Model: Lucia Candy Punch Designer: METTAT0N Description ~~~~ I'm late! Hopefully fashionably so. Thank you so much for the reminders and the extension. I really like this color scheme, but it's also pretty challenging to use!
Did you know that these particular blue and white are listed under cottoncandy and ivory? Ivory is a very common color, used in a huge number of schemes. Cottoncandy, however, is rather rare! They are both included in a colorscheme that I have seen listed under two different names: Frosty and Frigid. The pink included within Candygloss does not have a unique name!
The Frosty/Frigid scheme is accented with black, so I decided I was going to use it as an accent color in this design to tie both of the schemes together. I had originally used the pink bustier in the candygloss version of Princess Pazuzu, but the contrast of the black version helps separate her body and the jacket and improves readability of the design.
I wanted to stay away from exceedingly feminine/girly for Lucia specifically, because I feel that they don't fit her as well as an edgier, more androgynous look. That proved to be more challenging than I expected, as many of the items in the scheme skew toward hyper-feminine. It was very fortunate that many of them were shipped out as "couple" style items, with male and female poses included.
I went back and forth on hats for a long time, as they are rather difficult to use seamlessly with this hairstyle. I'd like to point out that it's actually cut off by a few pixels at the top by this hat, and I exhausted a comical number of options trying to find a hat that wouldn't do that. My desire to bring more color to the top of the design and balance it out visually was outweighed by this nitpick, and so I decided to accept that there would be no perfect hat with zero clipping that was either (glossy) pink, cottoncandy, or ivory.
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:45 am
90's Baby Designer: RENstrawberry Model: Robin Description: If you haven't heard, 90's fashion trends are making a comeback!?
I'm just as surprised as you, but I may be a sucker for the look and Robin certainly is too! For this week's challenge, Robin is sporting our favorite trends from the 90's including her headband, tube top, and neon windbreaker! Who could forget those iconic trends..... Love it or hate it, the 90's are back, baby!
I adore this color scheme on Robin! The bright fun colors complimented her tanned complexion and dark hair. I also had to include those vintage 90's Nike high tops she's wearing to tie in the black accents of her features and background.
Over all we were impressed this week! General note, these critiques are meant to help you and you'll get the most help if you read all of them and not just your own personal one.
Also want to make a note for everyone; please do not start your descriptions with poems, stories, or links. You can include those under spoilers if you want, but your description should really focus on your thought process. And you can reference things like poems and stories as offering inspiration or being your starting point, but we really don't need to read them most of the time. And since we have so many things to judge, especially at this point, we just skip over them and don't click on links anyway.
1. Darkerdemons (Rae) Positive: There was a lot of creativity with this look, and it was refreshing to see. You had a very thoughtful and detailed description, in the future might want to scale it back a little, but it definitely didn't leave us wanting more which is a very important thing! Negative: The solid blue background didn't work, just having the bubbles and a clear clean background behind them would have been a much better look. Needed a little bit more pink at the bottom of the look, and with all your layering there were a few items that didn't work quite as well - like the bunny on the hat.
2. Pianette (Jiang Li) Positive: Once we skipped past the beginning of your description - problem with which is noted up above - you had a very good description. This was also a good design and thought process for the model, and a creative approach to the challenge. Negative: The bunny on the headband doesn't fit the formal look you were going for, and over all it just looks poorly proportioned and muddled. In the future I think it would be good to remember the mantra of taking one thing off before you submit. Also something everyone should consider, is we should be able to see where the model's limbs are without having to struggle to see them.
3. Edcy (Ginny) Positive: The arm and leg mods help balance the hair and make for a full and beautiful model. Candy theme was also a cute choice with the candygloss scheme, ad yellow was a smart addition to candygloss. This is a top look and it's really just great. Negative: Eye shadow is not allowed in this competition, unless a challenge explicitly says so. That said, since it wasn't even visible and was only known about because you listed the items used, it won't be held against you this time. We need more from the description! Think about the choices you made and why you made them.
4. Sana Minatozaki (Abby) Positive: This is a well executed look. Colors are mostly balanced which is always important - especially in color challenges. This was also creative and unexpected for the color scheme. Negative: We want more creativity since this came off as more of a cosplay. Need a more concise description in the future too. It's also a little bottom heavy, having more detail up top - perhaps some white on the head to also help balance that color more - would have been good.
5. elphiethesane (Ophelia) Positive: Cute little winter look that draws from the time of year nicely. It is always a risk to use the same item as another designer has already used, but the risk paid off with this hat because it works better here. Good description too! Negative: The white makes your pale model look even paler, especially where it rests against her face. I know you can be more creative too! Needs more pink as well, something pink to kind of break up the white would have added some better balance and just given the look the extra umph it needed.
