Welcome to Gaia! ::

Thank you everyone, it's been a tough couple of days but getting a little easier each day. heart

My vote is also for the numbers, with Tink winning and Princess joining Your Local Gay in the elimination. The numbers are really close for the top three which is exciting. Bottom two as well, but that isn't as exciting to see, haha.

Challenge 6: Under my SKIN

DAVlD DUCHOVNY (Keran)
Score: 4
Comments: ....this is not good. There is a lot of layering and textures to the dress which is a nice thing and helps it look like more work went in to it than some of the dresses have in the past. The arm pose paired with the rest of the outfit is awful though, makes Keran look like she has no neck, things just look kind of chunky? I don't like the sheer skirt matching the skin. And this skin is just awful for Keran. Her hair looks like a bad wig.

x_suicide_is_inevitable_x (Ebony)
Score: 8
Comments: I've always loved the look of magma and lava breaking through black cooler pieces, especially when incorporated into fantasy beings. I especially love the dress this has been paired with, and I think this brings out Ebony's eyes in ways her looks don't normally emphasize for me. I do wish there wasn't yellow in the skin of the face, I think it is a little off in the balance. But the color is other places so on the whole it works, just looking at the face it's a bit off. And I don't think I like the bright red ruby crown? The legs also disappear a little, but this are more nitpicky details.

khionna (Veronica)
Score: 7.5
Comments: Props to khi for using a rather abstract and uncommon skin mod! She is an adorable little firefly, though over all I wish there was some more brightness to the look to really work for the firefly story. There's no spark. And when it's black on dark on grey it gets hard to appreciate some of the details because it kind of blends too much. But I admire the choice of skin mod and the difficulty of it - and not covering much of it.

Tink_Bel (Zahara)
Score: 9.5
Comments: Tink just keeps knocking it out of the water for me. I love that she chose a skin that was so drastically different from Zahara's usual tone, and that she made her a creature. I liiiiiive for creature avis. I have never really cared for the grombie skin, but I want to use it now to create a version of this avatar. I like the balance and the colors used, even with the few stray sapphires. And as much as I love the treasure matching the grombie color, I almost wish it had been gold or more silver to really translate as treasure.

METTAT0N (Brooke)
Score: 5.5
Comments: This instantly lost points for me because it is barely a skin mod. Come on Mett, pink shading does not a skin mod make! And like..it looks fine. The pink shading pairs really well with Brooke and her eyes. I'm not sure I like how her feet disappear into the terrarium, there's like a weird balance, but I don't hate it. Don't hate this look at all, it works, it looks good...if some weird cluttered spots...but this doesn't work for me for a skin mod challenge.

RENstrawberry (Madison)
Score: 6
Comments: Sexy demon look for Madison, REN embracing a bold skin for the challenge, which is great to see. There are skirt layers a little weird on the one leg, but it isn't the worst thing to see her hip. I'm not sure I love the sparkly wings. But frankly this is just...incredibly basic? Threw on wings, horns, tail to match the skin and sell the demon idea, but then just put on a dress and a leg mod, little arm mod? Like this honestly looks pretty great and I'd be happy to have this avatar on, but for this stage of the competition, it is far too basic.

Kiwi Cannoli (Daphne)
Score: 8
Comments: I love how the skin color she chose gave the hair an almost pink glint. I wish the face wasn't so covered, though I don't hate it being covered either, just..I like seeing faces. This is a good color for Daphne though, and I like the elegant kind of take on a classic witch. And I like the little cat, matches the color of the hat. I'm not sure if it looks like she's casting a spell or catching her balance, but I like the pose. I don't think this is the boldest or most creative look I've ever seen, but it is very solid and polished.

egggoat (Xoco)
Score: 7
Comments: mmm I have mixed feelings on this. But it's definitely a skin mod, and it's on the bolder side. I wish it hadn't been quite so covered up so that it could be appreciated more? But I'm really loving the color scheme, and I like the balance and general silhouette. But...it also leaves me feeling a bit meh.

Challenge: six

Suicide – Ebony – 6.5
Perfect color choice of skin. Compliments Ebony’s hair and eyes wonderfully. The skin’s hues bleed into the rest of the design in a well thought out demonic choice. There is a lot of motion to the look and I’m glad a background wasn’t used to be able to take in all the details. That said, I don’t think everything layers all that well together like the train and the flames, and the pieces can seem cluttered in spots like around her neck.

Kiwi – Daphne - 8
I love the ambiance of this piece, and that hue of dark teal. The pale green skin compliments it well and is a good contrast against the lightness of Daphne’s hair and the deepness of the blueish green. Everything here is fitting and the overall result is great, but fashion wise and skin choice wise I’m rather underwhelmed while looking at this one.

