>But exceptional beasts like us cannot fall in love< Title- Uma 3050 Designer- Haji Demon Model- Uma
Description- Man, this was a tough theme. I thought we would get themes that would ask us for more elegance and beauty given the base models, but technology! Darn..thats a tough thing to incorporate into an elegant look. Not to mention gaia's limited and kind of items present in it. At first I thought more of an cyborg in repair look. It was in a healing chamber with lower half missing and all. Its a nice look and idea! (I wanna post it too) but in smaller avi-builder image it looked really cluttered and messy. So I had to scrap it and play with some ideas based on some sci-fi items I saw while making previous avi. One of them involved the current suit with anima adamenta mask. Had to scrap that too and I finally settled on this look. It not only shows the infused technology, but technology in function. Which I am covering under concept.
Concept-
I made this look based on one of my scifi ideas that we will hopefully be able to implement into the world in near future. Its a future if we make huge strides in graphene technology. its not only tough, protective, but can also conduct electricity well. A suit made of it is a like a super computer that you are wearing. It can not only give holographic projection of clothes and looks of our choice at a moment's notice, it can also creates protective force-field, lets you feel, walk, gives enhanced senses. A boon for those who have lost limbs and stuff, which is one of the few injuries that are still hard to heal. The central powering unit infused in chest doesnt just powers up the suit but also house nano-bots that can heal our body at genetic level, combat aging, make us stronger, faster, smarter..the technology helps us become the best version of ourselves. In lack of oxygen, it can directly supply energy to us and keep us alive. Plus with everyone on earth acting like a super computer we have created virtual worlds of our own where we can transfer ourselves to at any time we choose, which Uma is doing in the pic.
I was pretty relived to see this challenge, as while we were waiting on the judging from the last challenge I had started to worry that my looks might start coming across as too same-y, and not just in color scheme. Not only would futuristic be a good opportunity for some darker colors, it lent itself to an entirely different aesthetic.
My first thought was to use those old automaton arms/legs, to give that mechanical look, while using invisible arm and leg mods to shape them into something that better matches more recent items. Unfortunately I couldn’t find an invisible arm mod that worked with that idea, but I was able to keep the leg.
Initially, I wanted to do something a bit different aesthetically, and I was leaning toward a noir inspired, elegant look. But the futuristic elements kept looking like an afterthought, so I tried taking some of the items I’d been working with and try to come up with a more traditionally futuristic look. This fighter girl is the result, and once I added that glowing necklace (Which looks, to me, like a light on a piece of armor or cyborg part) I was sold on making this my entry instead.
I apologize if this isn’t the best description, the deadline happened to fall at a bad time for me and I’m having to cram writing this between other things. Running out of time has definitely been a problem this time… I was going to try to add more to the bottom to balance out the wings, for example, but I couldn’t find anything before I started to get a little too close to the deadline for comfort. Still, I think the entry turned out fairly well anyway!
elphiethesane
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bad wolf bae Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:19 pm
1. Darkerdemons (Rae) Positive: This was a very strong design, and the colors match well. It is simple but executed so well; this is how simple works well. Strong description. Negative: The butterfly headphones was the one consistent drawback for the judges.
2. Pianette (Jiang Li) Positive: This was on point for the challenge, no one can deny this is futuristic. Good description too. Negative: The bunnies were polarizing, and the speech bubble didn't really add anything to the look.
4. Sana Minatozaki (Abby) Positive: This was definitely a step up and the judges appreciated it. This was a great color scheme for the challenge and your model. Negative: The lightening had the judges split, and there could have been more tech. Headphone were the only distinct aspect of tech and that didn't cut it for a lot of the judges.
5. elphiethesane (Ophelia) Positive: This look blew the judges away elphie, you nailed every aspect of the challenge. Negative: Probably could have lost the glasses, but even then, none of the judges despised them.
6. sufjan stebens (April) Positive: Colors are well balanced, and the face mask was a good balance to April's sweet face. Negative: Description was solid. Doesn't feel robotic or future enough. Mainly just feels like something we've seen before.
7. Destined Savior (Jessica) Positive: There was a good idea for this look, and the blues in the wraps matched the background well. Negative: The execution here was just flawed. If you'd dressed her in colors to match the ears, or even used some kind of arm mod to avoid the clunky base arms it would have elevated this look.