6. sufjan stebens (Tara) Positive: We appreciate the creative desire to glam up the color scheme, and this was a good description. And this was a great design for the model. Negative: This was a very simple look, and didn’t come off as regal necessarily. A different arm mod might have helped with everything, and losing the crown might have made it a stronger look as well.
7. Destined Savior (Jessica) Positive: Candy demon was a little weird, but it was a good and creative weird, especially the idea of candy with the color theme. Cute look! Negative: The bubblegum tail was the very wrong choice. The arm mod is the wrong color, which is too bad, because the slim figure and lack of visible (appropriate) skin anywhere other than the face results in a bit of a lollipop effect where the head looks large and body small.
8. Ultrabord (Uma) Positive: The dynamic movement of the pose suits the model’s hair really well. Color is well balanced, it’s cute and suits the model. Negative: There needs to be more skin showing, if there was visible skin on the legs it would have helped a lot as well as avoided a lollipop head effect.
9. METTAT0N (Lucia) Positive: This is extremely flattering for the model, and the description is strong as well. Great vibe to the whole look. Negative: Needs some black on the bottom go balance things out. Model looks a little stiff, and this could really use a background of some kind. Even just a splash of graffiti. Description can also be a little shorter in the future.
10. Dangerous Tinfoil Shoes (Bryce) Positive: Colors are well dispersed, and the look is balanced. Very strong look, especially for the very first challenge. Negative: Isn’t the most creative look, and some of the cats kind of faded into the look - especially the one being held.
11. RENstrawberry (Robin) Positive: This is a good look for the first challenge, and is good on the model. It’s nice to see more skin exposed. Negative: The 90s theme just doesn’t really come across. Needs more black and pink, and description also wasn’t the best.
12. DAVlD DUCHOVNY (Stella) Positive: This is a nice and dynamic pose, colors and shapes are balanced. Negative: These colors don’t work very well together, there are lot of variations pixels that just clash. True candy gloss would have worked better for Stella. Have to step it up in the future.
13. catherinearbour (Jen) Positive: It is balanced and the shape flatters the hair. Negative: These colors are...wrong. And the smoke was a terrible choice, it doesn’t match what you were going for and looks like it’s being farted or stink lines. There’s a disconnect between the top and bottom of the look, and the soft look makes Jen’s features really stand out in a bad way.
14. Toshi Yukiko (Sienna) Positive: Balance of plaids is quite nice, and the colors are fairly well balanced. Cute look. Negative: Repeating one item that another designer has already used for the challenge is bad. Using multiple ones will almost guarantee you a spot in the bottom. The description was lacking a bit, and we didn’t see K-Pop.
15. Haji Demon (April) Positive: A cute, balanced, and complete look. Good description, and childish theme fits April well. Negative: Should be more black dispersed throughout the outfit. Legs are small and lends to it looking top heavy. Also the background makes her look like she’s on a roof, and if she is a kid she shouldn’t be there.
16. The Dread Wolf (Isabelle) Positive: Perfect model to turn into a ringleader, this is a very strong pose. Simple and effective. Negative: Needs a background or accessory to give it some extra oomph. Also a little too heavy.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:16 pm
Delinquent Date Designer: DAVlD DUCHOUVNY MODEL: JEN
I knew I wanted to make Jen look tough and badass just as much as her girlfriend in this avi. i'd like to imagine they both are leaving school after detention to go to the park or something which led me to go with the sadodere theme as it had both red and darker colours. I wanted to drive home the fact that they are school sweethearts by not only having a slightly matching outfit choice except Jen's is more feminine, but also the colour blocking being in school colours and a school jacket to match! Colour blocking is very common amoung school uniforms where i'm from and probably where you are from too.
DAVlD DUCHOVNY
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 6:49 am
emotion_bigheartemotion_kissTi Amoemotion_kissemotion_bigheart Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Happy Valentines to all of us! emotion_bigheart
For this challenge, I chose a classic for this hearts day: a student's love confession, but with a twist. The setting's on Paris, the city of LOVE, and my model's Japanese which explains her saying "s-senpai"
For Abby's outfit, I went with a sweater vest to go with her cute long sleeves, and a classic uniform skirt along with a cute school shoes and socks to match the top. And I had to add in the headband, wanna know why? 'CAUSE I LOVE IT!!!
