The burlesque challenge. The last challenge of Cycle 1 before the finale. Back then, looking through this challenge as an audience, I didn't know what burlesque was. Fast forward, years later, I found RuPaul's Drag Race, and drag as a whole, and all things relating to drag, including burlesque, so it's safe to say that I know burlesque now. NGL, this would've been a fun challenge to do now. Maybe a challenge reuse is in order? wink
Description: I can't explain my joy at seeing the theme for this round. I have a lot of friends in burlesque and a passion for the art. I started right away with the Dazzling Rose item. It's one of my favorites on all of Gaia and I was torn if I wanted to use the skirt or the arms, but in the end that fabulous fan got across the showmanship I wanted for this avatar.
The headdress was harder. I knew I wanted something big and showy, and I used agape to lift Melissa's hair up, but beyond that I was blank. I started with the feathered pink showgirl cap, but the hot pink of the old item and general pixelation was a nightmare. So I found the softer black feathers and mixed it with big pink lace. I knew when Melissa walked on stage it would be the first thing to draw the eye, making the roam downward more satisfying.
I made a bold choice and opted to put Melissa toward the end of her dance and so she's down to tail feathers, pasties, panties, and gloves! She's been dancing all evening, shimming out of article after article and calling out to the audience with little taunts, Gypsy-style. Since this challenge is about burlesque I really wanted to focus on Melissa's body. I chose sexy legs (complete with color balancing black heels) with a bit of muscle but not so thick or thin to look unmatched on Melissa.
Lately I've abandoned backgrounds to avoid clutter, but burlesque begs for a stage and so I chose blue both for the sensual atmosphere and because the contrast pushes Melissa (rather than consumes her as the pink and red stages did).
Last but not least, I threw some confetti at her for that added pizzazz. In the end I'm very pleased and hope Melissa and I get to move on to the next round.
Las Vegas Live!!! Designer: iiiFlames Model: Chloe Description:
I'm an avid follower of many drag queens, and half of the queens I follow are in the burlesque world and/or working in Las Vegas. This gave me the idea to pay homage to the burlesque queens working hard in the industry. I wanted to create a really dragged-out version of burlesque, with a touch of exoticness to it by giving it a Rio de Janeiro carnival feel with the colours. Full of all that glitz and glam.
To start, I chose to do an outfit with the "Flamboyant" colour scheme, because the colours remind me a lot of Rio (both the place and the bird movie), fitting for that exotic feel that I'm looking for. Next, I created this ethereal-like headpiece, giving you that feel of Chloe being the goddess of the tropics doing burlesque. Then, I found this armmod with feathers and wings that go great together with the headpiece. Lastly, for the outfit, I have this ornate bra, with panties with frills (because I couldn't find anything better to pair the bra with), and stockings with gradients of shades of greens and blues.
The background was the easier part of the outfit since there are so many varieties of stages that resemble a burlesque stage, but I chose this particular stage because it reminds me a lot of the stage that the cast of "RuPaul's Drag Race LIVE: Las Vegas" usually performs at. All in all, I'm very pleased with how my outfit turned out. My design came together much easier than I expected. Maybe it's because it's inspired by one of the things that I love the most in the world.
This look is burlesque the house down boots, mawma yes gawd!!! *tongue pop*
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:21 am
Cycle 1 Conclusion
This was such a fun experience for me. I didn't have much to offer, but I was happy with how everything turned out, despite my lack of experience back then. With how much has happened since Cycle 1, it's safe to say that there's no way in hell that all the things I would've done now I could've came up then. Everything I made now is not something I can imagine myself doing when I competed. I've grown so much and learned a lot. I've come so far with my designs.
Also, kudos to everyone in this cycle! They made the experience so much better by being a part of it. They're the reason I wanted to do better ('cause I sucked). I highly recommend you all to check out all the designs in Cycle 1 on the Archives, they're amazing (there are some designs that you can't see anymore tho). My personal favorites in this cycle are the designs in Challenge 6, 7, and the finale.
iiiFlames Vice Captain
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iiiFlames Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:22 am
Cycle 2
I tried auditioning for the second cycle but unfortunately did not make the cut. Looking back on my run on Cycle 1 and seeing my audition on Cycle 2, I don't think my aesthetic changed at all, nor did I show growth ('cause I don't think I gained any at the time), so I did not make it the second time around, deservedly.
So the following looks I'm about to show are the ones that I auditioned with for Cycle 2, and my update on the said audition looks.
Without further ado, here's what I would've done for my audition looks now:
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:22 am
Cycle 2 Audition (1st Choice, Veronica)
For the model that I wanted to work with for Cycle 2, looking through the model pool, I knew I wanted Veronica as my first choice, but I had tough competitors that also wanted her. I didn't want them to take her, so I gave it my all with my audition entry back then, and... look at my audition below and you'll see why I didn't make the cut. And if you think that's bad, check out what I made for my 2nd choice... emotion_facepalm The journey from whatever I made that time, to what I would've done now is crazy. How drastic, the differences between the two looks.
For my 2nd choice, I wanted to work with Copper, since, at the time, I saw her as a good model for me to show my growth (that I didn't have), and that I can work with models with bright hair like hers (I couldn't, at least at that time). My approach for my update on Copper's Witch look is a bit of a left-field compared to the original. I changed the color scheme, took key items to my original entry (minus the broom), and made a completely new outfit, but still kept the witch motif.
Dare I say this was the best cycle the guild has had. Every cycle is always a serve, but Cycle 2 just hits different for me, and, obviously Cycle 5 wink. Check out the Project Catwalk Cycle 2 on the Archives, and you'll see what I mean (some images aren't available anymore, though, unfortunately, but I promise it's a serve of a cycle).
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iiiFlames Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:23 am
Cycle 3
The 3rd cycle of Project Catwalk. During this cycle, I started dabbling into ethereal aesthetics and eventually found an intersection between cute and glamour. With my newfound aesthetic, I thought I finally had what it takes to win a cycle, so I auditioned for the 3rd time and got in the cycle with my 1st model choice, Abby.
My fantasy didn't come true, unfortunately. I was not well-received during my second run as a designer, and I wasn't taking it well, to the point that I gave up trying during a challenge that I was confident I would've been well-received if I hadn't given up at that point. What's worse is that halfway through the cycle, I accidentally punched my Chromebook (where I was mainly opening Gaia at the time), so that was an extra struggle on my part. Part of me still thinks that at least one judge hated me during this cycle, and reading through the judges' panel after the cycle ended, I saw a specific judge scoring me consistently poorly during my run. I'm fine with it now, but it took me weeks to get over about it... emotion_8c(I'm sensitive so stuff like these gets to my head quickly)
Don't get me wrong, there are comments about me that I do agree I needed to work on at the time (mainly my descriptions), and over time, I did improve on my weak points as a designer, but during the competition, I was slowly feeling defeated, the more we progressed through the cycle. I do still stand by some entries I made for Cycle 3, but I did make some changes on all of them to hopefully show my evolution as a designer.
