Thursday, April 30, 2015

Fantasy Faire: Spires of Andolys sponsored by Dwarfins

Spires of Andolys is sponsored by Dwarfins and was created by Jaimy Hancroft and Eowyn Swords. It contains 18 stores. Jaime Hancroft, the designer for Death Row Designs, one of the designers for Dwarfins, and one of the builders for Spires of Andolys spoke with Sonya Marmurek about sponsoring the Fantasy Faire for a second year, coloborating with Eowyn Swords when creating Spires of Andolys, and what makes her happy about building in Second Life.
Crooked little fantasy styled houses inspired by the fairytales of your childhood. Centered around a magnificent castle that would be the envy of Sleeping Beauty. Careful though, the castle guards a secret dungeon hidden deep within its bowels where the darkest villains are forever forgotten.
The Origins of Sanctuary are being revealed at the Spires of Andolys. The imprisoned tyrant Lut has been imprisoned and is now on trial - did he act in the interests of his people, or was he driven by his own twisted desires? The trial will take place in segments throughout the faire.

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The White Armory is another of the sponsors with a store on Spires of Andolys. Sonya Marmurek interviewed Bee Dumpling about why she chose to sponsor Fantasy Faire for the first time, her creative aesthetic in Second Life through some teasers of what she's offering this year, and one of her favorite Fantasy Faire memories.

Stevie Bestie, the Dark Regent of the Sanctuary Roleplaying Community, spoke with Marmurek about returning for a second year of sponsoring and roleplay, the friend she lost to cancer, and how much fun she and the other members of her community had with new people roleplaying with them at the faire.

Juno Mantel of Junbug spoke with Marmurek about why she began to sponsor Fantasy Faire, what inspired her to began building in Second Life, and what she's looking forward to most this year.

Stitched is another sponsor on Spires of Andolys.

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Spires of Andolys is like every Disney dream you've ever had filtered through a clean, rounded style and placed out on the landscape for everyone to enjoy! I loved finding the smaller homages, from the spinning wheel from Sleeping Beauty, to the Sword from the Sword and the Stone, to Jack's beanstalk climbing buildings to the sky. The castle itself is style on Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, the pride of Ludwig II's creations, as are all of the main castles for Disney. I am an unrepentant fan of Ludwig II in all of his glory - he was as unsubstantial as a soap bubble, and equally as lovely. When I was in Germany I got a chance to see Ludwig II's riff on Versailles at Herrenchiemsee, an his sense of the dramatic is both perfect and entirely unrealistic! It's a spirit that I think suits Disney - and the Fantasy Faire - well; some dreams need to be able to rise on the breeze and turn light into rainbows.

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The build style is likewise perfect for the theme - rounded and substantial while still quirky, it all fits together smoothly and has a playful air even in stasis. A bonus is all the places one can play, from taking a magic carpet ride to joining the Lost Boys for a few days and playing in their hideout. The colors are crisp and sweet - riding the edge of pastel in a beautiful way without becoming too indistinct; pastels can blur together, but the richer blue and green up against the pale pink and soft greens. In between the gleaming buildings is a softer, more naturalistic world of stone and moss. I like how the bright glow of fairytales rises out of something so natural, grounding it without undermining it. Definitely come and check this out; the fireworks live are truly impressive to see!

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Credits: 

Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping

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