Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Task 9 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hey Everyone! The past week in MelsModels was by far the most toughest decision I have encountered in a very long time, within the club. I still am having some second thoughts, so everyone really has to know that your spot in this competition can be gone because of one mistake! You all have to be on your A-game all the time for the rest of this competition!!!


Since we are in Rome, one of the most historic places on the entire earth. I thought our next task should have to do with some ancient history. The Third Servile War took place in 73 to 71 BC and was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic.The Third Servile War was the only one to directly threaten the Roman heartland of Italy and was doubly alarming to the Roman people due to the repeated successes of the rapidly growing band of rebel slaves, led mostly by Spartacus.The rebellion was finally crushed through the concentrated military effort of a single commander, Marcus Licinius Crassus, although the rebellion continued to have indirect effects on Roman politics for years to come. After such a devastating loss for the rebels, almost all the caught slaves and leaders were crucified alongside eachother for miles on end. At the time crucifixion was the punishment associated with the worst crimes so it was a huge statement made by the Roman Republic.


Your ninth task is to be inspired by this moment in history and become a slave revolt. The slaves were fighting for their lives and there are so many emotions and sides to this story that can be conveyed (helplessness, vulnerability, courage, the dark and upsetting side of the crucifixions..etc.), but we don't want to influence your thoughts too much. We want to see your take on this task and how you would convey this assignment. It is down to the final four so concepts really matter at this point.


SOME TIPS!

If you scenery turns out to be a full-body pose make sure that while your pose is strong there is MORE to your scenery than a pose.

Add details to your scenery, but not just for the sake of adding them. Fill your space appropriately.

Style your medoll according to the theme. It can be grimy, grungy, and broken down, but make sure your medoll is wearing the garments and they are not wearing her.



***IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT ME VIA MAIL! I will be happy to help in any way and give you more inspiration.

***For more inspiration about this war, wikipedia is actually very useful. You can see the wikipedia page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Servile_War

***THE DEADLINE FOR THIS TASK IS MONDAY JUNE 6th!!! Good Luck Models!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Task 8 Elimination Ceremony ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hey Everyone! What a wonderful week in the world of MelsModels. Not only was our guest judge, Style_Magazine, just a delight to work with, but all the sceneries were very impressive. It is getting down to the wire and it is simply turning into splitting hairs at this point. It is so hard to decide on who to send home, and I hope you all (whether your going to be eliminated now, in the future, or go on to win) understand.

To get everything underway... here is the callout order...



1. .pease. - Congratulations! You are the winner of this task and your scenery will be featured on the MelsModels's presentation! You did such an incredible job, everything from the concept to styling to pose worked cohesively and brilliantly. Your polaroid was also one of my favorite entries of work this cycle. You hit the nail on the head by being fresh, interesting, yet memorable. I would hire you for anything with that photo of you! Amazing job, your win has finally arrived!


(Now a ''Bottom" Four, simply because it was hard to seperate one other person to come in second and be safe when we all thought the rest of you were somewhat on the same exact level this week)


BOTTOM FOUR:

tigre89- You really captured the essence of what this task was all about, you became a character and really expressed an italian actress of the 60s still while showing us who you are. Your pose was empowering and strong, the styling was great, and the background was complex but didn't steal the show. You just need to work on your 'WOW' factor and avoid being predictable. That was your biggest criticism this week, we want to see you bring new and interesting ideas rather than somewhat conforming to overused ones. As for your polaroid you did a great job transforming into a potential muse for someone and we loved how you showed your own spin on a natural beauty.

liajm- You did a great job with a realistic pose and I loved how you incorperated a direct link of inspiration into your concept, but you kind of covered up the hard work and energy put into your pose by overwhelming your medoll in an oversized ruffle dress and very long pearls. The styling was the main focus and it also didn't really seem appropriate since it gave a Parisian vibe, and it just wasn't flattering. I admire how you did a complex pose but this task was truly all about becoming an italian actress and your biggest criticism was that we couldn't tell what you were. As for your polaroid there was a tad bit too much makeup and you kind of came across as a pretty girl rather than canvas, but we loved your personality shining through the smile.