With all that said, here are my revisions to my past outfits during Cycle 3, as well as outfits on challenges I would've done had I made it all the way:
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:24 am
Challenge 1: Glossy Candies
The 1st challenge calls for us to create looks using the "Candygloss" color scheme. Sounds easy enough. I was the first to submit an entry. I was proud of what I created then, and I was sure my concept would translate well into my entry. My downfall was my description (that'll be a running theme for me in the upcoming challenges). I will say, looking back at my descriptions... they're bad... Lots of misuse of words to describe my concept and lots and lots of unnecessary words, and sentences, and information. It's that bad that it was even named a cosplay by one judge (even though they never looked at the reference I gave them, so how would they conclude what I made was a recreation?).
Description: Who's to say you can't rock it on the way to the corner store for that guilty, rule-breaking, and yummy pleasure of your favorite candy?
Just because it's a quick run, (and the last one this week/month/year! I swear!) doesn't mean you can't look casually coquette and cheerleader-y sporty. The outfit is mostly inspired by that delicious hit of dopamine when we eat a favorite treat, and you can't really help that long, drawn out sigh of pleasure. Surely at some point, you'll regret it, but while we're at it, let's look good breaking all those candy rules.
emotion_dowantemotion_skullPeek-a-Booyum_pizzaemotion_ghost Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: My whole concept on my outfit for Abby is from a music video called Peek-a-Boo, by a K-Pop girl group named Red Velvet. If you already get where I'm going with my outfit, no need to read my lengthy description down below, but if you don't, please read it. click the link first, tho, the "music video" before the description
Based on the concept of Peek-a-Boo where the girls are cuties but psychotic and obsessed over a pizza guy. In Abby's case, she's just simply a psycho cutie. The group's name is Red Velvet, meaning the red is the cute side, and the velvet is the sexy and dark side. In Abby's case, her red side is her outfit, in which you can tell is a very cute outfit that matches her face. If you can't tell, I layered my outfit with accessories, such as a bow for both head and dress, and long sleeves. The velvet side of Abby is her holding a chainsaw with blood dripping down, which explains the hands lying on the floor. The chainsaw is one with the long sleeves, so I can't remove the sleeves, but I love it, so I don't mind, in fact, I wanted it. Overall, these are two complete opposite concepts as one. Opposite but coming together matching and fitting as one, like a yin-yang symbol. From my experience in Cycle 1, I learned various advice, such as: - cute is never enough to stand out, try out different concepts - never rely on dresses all the time, it's sloppy and boring, try to do layered outfits - only put accessories when it's necessary or important Since my elimination, I've been observing the rest of Cycle 1, and the entire Cycle 2 and took mental notes of various advice from judges given to various contestants. And with those advice and my experience on designing helped me to get to where I am now, partaking on Cycle 3 with my no.1 model on the cycle, Abby. I sincerely thank the judges for picking me as one of the contestants for the cycle, and for letting me learn a lot of fashion tips and advice. You helped me get here in this competition. emotion_bigheart
Here's what I would've done now: Peek-a-Booyum_pizzaemotion_ghost Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: Thank you, Judges, for having me again as a contestant, for Cycle 3. Hopefully, I get to show my growth and meet your expectations. I've learned a lot during Cycle 1, and I hope with this entry and the cycle, as a whole, you see my improvements as a designer. emotion_bigheart
Seeing the prompt for this challenge, I knew I wanted to go a darker concept. Thought it would make me stand out. And being a K-POP stan myself, I also wanted to reference the K-POP girl group, Red Velvet, specifically their music video "Peek-a-Boo", where the girls are in cute outfits while doing the murder on a pizza delivery guy. I wanted to go with that concept of their music video, except Abby's just killing people, in general, in an abandoned house, with a chainsaw.
For Abby's outfit, I layered together a bodice with a bow, a frilled layered skirt, and long sleeves (the slightly bloody chainsaw came with the sleeves) to create this flouncy dress. Complete with pink patterned long socks, and blue boots with fur. For added details, I added this huge polka dot bow to keep the bows consistent. And for the background, I found this spooky indoor setting, adding a touch of darkness to my entry. To add even more darkness (and gore), I have severed hands around Abby to add to the fact that Abby's murdering people.
The Valentine's challenge. Much like the previous challenge (and the upcoming challenges), I had a clear concept in mind, didn't execute it well. It didn't help the fact that my description is poorly written (same goes to most of my descriptions during the entire cycle). I hate that this is a running theme for me this cycle... crying
Aphrodite's Date Designer: RENstrawberry Model: Tara Description:
For a Valentine's day related challenge, I instantly knew I wanted to explore a look inspired by the Greek goddess Aphrodite, or Venus her Roman counterpart. I've studied Greek and Roman art history for several years now, and I thought this challenge would be a great way to exercise the symbols associated with the goddess I've learned.
My focus for this challenge was to keep the Goddess of Love enticing. I began developing Tara's rendition of the goddess with her clothing, or lack there of. (Aphrodite is pretty famous for being the nude goddess.) Tara's leg pose came with the fabric entwined with them which is very reminiscent of greco-roman sculpture. I loved the way some of Tara's braids fell to the front, so I wanted to choose a top and an arm pose that would not cover her hair. I knew I wanted to add laurels which are signature to the Greek gods! Luckily, I was able to find some that looked similar to myrtle flowers, which is one of the symbols associated with Aphrodite.
Next up, I added the column structure in the background to exemplify the greco-roman theme I was going for. Other elements of the background, including the water were absolutely necessary to this goddess because she was born from the sea. The water also inspired her gondola date! Prior to adding the water, I added a tree with white leaves to echo Tara's laurels.
Finally, I knew I wanted to add on a dove to complete Tara's Aphrodite's date look! Dove's are another symbol associated with Aphrodite. This was the most difficult part of the challenge, because so many of Gaia's bird items would layer behind the background items I already added. Fortunately, I finally found a dove that would show up with the model!
emotion_bigheartemotion_kissTi Amoemotion_kissemotion_bigheart Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Happy Valentines to all of us! emotion_bigheart
For this challenge, I chose a classic for this hearts day: a student's love confession, but with a twist. The setting's on Paris, the city of LOVE, and my model's Japanese which explains her saying "s-senpai"
For Abby's outfit, I went with a sweater vest to go with her cute long sleeves, and a classic uniform skirt along with a cute school shoes and socks to match the top. And I had to add in the headband, wanna know why? 'CAUSE I LOVE IT!!!
