Love is Loveemotion_bigheart Designer: iiiFlames Model: Anders Description:
Being a queer person, I adore seeing love blossom in all forms, especially queer love. Here, I have Anders, blushing, as he's shyly walking with his partner on the beach shore.
Anders' outfit is rather simple. He's rocking a tank top, with plaid shorts and a flannel wrapped on his waist. Perfect for a beach date.
(P.S: I didn't see a rule where mods can't enter, so I entered.)
Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2024 8:58 am
No Place like London Designer: Haji Demon Model: Gustavo
Description: I made the look with Anders in mind yesterday, today, I had to hastily change it XD But Gustavo rocks the look too I went for late night in streets of old London. Its cold and hazy, but its always cold and hazy and the crime never sleeps. Things have been pretty bad recently but Gustavo is lending his eyes to the great detective tonight
In spite of bright plaids, I tried to create the whole look as dark, dull and murky. Gave some dark circles to a layer of dust to Gustavo too in order to match the environment
Mad for Plaid The first challenge is quite simple. Build an avatar with one of the models featuring plaid in your look! Backgrounds required, plus a short description of what you were going for with your design.
Description Stephen is running away from his life. He doesn't know where he's going yet, but he manages to get by with grit and determination, as well as the company of his dog.
I decided to base my design around the armmod. I wanted the look to feel like he's uncertain about his future both by his facial expression as well as the background.
Description - I wanted a plaid that matched Billy's energy and warmth and red was going to be the vessel to carry that. The bottom was a second choice which I believe pulls back from having too much scarlet on him. The hat and it's poof along with the plaid red luggage warm all the hearts this chilly day as Billy goes from home to train, train to Uber, and Uber to his childhood home and the family that awaits his arrival.
Entry edit: The nose looked the same but was not the same nose listed on the model. It should be correct now.
It was a little tough to choose since all of the styles were good, but as there were only a few entries, I have already decided the winners. Third place is a tie, so this time everybody gets prizes, although this is a one-time thing. Hopefully next time there will be more entries, and the challenge will run for almost two weeks.
First place: Haji Demon Amazing style and gorgeous colors; not too bright or garish and lovely variety while keeping the look cohesive; this avatar definitely has an autumn in London feel, and I can tell Gustavo has been working hard, he's obviously seen a lot, he has that sleepless look of a nighttime detective and the description matches the image fantastically.
My only critique would be that as I'm allergic to nicotine and smoking isn't healthy, that's the one element of your look that I don't like- this is partially subjective, of course, and it still makes sense with the look and theme. I do believe some kind of smoke/haze item other than a cigarette would've worked perfectly with the hazy London theme though.
Second place: Zenith in a Car Door
I love how you used plaid for several different parts of the outfit, and I like being able to see the item list- not just so I can see your style process, but also because sometimes I see an amazing avatar that someone has made and think Wow, that looks cool, I'd like to use something like that in an avatar of my own later! Also, your story is really cute, that's a small bonus.
I think the style could've been improved if the background had more color to it, the outfit is a little too monochrome; the red and neutral tones do of course match well, but a more natural looking background that wasn't as grayscale would've made the whole look pop better, and perhaps a slightly different pants item as these suit pants look very formal and don't quite fit with this particular hat and coat.
Third place: It's a tie (iiiFlames and mythological irony)
I liked both of these looks a lot! Both of them had a casual theme, although they have completely different moods/energy to the looks. In the end I couldn't choose one over the other, so both of you will get the 2,000 platinum, but I'll still explain what I liked about both of them separately.
iiiFlames You posted your entry right at the beginning of the challenge which I really appreciate! Also, the beach theme is perfect for the model Anders, I made him with a beach boy look in mind. Can't say I'm surprised that people were drawn to the "cute blond guy" model either, although I made diverse models on purpose. I also love the beach date theme, he's not afraid to be himself, and the love is love theme is well done here.
A few things I think might've been improved are the shorts, being a khaki tan color, don't quite match his tan skin as well as a bolder color would have. The armmod suits him well, but the pose is a bit simple- his hands just kind of sit by his sides, I think a flirtier arm pose might work better with the cute date theme. Also, the companion on one side makes the avatar a little asymmetrical, although the palm tree, boat and heart on the other side do partially balance it out (I might've added a cute pet on the other side if I was just making the avatar for myself, or a picnic basket, or something like that.)
mythological irony I love your description so much, and the expression on Stephen's face is fantastic! You basically described an entire plot in one sentence, I can easily imagine someone writing an entire novel about Stephen's adventures (and misadventures.) The casual outfit you chose for him also fits the theme you used well, and the background is perfect.
