Thread: Official ENTM-GD thread! 2.0

We thought a flying round would be a good idea. We didn’t think that the Ishgardians would mistake the mounts for dragons and, well...

We’re down to six models, is the key point. Time to test their bravery!

This week, we challenged the models to go play with their favourite monster! If it can be killed, it counted for the challenge. And yes, that includes primals, dungeon bosses, rats, Garleans, anything! The models were given the following instructions:

Out out into the world and take a picture interacting in any way you like with your favorite monster in the game. Hope you come out of it in once piece! This can be taken in any zone in the game so have fun and make it work!


Click here to see the shots

Click here for the voting form

Best of luck to all the models and thank you in advance for all your votes! Remember, be careful to only pick each model once. Voting will end at 11:59pm EST 02/02/16!

This is the last day for votes~! Voting ends at 11:59 PM EST

Week 7 is now over and we are getting down to the wire – soon we will have our top 3, and someone will be named Eorzea’s Next Top Model!

This week we asked the models to come play with danger, and unfortunately one of the mobs didn’t play nice… and so we must say goodbye to yet another model.

First we will see what the judges had to say:

Ciara

Annouille-
Don't you look like you know how to have a great time! I’m loving this shot it's creative and I think you two look fabulous. You even managed to get some great lighting in a dark primal area with no access to sun minion. Great job!

Eldaena-
Wow lookin mighty intimidating, you don't look like a girl straight out of Catherine or many a person’s fantasy. Creepy dark and seductive with such a lovely color palette. I especially love that lucky sparkle at the top right. Keep rocking the inner succubus its gorgeous!

Rivienne-
Wow this rounds amazing! I can see you have all taken a lot of thought to your shots and have really started creating fantastic pictures every round! I love everything about this shot, especially you dear! Such a lovely outfit to go playing in the sylphlands. What are those pants! I must have! Lookin great dear!

Kitori-
These shots just don't let up and fan girling all your shots and they just keep coming with unending excitement! Gorgeous lighting, setting and camera angles here Kitori. Your outfits amazing and you really aced this shot! Don't panic, she just wants to build a snowman, named Kitori so she can keep you! Lovely!

Stephen-
Adorable as always Stephen, you really remind the world -why- we want to really be lalafells and bask in the glory that is FFXIV's "master class" This picture is adorable and colored so perfectly. Such a great picture to turn fighting fun into "One of the guys". Super cute Stephen!

Velora-
Looking like a summoner trying to come speak with the elements about the secrets of life, Velora makes real by honoring the bombs with her rituals of peace. A fun picture to remind us that kimonos are just around the corner I know we’re all waiting for. I love that you caught one of the places in the game that can be duller to look at sometimes but always felt mysterious to me and left me wanting to explore. Great job!

Nozomi

Annoille Andouillant –
I like your outfit here. The parts themselves were good choices with the body and head matching the aesthetic of Garuda and the gloves blending with the other pieces. Keeping a bunch of metallics in your clothes allowed you to precisely match things that otherwise wouldn't. Right now it's a bit cluttered up in the middle of the shot because of the rock behind you both; with so much going on in such a tight area you need a clean background to prevent visual confusion. Your pose was pretty well chosen. You actually mimic some of the shapes that Garuda's body makes and the crazed laugh (male elezen laughs can be ...odd) fits your concept well. You kind of come across as a tempered right hand to the birdy. The little orange slash at the bottom isn't actually immediately very noticeable but it's there and it shouldn't be.

Eldaena Vonxandria –
Another unique and dramatic shot this week. You took a major risk with the lighting but I think it paid off; the result is very conceptually strong. The way the faces and bodies are arranged in the shot keeps the eye moving between the elements and finding new details. Great use of the lighting in this fight. Love the lens flare in the upper right. Again you used your character's aesthetic well and built the concept around her strengths. As an Au ra she can have a default somewhat soulless resting bitch face great for possession by an evil being and with her slightly glowy limbal rings the possession seems even more real. A good outfit for the concept that takes advantage of the Au ra's body scales. The choice to use dark red in your outfit helps to amp up the effect of the red light from the arena and push the focus to you.