8. Ultrabord (Ginny) Positive: This was a nice, cool and casual future look that was nice to see among so many apocalyptic looks and things. Colors were very well done. Negative: Used the same background and leg mod (in a different color though) as previous entries - it worked well for your look, but the judges don't like repeats. Robotic arm looks like it's just hanging.
9. METTAT0N (Lucia) Positive: Colors were on point, Lucia looks like a bad a** babe in the apocalypse. Shoulder pads added some nice dimension and shape. Negative: This was stronger than sufjan's, but used the same background and arm mod which cost you points. Could have been techier too. We also all get what a pain the builder can be, but there are ways around losing everything. Writing down items, or taking screen shots are some of the things we do.
10. Dangerous Tinfoil Shoes (Bryce) Positive: This look was different, and different is usually a good thing in this competition. It was creative which was great. Negative: I'm honestly super bummed you changed the avatar, liked it more with the goggles on the head rather than the yellow headband. All of the judges felt the same way, the yellow was too much in one spot.
11. RENstrawberry (Robin) Positive: The colors are good, and the matching of the top and bottom is spot on. Negative: Scar highlights humanity but also emphasizes just how bare the face is. Hair is flowing organically while the body is stiff and robotic - dynamic pose might have helped that.
12. DAVlD DUCHOVNY (Tara) Positive: Good color scheme on Tara, and this look is well balanced over all. Negative: This feels a little disconnected and entirely unfinished. Even the description feels unfinished. A proper arm mod would have helped finish it, hat is a lot of pink in one clump.
14. Toshi Yukiko (Sienna) Positive: This was a bright pop star look that stood out from the crowd of other looks! Great color scheme for Sienna too. Negative: There wasn't a lot of tech, least not that fully stood out as tech and not just some removable prosthetic used for aesthetic? Other judges thought there was plenty of tech an read cyborg pop star with ease though.
15. Haji Demon (Uma) Positive: The concept and idea was amazing, very futuristic looking. Negative: Description came off as passive aggressive. Individual details like the head horn/silver piece and the headphones feel disjointed and don't flow with everything. Lot of blues. Just needed some polishing.
16. The Dread Wolf (Isabelle) Positive: Description is clear, theme is clear, colors are on point. Perfect background choice. Negative: Head accessories cut things off a little bit, arms are a little clunky and kind of leave the whole look looking a little chunky and squished in some places.
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 3:22 pm
Baa-ck at Home
Designer: The Dread Wolf Model: Isabelle Description:
While away working in the city, Isabelle misses her small country town. On her day’s off, Isabelle returns home and rocks a casual “farm girl” look. Free from the photoshoots and runway gigs, Isabelle tends to wear her trusty cowboy boots with denim jeans. During the warmer months, Isabelle tends to wear a crop top. Before leaving her home to tend to her sheep, Isabelle usually throws on her (hand-made) fringe vest. When she’s not modeling, Isabelle enjoys spending time with the sheep on her farm and crafting accessories from nature. On her days off, it is not unusual to see Isabelle wearing a flower crown around her farm or small town.
I thought this round’s theme was fun! It was enjoyable to be able to dig deeper into Isabelle’s character. While she tends to look pristinely perfect, I think that Isabelle is not afraid of getting dirty. The sheep need their hooves trimmed? Not a problem for Isabelle! I think that Isabelle enjoys her occupation, but she feels most at home among the sheep.
When creating this design, I wanted to make Isabelle look ready to work but also have a leisurely appeal to her. The jeans, boots, and belt make Isabelle appear ready to work. While the flower crown, necklace, and crop top indicate that Isabelle is also spending a lot of time sitting among the flowers with her sheep crafting accessories from the nature around her. I think that it combines a lot of her perceivable personality into a single look! The last two items that I added to this design was the flower crown and the fringe vest. I added the flower crown, because I think the flower crown helped emphasis her connection to nature. I wanted something on Isabelle’s head and had tried several hats, but they all looked too luxurious. Lastly, I thought the fringe vest helped tie up Isabelle’s overall look.
The Dread Wolf
Naughty Cranberry
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Pianette
Sarcastic Ally
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Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 6:13 pm
Designer :: Pianette Model :: Jiang Li Truly Never a Day Off In the corner of town is a young lady who owns a tailoring shop; With a good attitude and fine skill, she is the talk of the neighborhood~
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, they say. But they ALSO say that if you choose a job you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life. So while Jiang Li takes her time off from modelling to do more work, she doesn't mind! In fact, the feel of unworked fabric is one of her favorite things! Here we've caught her just on her way out from her studio, no doubt on her way to the local vintage clothing shop and then to the fabric store proper.
