Challenge #12: Gaian's Best Friend Status: Complete
Purple Twins mythological irony • Sumati
It took me a while to settle on a kindred to model Sumati after, but I finally decided on Lustrous Pumppet. Firstly, I thought the body of the pumppet would work for Sumati's hair well and I chose the purple version because I think purple really suits Sumati.
For her outfit, I chose the dress from Splendid April Blush, which had a nice flare to it without being too round and creating an awkward silhouette. I added the skirt from Fantastically Yours underneath to mirror the yellow underside of the pumppet's skirt. Then I gave her a pair of black boots to match the kin's little black feet.
For the umbrella, I was tempted to just use the arm mod from Lustrous Pumperilla, but that felt like a copout, so I did some digging through the purple umbrella items on Gaia and found the one I'm using, which matched really nicely with the color of the skirt and the dark sleeves coincide with black arms of the pumppet. Underneath that I added some lace to keep her neck area black to match the kin but also look more glam.
On her head, I added a hairbow to tie in with the stem on the kin. And for her makeup, I did primarily yellow to match the eyes of the pumppet, with a touch of orange to reference the little orange eyelashes.
I left the background simple, with just a basic rainy scene (since they have umbrellas) with a few fluttering petals.
♥︎ Designer: Detrimentum ♥︎ Model: Helena ♥︎ Challenge: #12 - Gaian's Best Friend ♥︎ Outift Title: Feathers and Friendship ♥︎ Description:
Picking a kin was surprisingly hard since there were so many cute ones! Most of them didn't fit Helena well, and based on the last feedback I received, I tried to find one that would look good with lighter colours. As Helena has an overall exquisite and feminine aura, I chose Confetti the Pegasus as her companion; it felt like the perfect fit for her, especially in the evolved form, where it becomes a big, majestic horse!
First, I picked her dress. I opted for a sleek asymmetrical dress with long feathers on one side as a nod to the pegasus' feathered wings. I thought that wings on Helena herself would be a) too straightforward and b) would cover the kin too much. Over her dress, I added a short top to separate the periwinkle ribbon more and make it stand out. Helena's legs are covered with white stockings, and she's wearing silver shoes. All of her accessories are silver to match the kin: the necklace with a star and the head accessory. As Confetti has a star-shaped marking on its head, I tried to incorporate stars in a few places—the necklace and the little periwinkle bow on Helena's head. Similarly, her arms are decorated with bracelets with chains, just like Confetti's neck is adorned with a crown with a chain.
Helena's pose is meant to look as if she's caressing the pegasus' chin with her hand. I wanted to show off their bond this way!
As for the background, it has ethereal vibes with the moon and is full of stars. I felt like a sparkly night sky would be perfect for a pegasus and its rider.
Description: Here she is, my most favorite kin in the world!!
For this challenge, I tried to strike a balance of the outfit feeling both like a cosplay and a glam look almost like an upgraded Disneybound of the Kin if that makes sense.
Starting with the outfit, I used skeleton leggings and a rib corset to match the bony markings on my Kin. I added a skirt and a furry mantle to add the fluffiness and softness that a llama should have, and paired that with some black sleeves and a bell with a bow to twin with Hembria.
Makeup and accessory wise, I tried to get the same effect of my Kin's cute little head by adding a shadow mask and some white eyelashes. I also added some bunny ears and a little skull to serve as the headpiece because I liked how they sat in my model's hair while giving the same vibe as Hembria's ears without matching 100% and finally some tiny bell earrings to finish off the look.
Finally, the background is a set of picture frames I found that complimented my look. I combined that with a market area background I really liked but my outfit blended into too much. I wanted it to give off an Alice in Wonderland aura but with a skeletal llama instead of a bunny!
Posted: Tue May 28, 2024 9:20 pm
s t a t u s: Ready For Judgement !
Designer: DickJoke
Model: Talia
Title:The Water Dancer Pokemon
Challenge:#13: I Choose You!
