I had an opportunity to catch up with SL Surfing’s newest board designer
Dee Waverider. I wanted to get a little insight into Dee and discuss her inaugural collection of Surfboards.
In the way of full disclosure I have known Dee for a while now and she also makes her home at Monkey Cove.
Dee first of all congratulations on your new boards they look great and it seems like you’ve really infused some new original designs into your work.
Q-
Dee how did you get involved with Second Life, and how long was it until you discovered the thriving surf scene here in SL?
A-
I joined Second Life on the advice of a friend already here. I had checked it out a few years earlier but wasn't very impressed. It has come a long way since then. I think it took me all of 5 minutes to find the surf community on here. I typed "surfing" into the search option straight after signing up. It was all the cool surf sims that I found that made me want to continue to hang out on SL.
Q-
Dee I know that you have been surfing in real life for quite a long time, can you draw any parallels to virtual surfing?
A-
I've been surfing in real since I was kid, and I followed in my dads footsteps to become a lifeguard. Surfing changes you, as I'm sure all the real surfers out there will agree. There's no better way to put the world into perspective than to catch a wave. Surfing on SL is fun, but it could never come close to the real thing :) However, I can draw a parallel when it comes to the sense of community on here. There is a good bunch of people involved in the surfing groups here that loves what they do and look out for each other. And that is very real. I have met some great people within the surfing community here and I hold close the friendships I have made.
Q-
Besides the surfing what do you like most about Second Life?
A-
I just love chilling with friends and hanging out on my island. I've really enjoyed putting the place together. it's kinda messy with a retro look, but hey, that's what I like. The weird thing about Second Life is that's it possible to be yourself here more than in real. You can live in your ideal surroundings, with no real limits on what you can own. I don't have that luxury in real life lol.
Q-
There are quite a few surf completions that seem to be happening just about every weekend in SL have you ever competed in any of the competitions? And if not do you have any desire to?
A-
I've not yet competed in any competitions here though I would like to. I'm on UK time so a lot of the competitions take place in the small hours of the morning for me, I'm out cold by then lol. Those that know me know that time is a very real issue for me. There is no pattern as to when or for how long I can be on. Sometimes I log on only to have to log out again after only a few minutes. Real life always comes first.
Q-
Now if everyone hasn’t gotten a chance to see your new collection their really missing something, what was your motivation to start designing your own boards?
A-
Curiosity mainly, I saw the SSI 'modify' boards at Surf Camp and just couldn't resist buying one. It was a case of trial and error until things started to fall into place for me. I love creating things and I also love working things out for myself. I just tried stuff out with the boards and learnt in the process. I have some pretty whacky 'rejects' in my inventory.
Q-
How did you make the jump from designing your own boards to teaming up with Heather and Sebastian?
A-
Well of all the great places I discovered on Second Life there was one that I just kept coming back to. I guess I was drawn to it because if I was going to design a surf sim, that's the look and feel I would go for too. Monkey Cove has a real nice vibe to it and of course when I came to set up home on SL, that's where I settled. It was the landlord of MC (think you know the guy) and the local surfers there who egged me on in a local surfboard design contest. I got my break through that. It was great working with Heather and Sebastion, they are really cool people.
Q-
If you could give advice to any other artist designing boards out there what would it be?
A-
Crikey, I would say don't just copy and paste images from the internet. I must confess I did it, and it is handy when you are learning about applying textures to the board for the first time. But after that try and create your own artwork. I currently use a program called "Gimp", it's free to download and easy to use.
Q-
Finally I know you just launched your first collection of designs, but is there anything in the pipeline? What’s next for DW Surf?
A-
When I have the time to sit down I do enjoy designing stuff, It is fun to do at the end of the day. So yes there is stuff in the pipeline :)
Dee continues to design and enter contest to display her latest work. She recently had one of her designs in competition at the recent Surf Fest.
If you would like to see Dee’s work visit her new shop:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pacific%20Coast%20Hwy/202/33/30/
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