I see Jiang Li as very elegant and classy (bit of a Silk Hiding Steel type). With that in mind, I found it a little difficult to put her in what would generally be street clothing. Casual and wearable on the street, yes. Street itself? No. That led me to settle on this look, stylish enough for an elegant lady such as Jiang Li, yet simple enough that it could just be thrown on for a quick pop out to lunch (or more accurately the store lol).
I started with the vest after equipping it from an item I had a failed jeans attempt with. From there I built upon the attached shirt bits to make it not incredibly low cut and sleeveless. Then everything else just kind of... came together. I wanted a warm focus and the vest itself did lead me in that direction as well as a kind of more vintage feel, and I feel like that was also brought in with the sleeve style, hat, and necklace. This vibe also partially influenced my decision to go with the mock stockings look, but I also don't believe she would've gone out without ANY hosiery on.
I wanted the background to reflect this. And while I did run through and almost commit to a couple backgrounds, the idea of a warm home studio just generally appealed to me more. This background also felt more natural to me as a whole, much more real so to speak.
Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 6:18 am
gaia_moonScenery and Travellinggaia_sakura Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Before anything, I just wanna say to everyone that I. SUCK. AF. AT. CASUAL. OUTFITS!! I am so bad at doing casual, I can't even! So I am scared to send this submission in the first place, because I don't know if it looks good or not, but I'm giving it to you anyways. And I'll explain everything in spoilers, because I'm that scared of myself for doing this.
To start off with my outfit, I checked my inventory and looked for casual items and tested out to see if it fits Abby, and surprisingly, all the items I made her wear suits her good! The shorts with high socks and sneakers, along with a jacket, the shirt, and the sleeve armmod, the beanie and the bag, I'm shookt to see all random items that I made Abby wear came together as an outfit.
Then it hit me, with the armmod where your holding a phone taking a picture that I made Abby wear, I thought "Hmm, I can see her as a travelling photographer", so I looked up some scenery to see if it'll fit to my concept, then I found this scenic in Paris (kind of), and it looked perfect.
But that didn't fill in the blank for me on my outfit, 'cause I felt it needed something to convey emotion, then I immediately thought of speech bubbles, so I looked up speech bubbles and clicked a bunch of them to see if it fits, then I found this heart speech bubble, and I chose it. Now, you might be wondering "Why did you choose this speech bubble for your outfit?" I thought the heart bubble suits perfect with my concept, because it helped to convey how much Abby loved her passion of travelling and photography.
now that i think about it, i should've used this speech bubble on the 2nd challenge. . . oops! oh well, you live and you learn
iiiFlames Vice Captain
Fashionable Master
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Dangerous Tinfoil Shoes
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Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:23 am
Designer: Dangerous Tinfoil Shoes Model: Bryce
Description: This challenge was tough, but not for the usual reasons! I knew exactly what I wanted to put Bryce in, starting with the marokuma legs. I love the pose, the high waist, and the rolled cuffs--casual, but still fashion! My problem was with varying up the colors enough that they went well together but weren't one single color scheme (my biggest weakness honestly). I went back and forth for like three hours switching her into different colors of the same items until I finally felt like I had reached an acceptable outfit, not clashing but not one big mess of the same color.
I wanted to stick to more neutral and cool colors, for a more down to earth comfy feeling. I originally tried working with pinks instead of blues, but darker pinks melted into her skin and light pinks didn't feel right. When I switched over to blue everything started to come together. Overall I'm happy with it!
I like to think this is Bryce taking a moment from hanging out with some friends in the city to check her phone.
Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 8:37 pm
Celeb Spotted! Designer: RENstrawberry Model: Robin Description:
For this challenge, I let myself think about the concept for a few days before deciding I wanted to capture Robin strolling around in a public place and being caught somewhat off-guard by her paparazzi.
I began with the white t-shirt and denim shorts (that were actually overalls). I originally wanted to play into a summery feel with Robin’s look. Along the way it became a breezy summery feel as I added on her green cardigan. I really enjoyed that Robin's flowing hair added to the idea of the breezy summer day! I originally wanted to add a cellphone, but swapped the idea for some earbuds instead. The earbuds were an extremely important detail I wanted to incorporate into the look. The earbuds were key because I imagined Robin listening to music in solitude before noticing somebody was looking at her, adding to the idea that she was caught off-guard which allowed for a more canon pose/photograph. Somewhere along deciding for the jacket I added the leg mod with red shoes to make Robin appear like she was strolling along. I intentionally chose for all of her clothing to be “mismatched” to portray the casual look necessary for the challenge.
