the source links there for download, but she’ll have to dig a bit: http://eloheliot.blogspot.com/
Here, Here Jack!
I have to give in to the temptation and post.
1. Making a Na’vi skin and _selling_ it for profit is theft. Plain and simple. Giving it away for free or for a voluntary donation _might_ be acceptable, but ultimately Cameron or whoever else holds the rights has the last word on that. Historically though, movie companies have allowed fan work as long as it’s not for profit. Regardless of looks: If the skin looks totally different (say, a plain green skin with no markings at all) but uses “Na’vi” as the description – it’s STILL breaking the law.
2. Saying copybotting is bad and then turning around and saying that making a quick buck off someone elses popularity is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
3. Yes, that kind of hypocrisy is rampant in SL. That is NOT a reason not to condemn such activities.
Technically, it’s even breaking the TOS. We all know how LL enforces that though.
Jenni have to disagree again
People have been calling thier characters in SL ‘Avatars’ long before this movie so could probably get away with it. Theres many SL documents from years ago using the term Avatar to back this up.
As for calling them ‘A Navi’ im not so sure since its basically the two words ‘AN avi’ (AN avi has always been the abreviated term for an avatar in SL) and since the makers are basically selling SL Avatars (or AN avi) they could argue theyre refering to them in the SL terms we’ve always used.
Seriously? Instead of pissing and moaning about copyright infringements, just report it to the people involved. James Cameron claims he created the race (and I guarantee that a blue, feline amazonian race is not a new idea). Google his email or something. He could even be on facebook. If they order a takedown, then that’s when we’ll know if these products cross the line.
In the meantime, I like playing dress up. I like buying clothes that make my avatar resemble a character on Resident Evil, Alice in Wonderland, or even Harry Potter. I’m having what I consider is harmless fun in something no billionaire would be interested in financially.
All the copyright awareness campaigning is noble, but trying to force people into a subjective code of ethics tends to have the opposite effect. I simply shared my costumes. And I feel like it’s opened a can of worms for people to have their time on the soapbox. You’re preaching to the choir, not the congregation.
Second Life was created to simulate a metaverse described in a book called Snowcrash. So by your thinking, they built on someone else’s idea, they’re profiting from someone else’s idea. If that kind of theft is so repulsive to you then quit. Then all the atrocities you see on the grid won’t affect your self righteous ass so much.
What do you think about these secondlife.com banner ads I saw today in Koinup ? Linden-sanctioned ?
http://mproxy.banner.linksynergy.com/fs/banners/35793/35793_10000023.jpg
http://mproxy.banner.linksynergy.com/fs/banners/35793/35793_10000021.jpg
You could say there’s nothing wrong in getting a free ride on the Cameron train, but the movie studio may beg to differ. It’s lawyers time !
Hmmm I get it. Theft is ok until someone is stealing/copybotting from you. Yeah, makes sense.
To quote from the original article:
“I have been informed that the 2nd avatar skin is using a modified Laqroki Imani skin, therefore the credit has been omitted entirely. Yikes. Shame on that brand, I will not be giving them any coverage.”
Oh right. That’s bad. Veeeeeery bad. ~snorts~
Jenni,
I honestly don’t see the proliferation of Avatar-inspired products in the grid as a theft. It doesn’t take away the studio’s chances of getting the movie watched by more people. I think that the more publicity they get, and the more rampant the trend is in SL, the more curious people are to watch the film. And if the studio can throw hundreds of millions of dollars budgeting for this film, someone making 2 bucks from a skin they made to play in a weird game is hardly anything for them to fret over.
You keep dropping the copybot word around in here. I would agree with what was said earlier in that copybotting is akin to pirating copies of the product. The product is the movie itself. If there was someone trying to sell a download of the Avatar movie, then I would consider that theft. The studio owns the characters Jake Scully and Neytiri (not sure about the name), I agree with that and believe these skins should not be advertised as such (they aren’t btw).
It’s like if in RL, if a tattoo shop is offering a full body paint treatment to make yourself blue skinned with any design you want, are they infringing if more requests come in for a “Na’vi” look? It’s costume. It’s inspiration for the fans. That’s how I see it. It doesn’t mean I condone theft. And it doesn’t mean the tattoo shop are thieves as well.
All in all, I saw the boom in products as a whole thing people have been inspired by and we were trying to encourage each other to have fun with it. I’m still hoping for those sleek dragons like in the movie. And I hope a clever scripter/builder/animator is a fan enough to invest some time to making it happen in SL.