I was curious, recently, about reaching out to the mentors for their perspective on what I was doing for a challenge.
I wanted to know if anyone knew of the process for it. Do I just send a DM? Is there a form or specific forum for it?
And when the mentor is helping, what kind of feedback do they give? Like am I asking about a rule or guideline or could they give some objective perspective on my current design?
For the record, I have reached out to some of the amazing mentors, but I figured I'd ask because I wanted to make sure I'm doing it right.
Thank you!! heart
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 4:23 pm
Hi there!!
basically I would say reaching out to a mentor is just a more casual, relaxed way to get feedback on your designs/description/rules etc than reaching out directly to a judge or publicly via the forum. oh and of course we're human, so reaching out to any of us could end up a bit different but in general:
-we will do our best not to give you anything too specific or anything you don't ask for. and you can ask pretty much anything and we will just do our best without trying to dominate your creativity -if you reach out to us with questions about rules etc we can relay those questions anonymously to the judges for you so you don't have to worry about any sort of impression it might leave -we can read over descriptions and let you know if they make sense, if they feel too long, too short, etc but won't tell you specifically what you should write -we can look over your model and let you know what sort of impression it gives us / how much we personally like it / etc (although our opinions don't really matter so take it how you like )
oh yeah! and you can reach out via PM on gaia, or some users prefer to chat over discord instead. there is no like, formatting necessary.
also you can literally just shoot us your wip and just cry if you want to xd "like agh im so frustrated why is it so hard to find a decent hat??!!" I did that during my cycle
I'm probably missing things... hmm... I guess in summary, we want mentors to be a safe space for competitors to share their concerns/excitement/ and doubts!
lol i was just drafting up a reply, but Faith beat me to the punch
pretty much exactly that, though i'll add that i personally like to be sort of a devil's advocate(?)
for example: if a designer is stuck between two options/items/looks, i'll won't tell you what to choose, but i'll point out some pros and some cons for each after that, then it's up to your consideration
i check my messages daily during competition weeks (as opposed to judging weeks when designers aren't busy building their looks)
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ gaia_moon⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 5:06 pm
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:02 pm
FaithEmblem
kaekie
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
basically I would say reaching out to a mentor is just a more casual, relaxed way to get feedback on your designs/description/rules etc than reaching out directly to a judge or publicly via the forum. oh and of course we're human, so reaching out to any of us could end up a bit different but in general:
-we will do our best not to give you anything too specific or anything you don't ask for. and you can ask pretty much anything and we will just do our best without trying to dominate your creativity -if you reach out to us with questions about rules etc we can relay those questions anonymously to the judges for you so you don't have to worry about any sort of impression it might leave -we can read over descriptions and let you know if they make sense, if they feel too long, too short, etc but won't tell you specifically what you should write -we can look over your model and let you know what sort of impression it gives us / how much we personally like it / etc (although our opinions don't really matter so take it how you like )
oh yeah! and you can reach out via PM on gaia, or some users prefer to chat over discord instead. there is no like, formatting necessary.
also you can literally just shoot us your wip and just cry if you want to xd "like agh im so frustrated why is it so hard to find a decent hat??!!" I did that during my cycle
I'm probably missing things... hmm... I guess in summary, we want mentors to be a safe space for competitors to share their concerns/excitement/ and doubts!
Quote:
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
lol i was just drafting up a reply, but Faith beat me to the punch
pretty much exactly that, though i'll add that i personally like to be sort of a devil's advocate(?)
for example: if a designer is stuck between two options/items/looks, i'll won't tell you what to choose, but i'll point out some pros and some cons for each after that, then it's up to your consideration
i check my messages daily during competition weeks (as opposed to judging weeks when designers aren't busy building their looks)
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆
You are both the best! Thank you for your answers- it definitely helps ease my anxiety about approaching you for questions, and I'm sure it helps the rest of us in the cycle as well. heart
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:13 pm
kaekie
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
This is a great question as well. Thank you! heart
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
do you happen to remember where you saw this at? I was correct in that we currently are not using those so wherever you saw it we should update that apologies for any confusion that caused!
EDIT: wishflower found itttt
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 9:11 pm
FaithEmblem
kaekie
FaithEmblem
kaekie
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
do you happen to remember where you saw this at? I was correct in that we currently are not using those so wherever you saw it we should update that apologies for any confusion that caused!
EDIT: wishflower found itttt
Yey thank you so much! So, I can PM any mentor in any challenge right? heart I thought I only had one chance at most so this is really nice to know emotion_kirakira
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
do you happen to remember where you saw this at? I was correct in that we currently are not using those so wherever you saw it we should update that apologies for any confusion that caused!
EDIT: wishflower found itttt
Yey thank you so much! So, I can PM any mentor in any challenge right? heart I thought I only had one chance at most so this is really nice to know emotion_kirakira
yes totally! we have assigned roles so to speak, but really that's in place in case it's very busy so no one gets overwhelmed, my experience so far is that anybody is glad to hear from you guys (I think we all like to get a sneak peak of the entries xd)
All of the mentors are available via the Project Catwalk discord if that's easier for you, too! Of course there's no pressure to send us anything either-- it's really just a "if you ever need us!" type thing
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 9:44 pm
FaithEmblem
kaekie
FaithEmblem
kaekie
FaithEmblem
kaekie
Hi would also like to ask how many times can we message a mentor? I'm not sure i was understanding the "voucher" mentioned in the rules so I've been super hesitant and shy to PM any mentor redface
oooooo I didn't think we were doing vouchers anymore I gave unlimited advice last cycle xd
will find the answers and come back to you
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
do you happen to remember where you saw this at? I was correct in that we currently are not using those so wherever you saw it we should update that apologies for any confusion that caused!
EDIT: wishflower found itttt
Yey thank you so much! So, I can PM any mentor in any challenge right? heart I thought I only had one chance at most so this is really nice to know emotion_kirakira
yes totally! we have assigned roles so to speak, but really that's in place in case it's very busy so no one gets overwhelmed, my experience so far is that anybody is glad to hear from you guys (I think we all like to get a sneak peak of the entries xd)
All of the mentors are available via the Project Catwalk discord if that's easier for you, too! Of course there's no pressure to send us anything either-- it's really just a "if you ever need us!" type thing
I will take note of all this, thank you so much for your help! I'm excited now bc I've been so nervous about my entries and getting blinded by working on it for so long. A different voice is much needed for me heart
thank you! I read it had something to do with the judges panel so I didnt know what the process was whee
do you happen to remember where you saw this at? I was correct in that we currently are not using those so wherever you saw it we should update that apologies for any confusion that caused!
EDIT: wishflower found itttt
Yey thank you so much! So, I can PM any mentor in any challenge right? heart I thought I only had one chance at most so this is really nice to know emotion_kirakira
yes totally! we have assigned roles so to speak, but really that's in place in case it's very busy so no one gets overwhelmed, my experience so far is that anybody is glad to hear from you guys (I think we all like to get a sneak peak of the entries xd)
All of the mentors are available via the Project Catwalk discord if that's easier for you, too! Of course there's no pressure to send us anything either-- it's really just a "if you ever need us!" type thing
I will take note of all this, thank you so much for your help! I'm excited now bc I've been so nervous about my entries and getting blinded by working on it for so long. A different voice is much needed for me heart
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