.naima- You had a very fun and interesting idea that maybe was too big and too involved to convey in a single shot. Your pose was unrealistic because of the torso being too far back and overall your use of space wasn't the best in the background, the props looked like you threw them in last minute. You often make your poses the focus of a scenery, which is great, but sceneries need to be a balance. And when your pose is the main focus and it isn't the strongest of the bunch its hard not to end up at the very bottom of the pack. Also, even though you played on your makeup and became a character it was somewhat hard to tell if you were an italian actress since the styling wasn't that telling of the time period and the dancing factor was somewhat polarizing. As for your polaroid, I loved it! You were inviting, fresh, and fun and I would hire you for sure!


sweet.hearts- I loved the ambition you had in attempting to do such a strong and striking silhouette pose, but the proportions of it all were somewhat unrealistic at the bag of your medoll and the hand. I also personally wasn't the biggest fan of the fur rug because I felt like it was used solely because fur is associated with italy, I didn't really see a deeper concept there. The simplicity of the scenery and the way your styling and medoll stood out was noticed though. You always create work that is memorable and somewhat exciting, which is great because it makes us what to see more from you. Your biggest criticism was just a lack of detail (which we keep pointing out to you hoping you take note..) and the pose not being as realistic as the others. As for your polaroid I loved how you came across as a mix of commercial and high fashion. You could really do both with that face and it was great you showed off that natural edge to you.




ELIMINATED:
liajm
This decision is so difficult, I cannot even explain it. The judges were split with what to do and I was in the middle once again. It was an exhausting and constant back-and-forth decision! You must know that some of your sceneries have been our all-time favorites in MelsModels history and you are one of the dearest and most talented girls this competition has ever seen. Just know that we are HONORED to have you compete in this club and I hope you continue on being the positive girl you have always been and stay active. I love you, seriously! I hope you understand.


SAFE:
tigre89- you are safe this week, but that is why you were close to being eliminated. Try to have a thrill factor (without being crazy..haha) next week!
.naima- very close to being you this week, poses are not everything in this club. You have to find a balance between your concepts, pose, and overall appeal of work.
sweet.hearts- very close to being you this week, you have to listen to our advice! We keep saying you need to focus on details so your sceneries expand and come to life! Right now they seem a bit too 2D compared to the rest of the girls!




This has been possibly the hardest decision we have made in any of the most recent cycles! It is the sign of amazing work. Keep this up everyone!

***Congratulations to the Final Four!!!! Love you all!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Task 8 and Biggest Guest Judge Ever!

Hello Everyone! I am very excited to announce the guest judge for this task of MelsModels. She is one of the most famous, talented, and acclaimed users on all of Stardoll. This should make you all work extra hard to impress her.

Our guest judge for this week is the iconic Style_Magazine ! ! !

She created the very first stardoll magazine, known as Style Magazine, and ultimately began the stardoll model movement. It is because of her that there is room for this club in the Stardoll World. She has a perfect eye when it comes to taste, and you should be very honored that she will be seeing and commenting on your work this week.

Now for your task. There will be one quick 'challenge' and the normal scenery task which was created by Style! Make sure you read EVERY WORD of this post to understand everything clearly.

For the scenery task, Style_Magazine created makeup looks for each of you five girls. She is the client this week and you will making a scenery revolving around her makeup for you and her inspiration. Her inspiration was italian actresses in the fifties and sixties. She really wants a haute couture vibe and you must recreate her makeup and accessorizing in your scenery look. We will be taking how well you recreate her look into consideration when judging this week.

Style is the client and this task is meant to show how well you can listen to a client, yet add your own flair and stand out.