Description:
This challenge almost took me out but I think my outfit turned out in the end!! After much deliberation I settled on Goldeen as my Pokemon purely due to her slayful appearance which I felt matched my model to a T :]
For the outfit I knew I wanted it to feel very fish-like without using a tail so I started with a dress with a bow as my base and added a kimono with fun orange fish scale sleeves. I then paired that with a stocking and slipper set that made Talia look like she was floating so I would go with my background.
For her makeup I gave her some orange eyeshadow with a wing since Talia already has the perfect hooded eyes to match Goldeen's, and finished up with some light sparkles to make her look better underwater.
Finally for accessories I gave her some scale-y looking flower earrings with a orange ear cuff, a tiara to mimic her top fin and capture Goldeen's royal queenly appearance, and a horn to match her Pokemon!
For the background I found the perfect one in Swim Under, and layered in an added water effect and some more fish for Talia to rule over.
Designer: Ultrabord Model: Ava Challenge: I Choose You! Outfit Title: Go fur it!
Description:
I've never played Pokemon in my life but there are a few creatures from the game I particularly love, so I chose my favorite Pokemon that matched Ava's aesthetic; the adorable but feisty furret. Furrets are great friends and team players who definitely look super cuddly and adorable, but can also really pack a punch- or a tail smack, or a full-body slam. Ava seems like a sweet but fierce young lady who knows how to have fun, but won't hesitate to fight and defend her friends.
This time I chose a more scholarly outfit style to fit Furret's iconic stripes since this particular top and legmod with skirt and pawprint belt accessory was perfect for the Furret theme and coordinated with the tail and cuffed ears. The collar, ivory vest and armmod with a Pokemon-inspired card completes the main outfit. I couldn't resist adding an adorable ferret companion to show the similarities, as Furret primarily reminds me of ferrets and red pandas. But the outfit itself was a bit boring in its color scheme so I wanted to add a pop of color without overdoing it. When I searched for images of furrets, several featured lovely meadows with wildflowers, so I found a similar background along with a few butterflies and extra petals. I gave Ava a matching floral crown and earrings, but kept a more natural makeup look to reflect Furret's simple color palette. (Although Shiny Furrets are pink, which I purposely hinted at in some of the pastel wildflowers.)
OOC edit: The ears are in the look, they're just more subtle, the elven-style ear cuffs are harder to spot. and I love this look and in my opinion it's more in the middle, not the best but not the worst look, but I'm also biased lol
I'm not particularly familiar with Pokemon (pretty much only know the basic ones), so it was a bit of a slog figuring out which one to pick. In the end I chose Gothorita. I thought the vibe of this Pokemon would suit Sumati well, and I thought the goth look I did back in challenge 2 looked really good on Sumati, so it seemed like a good fit. Also (though this is just a small detail, it still stood out to me), I thought they had similar lips??
The most notable thing about Gothorita are her double buns, so I added some to Sumati (of which there has been precedence this season of the competition, so I'm trying to ignore my anxiety about this addition), which included the white hairbows. Her outfit is comprised of a simple black dress, a chest bow, and a stomach bow to follow in line with Gothorita's bowed dress. I chose the arms from Cryptic Wartorn Dancer because they reminded me think of the way Gothorita's arms end in little points because they just have a sharp feel to them. I then gave Sumati black shoes/leggings.
For her face, I gave her a base of purple makeup as a stand-in for Gothorita's purple face. On top of that, I gave her blue eyeshadow to mirror the pokemon's blue eyes. And then over top everything I added a purple face shadow to emphasis the purple-ness of the face even more.
The background I based off this quote I found from Bulbapedia: "Starlight is the source of their power. At night, they mark star positions by using psychic power to float stones." Therefore, I set the backdrop as a starry night and added floating stones around her.
Also, here is a reference of Gothorita, if needed:
♥︎ Designer: Detrimentum ♥︎ Model: Helena ♥︎ Challenge: #13 - I Choose You! ♥︎ Outift Title: Blooming Hedgehog ♥︎ Description:
„When the turning of seasons brings the cruel winter to its end and the joyous people give thanks to the heavens, Shaymin appears and covers the withered land with flowers.”