Concept-wise, I had to put in a boy companion, in Abby's case, her "senpai" going closer to her, ready to give Abby a once in a lifetime experience. And I added in a chat bubble that refers to her companion, in which Abby called him "senpai", which fits. honestly, the senpai chat bubble was the only thing i could find close to valentines, and now that i think about it, there are a lot of romance animes, and there is one that has a setting where the lovers are in Paris; Yumeiro Patissiere
The reason why the boy's color isn't matching Abby's btw, Abby's color scheme is raspberry while the boy has seabreeze, which if you think about it is opposite but attracts is because I wanted uniqueness to my entry since most of my competitors will probably do matching colors to their boys, and I have to stand out since this is a competition after all, so I had to go with the boy's colors looking different from Abby's.
disclaimer: the link i provided is the opening and ending song of the anime, and if your wondering, i was once an otaku when i was around 7th grade
another disclaimer: i miss this anime so much, my entry is basically inspired by the anime, and during the making of this entry, nostalgia hit me in the head so bad, that i had to watch Yumeiro Patissiere again, along with Yumeiro Patissiere Professional
last disclaimer: yes, there's a professional of this, and it is not ova, tho they do have an ova of Yumeiro Patissiere, but Professional is the continuation of Yumeiro Patissiere
one more disclaimer: i edited this because i was sleepy the time i made this, and i just sent my entry last night to get me a spot
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:30 pm
Kawaii Deito Designer: Ultrabord Model: April
Description:
For the Valentine's date challenge, I chose to go with a cute but sexy theme where this teenage couple has just come home after a fun date in the city, posting selfies together. Now they're ready to settle down, eat chocolates, watch Netflix and chill.
I chose the lighter pink because April is already wearing pink lipstick, and of course the dark and light accents to create contrast and give it a simple, classic color scheme. I just love the neko cosplay items, so I couldn't resist adding a bit of that to April's sexy outfit, and the romantic movie playing in the background was perfect for the Valentine theme~
The Awaiting Princess Designer:Destined Savior Model: Jessica Description: Jessica here is dress as a princess awaiting her prince in her lovely pink kimono under the pale moonlight on Valentine's Day Night. As she awaits for her true love, she gazes upon the river below her and the moon's glittering reflection giving a happy, content sigh as she remembers the first time him and her met at that very same bridge many nights ago. Edit: Originally, I was going to do a cutesy Valentine's Day look but I wind up doing a kimono look because I thought it would be something unique and give a bit of depth into the story I was going for. The background gives it a very romantic feel, I believe, and something pleasing to look at. Since I would love to visit Japan one day, I thought it would be nice to have a kimono-esque theme and a majority of mangas have romance set in the early eras of the country's culture and history featuring kimonos, samurais, etc. I almost threw in a date but it didn't look well with the idea because I thought the person would clash with the colors, setting, and the girl so I didn't bother adding one because I figured, "Hey, she's waiting on him. Gives it a mysterious sort of feel." Still cute and fits well, at least, in my honest opinion. biggrin
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 5:11 pm
Designer :: Pianette Model :: Jiang Li Impure "You're a bad boy and you're bad for me... But I wouldn't have it any other way, dear ♥"
I started with a companion search. I vaguely knew WHAT direction I wanted to go with the theme but I wasn't entirely sure what flavor of that direction I wanted. Unsatisfied with the first couple I had on hand, I hopped over to the comp guide and found him. The wonderful Mister Craven-- Look at him! So stylish!-- who, since the last time I'd seen him in the builder, still remained unactivated. So I ended up building this week's entry in two tabs, the closet and his MP page, eventually saving the image from the latter.
Now! For the image, outfit rather, itself! I feel like there's always an obvious route to go with when you have a supernatural and that's making yourself the same creature as them. Or the other more fun route of making them their natural rival. Enter the Romeo and Juliet approach, or, more accurately, the Richard and Jiang Li one.
The Craven companion is obviously very dark, but I didn't completely want to keep that out of Jiang Li's outfit even if she would represent the lighter side of the relationship. So what came about with the wings (the first non-base thing I added) was this idea that she was becoming corrupted by spending time with him which was why her wings were starting to turn black. The rest of the outfit started with the sleeves and went through a number of different tops, dresses, and skirts before finally landing on this combo.
For the background, I chose a fancier setting for the site of the Valentine's Day Ball. The sweetheart bubble was the least invasive of the romantic bubbles and actually sat in such a way that it seemed like he was saying it, which was a big plus for me~
Come Hither Model: Lucia Designer: METTAT0N Description: As much as I wanted to do something cute with a companion item, none of them worked. I was also a bit nervous that this "sexy bedroom scene" type avatar would be something every other contestant chose to do... but it still seemed to be what was working best as I edited the avatar.