Tink – Zahara – 7.5
Lovely. The pale gray skin and dusk rose color look beautiful on Zahara. Her expressions and those arms along with the curvy hips are wonderful. I’m not a huge fan of the treasure as it looks like fluffy dirty wool to be unless I look hard, but a background element was needed as otherwise she could look rather plain with the bikini and stocking. EDIT – ok, so this look reminds me a lot of Ren’s. I wish it had been more different.

David – Keran - 5
Alright, I’m just gonna say it. I hate the skin color on Keran and the outfit in general. Clearly David’s and my aesthetics don’t match up here. She looks like a blue smurf playing dress up in her mommy’s closet. The pieces don’t match at all – the tutu overskirt probably being the biggest thing I think needs to go from the design (the color was right, but everything else about it was wrong).I did not get goblin, and still don’t really as I look at this. I love the goblin idea and would love to have seen it work.

Egggoat – Xoco - 9
Hmmm, this intrigues me. The outfit is pimpin’ and the background is brilliant with it. Xoco’s expression is just perfect for the atmosphere of this one and the very subtle skin mod keeps growing on me. At first I wanted the skin to be more pronounced, but really this was perfect for this look. It looks like the dust from that storm cloud behind her left residue on her face as she treks on. Perfect.

Khionna – Veronica – 9
This has always been one of my fav skin mods and I love to see Veronica as a firefly! Man she’d win some Halloween costume contests for sure if she and the outfit were real and not just in Gaia. The tone, the wow factor in the skin, the sexy outfit and a background that enhances everything – so on point.

Met – Brooke – 6
Man this is another idea that I love the concept of but am just not feeling. I like the background and the shade of color on her face, but that is it. The color crystals she is wearing doesn’t match the sorbet hues at all to me. It’s like a pale gold? And the bikini just looks lazy. The white thigh highs feel totally out of place.

Ren – Madison – 7
A bold color choice that really pops (and pays off). The dress and fishnets and garter belt are all great. This look reminds me a lot of Tink’s though, but this was posted first, so I guess Tink’s look really reminds me of this one with the sexy minimal outfit, the hands on the face, the wings and horns. But demonic wise, I’m kinda ho hum. Nothing excites me or feels new. Just sexy generic demon number 384.

All done. Whew.

I've picked up a second job, peeps. So to say that
I'm losing steam is a great understatement lol

Seems like life has been getting crazy again. Good luck with the new job Goddess, and I hope the kitten gets better and starts to adjust Dante. Dx

As for judging this round, David was the clear cut bottom designer with an average score of 45%. Mett and Ren were also in the bottom with scores of 58% and 69% respectively, but I couldn't imagine sending one of them home over David.

Tink came in on top with 83% average, with egg hot on her heels at 81%, and Kiwi a little bit behind them at 76%. I tend towards the numbers so would advocate for Tink to win, but egg had a great week too.

Short and sweet: I think David is out, and Tink or egg gets the win.

I would vouch for Tink to be crowned winner. Yeah, it could be a little boring to
see the same winner week after week, but at the same time, shouldn't we give
credit where credit is due? Perhaps the other designers will start to critique Tink's
work as we do and pick up on her strengths as use them to their advantage.

I'm good with David saying goodbye. Like I said in my panel post, I'm way sick of
the dresses and I'm just over it.

Honestly? I hate to tie up the vote, but I think egg. I usually go for the numbers, but in this case Tink’s is so thematically close to Ren’s this week that I feel like giving her the win would basically be saying, “It’s fine to use the same items/concepts as another designer as long as it’s pretty!” And I’m not totally comfortable with that?

There are times it is tough to be the head judge and make the deciding vote, especially when it's over two looks that are as strong as the two of these. At the end of the day though when there is indecision like this and one design is ahead in the numbers, I'm going to follow the numbers, so Tink gets the win and David is out.

But I do want to say I think in this instance it goes beyond the numbers. I absolutely like to see variety in winners, but I don't think that designers should be docked either for being strong week after week. Ren and Tink's looks have similarities with the demon wings and horns, and the arm mod, but really the arm mod is the only thing that stands out to me as being problematic. The wings and horns chosen were such drastically different styles, and Ren clearly went for demon while Tink went for dragon. And not to put too fine a point on it, but Tink's look was hand down better than Ren's, and there was clearly more thought put into it.

And none of this is to say that Egg didn't have a strong week or hasn't shown she deserves recognition of winning, but as the numbers showed Tink just edged her out. Now if everyone is in favor of it, I could send Egg a platinum tip for making such a fantastic look and bringing up such a debate with the judges.