The elements I wasn't as big on are that this dog item looks a bit cartoony, and while it might work with this background by itself, it has a whole different energy than the desperate hitch hiker- a more realistic dog item might work better. Some of the outfits seems a little simple, and maybe the right hat could've completed the outfit. Also, these particular shorts/legs give the model a bit of a childish look which might've been what you were going for, but I would be seriously concerned if a 14-year-old was on the run trying to fend for himself as opposed to a young adult, so I think items that suggested he was a bit older might work better with this theme (they can be hard to find on Gaia- I found a bare leg item guide in Gaia Guides and Resources in the forum.)
(bear in mind though, some of this is based on my own interpretations of the looks- a different person might prefer completely different avatar aesthetics.)
Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2024 11:53 am
Thank you so much for the prize and hosting this biggrin
"Thanks for waiting for me" emotion_hug Designer: iiiFlames Model: Kento Description:
This is practically my first submission, but in a different font.
Kento, on his sleepwear, who was supposed to get ready for their date, saw his lover sleeping by the window. He sat next to where his lover's sleeping, holding his hand, silently thanking him, by holding his hand, for waiting for so long that he fell asleep.
In a nutshell, I'm all for genderless love, hence the repetition of motif from the last challenge. emotion_bigheart
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:30 pm
Title A Drifting Picnic
Designer mythological irony
Model Stephen
Challenge
Lots of Love How is your model spending Valentine's day? Does he have a hot date, or maybe a me-day to pamper himself? The challenge is to design a Valentine themed outfit, once again using a background and including a brief description that tells me a short story of how your chosen model will be spending this special day; item lists are once again encouraged but not required.
Description I decided to continue the storyline of my first entry.
Stephen spends his Valentine's Day having a picnic with his fellow drifter Heather. They met in a different state a few years ago and always spend time together whenever they bump into each other. They have a very close platonic relationship and sometimes joke that they should just get married.
I gave Stephen a primarily red, white, and pink outfit to represent Valentine's Day, along with the heart on his hat. I made his pants a different color to better fit his aesthetic since I can't imagine him having flashy pants.
Stephen's dog has been retconned and is now an energetic Shiba Inu.
Description: Winter is over and spring has come, the scenery erupts back to life, grass is green, birds are singing, flowers are blooming and so is love. Looks like the school time is over, the sight of a young couple walk back to their home taking a 'shortcut' through the familiar beautiful park just hits you with a sweet nostalgia. It feels like just yesterday you asked your first crush out, the combination of giddy and nervous feeling washes over you
This entry was a bit easy to make. I mostly aimed for bright colors for that springtime of youth feels. Only issue was finding petals that layer just right. A lot of good flower/petal items just didnt work that well with a companion
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2024 7:16 am
First place: Haji Demon I love how your design tells a story even before I read the description; it looks like a scene out of a shoujo romance manga. I like how you used bright warm colors and a romantic cherry blossom theme. You did a great job of dressing Anders in a school uniform that pairs well with his girlfriend's outfit. I do think it could've been improved if the companion had a more natural hair color to soften the look, as the purple hair clashes a little with the rest of the look and seems a bit too artificial (it might work better with a more punky look.) And yeah, I understand it can be hard to find the perfect coordinating flower petal items- they aren't perfect but I like what you did with them, I'd recommend using one of them but not the other.
Second place: iiiFlames I really like the cute date scene and story, you found some really nice arm and leg items, and the scenery is really nice. However, the description is a bit hard to read and contains too many commas. Also, the outfit for Kento is a completely different style than the companion, like he underdressed or his date overdressed for the occasion.
Third place: mythological irony I love how you continued the theme, however this avatar didn't have as much color coordination compared to the others- the companion's color scheme clashes a bit with the rest of the style, and the foggy foreground with fireflies doesn't quite feel right combined with the street background. it seems like you fused two different styles that would've looked amazing separately- street style, and a suburban picnic. I still really like this story, and the date scene is really cute.
(Editing this post since it seems easier than posting a new one.)