Originally, I added on a black hat for Robin, but I felt it blended in a bit too much with her hair and the background I would add on later. So to add to the breezy summer vibes instead, I gave her a straw hat that would stand out as opposed to the black hat. Before moving on to the background, I gave robin some golden glasses. I imagined she would never wear them for modeling or professional photos out of embarrassment (which is something I can more than relate to), but since she didn’t expect to get her photo taken she’s wearing them!!... [Glasses are beautiful too…]
For the background I imagined Robin may have been spotted just coming out of a café or some sort of local snack destination. I really wanted a background that would tie in her “mismatched” clothing items, and luckily I found one that echoed her green jacket, straw hat, and even her red shoes! Parts of the background seemed a bit dark, so I decided to add this ambient filter which added a pink tint and some windswept particles.
A Message to the Judges: I will be leaving on a trip during spring break soon, and will not have any means of using electronics or Wi Fi until the 6th of April. Please bear with me!
A Day at Home Designer: Ultrabord Model: Ginny Description: I started out with this super cute tank top and found the perfect sofa, adding a few touches of raspberry to match as well as the classic black and white. I wanted to give the model a casual, stay-at-home relaxing look.
(sorry for brief description but I didn't have time to do more, I was on a family computer)
Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:15 pm
designer: sufjan stebens model: april
girl's best friend
Spring is in the air! The sun is shining and the weather is finally warm. April is taking advantage of her day off to get some fresh air and quality time with the most important person in her life: her dog. She brought a picnic blanket, her sunglasses, and a fanny pack full of dog treats. Her dog brought a tennis ball. When you have an excitable dog like a husky having both hands free when something exciting happens is really important. Luckily April's fanny pack is cute, pastel and stylish: the nineties are coming back in a big way.
This challenge took me a while. I originally had a completely different plan. When I couldn't get that plan to work, I cycled aimlessly through items for a while, trying jackets and jeans on and waiting for something to click. It was when I searched "crop top" that I found the direction I wanted to go in. Once I had the arms, legs, and top figured out and I needed to accessorize, I started looking at purses.
I have never used a purse on an avatar before. For my personal avatars I usually go for masculine looks. I was overwhelmed by the huge amount of bags to choose from. I also had a problem, which was that Luna the Husky doesn't always play nicely with layering. But she was the dog I wanted to use: both because of her playful, dynamic pose, and because her looks match up so well with April's. They're two dark-haired, blue-eyed girls.
Originally I tried the fanny pack on as a joke, knowing that a statement piece like that is a risk; it can make or break an outfit. But the more I thought about it the more enamoured I became with the idea. It makes sense for April to have her hands free, but taking a cumbersome backpack along on a walk can be a drag (especially when you're wearing a crop top -- chafing). Luckily the Shoujo Memories fanny pack combines utility and fashion. It's an item that can be thrown on as you're headed out the door and still look cute.
There were a lot of directions I could have taken with this, but I decided to do something fairly simple. I feel like if she's ordinarily a rather edgy/hard person, both as a model and casually, there has to be a point where she's taking down-time. I felt like trying to capture this character in a sort of "no one's watching" state.
This is the first time I've used a seated pose on a submission! A lot of the designed-sitting legs on Gaia weren't quite working for what I wanted to do with this. The chair item has a matched sit pose, but mashing sets together feels like it betrays the spirit of the challenge.
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 7:11 pm
Whatcha lookin at?!?! Model Uma Designer Haji Demon Description This felt like a really nice and easy theme to go for. Recently I havent been doing so good with avi making so this was a relief. I decided to give Uma a break from the proper-elegant avis and go with look with attitude..just to let her hair down. Top was the best find for me. Had a little bit of trouble with finding a cap that didnt conflict with her bangs, but managed to find one that complimented her bangs really well. I was thinking of going for pants that covered all of her legs, but after I found the background, I decided to go for tiny shorts instead. The bg really pops out at some places and subdues in other, so with top and shorts I decided to inverse the look on Uma to compliment it. I normally avoid speech bubbles but again, it went with the attitude. The arms were nice too, most bare arms cuts the sleeves from the top but this didnt and it completed her leaning on the wall look quite well.