When looking for a Pokémon to base Helena's outfit on, I first had to inspect my favourite ones. Sadly, most of my favourite Pokémon happen to be dark in colour or completely unfitting for Helena. However, I had one favourite that had nice, bright colours and featured a colour scheme I didn't recall using for Helena: Land Forme Shaymin, the cutest little flower patch hedgehog!
First, I chose the coat — green, fluffy, and with pink flowers — a perfect match for Shaymin's green grass-like fur. Next was the body. Shaymin's body is mostly white, so I chose Helena's main outfit to be a light, white dress, resembling a summer dress. I felt this was fitting for a Pokémon that loves plants and probably prefers warmer weather. The dress by itself felt a little boring, so I added a pink corset with green tassels. I think it adds a bit more dimension to Helena's dress. Next were the bottoms — she's wearing cute pink bloomers, but the dress hides them. I originally planned to use them as a main part of the outfit, but there were no fitting shirts for them. At least I could keep them because of the cute look they added to her legs. The shoes felt too perfect to get rid of, so I kept the bloomers anyway.
For Helena's accessories, she's wearing a choker with a little pink flower, matching the flowers on her coat. On her head, she has a lot of pink flowers, while Shaymin has two big ones on its sides. In the anime, more flowers sprout when it feels comfortable, which I think is just adorable. Under her flowers, I hid some green leaves, matching the hedgehog's. Land Forme Shaymin has yellow dots on the top of its fur, which I did not add, as I felt like Helena's hair was a nice substitute for them. In her hand, Helena is holding a flower to fit the abilities of Shaymin.
A nature-themed background was a must for a grass-type Pokémon, so I chose one that has lots of greenery and some additional flowers.
Status - Finished Entry Thirteenth Challenge - I Choose You! Model - Rhiannon
"The Crystal Dancer" by clowniing
☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★
Clink clink clink. The chiming of crystals during an enchanting dance. Delicate, graceful, elegant, the performance of a diancie.
Reference:
☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★
This was such a cruel challenge... Being forced to choose ONE pokémon when I had SO MANY IN MIND. After much trial and error, I chose Diancie. They're like a dancing crystal princess, and I decided that would be a very fun concept to translate into an outfit for Rhiannon.
I stuck to only white, a purple-ish pink, and a very pale gold. I didn't include any dark colors like gray for Diancie's rock skin, since Rhiannon's dark skin gives that contrast perfectly. I also wanted to capture Diancie's lower silhouette without removing Rhiannon's legs, and I think I accomplished that in the form of the dress I chose! I experimented with different crowns and halos and ultimately chose the one you can see in the final product. While the spikes in this headpiece are more a part of the decoration rather than separate ornaments, I just loved the piece so much and thought it fit incredibly well with an other-wordly crystal princess, possibly from an ancient civilization. And since we aren't trying to cosplay exactly like our chosen pokémon, I felt comfortable to stray a little bit from the reference. Of course I did give her plenty of actual crystals to adorn her figure!
And finally for the background I tried to recreate the sparkling insides of a geode.
mythological irony — Sumati • The judges commend you for having a great eye for detail. You managed to match your Kin and Sumati with your smart styling choices. This is such a good entry that you got a perfect score by one of the judges. • Some minor description tweaks to better sell us your background choice would've amped up your entry further, as some judges stated that they're not sold on your background choice.
Top Designer: Detrimentum — Helena • This entry got a perfect score as well. This is arguably the prettiest entry we got from you, and from this challenge. The color matching of the Kin and Helena's look, and the beautiful make-up choices are the entry's standout features. • Some judges have stated how they're having a hard time appreciating all the details because of how blended everything is together. Some also stated that this entry feels similar to your last winning entry, 'The High Priestess'.
