This thread is for avatars that started as ghosts created for me by others. While I would probably never wear an avatar as is as I couldn't add it to my lookbook, I might decide to take the basic ghost and adjust and tweak it until I could wear it.
A good ghost candidate for this thread is a one that isn't necessarily perfect but has a unique point that adds interest. I might like the color combination, the vibe, or maybe they've used an item that I haven't really noticed in a bit or a style I don't usually see or try for myself.
What I hope to capture in the following posts is not just the ghosted avatar vs. the finished product, but what about the ghosted avatar I particularly liked or felt inspired by and then what modifications I made to the ghost and why I chose to make them.
One of my favorite aspects of this ghost was the color palette. I found the black, purple, red, orange with a touch of gray to be very striking. I was also drawn to the body language, the Sin of Sloth head combined with the Your Devil arms managed to capture a look that was sad but also a touch sinister.
What I Changed
The first thing I wanted to do was address the glitched head from the combination of the Your Dilemma and the Sin of Sloth head mods clashing with each other. I ended up using the hair from Sin of Sloth and while I could have kept the ears from Your Dilemma still, I chose instead to use the ears from Evening Dawn.
Next, I wanted to address was the silhouette. I started by removing the Dragonberry tail and the Crystalline Star overdress. This helped clean up the silhouette and create a more unified base. Later, I used the Agape scissors to cut the Sin of Sloth hair.
Since I skipped out on the head mod, I needed to create a face that could capture some of the body language. I used the eyes from Kindred Prancer, Cute Little Nose for the nose and serious talker for the mouth. For details, I added the teary blush from Under the Poppy Hydrangea, the eyelashes from Evening Consort Selene and the Glow Up eye make up.
Finally I added a few new pieces to bring the look together. I used the hat from Just Freshly Risen to bring the purple up to the head and give the silhouette a little height. The hood cutter from Draconic Blossoming Nightmare added some detailing to the neck area and helped make the arms feel less arbitrary. The dress from Fiery Tiger of Yuera and the bodice from Fateful Evening finished out the look.
Final Result
Items Changed
removed Dragonberry removed Crystalline Star removed Your Sinful Dilemma changed Sad Sin of Sloth pose changed Evening Dawn pose added Just Freshly Risen added Agape Scissors added Under the Poppy Hydrangea added Kindred Prancer added Glow Up added Serious Talker added Evening Consort Selene added Fiery Tiger of Yuera added Fateful Evening
Extras
I made one more avatar trying to use the unused poses from the ghosts. The result definitely differed too much from the original inspiration to do a full walkthrough, but I thought it was worth showing off just to see what another interpretation could be.
My wife has been getting back into Gaia, and made this ghost for me based on my original character Raye who is essentially a butterfly cloud angel. She had the colors and vibe of the character right. I particularly enjoyed the combo of items in the background and the cute way she set up the hair. Mostly though, I'm just really happy she made something for me.
What I Changed
The part of the ghost left most intact was the background. I liked the effect of the backdrop and the Dreamy Watercolorist foreground. To add dimension and make it more Raye, I added the Iridescent Cloud background. I kept the Honeydew Heavenly flight wings because they worked well as part of the BG.
The hair is mostly intact. I used the same base hair, the agape scissors to remove the crown detailing and the summer hair cut scissors to make it shorter. She used the Hime scissors for the bangs, but I changed that out for Paint Whiz. I also ended up adding the Bangable bangs to bring in some more saturated color around the face. Finally, I kept the sunglasses, since they worked well as a hair ornament.
With the face, I changed the Pick Your Nose pose to one that would add some more color. I kept the Lettus Lids, but brought in more make up around the eyes and check area, including lashes and eyebrows. For the eyes and mouth, it took some tries to find the right expression. I wanted it to be happy/mischievous but also very alert as well. The lips are the Terrific Talker item, to give a bit of a cheeky smirk. Finally, after trying many many options, I settled on the Shy Senpai stare, to give Raye the darker eyes I picture her with and maintain the expression I wanted.