I decided an extra item to add shading to her breasts was necessary, as the alruna suspender thong doesn't actually add any definition to the chest. I also experimented with several companion items, but found that they didn't fit into the background in a satisfactory manner, not to mention that too many skintones in the scene ended up muddling it, and i liked being able to see the bed best.
I'd originally had a concept of Lucia looking a little more vulnerable than she would ordinarily, showing a softer side to her sweetheart. But that idea faded fast when I realized that dominatrix would be a more fun direction to take it, and even if I'm participating in challenges I still want to make avatars for my own enjoyment.
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:05 pm
designer: sufjan stebens model: robin
roller skate date
For Valentine's Day Robin's date has taken her out for a retro-cool night at the roller rink. Robin's shy, so she's keeping some space between herself and her date, but hopefully by the end of the night she'll have worked up the courage to hold hands!
At first I was going to go with a bedroom scene, but it was too boring for my tastes. I've always wanted to use this background! The problem with doing a roller skating scene on Gaia, though, is the lack of roller skate items to choose from. The ones I went with are pretty dark, so I put an offblack hat on and choose a sweater with a little hint of dark grey to help tie the outfit together.
The background is pretty dark so I added some sparkly lights to try and give it a more romantic feel!
Sometimes there's a fine line between too simple and too busy, and in this case I've decided to err on the side of caution. The things I tried like adding more detail to the background or giving her more accessories just didn't look natural. I think the overall feel of this avatar is very soft and innocent, so I'm letting it speak for itself.
sufjan stebens
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The Dread Wolf
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 12:40 am
Valentine's Day Lover
Designer: The Dread Wolf Model: Isabelle Description: When I saw that the second theme was focused on Valentine's Day, I was excited! With Isabelle as my model, I was rather confident that I could dress in her in a seductive Valentine's Day look.
I wanted to make Isabelle look sexy, so I had to put her in lingerie. I was inspired by Isabelle's natural looks. Isabelle's hair, eyes, and lips come across as very alluring. With this look, Isabelle has just greeted her love who enthusiastically tossed her on their fluffy bed. In this picture perfect moment, the rose petals scatter up from the bed while Isabelle looks up at her love. In moments her outfit will likely be on the floor, but for a brief moment Isabelle looks incredibly tantalizing.
I began my design by putting Isabelle in pink lingerie, which did not work as it melted into Isabelle's skin tone. I wanted to still use pink though, in honor of love and Valentine's Day. So, I put her in lingerie that was black with a rosy hue. I think the black helps make Isabelle appear sexier. The last item I added was the pink hair bow. I thought Isabelle was lacking something around her head and I thought that the bow helped make her appear a little bit sweet, while still appearing sexy and alluring.
Overall, I believe this design for Isabelle brings out her personality. I think the pink and raspberry rose petals helps emphasize that it is Valentine's Day. Finally, while the black lingerie may appear to be a major focus point, I believe that the color being front and center helps to bring focus on what we should all be looking at: Isabelle's lovely body.
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 12:51 pm
Aphrodite's Date Designer: RENstrawberry Model: Tara Description:
For a Valentine's day related challenge, I instantly knew I wanted to explore a look inspired by the Greek goddess Aphrodite, or Venus her Roman counterpart. I've studied Greek and Roman art history for several years now, and I thought this challenge would be a great way to exercise the symbols associated with the goddess I've learned.
My focus for this challenge was to keep the Goddess of Love enticing. I began developing Tara's rendition of the goddess with her clothing, or lack there of. (Aphrodite is pretty famous for being the nude goddess.) Tara's leg pose came with the fabric entwined with them which is very reminiscent of greco-roman sculpture. I loved the way some of Tara's braids fell to the front, so I wanted to choose a top and an arm pose that would not cover her hair. I knew I wanted to add laurels which are signature to the Greek gods! Luckily, I was able to find some that looked similar to myrtle flowers, which is one of the symbols associated with Aphrodite.
Next up, I added the column structure in the background to exemplify the greco-roman theme I was going for. Other elements of the background, including the water were absolutely necessary to this goddess because she was born from the sea. The water also inspired her gondola date! Prior to adding the water, I added a tree with white leaves to echo Tara's laurels.
Finally, I knew I wanted to add on a dove to complete Tara's Aphrodite's date look! Dove's are another symbol associated with Aphrodite. This was the most difficult part of the challenge, because so many of Gaia's bird items would layer behind the background items I already added. Fortunately, I finally found a dove that would show up with the model!
