Description: Those who align with the demon-blessed Melissa may find themselves in safer standing than those that wish to rally against her. For her eldritch blast is the most powerful in the land.
I nearly always play a magic user in RPGs of any type, so I wanted to bring that to Melissa in some form. I chose Warlock so I could play with darker colors on my model since of late I've used a lot of bright, eccentric colors.
I knew from the word go that I wanted to use the grimm hood, but everything after that was building one piece at a time. I wanted to use a specific cape, but the arm pose took up most of the design and in the end I made the choice to go with something that allowed view of a full costume. I used primarily purple, white and black, with gold accents to bring it all together. I put her in the woods because I felt it set an ominous scene, but standing alone Melissa looked sort of blank and confused with that smile on her face.
So at last I found the flames surrounding her, a visual for her powers. At first the flames and setting were orange, and while I loved the contrast, it was so bright it devoured the look, so I settled on the blue-ish flames and gray-white background instead. Ultimately I think the look came out stronger for it, and Melissa now looks mischievous instead of lost.
Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 12:30 pm
A Little Ditty
Designer: milk cap Model: Sheenah
Description: The smoky scent of burning wood and the crackling flames set the scene, amidst the forest with moonlight beaming down on leafy canopies. A ragtag team of adventurers hunkers down around a fire, resting after a long day of trudging across the vast lands of Magissa. The rogue twirls a dagger around, the healer mutters verses from a tome, the knight polishes his sword, and the bard absentmindedly strums her harp. The strumming becomes louder and from the bard's harp, a tune soon takes form; the bard did what bards did best, and began to weave a ballad that none shall forget.
This theme is right up my alley, so of course, I wanted to give it my all and craft an ensemble that I was truly proud of! I cycled through a few ideas what class Sheenah would be, first a witch, then a priest, then a knight and finally, my favorite class, a bard. I started with the pants, with a pose fit for a bard. Then the coat and belt, paired with the armmod that has a sort-of capelet matching the coat. I had trouble finding a fitting hat, possibly the most important and most extravagant piece of a bard's outfit, but I think this hat does the job well, even if I dislike the shade it puts upon Sheenah's head. The cravat, the earrings that make it look like she has elf ears, and background came last. Even if I don't win, this theme was really fun for me!
Challenge 7: RPG Classes Designer Name: HCTotorro Model Name: Nicki Outfit Title: Ranged DPS - Engineer Description: Nicki is recharging her ATK-9 droids before sending them out for another ranged attack, hopefully she gets a good drop this time gonk
Design: Originally, I wanted to put her in a cleric look, but I saw that someone else did something similar. So then I thought (and secretly hope hehe) it would be more interesting for each of the models to be a different class/job/whatever, so that we can have a full raid party lol I decided to go with the Engineer because (I hope) nobody else would think of a similar job type to design for.
At first, my design was almost completely monochrome, with only the yellow tones to tie her outfit into the droid colors. But then I realized that she almost completely blended into them, which is something I kept doing on other challenges, so I decided to put her in a more colorful outfit, this is probably Tier III gear lol
Still going for no actual background, so hopefully it doesn't look too bare in comparison sweatdrop Now here's hoping someone makes a tank so we can get this show on the road rofl
Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 8:45 pm
The Paladin Model: Sarah Designer: Alesaan Description: Oh man, am I late to the party! I'll add a new class to our awesome RPG group here.
Coincidentally, my current avi (sexy/ridiculous blonde 'warrior' girl) is one I made and launched probably an hour or two before this contest cycle was posted. ESP I guess? I love the warrior look in all its variations, and knew it is what I wanted to try Sarah in first. I browsed and pretty much tried everything tagged "armor" in the avatar builder. For me, I thought this outfit was my strongest that didn't utilize make-up (my other designs here).
The biggest priorities for me were 1) finding armor that she could realistically could fight in (the amount of high heels in the armor items was ridiculous), 2) find armor that didn't look clunky like many of them do, and as this is a fashion design contest, 3) create an outfit that looks chic and 4) clearly be able to tell her RPG class at a glance. I thought this design hit all those notes.
Plus her armor looks like she has a gold chainmail (and not skin tight) miniskirt over her actual pants - how fun is that?
