Welcome to Gaia! ::

In this scene, Rae has returned to her old dance studio she practiced in as a child.

Rae had just come from her solo recital, up on the big stage, her first big real performance. She learned from an old classmate that attended the show to congratulate her that the lonely studio had finally been vacated and abandoned.

Still wearing her performance outfit, she wrapped up her goodbyes to everyone and hurried to see the familiar space.

The space was aged now. The vibrant paint of the studio’s walls turned pale. The small once cozy space, felt chilly. Rae wasn’t sure if it was because of the lack of students, or if it was the frail windows poorly insulating the space. The lights, half broken. The ceiling tiles, missing. The floor riddled with junk, yet strangely kept polished and shiny.

It was in the junk she saw it. The plush toy she begged to bring to class every day when she first began attending. The same toy she sat on her head to practice her balance after her instructor scolded her time and time again. She always practiced alone as a child, never in front of anyone. She laughed at how much she had changed.

Rae places the stuffed toy on her head once again. She breathes. Then begins. She soars across the small room, turning it into the large stage she danced on earlier in the night. She remembers the little girl she used to be, telling herself “practice makes perfect, balance is everything, balance is key, balance is beautiful” over and over again. This time the toy never slipped once. Not even when she bowed. She had mastered her art.

This water meat challenge knocked me HARD. Like yikes, I had no idea what to do. It’s such an old item I was so scared about the new and old pixel styles clashing. For Rae’s look, I combatted this fear by searching for water meat’s unique “white” color. I pulled from a couple schemes and items that literally had no scheme to give this final look. I began with her arms which came paired with the off the should sleeves. Choosing this started the entire story behind Rae’s look.

I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to find dancer’s legs that would fit with watermeat’s niche color palette. Luckily I did, and next up was the torso. I wanted a dress that looked like it could twirl, but many of the dresses that matched watermeat’s body all had terrible silhouettes on Rae. Luck struck once again when I was able to find her dress now, which helped to tie in the highlights, mid tones, and most importantly the shadows on watermeat.

The background consists of two layers. The first, the studio itself. I chose this background because it gave a somewhat aged feel. Next, was the wintry landscape in the windows. I really liked them empty (with the transparent background) but I was afraid out of context the transparency would ruin the scene. I chose this secondary background to keep the pale tone and not draw too much attention, like some of the other options.

For the finishing touches, I chose this lighting to really sell the idea that the studio was no longer properly lit. I also symbolically enjoyed it because it seemed like Rae is stepping into the light, just as she is beginning her professional career as a dancer. Lastly, were here earrings. I’m glad both sets of earrings I used layered awkwardly, because it allowed for her to wear two different earrings (to match watermeat of course!).