The clothing was changed completely to take advantage of arm mods and leg items. I started by removing 2 of 3 three watermelon pop poses, with the original intention was to keep the Watermelon Pop skirt and build the outfit around that. Ichiko's Fruit Salad date provided the arms, and the 1 Up Sugar Rush provided the shirt. The Honey Beary Kei skirt was added to give volume underneath the Watermelon Pop skirt. The Lil Tennies item provided shoes. Finally, the sandals and the snake necklace from Padmavati's Lotus added small details.
As finishing touches, I added more Raye elements. This included the glowing butterfly astra, the butterflies from Her Sherbet Delight, and the Eye am Duck Baby halo.
When I saved the avatar, the forum sized image showed the Honey Beary Kei skirt on top, regardless of how I layered the items. To keep the color and shape I wanted, I changed out the Watermelon Pop skirt to the Popsicles Taste Sweet Dress.
Final Result
Items Changed
removed 3x Watermelon pop removed Green and Emerald Reversible Bracelets removed Sparkling Suika Swimwear removed Breezy Angelic Bliss removed Aria's Heavenly Invocation removed Lux Demuterna removed Demure Stellar Saturniidae removed Hime Bangs Haircut removed Easter 2k18 Stockings changed Pick your Nose pose added Iridescent Cloud added Paint Whiz added Bangable added Brow Basics added lettus lids added Mercurio's Glamour added Yes Miam added Sleepy Blush added Strong Feelings added Consort Hekate added such shade! added Shy Senpai Stare added Terrific Talker added Ichiko's Fruit Salad Date added Center Ring Style added Honey Beary Kei added 1UP Sugar Rush added [Exclusive] Popsicles Taste Sweet added lil tennies added Lovely Genie Double Gold Earrings added Padmavati's Lotus added Strappy Sandals added Eye Am Duck Baby added Astra: Rose Luminous Butterflies added Her Sherbert Delight [
So I really liked the overall vibe of the avatar, and specifically the use of chunkier accessories, like the Teacher Teacher necklace and the Hana Doki pins, in addition to the contrast between the peachy pinks and the more muted blue green tones.
What I Changed
The first thing I wanted to do was refine the silhouette. For this I removed the backpack, and changed up the haircut from the Just Brilliantly Peachy to change the style. Initially I used both the sketchbook pins from the original and the Agape scissors, but removed the pins as the avatar developed, so I could use the hair loopies. I also used the Hime Scissors on the bangs to open up the face some.
Speaking of the face, I kept the mouth and some of the make up the same, but switched out the eye area to the Mata Mata eyes to give the avatar more of an "Innocent but Mischevious" look. I chose the 'Deep Mata Mata' recolor to bring some blue into the face. The utile colorum was switched to the green shade to bring more of that green color to the face. I don't think it makes a significant difference, but I did add the Brow Studies. I added Minty staycation for a little and sleepy blush for a little more detail. Finally, I switched out the Little Birdie Sleeping glasses for the Little Clever Prose glasses. Finally I liked the effect of Oh Crepe, but wanted something more subtle, so I changed to the Oh Royal Crepe recolor.
The outfit was the main draw of the avatar, so the basics were kept the same. I removed the A in Maid pin, to help the Teacher Teacher necklace stand out more. I liked the Pearlina dress as an underskirt and added to the effect with the underdress pose from A Little Dynasty. On the head, I changed out the Easy Victory hat to the Artistic April hat. This had a double effect of bringing some of the swampy green color into the hat, and tying the Hana Doki pins into the rest of the outfit.
Final Result
Items Changed
removed A in Maid removed Easy Victory removed Swampy Nekomancer removed Zesty Hairlights removed Oh Crepe removed Little Birdie Sleeping removed poltergeist pack changed pose utile colorum to Seabreeze added Minty staycation added Sleepy blush added Deep Mata Mata added Brow Studies added Artistic April added A Little Dynasty added Agape Cut added Little Clever Prose added Oh Royal Crepe
Extras
Overall, I think this is much more of an edit of Ichigo's original avatar than a full on re-do of the previous two, but I definitely think the new version has more of the Heki vibe to her.