I also thought the portrait with the roses enhanced the red and gold color scheme and ties in her tiara's rose, while adding a romantic note too. I liked how it frames her without overshadowing her (or drowning her out with busy-ness), and decided to go with it over a classic background because of that. I even like that it says "carousel" as it breaks the forth wall for me, reminding me this isn't an actual knight I am designing, but rather giving Sarah an outfit to go larp in (so kind of like they had a left over backdrop that they then used for the larp session or something; larp = live action role play for those who don't know).
I went with whimsy but modest accessories she could fight in, so they had to be small, light, and not something an enemy could easily grab. Hence a small tiara with a rose (War of the Roses anyone?) and little elf ear cuffs.
Alesaan
Star-Crossed Memory
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elphiethesane
Dabbling Dreamer
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 3:55 pm
Oh What a Knight Designer: elphiethesane Model: Helen Description: Straight off the bat on this challenge, the idea of doing a knight jumped out at me. The reasons are mostly arbitrary and unimportant, but part of it was that Helen’s short and simple haircut reminded me of what a female knight looks like in my head. I also decided early on that I wanted to do something a little more fantastic than realistic. I’ve always found it appealing when fantasy costumes just completely ignore realism in favor of doing something that looks cool, whether it’d be practical or not. To me, it just ups the fantasy... If I could fight a dragon in a ball gown, I absolutely would.
So with that in mind, I attempted to combine both traditional knight imagery and more fanciful aesthetics into one coherent look. I tried to incorporate as many armored pieces as I could, which was tricky to do without letting it get too bulky and out of balance. I ended up with just the legs and the metallic parts around her chest, which is less than I’d ideally want, but I think it’s enough to get the idea across. I also included the cross symbol on the front as part of the traditional knight imagery, as it made me think of wearing a coat of arms. And of course a sword for her to fight with!
I added the circlet last, because as much as I wanted her face and short hair to be completely visible, all the details on the rest of her outfit made her bare head look a little odd. I think it bridges the gap nicely between the two side of her outfit, though, since it’s a pretty and non-practical accessory, but also nicely medieval.
The rest of the look it was dictated more by the color scheme than any specific logic. I stumbled across the idea of using those colors early on, and fell in love with it... The colors are a little on the bolder side, not too washed out or pastel, which I think suits a knight better, but at the same time the specific tones still suit Helen’s soft coloring. It also looks very elegant, which I think suits the role of the knight in shining armor.
To be completely honest, I was pretty out of my element on this challenge, as I only have a passing familiarity with anything that uses RPG classes. I spent a lot of time while I was working on this second guessing if my choices really fit the challenge. But I think I got the idea of a knight across pretty well, which is the main thing, and I greatly enjoy the final look in general.
Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 11:59 pm
Battle Ready! Designer: x_suicide_is_inevitable_x Model: Ella Description: The party members, having rested and prepared themselves to start their journey, assemble at the entrance to the dungeon, the first of many challenges that lie ahead. Ella, with shield in hand and a determined expression on her face, is the first to step in, ready to defend her teammates at all costs, and draws her sword. The adventure is only just beginning.
When I first saw this challenge, I knew I was at a disadvantage - the only time I've played an RPG with choosable classes, I chose the ones that make the most money for both my PCs, and then used an in-game cheat later on to recruit an almost max-level NPC to do all the fighting for me. ^^; Also, Ella's face isn't exactly what I'd call serious, so the only role I could see her playing was a ditzy magic user of some sort, but it came out more like a magical girl look. I gave up on that one, and then got stuck until today, when I decided to try a knight class theme. It's not my favorite entry, but it looks something like how I would dress a lady knight if I were to create one. I started with armor, and found the chestplate to be the best for defensive purposes, even if it was a bit bulky, and tried to balance it with a simpler armmod. Around her waist is a sash with a simplified version of her family's symbol on it - a golden circle on a red background, representing the Shield of Justice and the Cycle of Life and Death, which can also be seen on her shield of justice. I chose the background because it looks like a save point before entering a dungeon, and it provides a nice contrast to Ella's outfit. I thought the legs added a stance of confidence that was lacking before, but now, Ella's pouty smile sees more like she is summoning not her specialty, I know up all the courage in her to show a bit of bravery for her team, even with the certainty of danger lurking further down the path.