Rivienne Cotrlaint –
Not too bad conceptually but you kind of blend into the background. The height gradient from the left sylph across the picture to the right one ramps the viewers eye right out of the shot. I'm guessing you tried to sort of match the sylphs with your outfit but it doesn't work well; the color is too off from the sylphs, the color blends in too much with the background, and the sleeves look dirty next to the happy bright orange lights behind you. The lighting in the area isn't very flattering as it makes her face look very flat and pasty. The sleepy concept was good and the stretch emote was the right choice to go with it. Because of the other elements your weapon is just extra clutter in the shot. I mentioned it in the general skype channel and in at least one of your previous critiques that you can and should be changing your hair/makeup to better fit your shots or else design your shot around your default look to make it appear to match excellently and not seem out of place. Right now your hair seems out of place and mismatched in this shot. Even just changing the dark blue in the hair to a similarly deep purple would have been better and shown more consideration.

Kitori Orihara –
Lovely colors in your shot this week and a cute concept. If you would have gotten Kitori a bit more over to the right side I think she would have filled the shot better, as it is you have quite a large dead space over there that the background elements aren’t adequately filling. Have you where you are right now puts you in front of the arch which is a bit too bright to fall into the background as much as it should for it to work. If cropping were allowed taking off the far right quarter would improve the shot greatly. Great expression; it really works with both the concept and you (you’re very cute and the concept you presented has a bit of a sweet, fan tang.) Good styling and weapon choice although I’m not sure I would have left the weapon visible. Your outfit is a major focus both passively and actively here but your arm blocking the chest disturbs the flow of the different pieces so that I can’t get a read on it. Also, while you are dressing up for her I’m not sure exactly what you mean because what I’m seeing is confusing. Your outfit is similar enough that it’s almost like some sort of cosplay, but different enough that a cosplay doesn’t make any sense.

Stephen Fairbrook –
Unexpected and clever use of posing. One big thing that really detracts from your shot is the bird flying in the distant background. It’s very distracting since it comes across as either dirt on my screen or a fly buzzing around unfortunately. Good outfit. This is how you put together an outfit that is inspired by a creature but holds its own too. It has the general color elements of the animal and maintains the aesthetic even though it doesn’t perhaps create the same silhouette or place the colors in the same places as they would be located on the animal. I feel like after you got the posing down here you should have waited until the birds were in better places (this front one is having clipping issues.) Also the rock on the bottom right has enough texture that it doesn’t feel empty but even a cursory glance reveals strange graphics effects. The key element in your shot was your pose; it would have been better if you had capitalized on that and found a more perfect location. Lighting was fine.

Velora Hunter –
This feels very safe and boring with not a lot of thought put into it. You went with very obviously pair-able elements and didn’t really bring anything else to the table (no special placement for the bombs or special effects). Out of the three beings in the shot you demand the least attention for me. The little bomb appears to be wondering about the bomb that blew such a big hole in the structure behind you, and the big bomb is all glowy and pretty against the cool background. You just sink into the shot because of the lack of lighting, passive gaze, and peaceful pose. I see that you’ve used your minion slot on the little bomb but you need better lighting and could easily recruit a friend or stranger to come and supply either the bomb or sun minion (I recommend you use the sun minion so that you can easily readjust). I can’t see your shoes but somehow I can guess that you have on the geta. Because of the cropping a taller pair of shoes would have worked better here as the apparent lack of footwear leaves your legs looking very bare.

Xev

Eldaena Vonxandria:
Eldaena is taking the doll aesthetic to brand new heights in our nightmares this week. Posing with Echidna, she masters resting bitch face in a shot that is nothing but perfection. The subtle honeycomb effect from the protect spell adds just enough diversity to the backdrop without taking anything away from the star and her monster. While many people commit atrocious fashion faux pas by wearing bikinis into dungeons, this is an instance where it works: all the strappy pieces lend continuity through to the monster’s dark, sinewy lines to make this shot a total masterpiece.

Annouille Andouillant:
HA-HA-HEE-HEE-HEU-HEU-Har-Har! Garuda has one of the most grating laughs in the business but Annouille doesn’t let that deter him. Dressed in a feathery frock that rivals the lady of wind herself, our handsome Elezen adds insult to injury by challenging Garuda to a duel of cackles. Making bold fashion statements that work the Primals signature color scheme, Annouille’s star remains brilliant even through a turbulent windstorm. In fact, the gales do wonders not only for setting great color and mood, but it also in muting the backdrop so that the focus can remain on our exquisite model.