Designer: Darkerdemons Model: Rae Process: See Spoiler
I originally thought I'd end up with a seductive sitting pose for a romantic Valentine's Date; however, after throwing together several rough draft avatars with different date concepts, the red hat for the beach date popped out the most. With Rae's pale hair, the hat makes her features more distinct. The beach date draft avatar also stood out more than some of the other ideas for clearly being date material. Some of the other avatars looked really cool, but didn't really stand out as Rae being on a date. The color red is also associated with words like strength, passion, and energy, which fit with the way I see Rae as well as the beach setting.
The first draft for the beach date was just a swimsuit. There wasn't much more to add to the outfit though and the avatar didn't look unique from the dozens of swimsuit avatars I've seen before. A dress opened up more possibilities for layering. Aimed for the dress to end up simple and cute; Rae wouldn't wear a super fancy dress to the beach, but she would still want to impress her date. The belt was one of my favorite items added since it includes a silver heart - very appropriate for a Valentine's Date.
I was content with the outfit prior to adding the background, which was added last. Without the background the outfit could be interpreted as a picnic outfit instead. A picnic is also date material; however, I wanted to stick to the idea of Rae and her date visiting crystal blue waters (and maybe splashing around together).
Fun note about the title: Did someone mention chocolate? If Rae and her date had chocolates while at the beach, the variety would be dark chocolate with sea salt. Sweet and salty.
Initially I started out with a strong seductive tone in a bedroom setting but it seemed like that would be a popular concept for the challenge, so after some reflection I moved on to a more subdued seductive style with this gala inspired outfit. For this challenge I knew I wanted an all red outfit centered around the Persephone Returns Bodice piece. It was a bit difficult to find the right bottoms/legmod combination to match the texture and color of the bodice and produce the pose I had in mind. Once I had the base of my outfit constructed I focused on the accessories and background setting to successfully execute the Valentine's Gala concept that I had envisioned for the challenge.
>But exceptional beasts like us cannot fall in love< Getting Ready Designer: Haji Demon Model: Uma Description:
The first thing that one has to decide what kind of date and what point of date would this be? Normal dinner/movie dates are boring and I wanted something different, but my fun date wont seem very fun or on-theme. Then I realized the longest and sexist time of my dates, other than the sexy time itself is watching my girlfriend getting ready for one. "This would work perfectly for Uma" I thought. Her hair seems to be in motion and that works well for what I am going for.
I wanted to have her sit there in front of mirror trying earrings, but this wasn't easy at all! I know there are armmods that are reaching for the ear, but I had hard time finding one, then I found one that made it look like she was trying on lipstick, that worked well, except that she seems to be looking in wrong direction for it, but I decided to place a mirror and see how it works. Turns out gaia either lacks proper mirror items or lacks proper tagging. I settled for a so-so mirror, but that definitely wont work with lipstick thing. So I found a different armmod than what I imagined that works with earrings. Worked on background and stuff, and then I discovered that gaia lacks good chair and stool items too. After a long time of searching and trying stuff, I just decided to go with pillows and finish this thing. But wait, there is one thing I forgot to mention- it seems like gaia hasnt fixed the undo button that well. It failed me thrice!!
My avi was already looking a lot different than what I started out with as I lost so much background and minute clothing details. I started out with no window at all and ended with breezy look. I saved the image before I started searching for better jewelry options, switched the pillow colors so it wont blend in too much and as I was trying on earrings and stuff the third undo button fail happened and I knew, I cant get back to that point again, better to just submit what I created. Its a shame, I was really looking forward to tackle one of my weak-points and try stuff to give my avi a more 3D look.
But enough of what I wished for, life rarely foes as planned and the pleasant surprises balance the stumbles. I am mighty pleased with how it turned out, she is looking gorgeous, but also sort of disheveled and in middle of getting ready, I dont think I could find more beauty in competently dressed up look. That balance of sexy-beautiful in this moment is- I didnt give her an actual proper top and blended the clothing I did give her so she doesnt look completely ready, she seems to be looking at you with an expression that is asking for your opinion do these earring look ok? Plus those new arm mods I found seem to be moving the hair out of the way so that we can see her ears!! I couldnt use makeup or give her a nose, but the lighting and rose petals works with her existing face to give a very slight rosy tint to it.
Model: Lucia
I'm late! Hopefully fashionably so. Thank you so much for the reminders and the extension. I really like this color scheme, but it's also pretty challenging to use! 