1. x_suicide_is_inevitable_x (Ella) Positive: Your attention to detail is admirable. There are so many small details that, when added together, make a huge impact on the design. Negative: The problem starts with the class chosen for Ella. With her innocent and girly features, a class like 'white mage' would have been better. Also, one judge finds the proportions of the model to be a little wonky.
2. milk cap (Sheenah) Positive: The overall image is admired and the description flows beautifully as it translates to the design. Negative: It's easier to work with strengths than it is to hide flaws. That flaming ginger hair and purple lips could have been flaunted as a mage, as there are many colour schemes that could have worked with the theme.
5. elphiethesane (Helen) Positive: Clever title, gorgeous look and so much promise with your new model. Judges praised many of the little details you included in the armour, which came together like magic. Negative: One judge did comment on the bulkiness. It's great that you mention it, because it means you're aware, but always try to move past it. Frankly, there were many other boots that could have fit the profile.
8. HCTotorro (Nicki) Positive: The design is creative and the judges are loving the look of Nicki in colours. Negative: Unlike our other afro girls, Nicki's hair is much denser, so you have to be cautious of it - like not making it look like a helmet.
10. AmberEmma (Wanda) Positive: The image was made perfectly clear even without the description, but with it, made it that much more enjoyable. The little details thrown in to authenticate the challenge were great, as well as the back story. Negative: This was hard to judge because you absolutely nailed your concept, which meant that you made a sacrifice. The more Wanda lurks in the darkness, the harder it is to see the garment, thus making it 'muddled'.
11. Alesaan (Sarah) Positive: This was the best we've seen from you! The chosen class was on point, the colours worked perfectly, the armour was smart and the description was finally at a length that was comfortable to read. Negative: The only thing the judge's aren't on board with is the headpiece. Going with an actual armoured piece or losing it all together would have made the look unmatched by any.
12. Ultrabord (Danielle) Positive: The concept and description are wonderful. The colours also look wonderful on your model. Negative: The nurses hat might be a little too 'on the nose' for the judge's liking. It's less of a healer and more of a nurse, making her appear unequipped for battle.
15. Dante Dolly (Melissa) Positive: 'Dark and mysterious' isn't a look we've ever seen on Melissa before and it's refreshing. The darkness brings out her fair features beautifully. Negative: Be careful of shading. The darkness of the pants stick out, looking out of place and although the cape is a great idea, the shadow cast on Melissa's face makes her feel sinister, as if the enemy rather than the hero.
Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 3:44 pm
Used to be Mine
Designer: Dante Dolly Model: Melissa
Description: Envy is the feeling of wanting something that belongs to someone else. Jealousy is the fear of losing something that is yours. The two go hand in hand and are often mistaken for one another. In Melissa's case one became the other. Her tightly jealous grip drove off her lover ages ago, and now that she's alone her envy has overtaken her.
I'll be honest in saying this was the hardest challenge yet. I love that I received Envy because I find it to be a fascinating sin, but translating into an avatar that conveyed my message was difficult.
Since green is the typical color of envy I started by putting Melissa in the emerald scheme because I thought it looked good on her complexion, but try as I might I struggled to create anything more than just a pretty avatar.
So I switched to toxic. I admit the color is a little less flattering than the deep hues of the emerald, but the item selection allowed me to build up this "green monster" concept I devised. Besides that, envy can be a terribly toxic emotion, so it doubles symbolically.
I knew I wanted the slimy arms above all else because I wanted to show how her feelings are slowly overtaking her and turning her into something vile. It took a little while to find a skirt that kept that theme going and from there I just tried to build and balance the look. I tried to balance the dark shadow of her peaking leg with lighter horns in the veil and I used the veil to tie her head into the look because she was becoming a bit top-heavy. The speech bubble is to couple with her sweet face and try to translate that even as she's transforming she feels innocent and victimized because she "just wants [them] back."