Designer: Darkerdemons Model: Rae Process: See Spoiler
This challenge proved particularly difficult. It took some time to generate ideas. It took additional time to create the rough draft for each idea. I ended up with three different looks for Rae, all with potential to be submitted. One of the reasons the bike avatar became my final choice was it looks like Rae is actually in the middle of a casual activity. She's on her bike - not just standing or sitting in a casual spot.
The base outfit came together almost from the start. The items looked like they could be worn by anyone any day; also helped that most of them had multiple recolors, so I could try out different color combinations without sticking to one color scheme. Rae's pale hair usually requires something to keep her from appearing too white; after trying out many different headbands I kept returning to the patterned headband. Most other headbands were too decorative or didn't layer on her hair quite the right way.
I tried to put Rae in cute situations, but it took some help from a fabulous mentor to realize why the avatars looked off: Rae's outfit has a punk-like quality to it. This was very unexpected after all of Rae's elegant entries, but Rae seemed to say 'this is me'. Her favorite way to relax after working hard as a model is to cruise along the scenic route and admire the beautiful sunset.
Knowing several of my past avatars were critiqued for a particular item(s) that didn't fit with the rest of the avatar, I constantly checked avatars in progress for items that might get singled out. I feel I did better at making sure the items equipped all fit with the theme, fit together, and have a reason for being equipped.
Well, this was an interesting challenge! I don’t really do this kind of realistic look very often, and even when I verge into that territory I tend to rely much more on color schemes, or at least treat the colors that way. Honestly, that was the hardest thing to break myself out of... My first few tries kept veering straight into color schemes. Guess I just like it like that, it’s even pretty similar to how I dress in real life! But even if I had to keep abandoning ideas when they ended up too matchy, my early attempts at least gave me ideas on what to do later.
I knew from fairly early on what kind of look I wanted to do... My first instinct was to do something fairly girly and/or retro, but I quickly realized that was just my personal aesthetic talking. I decided instead to go for more of a “rocker” vibe, figuring it would give me both the opportunity to put her in darker colors, and that it would suit the slightly messy waves of her hair. When I tried on the beanie and saw the way it layered with her hair, that cinched the look I was going for: cool, urban, slightly rockerish vibe.
(On a side note, I also literally just realized someone else used the exact same hat, and I considered swapping it out but decided against it. That beanie is really the one that layers the best with her hair and gives her the look I was going for! Plus a color swap didn’t seem like it would help much, and I don’t even like the other options for one reason or another. Hopefully that doesn’t count too much against my version.)
In the end, I went with a slouchy cut shirt, thinking that would go with the “cool” vibe I wanted, and picked that one in particular because I was surprised how well that rose color went with the green hat, and I was a bit worried about things looking too monochromatic otherwise. That bag was chosen mainly because I liked where it sat on her body, and it didn’t have a theme that wildly contrasted the rest of her outfit... And of course, I used the brown one to bring in a little bit of another color. I decided to echo the gold in her hat and bag with her necklaces, as well as with the goldish brown sunglasses... I did debate if that would be a good idea when the glasses were the one complaint last time, but considering I don’t know why that was a complaint I figured I’d risk it... They just complete the cool girl look.
Finally, I debated strongly on if I would use a background or not, worried she would get lost against it. I even experimented with background cutters, but eventually just decided to go with this one. It’s simple enough that she doesn’t get lost in it, and the colors are nice and subtle while looking passably like a real place (it resembles a sunset to me). The fact that the pink kind of echos her shirt is a nice added bonus to the choice.
Overall, I’m proud of the look. It’s not something I normally do, but I finally managed to turn off the parts of my head that were holding me back and came up with something I think looks really good.
Designer:Toshi Yukiko Title:Lazy Mall Day Model:Sienna Description and Process: Sienna is ready, cute outfit on and a delicious boba tea in hand, to hang out around the mall and shop with her friends on her day off.
I'll admit I had a harder time than I thought with this week. I started by trying to put Sienna in what I wear for my casual/ off day when I'm out for boba with my friends(Mostly graphic Hot Topic t's and leggings with colorful hair and make up), but I realized that wasn't going to work for Sienna because with out the color hair and make up it looked very boring and sloppy. So I drew some inspiration from one of my friends, who's casual looks still take 3 hours to put on, lol. Pairing a cute light crop top with a pair of high waisted shorts and just a small comfortable heel. I added just a couple of accessories, a subtle headband and color coordinated handbag, to round out the look.
Model: Lucia