The makeup stylings are as follows:

liajm-http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/194/44502068.png/

.pease.-http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/39/62044944.png/

.naima-http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/80223593.png/

tigre89-http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/8/43910862.png/

sweet.hearts- (Yours is a bit different since you are a non superstar. She showed the hair and earrings she would like you to use, as well as the makeup options available to you on HER medoll. Try to follow this as closely as you can!) http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2urkqxt&s=7

***If you have any questions about this part of the task, feel free to mail me and I will pass questions on to Style!

NOW for the second part of the task, it will be quite simple.

Using the photo function at your page, you are to take a photo of your medoll that should convey a polaroid taken at a 'Go See'. In order to do this, there should be minimal makeup and very simple styling wardrobe wise. You want to stand out without being able to pose, and we want to see how you compare to the rest on a first impression basis.

When you are finished, save the photo and copy and paste the link and put it into the comments of your scenery AFTER your description. This will make it a lot easier to judge and give you feedback on the 'polaroid'!

The winner this week will be decided based on how well everyone does on each of the two tasks combined.

Good Luck Models! There is a lot said in this post, but if you need any help let me know! We are all very excited about this entire week!

The Deadline For This Task Will Be Monday May 23rd ! ! !

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Task 7 Elimination Ceremony ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hey Everyone! This week everyone really did an amazing job, and I am so excited that Cycle 5: Old vs. New came to Rome! Isn't it lovely here?

This decision was once again extremely hard, but I will go on with the verdict. I have decided to give everyone a little paragraph this week, since there are so few left, the extra push and advice may be helpful!

The call out order is as follows...



1. liajm - Congratulations!!! You are this task's winner and your scenery will be featured on the homepage of the club. After a few weeks at the very bottom, you stepped up your game once again and really blew us away. Although this decision was very tough and close amongst the judges, I personally adored your scenery. The emotions conveyed with your medoll and portrayal of one of the hardest, if not the hardest, assignments, was devine! We are happy that that 'old' liajm is back!

2. .pease. - (This ranking does not really mean that much because the top three girls were all in the running to win! Do not beat yourself up for coming in second, you are by far the most consistent of the models remaining and I hope you see a win is for sure in your future! Keep up the work and continue to grow each week!)

3. .naima - (This ranking does not really mean that much because the top three girls were all in the running to win! You did an incredible job, I loved seeing a commercial and fun side to you in contrast to some of your darker sceneries in the past. Keep up this amazing work ethic!)



BOTTOM THREE:
1. tigre89 - Your work is always so incredible, so this week when it was a little worse than we all expected it kind of set us back. We are in love with your themes and execution, but since its so deep in the competition, you really have to be in the top every week to get by. An off week is okay, but not so far into the competition! We know you are capable of doing better.

2. gabby1822- You are either winning, or close to winning, a challenge or in the bottom, you have rarely been in the middle of the pack. And although we have had this discussion before, consistency is very important at this stage of the game. We all know your extremely talented but in order to win you have to be showing us growth each week and not set-backs.

3. sweet.hearts- Your concepts and ideas are always some of the most interesting and exciting in the group, but sometimes your concepts are so detailed that your expression of them fails. You almost set yourself up for failure by taking on too much. It is obvious how much potential you have to be in the top of the call out order, but its at the point where potential doesn't matter, it has to be about actual talent now.



ELIMINATED:
gabby1822
So tough! You are a dear contestant and friend of mine, and this was hard for all the judges. You have so much raw talent and brilliant ideas within you, and I am so happy you got to show everything you have. This is definitely ending on a positive note since you did so well this week, its just your time. I hope you understand and continue to be active as a friend and member of MelsModels. We will all miss you!


SAVED:
tigre89 and sweet.hearts
Such a tough decision! You both have the ability to win this competition, just don't let yourselves be in this position again! Keep going strong and learn from this so you can do better next week! I love you both!


Congratulations to the Final Five!! Wow! I cannot believe it, Cycle Five's Final Five! Woohoo!