I skipped on a background this time, which I know is odd for me, but for one thing I thought the avatar was busy enough and a background only made it seem cluttered, and for another I liked the starkness of the avatar on pure white because it feels sort of empty and lonely around her.
Finally I chose a puddle of green in a darker color to show that she's bleeding out these toxic emotions into the world and when she does so they don't just go away. They get heavier.
Description: I love the whole concept of the seven deadly sins. However, I did have some trouble with this contest, nothing ever seemed quite right to me. At first I wanted to do a demon, then I went to angel, then I went to dragon, and I guess I came back to demon. Despite my obstacles, this is the first time in a long time I've been truly and completely happy about my entry.
Wrath is associated with heat, like fire and lava, so obviously, that was a must for my entry. Another thing associated with wrath is the color red, so you must be wondering, where's all the red? Even though I initially planned for Sheenah to be wearing all warm colors like red and orange, the only color the armmod came in was burgundy, and I think burgundy is a rich color that can easily represent anger. Additionally, burgundy is a rather nice color for royalty, and I'm shooting to convey that Sheenah is a "wrathful demon queen"!
I started with the legs that cracked and revealed glowing veins of magma, and sports a sash that hangs from the hips. Second came the armmod that drapes a burgundy sash upon Sheenah's shoulders and give her bared claws, ready to attack. The clothing at the waist, I thought, gave more depth to the outfit, and I paired that with the top that peeks out from the burgundy sash. The crown with horns adorned with a red jewel tells the viewer that she is royalty of some sort, and I tried balancing the red out with a red brooch on the top. Finally, I added some long, pointed ears and the fiery landscape she stands upon.
Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:27 pm
Challenge 8: Seven Deadly Sins Designer Name: HCTotorro Model Name: Nicki Outfit Title: The Consequence of Gluttony Description: Nicki overindulged all of her life and now that it's over she has to suffer for all eternity emo
Design: I decided to have a little fun with this theme because the sins are mostly so direct it's a little hard to just give a subtle nod and have it reflect in the design. I'm portraying the eventual consequence of a life of gluttony. Being forced to be surrounded by food without being able to partake in any. Orange is the color associated in gluttony so not only are her chains that color but so is her ravaged top. I realize the design is a little busy, but I think the idea is reflected well. As gluttony can involve an overconsumption of food, too much food is kind of the idea, neh? lol
Description: I first thought succubus when I saw I had lust of the seven deadly sins. Then I thought, how would lust look if I grounded the concept in the every day?
The everyday was more intriguing for me as I thought about the concept as I realized it was more horrific than the demonic take, but yet is also the more mundane (you can find a woman dressed up in sexy clothes pretty much everywhere; it's pretty common).
Why would I say the 'every day' is more horrific than the fantastical demon? Adultery (and the homicides that it sometimes leads to). The STD epidemic (and the horror stories you hear of people who have them and who don't tell their bed partners). The powerplay of sex in rape and molestation. Crimes of passion, or lust, as they say. Pretty friggin' terrifying given each of these happens every single day to so many victims worldwide.
Especially terrifying when you think of how the every day can be a coy grin, a shoulder bared in a sexy red sweater, someone already half undressed in a more than suggestive pose and looks to be promising someone a night of fun.
But it all starts somewhere.
I swear I have her tattoos on! I think the sweater or top interferes. So I call it a trick of the light given how the mood lighting is a huge component of this piece, and the contrast between her very visible light skin and the shadows of the room (which I tried to play up and yet balance between still having an outfit versus basically looking like she was in the nude or in just lingerie which seemed rather predictable). But proof so I am not disqualified for not having tattoos lol:
((5/18/18 at 5ish pm- I edited my description for a bit more context/clarity tho it did make it longer, sorry judges!))
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 2:31 pm
Never Satisfied
Designer: AmberEmma Model: Wanda
Description: Greed is the feeling of always wanting more and never begin satisfied with what you have. When making this outfit I found it difficult to convey what I wanted. I wanted her to have her back to us, the viewer to sort of represent how she's only focused on everything in front of her. The gold she's dazzled in now means nothing, she only wants the gems that happen to be out of reach.