HELLPRIEST — Seren • The judges commend you for listening to the background feedback you got last week. This entry showed your peak taste in styling. You hit the nail on the head with matching Seren's look with your chosen Kin. • In terms of description, the judges stated that it would be helpful if you could explain more about the "why" behind your decisions to help sell us better on the look.
clowniing — Rhiannon • Every single judge loved the vibe that you went for with your look. The retro future concept is executed well, and it's well-received with the judges. We see the lengths you went to in order to achieve your vision. Your concept made so much sense with your Kin. • Well executed as the concept is, we've seen lots of star/moon decal motif throughout the competition, to the point it feels overdone and oversaturated. Your description, as stated by some judges, could use more elaboration on the "why" and less on the "how".
Dickjoke — Talia • Your styling choices this challenge has not gone unnoticed. Talia looks incredible. The background choices, the color balance, the silhouette. This entry is well-received by the judges, with one of them giving you a near perfect score. • Similar to your fellow designers, the description lacks 'why'. Let us know how you feel about certain things throughout your process.
Eliminated: Ultrabord — Ava • You captured the essence of your Kin and the colour scheme in your designed outfit perfectly. The background was a nice nod to the game. • The judges were divided over the background choices. Some judges wanted it to align with you and your Kin. Colors garnered mixed comments as well. The orange does not complement Ava's dark features. Style-wise, the judges liked the garment just from the waist up.
iiiFlames Vice Captain
Fashionable Master
Offline
iiiFlames Vice Captain
Fashionable Master
Offline
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2024 2:16 pm
Challenge #13 I Choose You! Feedback
Top Designer: mythological irony — Sumati • Your eye is on the prize and you aren't about to back down until you get it. The hair buns were a very smart choice, you matched things together so well the look has an appearance of easy, everything down to the floating rocks was just so well thought out and executed. You did a very good job this week. • A bit more white on the bottom or black on top might have earned you a second perfect score of the week. The only other thing that directly cost you some points was there were similar dark colors and things to your other entry this week. With the challenges being so similar the judges are acutely aware of every little thing similar and different between the two entries.
Detrimentum — Helena • At least one judge is very obsessed with the adorable Pokemon you chose to work with, so, thank you. It was nice to see Helena in different colors, and she looks phenomenal. So many smart choices and we like how the pink flowers were tied in a lot. This is also a great way to take a simple inspiration and give us a look with layers and depth to it. • We've seen this silhouette before. It would have been nice to see a bit more white represented in the look, perhaps in the skirt.
clowniing — Rhiannon • You picked an unexpected Pokemon that isn't as common, and you rocked it out. Heavier emphasis on gold was brilliant, the sparkle was lovely, the vision is there at every step. • As amazing as Rhiannon looks, and as flattering as the colors you chose are, some of those changes ended up with the look feeling less like a cosplay of Diancie and more like it was just casually inspired by Diancie. There were also similar vibes to your other entry this week, and it would have been nice to see more variety.
HELLPRIEST — Seren • Matching the pose to Lurantis' look was an amazing little touch, and the kimono sleeves to build the shape up was also a smart way to do things. This was a smart look and we appreciate seeing all the little details that make it sing. • You had the judges split on this look. We needed more of the 'how' in your description. We know why you did things, but aren't sure how and we want to know. Your enthusiasm is contagious but it just wasn't enough for some of us to sell us entirely on this look.
Eliminated: Dickjoke — Talia • Goldeen was a great choice for Talia, and throwing her underwater was a great choice creatively to really sell the story. Throughout this competition you have worked so well with Talia's features and we have loved to see it. • It is hard to say goodbye when you've had so many amazing looks this competition, but this entry just fell a little short. It came off as too simple and the judges were missing more of the 'why' behind things in your description. In an earlier week this would have been a safe look, but at this point? It was just fine. And sadly that isn't enough at this stage.
Ultrabord — Ava • This was a cute and simple look for Ava. Furret was a good choice with a flattering color palette on Ava. Including some pops of color as a nod to the shiny version was also great to see. • This was a cute and simple look for Ava. Much like d**k's entry for this challenge, in an earlier challenge this entry would have been enough to save you. But things are so tight at this point that every detail counts. We would have liked to see the ears represented in the look, and a different background would have been good too. As it was the background just kind of overwhelmed things.