Concept-wise, I had to put in a boy companion, in Abby's case, her "senpai" going closer to her, ready to give Abby a once in a lifetime experience. And I added in a chat bubble that refers to her companion, in which Abby called him "senpai", which fits. honestly, the senpai chat bubble was the only thing i could find close to valentines, and now that i think about it, there are a lot of romance animes, and there is one that has a setting where the lovers are in Paris; Yumeiro Patissiere
The reason why the boy's color isn't matching Abby's btw, Abby's color scheme is raspberry while the boy has seabreeze, which if you think about it is opposite but attracts is because I wanted uniqueness to my entry since most of my competitors will probably do matching colors to their boys, and I have to stand out since this is a competition after all, so I had to go with the boy's colors looking different from Abby's.
disclaimer: the link i provided is the opening and ending song of the anime, and if your wondering, i was once an otaku when i was around 7th grade
another disclaimer: i miss this anime so much, my entry is basically inspired by the anime, and during the making of this entry, nostalgia hit me in the head so bad, that i had to watch Yumeiro Patissiere again, along with Yumeiro Patissiere Professional
last disclaimer: yes, there's a professional of this, and it is not ova, tho they do have an ova of Yumeiro Patissiere, but Professional is the continuation of Yumeiro Patissiere
one more disclaimer: i edited this because i was sleepy the time i made this, and i just sent my entry last night to get me a spot
Here's what I would've done now: Je t'aime, 愛してる, I love you. Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: Happy Valentine's, Project Catwalk! emotion_bigheart
Conceptually, I wanted to go the simple route, but done well. I wanted to go for the high school lovers concept. As a former otaku, my go-to anime has always been Yumeiro Patissiere. It's about a girl who transferred to a school for patissiers with no experience in baking, chasing her grandmother's footsteps of being the best patissier there is. At one point in the show, their school hosted a huge baking competition where the winning team got to study at the school's main branch in Paris, aka The City of Love. Having Abby as a Japanese schoolgirl in a Parisian setting sounds so fun so I went for that vision in mind.
For Abby's outfit, I went with the Demure color scheme. From there, I pieced together a white top with a huge blue collar, a long sleeve armmod with puffy shoulders, a simple pleated brown skirt, and brown shoes with knee-length white socks. For accessories, I had Abby wear a blue tie with a hint of pink and a blue ribbon headband with a star clip.
To add touches of Valentine's elements, I have Abby partnered up with a cute blondie, holding a bouquet of roses for Abby. In the show, the main character has a enemy to lover dynamic with one of her teammates for the competition, who she ends up with in the end (spoilers), so it was fitting for what I had visualized. I also have this string of heart intertwining my model and her date, to add even more romance into the look.
It was tough making Abby's outfit since there wasn't much Demure-colored items that I find cute enough for me to work with, but I liked what I made in the end.
Isn't that sweet? I guess so. emotion_bigheart
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:26 am
Challenge 3: The Distant Future
The futuristic fashion challenge. In my entry for this challenge, I mentioned this was "the hardest challenge" for me... Granted, this was in 2019 and there weren't that many futuristic items that I liked for what I had conceptualized at the time, so maybe I had reasons for saying what I said then. I do still stand with what I made for this, though, so all I really did for the updated version is just add more tech into it since that was one of the critiques that I received in this challenge.
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!
QTR-PRO-600 (Abby) Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Out of all the challenges I've ever faced, from the 1st cycle to the current one, this is the most difficult one. It took me two days to make this outfit for Abby, TWO! Usually I take only one day to make an entry, but noticeable that I wasn't being an early bird on submitting, so it may be bothering for you when you look at it on my point of view.
Now, about the outfit. Ah, yes! When I saw the challenge, I thought to myself "Hey! How about I make Abby a humanoid?", so I started my idea from there and started searching keywords like: robot, future, mecha, etc. and started clicking on items that looks robotic, and try to see if it looks good or not. And oh boy! All the items I made Abby wear are horrible, absolutely HORRIBLE! That's why I stopped making my entry and re-think things through on my entry. So I looked for color schemes that'll look very futuristic-looking, and I found two color schemes: checkmate and biohazard
I made a draft outfit with the checkmate scheme, but since I discovered checkmate is just a color, but not entirely a color scheme, all the items I found were so horrible, but I didn't let myself get that in the way, so I did my thing, but in the end, it's just as horrible as what I did in the first place, and I got so frustrated and mad, I can't even! So I stopped making my entry, and calmed myself down and relaxed for a bit, and thinking on how to do my outfit.
Then the next day, I retried making my entry, and found an armmod where your summoning lightning on your hands, then I started my outfit from there. I finally tried to search biohazard, then things are looking up for me, for I happen to find a corset with bottom pieces to match the lightning, and as a result, I made a bodysuit. For the accessories, I found these really cool-looking body lines that looked very futuristic and a semi-background to match my outfit. I also found these cute headphones with kitty ears to go along with everything.
Finally, I present to you my latest creation, QTR-PRO-600, but you can call her Abby
Here's what I would've done now: C3P-HO (Codename: Abby) Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: Hearing futuristic, I think along the lines of cool, and with Abby's rather cute features, it was tough turning the cutie that is my model into a cool futuristic fashion icon. I had a hard time conceptualizing what I wanted to do for this challenge, but eventually settled on doing a humanoid look. Think if Bayonetta's half-robot and it was set in the year 3000's.
For the colors, I stumbled upon this checkmate blue, and tried to find color schemes that uses this shade, and eventually found the Biohazard color scheme, which I thought looked futuristic. For the outfit, I assembled a cut-out bodysuit, with neon lines on the skin to add to the humanoid look, an armmod that has robotic parts, and a legmod that's half glowing in biohazard colors and half robotic. Perfect for my half-robot Bayonetta in the future feel.
For accessories, I went off. I have huge kitten ear headphones, a robot mask with a USB attached to the mouth, a gun for that Bayonetta-esque feel that I'm going for, and swords on Abby's back. For the background, I pieced together this graphic backdrop that kinda looks like a warning sign, as well as these futuristic effects that look like coded in honeycombs, ultimately looking like a computer simulation altogether. All the items came together surprisingly well. Very cool, very futuristic, very fashion.
And now, my latest invention, C3P-HO. Codename, Abby.
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iiiFlames Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:26 am
Challenge 4: Casual Friday
The casual challenge. This was one style that I'm not confident I can style well, even to this day, because seeing the prompt then and now, I'm still figuring out where to stop adding more because many of my looks tend to go on the maximalist route. So keeping it simple and stylish was a task and a half for past and present me, but I think I managed to pull off something cute.
Here's the winning entry, by The Dread Wolf: (the image below is unfortunately unavailable anymore.)
The Dread Wolf
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.
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
Here's what I would've done now: Red, Orange, Brown Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: Going casual isn't something I'm used to because the ethereal aesthetic that I'm known for involves me being a maximalist. So having to figure out an outfit that's simple yet stylish was a challenge, but I think I made an outfit that spoke out to me. Concept-wise, two styles come into mind; the fall girl, and the 2014 Tumblr girl aesthetics. Both peak fashions during the early 2010s. I figured I wanted to combine the two styles and put my spin on it.