Never looking back is normally seen as a good thing but in this case, by never looking back she never sees all that she has behind her. Wanda also has a soft face and I can find that at times it makes things a little more difficult. It's hard to ever imagine her as someone greedy when she looks so kind and caring. (She truly is my favorite model. )
My Bed of Sloths Designer: x_suicide_is_inevitable_x Model: Ella Description: Before Ella became a model, she was extremely lazy; she slept an average of twelve hours a day, she only went to the grocery store if she had nothing left in the fridge, her apartment was a pigsty, and the only exercise she ever did was walking through the grocery store and around the flat (other than the occasional single minute jog on the treadmill). She told herself every night at bedtime that the next day was going to be different - she would go to the gym, eat healthy food, clean up, start going to bed and waking up early. But every morning, she would hear her alarm go off and ignore it, sleeping another few hours, having no motivation to do anything else. Ella knew that what she was doing was bad for her body and mind, but she just felt like there was no way to get out of the cycle, so she did the one thing she knew she could do well: nothing. I started off with a dream cloud in the back and a ripped dress, because I figured I could BS type out something about being too lazy to fix it or get a new one, but the cloud made any backgrounds stay within its confines and the dress looked really weird with the armmod. Then, I decided to actually add a sloth or three, and that made it seem much less top-heavy. I used the legmod "The Usual Legs' because if Ella doesn't exercise, she's going to gain weight, and that one had the weight evenly (and more realistically) distributed. It was after I typed out the title and explanation for it (see below) that I realized I needed more knowledge on this deadly sin. I went to the Wikipedia page and, after reading all of it, I knew I could create a story as usual, but I would pull more from my own experience with sloth than anything I could find online. I figured that the only way Ella would be that heavy (which really doesn't seem like that much to me) was if it was before her time as a model or if she was fired. For those who want more story:
Her state of idleness originated with her depression, which was a product of many past experiences, but was sparked when the person she had fallen for told her "I hate you" in a fit of anger. It wasn't true, and she knew that, but it hurt so much that she kind of went through the motions of daily life until she had a breakdown a week later. After that, she grew dejected and somewhat apathetic and dropped her social life and sports altogether, basically becoming a shut-in. She recognized her symptoms as depression and knew she should see a therapist, but couldn't gather up enough motivation to even get out of bed, much less to go to a psychiatrist.
As for the title, a group of sloths is called a bed, which I thought was perfect for representing the sin as well. You say "don't be lazy", but look at my chosen sin! Seriously, though, we were swamped at work this week, and avi builder won't let me search for certain words on my tablet without messing up the whole page, but it's the only thing I can use at work for this. I'll post a picture of it next time it happens. Also, I didn't get the "May 13/18" announcement notice on my My Gaia page until the 16th. :S
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 9:22 pm
Queen of Sin Designer: elphiethesane Model: Helen Description: Pride is often considered the worst of all seven deadly sins, and the root of them all. What better way to represent that than to turn Helen into a queen? I immediately pictured a beautiful demon queen, the leader of the sins. And since the color purple is associated with both pride and royalty, I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.
The first item I decided to use were the arms, which I liked both for the elegant shawl that I thought went well with the royal look, and the mirror she holds. While doing research for ideas, I found that pride and vanity are used somewhat interchangeably in art, so a mirror seemed a perfect symbol to add. The apple did make me hesitate, but with its golden color I thought of the Apple of Discord, which arguably used an appeal to vanity to cause chaos and destruction. So I think it works as a symbol.
I didn’t want to stop there with the symbology, though, so I looked for other symbols I could incorporate. One symbol for the sin of pride I found were lions (of course peacocks are more common when it comes to animal symbols, but I had a difficult time finding peacock items that worked), which I decided to work in through the use of a furred tail instead of a more traditional demon tail and the fur on her chest, meant to be reminiscent of a lion’s mane.
Lastly, I want to not that I created her crown/headdress specifically to take advantage of her short, close-to-her-head hair. I worried early on that she might not look queenly enough with such a short, simple haircut, so I decided to create something that would wrap around her whole head (which wouldn’t be possible, or at least not as possible, with any other hair) rather than just use a traditional crown. I like the look it gives her in the end, especially since the horns almost look like they could just be a part of it.