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 6:26 am
─┉┈ʚɞ•ʚɞ•ʚɞ┈┉─
ʚɞ Designer: Detrimentum ʚɞ Model: Helena ʚɞ Challenge: #14 - Elementals ʚɞ Outift Title: Gone with the Wind ʚɞ Description:
The element of Wind is incredibly versatile, carrying numerous symbols and connotations. As I researched it, several themes emerged as the most commonly associated: freedom, renewal/rebirth, change, and exploration. Additionally, it is often linked with colours like white (reflecting the transparency of air), flying creatures, and the Spring season. I tried to focus on these elements and incorporate them in some ways in the outfit.
This time, Helena is wearing a long, semi-transparent dress that flows with the wind. When choosing this dress, I aimed to capture not only the movement of the breeze but also Helena's essence. I wanted her to appear as if she were frolicking through fields. Over the dress, she wears a tunic that covers her chest and crotch, adding dimension to her outfit while ensuring she doesn't feel too exposed. A yellow tassel on her tunic adds a touch of whimsy, moving with the wind. A shawl resembling a flowing ribbon is attached to the back of her dress. Her legs are mostly bare beneath the dress, contributing to the airy feel. I chose a light gold circlet, a light blue choker, white flowers with a flowing blue ribbon, and a blue butterfly clip for accessories. On her left arm, she wears a gold bangle.
Helena's pose is designed to depict her running through the fields, brushing her hair out of her face. The background features a flowery meadow with smoke-like clouds to emulate wind gusts. Glowing butterflies surround Helena, adding even more sparkles for an extra magical touch. I added some filters to enhance the overall softness of the scene.
The main idea was to showcase Helena in a natural, Spring-like setting, surrounded by butterflies — symbols of rebirth and flight. Her overall appearance aims to evoke a sense of freedom.
I didn't have a very solid idea of where to start with this one as I wanted to avoid using the obvious "Mother Earth" theme. I kept it in there a little bit with her cradling the pot of flowers as if it were her child but I did not want that to be the central idea behind the avatar.
Eventually, I decided to focus heavily on the idea of earth being feminine, starting with the legmod from Clear Way to You--I picked the specific recolor I used because the colors associated with earth are black, brown, green, and yellow. I didn't want too much yellow because I thought that might make the look more firey than I would like so I just kept it to the background and the singular outfit piece being the circlet.
Earth also represents stability, so for that I used the rocks from Blooming Primordial Ancestor and had Sumati resting against them, trusting in the steadiness of the earth. I then added Fairytale Portrait of Lily to give the background some green and yellow.
Earth is associated with the season autumn (although some sources say winter, some say summer, but autumn was the first one I read about so I ran with that). I didn't want to make the look autumnal--since I've done a couple of those in the past and wanted to focus more on the fecundity of earth--so I just gave a nod to the season with the branches on her back.
The shape that represents earth is a square, tying in with stability. I wasn't able to find anything that was specifically a square to put in the avatar, but I did find the background cutter, which was a rectangle. I chose the Envious recolor to add a little more green but also because of the white on the frame, which helped tie in the white on the flowers in the pot and the branches.
I then added the potted plants at the bottom--which added a little bit of white down there, as well as some green. Next, was her makeup. I debated on going bold or subtle and finally settled on subtle as I felt a more daring look might be a little distracting.
Lastly, I gave her elf ears because elves are often considered to be more in tune with nature.
Status - Finished Entry Fourteenth Challenge - Elementals Model - Rhiannon
"A Mother's Sacrifice" by clowniing
☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★
"Hush now, my darling", the phoenix whispered in a gentle tone. It was as if the blazing and roaring of the fire had almost harmonized into an otherworldly lullaby, and Rhiannon cradled her egg in a warm embrace. "I will be gone soon. But for you, my dear, it is only the beginning."
☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★
Truth be told, I have a bit of an obsession with fire as a theme. It's something that keeps showing up in my art, writing and characters over and over again. It's so powerful and destructive, but also has such a cleansing, renewing energy to it. If it's out of control it can be devastating and cruel, but if used wisely, it can burn away impurity and illness, so that new, healthy life can grow back. There's a reason why volcanic earth is the most fertile, after all. Fire also represents strong emotions like anger, love and passion.
First off I wanted to focus on the 'renewal' and 'rebirth' themes, so I naturally turned to the mythical Phoenix. From the ashes of its old body the phoenix rises anew, its flames once again burning brightly. But I didn't 'just' want to represent the phoenix, I wanted to tie in 'fertility', 'love' and 'anger' as well somehow. So I asked myself what all those things remind me of, and surprisingly I landed on 'motherhood'. Very little compares to the burning love and righteous fury that a mother feels when she protects her child, sometimes sacrificing her own life for it and destroying whatever gets in her way. A 'mother goddess' in mythology and ancient religions actually reflects fire itself very well, because often times she will be both a creator- and destroyer-figure in the given religion. So finally I had my theme for this look: A dying phoenix that even in her last moments is protecting her egg, so that her child may be born and carry on the cycle of fire, death and rebirth...
The journey to the finished look was a lot more straightforward than my other submissions, but it still took me a while to arrive at the finished product. I actually started with the background this time, making sure Rhiannon had a nest of flames below her and smoke rising behind and above her.
The colors are black, gray, white and orange for this look. I didn't want to overwhelm Rhiannon with shades of yellow, red and orange, so I chose only one of the typical fire colors - orange, as it's my favorite of the three, red would be too strong for Rhiannon, and I've used yellow several times during this contest already. The black is mainly there to balance out her dark hair and give the appearance of charred wood. The gray and white represent smoke and of course ash, two attributes of fire that people often forget about. But to me they're a beautiful part of fire! Ash especially is integral to the 'renewal' and 'fertility' theme. The lighter colors also allowed me to bring in some much needed contrast into the look! While Rhiannon's skirt is orange like the flames, her shirt is white like ash, giving the eyes of the viewer something new to look at.
I adore the entire pose, as it conveys how deeply she cares for her egg. I made sure her clothes were flowy and airy, as it made for a good silhouette and is a fitting choice for hot weather. Furthermore I allowed myself to give her more than just one pair of wings, because I really love biblically accurate angels like seraphim. They have multiple wings and also have that theme of fire-y justice! I don't really have a proper explanation behind the makeup & jewelry, other than that it looks pretty and gave her a bit of an ethereal, godly look.
As for the frames surrounding her, it worked very nicely with the colors and fire theme, and I really needed something to (quite literally) frame the look, as I didn't give her a full background in order to let the orange fully shine and stand out. I also think it makes it look like she's in a painting, but is burning her way outside, fitting to how wild and free fire is, unwilling to be controlled or contained.
I hope I could infect you with my love and enthusiasm for the thematic and symbolic uses of fire! : D
His Aggressive Reign (Nose v.2)
Our Underworld (His Hair)
Masquerade (red eyeshadow)
Melodious Serenity (Face)
Everybody Nose (Skintone E)
Pick Your Nose (sniffles)
Fantastically Yours (Lily Skirt)
Sparkle Eyeshadow (Yellow)
Knock Out Boots (Skintone D)
A Small Gloomy Light (Filter)
Snappy Froggy Dew Drops (Rainy Day)
Always Cheerful Bravery
Lux Regicidio (Bindings and Lace)
Under the Poppy Hydrangea (Blush)
Purple Konpeito (Candied Rain)
Lustrous Pumppet
Splendid April Blush (Short Lace Dress)
ese has fun with makeup (merina)
Solar Starset (eye shadow)
Highbeam Highlight (Gaia)
Art of Espionage (Empress's Makeup)
Spooky Day Raindrop (Raincoat v1)