For the outfit, Abby's wearing a white crocheted sweater, and a long red oversized scarf for the fall girl half. Abby also has on a flannel jacket wrapped on her waist (tucked under her sweater), black shorts that you can't see because it's hidden under the sweater and jacket, black tights, and red Converse for the Tumblr girl half. For accessories, my model has on her brown beanie with cute little pins to add to the Tumblr girl look, and a messenger bag to add to the fall girl aesthetic.
For the background, if we're doing a fall girl aesthetic, we need our model to be in a fall setting, so I have Abby on a street background, with tree branches and falling leaves. And for extra touches, Abby is holding red and white notepads to add more to the fall girl aesthetic. Overall, for someone who doesn't do casual, I'm pretty proud to have pulled this off.
She's a Tumblr girl, ready for fall. All she needs is her pumpkin spice latte. yum_coffee
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:27 am
Challenge 5: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles
The tarot card challenge. This was also the replication challenge where we needed to replicate a tarot card of our choosing. I chose to do the La Luna card since the moon on the card I referenced reminded me a lot of the Mitenala moon. There wasn't really much to this challenge that I remember hating or loving... It was a replication challenge... One thing in particular that I do remember vividly was that we were waiting for how many weeks until we got our feedback (some things happened that caused the delay which I won't elaborate further on)
So funny enough, I’ve actually done a fair bit of research into tarot cards and their symbolism in the past, wanting to make my own decks, so I was pretty excited to see this challenge. There’s so many opportunities for interesting symbolism using tarot as inspiration... I wish I had time to go more in depth about my choices, but I’m having to squeeze this in so I’ll have to keep my rambling to a minimum (which is probably for the best, honestly).
My first instinct was actually that I wanted to use a minor arcana card, figuring it would be more unusual, but unfortunately the timing of the challenge wasn’t the best for me so I didn’t have the time to dig through all those cards for the right one. But even narrowing down my choices to the major arcana wasn’t easy! I went through a number of ideas (I think my concept for Death was particularly good, but I couldn’t quite make it work) before I finally settled on The Star. Part of this was from my fondness for The Fool’s Journey, a particular way of interpreting or learning the major arcana which places the Fool as the protagonist of a journey that visits each card in order. The Star, in this, comes right after The Tower, which represents sudden, possibly destructive changes. This makes The Star the sort of “calm after the storm”, a period of reflection and calm rejuvenation. I loved how serene that made the card feel, and it thought that serenity would be a good match for Ophelia’s calm, stoic expression.
The Star’s imagery usually focuses on a woman, often nude, standing beside a pool of water and pouring water back in. The figure is usually pouring water from a jug, and sometimes has a second pouring onto the land beside her, but obviously find a item with that particular pose was likely to be impossible. I wasn’t even pleased with ones I found including a jug. Then I found these arms, which just looked perfect, with the water hitting the ground just right. It might be sacrificing the exact symbolism, but it works a lot better than trying to force it to be exactly right. I went through a similar conundrum with her gown... I considered making her near nude, with just a bit of fabric draped around her, but I thought that would be too simple and somewhat defeat the purpose of the challenge.
So instead I went with this gown... I hesitated to use such a pale color after previous complaints, but it’s silvery color and billowy shape (reminiscent of air, The Star card’s actual element) just screamed this card to me. She looks, to me, like the personification of a star, glowing in the night. It also took a few items to make it look like one single piece like that, so it’s not as overly simplistic as some of my other ideas. I also hesitated to use the background, with it’s extra prominent moon, but I doubted I could find another with such a serene nighttime setting that would allow for just the right placement of her feet and pouring water. I decided to compensate somewhat by giving her a bright crown of stars, which hopefully become at least an equal focus of the overall look.
One last bit of symbolism I wasn’t sure where else to fit in: on many versions of the card, the figure will be stepping into the pool of water, hence why I used that pose for her feet and made sure to pick a dress which showed them.
gaia_moonLa Luna (The Moon) Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Disclaimer: This is going to be my 1st ever submission, with an essay-long description, so I'm putting it in spoilers so that it won't take up space, and this is also my 2nd submission with links to references, so you kinda have to open them since you made us open links on tarot cards sorry if i sound very offensive
The Moon card in Tarot symbolizes that things might be amiss and that you can't trust your first impression. Things are not how they seem. The basic card symbols are a full moon (with a crescent within), twin pillars, a dog and a wolf howling, a stream that runs to the ocean, and a crayfish emerging from the water. When the Moon card is upright in a Tarot reading, it symbolizes deception, trickery, disillusionment, error, anxiety, danger, and double-dealing. The card means you may be going through a time of emotional or mental trials. Also pay attention to your dreams: What are they trying to tell you? Your subconscious is actively trying to get in touch. You also might be about to get your period! When the Moon card is reversed in a Tarot reading, it symbolizes discovering deception before damage can be done, trifling mistakes, and taking advantage of someone. It's the releasing of negativity and the letting go of fears. Your problems will lighten and you'll emerge with newfound confidence and clarity.
This outfit is inspired by an image that I got from one of the websites that you provided us for this challenge, along with the 1st paragraph of my essay description, from the image, you can see a beautiful woman with flowers on her hand, and on the back, there's a crescent moon with mirror-like background with flowers on top.
The moon I have for Abby was perfect since it looked the same as the card, and the background is close enough to the card. The outfit, however, I didn't find a similar item to match, instead, I looked up a color schemes that'll give out that beautiful night sky vibe, then I found saiphic, which has white and two tones of blue, and I saw this very elegant flowing gown that has star-like design, so I thought it was perfect, as the details and color matches the card. For the flower, the one in Abby's hand are actually poppies, which is the same as the one on the card, but the colors are different, and I couldn't find the same item with similar colors as the one on the card, so I went this the one that Abby is holding.
The flowers on top, though, I didn't find anything to match, but instead, I looked up flower crowns as alternative, since I also couldn't find these flower on the side that the woman on the card has on her head, so I looked up flower crowns since it felt like Abby's head was naked, then I found this lotus-like flower crowns, and it was similar to the flowers the woman has on her head, so I went with it.
The legs, I chose these legs where your tucking in, which you might say that it doesn't go with the flowing dress, and your right. But the reason I went with these legs, is that I feel that "breeze in your skirt while standing" vibe that you get on anime music intro with this legs + the dress
In conclusion, it's not my best work, nor it is the worst, but I will say this in behalf of everything, this is outfit is as beautiful as the night sky with a stunning crescent moon.
This was the one entry from Cycle 3 that I was fine not redoing only because this was the only look that I felt aged well compared to my other entries.
