Congratulations to As Shanim for earning Renderosity's 2005 Merchant of the Year title. As Shanim are well known for their high quality clothing and pose products. If you haven't seen As Shanim's wonderful creations take a moment to browse their store (click here).

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How does it feel to be the Renderosity Merchant of the Year for 2005? We're glad about it because we feel it is an important recognition and we'll try to continue on the same route to be with you on the Frontpage next year too :)! (Unless that we're kidnapped by the aliens before). You are best known for your clothing and pose product line. Your newest product, Fantasy III : Megil' Salkir, is very versatile. From conception to completion, how much time is typically needed for a product of this caliber? About a couple of weeks; without considering the promo stuff which also takes some days. A lot of time is needed to "poserize" the clothes, so that they move and look good and convincing in Poser.The actual modelling part doesn't take much time and the main problem is trying to set some limits to not overdo with the poly count, with the complexity of the mesh and with the number of items to include.The longest and most boring part relates to the creation of morphs. I find it enjoyable re-modelling our clothing items on Kielo and Yaara body shapes, and I also enjoy creating the movement morphs, but after the 40th movement morph the fun is gone. And do not mention mapping! Mapping takes long and is very boring. Siliphiel: I take care of the textures, usually they take me at least a week to be completed with MATs and all but of course it mainly depends on the complexity of the product and on the effect we want to achieve. Some projects actually took me much longer than a week. I want the textures to actually enhance As Shanim's work, his folds, seams, details and so on so some sort of photorealistic base, such as leather of fabric, it's just the starting point for me. I then paint all the details I feel are needed to make the texture become "true" and "alive" and this is what takes long but it's also the funniest part of the work. What programs do you use for modelling and how long have you been using them? For modelling, UV Mapping and creating the morphs I use Maya, while Siliphiel's main tool is Photoshop. Other programs we use are Ultraedit for Cr2 and MAT files and Poser 6 for testing and rendering. I'd like the pc to be Amiga one day I can't wait to see what you are cooking up for release next year. Would you care to share any hot insider information with the community? Products that are ever more complete and complex. We'll try to make our store even more varied, with a range of products that includes every-day, sci-fi, fantasy and exotic sets, hair and characters Aery Soul's staff has expanded so we can aspire to a greater complexity for our works. Among the products we have scheduled for the next months there are: a very long hair with head band, a product inspired by the genius of Luis Royo (a pretty spicy set), a post-apocalyptic set, armor and wings for a futuristic kind of angel, two clothing set for Michael 3 and something for Miki. Four of these products are already being realized. We have also created a human model, but we put the project apart because we believe it to be too demanding both in regards of completion and support. Do you have any tips for aspiring digital content developers? There is one simple thing to do: apply yourself. If you put care and effort in what you do you can achieve everything. There is not tutorial or teacher better than ourselves. This is no triviality. If you want to achieve something you have to apply yourself, and do it more every day. You start from a cube and after some time it will be something more complex. You start with some texture fills and after some time it will be a hand painted texture. You just have to want it. Do you have any final words? Our life, in the vastness of the Universe, is like a single butterfly wings beat. It cannot be heard. We have a soul, a mind and a body. We are something unique and each and every second of our life is something important, something that shouldn't be wasted. In the face of death someone smiles, and flashes up, because they know their travelling has not yet come to an end. Because they know they are important. For themselves, for someone, for everyone. They flash up because they know there is a long way before you can make yourself heard in the universe and sooner or later, with commitment and perseverance, they'll reach their goal Our life may be a butterfly wings beat, but it is enough to achieve something. "She was dancing nude in front of his proud eyes, and even the Universe stopped to look at them." I want to thank: my parents, I wouldn't be myself and I wouldn't be here without them; all my dearest friends, which have given me a lot. The music we listen at, which inspires us and keeps my memories alive. The visual art and its creators, simply fundamental for us. The videogames I played (and which really helped me out); the movies that inspired and amused me. And finally I thank my elementary school teacher, my primary school math teacher and my secondary school Italian teacher. We want to thank all our customers for their support and appreciation over the years. We want to say thanks to the Renderosity admins, Clint and Debbie, for their work and availability. As Shanim & Siliphiel of Aery Soul

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View As Shanim's previous Merchant of the Month interview: January 2004 Visit As Shanim's: Store in the MarketPlace