There are things that I wanna change and add to my entry, but I'm pretty proud of past me for pulling this off. emotion_bigheart
iiiFlames Vice Captain
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iiiFlames Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:28 am
Challenge 6: Working 9 to 5
This challenge called for us to dress our designer to a job or occupation of our choosing. I chose to dress my model as a teacher. This was the one case in this cycle where I popped off with my description. I loved what I made then, but the judges had different opinions. sweatdrop Reading through the judges' panel for Cycle 3, I saw one judge say that my entry was straight out of hentai... I had a whole speech in my description, dedicating my love for my mom, who was a teacher back then, and my teachers in elementary and high school, only for my entry to be called hentai... (looking back, I think it was the leather skirt, but I couldn't find a better skirt for my look at the time) To add, this was where I was starting to give up trying since I got the idea that I wasn't gonna win regardless of what I do. (I blame my downfall on my descriptions and apparent ego and pride during the cycle being hurt)
Designer :: Pianette Model :: Jiang Li Weathercaster Grab your umbrellas everyone, because we're going to see scattered showers throughout the day~ Drive safe!
6 am sharp. The day is just beginning for many people and across the city their televisions are turning on, tuning into a classic set filled with familiar faces. These people are ready to start their day off right and what better way to prepare than by checking the weather for today!
The funny thing about this challenge is that I thought to again put Jiang Li in the career I ALMOST went for for the other casual theme-- but backed off for the, well, more casual idea-- and again passed on it for the more casual option. Maybe one day... ANYWAY, my second option was to follow the same career path from that same challenge but passed on that as well for how the description for the theme was worded. So we... ended up here! Somehow! lol Actually the somehow is I was running through my OCs to kinda run through what their jobs were and if any were a ""fit."" They were not. Then, while working on something I wasn't truly throwing my heart into, I got the song of the flavour text stuck in my head for... really unknown reasons and it just... it felt right. So I ran with it.
Googling "weather lady" is interesting because you will literally just get a bunch of Yanet Garcia and that was 100% not the direction of outfit I wanted to go. So I started trying on a bunch of different stuff. Little Friend and Wit and Wisdom came fairly early on, although it was truly my intention to find a skirt that DID cover her knees and was... also a skirt I liked.... which is a very small selection of skirts on gaia online dot com. Again, we're utilizing the darker skintone as hose, something a lot of weather ladies don't wear but something I felt was dearly missing from Jiang Li's legs (the stockings already on those legs unable to be used for other stabby reasons).
I wanted something not too formal for her top, but something that was still that brand of class and professionalism. This top worked out perfectly as it did give me the kind of pointing, presenting action I wanted in the outfit. I also wanted a tucked-in look which the second, lower-layer skirt provided me.
As for the background, I wanted something very simple. The green screen was instantly the way I wanted to go as I got to avoid gaia's amazing lack of wall maps (seriously what is that) and didn't end up building something "map-like" that would end up being too busy. A struggle for me was to include the play button or not, it added texture and filled up space, but technically its inclusion isn't the MOST correct. I asked for some second opinions and ended up going with it. The bubble of course was added due to my inspiration.
This career allows Jiang Li to still show off her professional side while still remaining light. And it still allows her enough time in the workweek for her tailoring and her modeling~
Teacher Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description:had to put it in spoiler because it was longer than i anticipated, and i don't want you to suffer to scroll down on other entries with my long entry. ur welcome
For this challenge, I chose teacher for these reasons:
1. In the Philippines, our teachers here work at 7am to 5pm, and the first thing they do is to have a flag ceremony to honor our flag, along with the students before classes.
2. I chose teacher in honor of my mom, because my mom used to be a teacher in college, but years later, she switched her job to being a station chief at the Department of Agriculture because she loves agriculture so much, and in 2015, she decided to take her dedication to agriculture to the next level and applied for a job at DA, but she never originally applied for station chief. She got that position due to the fact my mom is huge in the industry for her infamous research that went international under the agriculture category, so she was offered to be the head officer on the regional office of DA at a city, but she insisted to be station chief on a branch near where we live because she can't stand being away from her family.
3. I chose teacher because I have teachers in elementary and high school that I'm particularly close to, and I also honor them along with my mom.
4. I chose teacher in honor of all teachers for all the work, time and effort they do to educate all children on all levels, and I respect them.
For the outfit, I had a little bit of a challenge finding the perfect items for the job I picked.
First off, the top piece. I've been searching keywords such as uniform vest, uniform, sweater, sweater vest, etc. in order to find that top piece that teachers usually wear at work, then I found this particular item that was a student top with a red necktie, but when I put it on Abby, it worked perfectly with the bottom piece.
For the bottom, I thought of miniskirts, so I looked it up, and found a black leather miniskirt, but when I put it on Abby, again, it worked perfectly despite the little design that you'll think is an oddball considering what I'm going for with my entry, besides that, it fitted in great.
For the legs, I had to go with this particular legmod with heels, and I can't tell you why, but it suited well with the miniskirt, and I'm living for it!
For the background, I used the same background from the one I used in the 2nd challenge of the 1st cycle where the challenge is indirectly connected to the challenge now. It's also where I won my first challenge.
For the accessories, I remember I have an item with this jacket, and thought it'll look good on Abby, and surprise, surprise, it did! Then I looked up glasses, and found this really cute glasses that really shookt me due to the fact Abby was slaying the glasses so good, optometrists are QUAKING!
But the challenging part of everything in my entry is the arms. With the jacket covering the default arms, I had to find a way to make Abby's arms come out, or else it'll look like she's missing an arm, or doesn't have arms at all, and there were a lot of arms that I tried on Abby to see if it helped. You can look at it on the 2nd spoiler.
In here, lies all the arms that I tried on Abby, but didn't made the cut, along with the reasons why.
I used Divine Arms for Abby here. This was supposed to be my original entry, but I didn't like how the arms came out of the jacket that Abby was only put around her shoulder, it stuck out very weird, so I went looking for another armmod to fit the entire outfit.
Here, I used Suggestion Arms. I was living for like a minute because it looked great, until I saw a hint of her arms peaking out in between the right sleeve and right part of the torso of the jacket, plus her other arm went missing, so I hated it, and I kept looking for more armmod.
Here, I used Shy Arms. At first, I thought her arms would appear at front of her, but when I tried it, her arms were at the back and I instantly hated it because her arms were gone, and you can't even see a tiny bit of it because the part where you can see part of her arms is covered by the jacket, so I looked again for more armmod until I found In Waiting Arms, and it looked amazing with the outfit!
Overall, Abby looks like a female version of a stereotypical teacher. With those sickening glasses, that simple top with the red necktie, paired with that jacket around her, and that bottom piece that is instead of slacks, she has a miniskirt, and that classic high heels. UGH! I am living for this look, and Abby is slaying, y'all! And she is serving you simple, yet sexy look that just screams "teacher" all around!
Here's what I would've done now: Teacheremotion_kirakira Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: For this challenge, I chose a teacher for my model's occupation. My mom used to be a teacher, and I had many teachers who were practically my second mom/dads during my elementary and high school years, so I wanted to show my love and appreciation for every teacher out there with this entry.
For the outfit, I wanted to go with a professor outfit. Very chic, very professional, very mindful. I pieced together a green vest, a black open-collared polo, a white collared polo, and a red tie under it. There is a bit of a repetition with the polos, but the white polo acts as the undershirt. I also have Abby on white stockings and black shoes. I would've opted for nude stockings, but the white read as socks, and it felt more professional-looking having the white, given Abby's occupation.
For the background, since Abby's a teacher, she's in a school setting. For the finishing touches, I found simple red and pearl hairclips that looked cute, so I added them to the look. Additionally, there is a chat bubble that I found with a unique feature when your avatar is facing left, the bubble displays letters, whereas when facing right, it shows numbers instead, so I thought it'd be fun to showcase my entry showing both sides. I hope that I honored my teachers well with this entry.
I love you, teachers. emotion_bigheart
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:29 am
Challenge 7: Along the Milky Way
For this challenge, our models were swapped, and we had to make outfits representing the planets assigned to us. I got Jiang Li as my model and Mars as my planet. This was another case of me having a cool concept in mind, but it wasn't executed well. Much like most of my descriptions, it didn't help me explain what I had conceptualized. Knowing that the judges were tired of my antics and not listening to their constant feedback about my descriptions worsened my case. This was also the week I accidentally punched my Chromebook out of rage playing a 5v5 MOBA game (I still play the said game to this day). emotion_skull
Designer: Darkerdemons Model: Uma Process: See Spoiler
I admire the outfits Haji Demon designs for Uma. Felt a bit more pressure, as I wanted to make an outfit as unique as her past outfits. Fortunately, the planet Venus provided ample ideas. Having already made a similar themed avatar (The World tarot card), I could draw on some of the ideas I'd tried for Rae's outfit. At the same time, I knew the two avatars still needed to be different.
Uma has gorgeous skin color, something I wanted to show off in this outfit. Venus is named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty; another reason to show off Uma's form in a seductive manner. I started off searching for inspiration in favorite avatars. Each avatar was given a keyword determined by the aspect I wanted to apply to Uma's outfit. The most common keywords were: Alluring, Floating, and Mist. Another keyword that wasn't common, but still influenced the outfit: Dangerous. Venus may be named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty, but it is still a very hostile planet. Hell hath no fury... I wanted the outfit to be beautiful and at the same time dangerous.
The outfit concept was finalized faster than my previous outfits, which surprised me. I had a clear notion of how I wanted the avatar to look. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. The intense heat and volcanoes inspired the use of fiery dragon horns and tail. The planet surface is reddish brown, which called for red and brown fabrics. The thick cloud cover of the planet is yellowish white, so I used this color in the clouds on the outfit. Uma's copper skin and fair hair color fit the colors of Venus beautifully. There were moments where the design centered around certain items and then those items got taken off. I found an amazing combination of fiery/desert background items, but the result looked too explosive even though Venus does have volcanoes. I got very attached to the Enticing Buck armmod. All recolors of the fur wrap seemed to stick out on the avatar in progress though. I wanted to use a halo at one point, but Venus doesn't have a ring system.
My initial design was mostly rust-colored; however, after checking with The Clot Thickens, it became clear first impressions of the avatar would likely lean towards Mars. The two planets have a lot in common. Even though Venus is a terrestrial planet like Mars, it is characterized by massive cloud cover. The cloudy hue is all that can be seen in visible light from space - this is why Uma is seated in the clouds instead of on solid ground. The dark brown fabrics also assist in making the planet more Venus inspired.
Note about the title: Inspired by the movie Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The members of the IMF team are given planet code names. At one point Jupiter says: "Venus, be Venus." Just like Venus is the only female member on the IMF team, Venus is the only planet in our solar system named after a goddess. To be Venus, Uma became a radiant celestial entity lounging in the heavens.
gaia_zurgMars: The Red Planetredface Model: Jiang Li Description: Before anything, can I just say I wasn't prepared for this sudden change, not only isn't my new model not my top 5, it all happened so fast, I can't even!
Anyway, onto the outfit!
To start things off, we'll start with the dress. The dress is not a one-item, but at the same time it is. What's happening here is that the one-piece dress is skirtless, so this is where the layering is happening. I never actually started off with the dress, I started off with the skirt, armmod, and accessories, but why?
The top piece was the hard part to find. There were tops that I tried on Jiang Li before the one in my submissions. and here's the reason why it didn't make the cut for me:
Here, I found a corset that matches the colors with the arm mod, and I thought it looked good, but the skirt along with the whirlpool felt left out and looked like a separate look with the same colors, so I had to change it with something else that'll blend in nicely with both the arm mod and skirt.
And here, I found a very VERY small bra with gold straps that surprisingly went well with the skirt, but the arm mod, this time, felt separate, and I had to find another top for the same reason as the first one.
Until I found this skirtless dress that I thought at first was one-piece, but I tried it anyways, and a happy accident happened. I kept the bra, because I had an idea to layer it with my dream top piece for this look, and I found the dress as my final one. But that's not the only happy accident, though.
The skirt alone was already looking sickening with the whirlpool, and looked it it was a two-in-one item, but the sides of the dress actually blended in well with the whirlpool just as well as the skirt only, so I kept it as it is.
My silhouette is always with accessories, so I had to find some to go well with everything that's going on. Then, I found a crooked halo that I tried on, and really blended in nicely with the theme, making Jiang Li look like a Mars angel.
But the jaw-dropping part of this outfit, though, is the whirlpool! Since Mars actually does have this sort of like a whirlpool cycling around the planet, I had a concept to have Jiang Li as the humanized version of that, then the rest is her-story.
For the background, I looked up keywords such as: planet(s) & Mars, then I found a background that is based on Mars with a rocketship on the back, and then the color matching happened.
It just so happened that I remembered my outfit-making thread that I should probably update since it's been gone for a minute that I featured poppy as an example of orange in my orange portion of the thread, then I looked it up, tried on the whirlpool that was questionably the first thing I tried on, and it matched kind of the colors of Mars, then everything above that I gave detail about happened after this part.
In conclusion, I don't mind working with Jiang Li again, since she actually looks good with my aesthetics.
Just give me back Abby, please.crying
disclaimers:
I actually had a better and longer description than this, but I played Mobile Legends, a very frustrating game that I always play. When I had a LONG losing streak on ranked matches, I raged so much, I smashed my laptop's screen with one of the corners of my phone, and the laptop was knocked out white, and my eyes went eek! I blamed myself for playing such a game everyday, and let out my rage on my defenseless laptop. But I've beaten my laptop so much before, but that was my laptop's breaking point literally, and now she passed away after she survived through my journey for almost 4 years. I will never forget you, Chromebook crying
Rest in peace, Chromebook Cause of Death: White screen Born: idk Died: June 9, 2019
Here's what I would've done now: Mars: The Red Planet Designer: iiiFlames Model:AbbyJiang Li Description: I'm a little intimidated being assigned Jiang Li, seeing that her original designer, Pianette, just won the last challenge. So, I definitely have big shoes to fill, and hopefully, I come through and deliver. I'm also assigned Mars as my planet. Seeing the planet's color, I went on to find the perfect shade of red orange that Gaia has to offer, which resembles Mars' color. I eventually stumbled upon the color "poppy", and went on to find items under that color.
For the outfit, I found this whirlpool effect that reminded me of the whirlpool that Mars has. I built my outfit around the whirlpool item, eventually finding the skirt that paired perfectly with the whirlpool. It ultimately looked like the skirt is the whirlpool. I wanted to go high fashion for the top part, so I pieced together necklaces and top item cutters to form a necklace top. Very daring, very fashion. I also have my model in this armmod wrapped in this cape to add glamour. For the background, I chose this gorgeous red outer space setting. Very sparkly. Very beautiful.
For accessories, I have Jiang Li in these dragon horns and tail (hidden in the clouds), with a crown. Knowing Jiang Li is Chinese, I thought that it'd be a nice addition to have her be this glamorous orange dragon that lives on Mars. Dragons are in many Chinese mythologies, so I wanted a slight nod to Jiang Li's culture into my entry. To finish off the outfit, I added more swirls and clouds around Jiang Li to add more volume to the whirlpool. I'm happy with what I made, and hopefully, I did Jiang Li and Pianette justice with this entry.
Jiang Li's orange-red all over. 4laugh
iiiFlames Vice Captain
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iiiFlames Vice Captain
Fashionable Master
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 1:29 am
Challenge 8: I See A Hero
The superhero challenge. The one challenge that I claimed that I could do well had I tried. This was the week that I stopped trying and just did whatever I wanted to do. I still took the description critiques to heart, but the look part was where I just went off the rails. At that moment, I thought "IDGAF at this point, I'll do what I wanna do even if I get booted off the competition for it". The look you're about to see is not a "what I would've done now"; it's a "what I should've done".
Designer :: Pianette Model :: Jiang Li A Hero Just Like You Justice never sleeps, it’s never lazy And again a hero will be rising To reclaim this rotten world from all its sin
Whooooo I am uh... not big in superheroes. I know, I know, great opening line on superhero week lol I think when it comes down to it, I'm not big on superheroes ... with powers... like........ most of them uh. There is something about vigilante superheroes that I'm drawn to though.Some specific charm that you don't get from fire slingers or storm bringers. Someone with little to no powers that brings the law into their own hands. I like them. c: So the obvious choice was to make one : D
So here's Chipped Convictions, a masked heroine who fights evil by moonlight with her own unique fighting style and a variety of homemade weaponry.* *Most of which IS non-lethal, I mean it's better that the law gets em right?
I hadddddd quite a bit of trouble this week. This was... not my first design. Nor my last actually, I ended up with two superhero superheroes and two vigilante superheroes. Most all of them have different eyes lol I actually really like the amnesiac eyes, they're good size, fit well, good eyes. Losing them wasn't a big problem though, it was more "what do I replace these with??" At first I was very focused on keeping them the same color, but uh, gaia was apparently not a fan of that eye color during the winterstorm era. So I had settled on a general blue for the longest time and these carried over into the start of each build, to mess with later. THESE eyes came in after the arm mod and fairly early into the build. I was browsing user tags when I stumbled across probably the single greatest use of an SL ever. Corvus has magnificent eyes, but they're hooked on that mouth that's like... not the greatest in all situations ever. To see them separated out like this??? Mmm bless. I might've ended up losing the blue in these eyes but I got the sass that no other eye could give me.
Rewinding a smidge. Frit was an NPC introduced and effectively left in a rig back in 2013. Weird info. Frit was ALSO an NPC introduced and effectively left in a rig back in 2013 with a FANTASTIC item. I can't remember how I ran across this but I bookmarked it in my brain, knowing I wanted to make something with those arms. And here we are.
Overall I wanted the outfit to have that kind of full body suit feel which I feel I accomplished. It seemed odd to leave a hero maskless but the phrasing of the challenge seemed to discourage those on the face. Plopping one on her head not only made me happy but also tied everything up to the top of the outfit and made it seem overall more cohesive. Similarly, the addition of a utility belt was very important to the vibe I wanted to convey. With all of the smaller details going on I decided against a full background, just so it could stand on its own. At the same time, I felt it needed something for grounding. I cycled through a couple of different options but in the end decided I liked this explosion the best since it ultimately linked back to the arms.
gaia_bunnyChang'e: The Moon Goddessgaia_moon Designer: Sana Minatozaki Model: Abby Description: Before I get into my outfit, I just wanna say that I apologize for the excessive amounts of spoilers and formatting of my description. I thought I can sell my outfit better to the judges if I give drops of extra on my description, and it's obvious that I ain't selling it. I am gonna do just one spoiler, JUST ONE. But to shorten the description within the spoiler, I'm putting in more spoilers on some parts of the description, in which all isn't necessary to open, unless you want to. 'Cause I need tons of explaining to do on my outfit, and I don't wanna lengthen my submission, in which it might inconvenience you from scrolling. Also, no more extra formatting.
I based my outfit on a hero on Mobile Legends, who is my main hero in the game, and the cutest goddess you'll ever lay your very eyes on. In-game, she's underrated, but when played, she's strong as a machine gun:
There are many tales about Chang'e, including a well-known story that is given as the origin of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. In a very distant past, ten suns had risen together into the skies and scorched the earth, thus causing hardship for the people. The archer Yi shot down nine of them, leaving just one sun, and was given the elixir of immortality as a reward. He did not consume it straight away, but let Chang'e keep it with her, as he did not want to gain immortality without his beloved wife Chang'e. However, while Yi went out hunting, his apprentice Fengmeng broke into his house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir; she refused and to prevent him from getting it, drank it. Chang'e then flew upward toward the heavens, choosing the Moon as residence, as she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby him. Yi discovered what had transpired and felt sad, so he displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang'e had liked, and gave sacrifices to her.
But in the game, her story is this:
Chang'e is the youngest disciple of the Great Dragon. From an early age, she exhibited amazing magical potential, quickly mastering the Great Dragon's greatest spell - The Scared Satellite. From then on, Chang'e earned the Great Dragons eternal love. However, Chang'e had a energetic and fun-loving personality that gave the Great Dragon quite a few headaches. Finally, he asked Zilong, his adopted son, to look after Chang'e. The Great Dragon was hopeful that Zilong's diligent and determined character could help guide Chang'e. Zilong came to love the vibrant and intelligent Chang'e. They often spent countless hours together, practicing magic and finding divine creatures to play with. Chang'e also loved spending time with her big brother, Zilong. Her favorite part of the day was at the end of the training, when Zilong would carry her on his back on their way home. During the second War of the Planes, Zilong assisted the wise rulers of the land, traveling between worlds. After he left, Chang'e returned to her naughty and childish ways. At one point, the Great Dragon was not sure if there would ever be another day of peace-That is, until Chang'e swallowed one of his scared pills by accident, thinking it was candy. The Great Dragon immediately cast Chang'e out of his sanctuary and ordered her to assist Zilong and make up for her mistake! Even then, the Great Dragon felt compelled to give Chang'e his precious Crescent Moon to protect her.
Concept-wise, you would think I'd go for a stereotype, goddess-like beauty mage. NOPE! My concept for Abby, is it a goddess? Yes. But goddess-like beauty? No. I went back to memory lane and did a cute look for my model, but still added in a filter, where in which my look is still cute, but has elegance and beauty to it.
For the outfit, I wasn't directly trying to copy Chang'e, but still has matching elements of Chang'e's outfit to mine. Those elements are mainly the colors, the cute leg pose, the long sleeves, and the most important elements, the moon. Without the moon, Abby wouldn't be a goddess of the moon, but only goddess-looking.
With the challenge where we can change our model's eyes. Since Chang'e in the picture has big red eyes, I still kept Abby's original eyes, only in dusk rose, which is similar-looking to Chang'e's eyes in the picture.
I always start off with finding a color scheme in every outfit. Chang'e's colors are: green, gold, white, black and orange. Then I found "spring", a color scheme consisting of: green, beige, brown. When I do this kind of outfits where I do a look based on a character, I usually match most of the color, and spring wasn't mostly matching with the colors of Chang'e in the game, but in this case, I kept it, since the colors of spring looked amazing on Abby, so I chose that as my colors.
For the elements, I started off with the legs, in which when I looked up "spring", I found this legmod that doesn't look the same as Chang'e's leg pose, but in-game, she has a skin called "Moonstruck", where in the image, her leg pose matches the one on Abby's, so I kept the legmod to match.
The long sleeves, though, it was hard to find, but I recall an item that had long sleeves that closely matches to Chang'e's. There were more long sleeves in that could've matched Chang'e's sleeves, but they weren't in the spring color scheme, so I stayed with the long sleeves with a timid arm pose to match not the sleeves that Chang'e has, but to match the concept that I was going for.
And for one of the most important element, the moon. At first, I went with the Mitenala moon (the one I have on atm) in catharsis color scheme. But as I kept looking for other elements for my outfit, I found this moon with a yellow glow and has textures to look like the moon, so I replaced the Mitenala moon to this more realistic-looking moon. However, the moon that Chang'e has in the picture has leaf-like patterns on the side, but I can't find a moon with those patterns, so I just went with the patternless yellow moon.
For the other most important element of the look, the rabbit, the Moon Rabbit is harder to find compared to the long sleeve. I actually typed in "Chang'e", and "moon rabbit" in hopes to find her rabbit, and I did, but the rabbit is actually an armmod, which is a problem since the long sleeve is also an armmod. So I typed in only "rabbit", and looked and looked and looked so many times, but I couldn't find a white rabbit with red eyes. At this point, I don't care if I find a red-eyed rabbit, as long as it's a white one, I don't care anymore. Then I found this beige rabbit with deer horns. You would think I won't use it, but I did, just because it's just as cute as the Moon Rabbit. The Moon Rabbit has no horns, but this is my take on The Moon Goddess, so I kept the horned beige rabbit.
For the dress, I found a sleeveless dress with flowing skirt that I initially thought would give movement to my submission, then it did. I tried it on Abby, and BOOM! It looked good! I would've gone for other dresses with flowing skirt, but Chang'e's dress in the picture was sleeveless, so I kept what I already put on Abby. You can't even see the flowing skirt since before the dress, I actually planned on making Abby's dress NOT one-piece, then I found a skirt that is absolutely no match to the one that Chang'e has on in the picture, but it didn't matter since you can't see the details of it very well. I just kept the skirt to cover Abby's underwear. After the skirt, there's the dress, in which I actually also kept to cover Abby's underwear, and like I mentioned, sleeveless.
And for the background, I remembered a star showers background that matches the one in the picture, so I looked for the background, tried it on, and blended in amazing with everything that's going on. But the sickening part of the background, was the clouds. The clouds isn't one with the star showers background, I accidentally found them while I was looking for other elements on my outfit, and when I found the clouds, I initially thought that I would only try it just for fun, but when I tried it on, it actually looks similar to the one in the picture, and I was shook af! I kept the clouds, 'cause it lewks sickening!
About the theme, with this idea that I already finished taking action, I thought to myself that "This doesn't say superhero at all! It's just a cosplay for a hero on a mobile game!". I'm pretty sure the judges would think the same, and your right. But it is a superHEROES theme. A superhero is a hero with superhuman powers, and Chang'e has superhuman powers, she can do magic! Storywise, she has her powers gifted to her by the Great Dragon, along with the Crescent Moon, so technically, she is a superhero. Chang'e is a moon goddess, so her main purpose is to protect, same as to a superhero's purpose in the world. Chang'e was gifted with magical powers in order for greatness, so she's a superhero just because of that reason.
I don't wanna toot my own horn, but I think I did good with my outfit looking similar to Chang'e, and I give myself a pat on the back for that, 'cause I deserve it, not because of how good I did, but is because that I finally sent in my submission within extended time, sent in on the extended deadline.
Here's what I should've done: She's a Super Queen!gaia_crown Designer: iiiFlames Model: Abby Description: When I think of superheroes, my mind goes to Marvel. I like Marvel. Not obsessively, but I like their heroes more than DC. I'm not super enthusiastic about the action genre, which includes superhero movies. But I do love fashion, so I'll do my best to create a superhero look for my model. With Marvel in mind, I wanted to combine Marvel's different heroes and fuse them into Abby's outfit. Think of Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Black Widow altogether as one person. My entry leans more toward the first two heroes, though. Scarlet Witch just reminds me of Abby, with the hair color, and Black Widow for the same reason, but also the color scheme I went with. We were given a privilege to change our model's eyes to help with the superhero concept, so I went finding a white variant of Abby's original eyes to fit the concept that I had mind, and eventually did.
For the outfit, I pieced together a black swimsuit with cutouts, and black fitted pants + boots to form this bodysuit, which gives off Black Widow vibes. For Abby's powers, I have this armmod that has enchantments all over the arms and circling around Abby's hand, looking like Abby's about to unleash a powerful attack, which is giving very Doctor Strange and Iron Man, with how the hand part that looks like his repulsors. For accessories, I have this glowing heart item that resembles Iron Man's arc reactor, aka the heart of his suit, and a long red belt around the waist to, in a way, simulate Doctor Strange's cape, with the belt flowing, similar to his cape.
For the background, I chose this city ruins setting to give off that feeling of Abby fighting for her life in a devastating situation against a powerful villain. Speaking of villains, I added in this red ghost that exudes evil as Abby's enemy on the battlefield. And for finishing touches, I have this floating debris item to add more action, acting as if Abby's using an earth spell to throw at her opponent. As I've said, I'm not one to be enthusiastic about action genres, but I love Abby in this superhero get-up. She's fighting villains and saving the world in style.