Stephen Fairbrook:
Do your birds hang low? Do they waddle to and fro? Can you pose them in a shot? Can they pose with Popotos? Stephen Fairbrook is playing it safe this week keeping his tasty tots away from the bigger, scary, more predatory monsters of Eorzea. Instead he’s chilling it with some cute birds that seem to lack the appetite for mashed taters. Dressed as an honorary Apkallu, this shot makes great use of poses, costume, extras and bright, vivid lighting to make a shot that is simultaneously aww and fun. All it needs is duck sauce and salt.

Kitori Orihara:
Bringing the Bubbles Girl meme to the world of Eorzea, Kitori teaches us that she who poses and runs away shall live to pose another day. This entire shot is a visual cornucopia of iciness and fun sparklies; From Kit’s floofy underoos to the ribbon of aurora borealis streaming across the sky, I love every bit of this frosty shot. My only suggestion this week would be for Kitori to run a little bit faster while also holding a bubble wand (Note to Squeenix: this game needs bubble wands!). Not only would she channel the full might of the Bubbles Girl, but she would put a more comfortable distance between her and Shiva’s heavenly strike.

Velora Hunter:
Having made her way to the far reaches of Finder’s Bluff wearing nothing but a red and white Yukata, Velora speaks the language of the bomblings people in an elegant, summery dance. While the lighting and use of contrasting colors in this shot is top notch, this particular view of the Bluffs leaves the backdrop feeling a bit parched. Luckily we have Velora’s explosive beauty and leggy ensemble to compensate for that particular bomb.

Rivienne Cotrlaint:
Momma always told me to watch my drinks at parties and never to fall asleep in front of strangers. Rivienne may be learning this lesson the hard way however as it looks as though she may be emerging from a long winter’s nap amid a midnight deluge. Those dodgy looking leafy dudes flanking her sides have that shifty look as if they are up to trouble. Imo, ALL sylphs are up to no good. Despite the gorgeous plum colored woods and the fairy tale touch of the sylphs tiered lanterns; I’d still advise Rivienne to run like hell from those devious little cabbage heads. That or at least come back after it’s done raining so we can use them for their vibrant colors.

Remember scoring is as follows:

For scoring, each model was awarded points based on their placement in vote order. So, if Model A was ranked 1st out of the 11 models, they gained 11 points. 2nd place gained 10 points and so on, until the 11th ranked model gains 1 point. We then tally the judge scores too, which get inflated to count for 75% of the total vote. Below are the total rankings, along with the public score count and judge total pre-inflation.

Overall Results:

Eldaena Vonxandria: (252 public, 15 judge)
Stephen Fairbrook: (266 public, 14 judge)
Annouille Andouillant: (261 public, 13 judge)
Kitori Orihara: (248 public, 12 judge)
Rivienne Cotrlaint: (231 public, 5 judge)
Velora Hunter: (221 public, 4 judge)

Congratulations to Eldaena, your sexy darkness stole the hearts of many! But will her wicked ways keep her in the top! Come back to vote again!

As for Velora, we are so sad to see you go, your elegance will not be forgotten! From myself, Ty and the Judges – you will be missed and will always be a part of the ENTM Family! <3

Great! Looking forward to the next challenge!

The contestants better keep up the good work because...

A new model is ready to step into the spotlight!

After last week’s monster madness, Velora was so fond of her bomb friends she wound up giving one a great, big hug...

Our condolences to her family. And the family of the Lalafell who happened to be wandering nearby at the time.

Anyways, moving right along! We’re down to our last five models, with the contest heating up! I want to point out that last week, the scores from the judges had a single point separating each place from the one behind it, so it very much is anyone’s game! The public vote was incredibly close as well...there’s everything to play for as we approach the end game.

For our eighth round, we wanted our models to go spend some time with the two newest beast tribes - our friends the Gundu/Zundu and the Nonmind! The models were given the following instructions:

The Vanu Vanu (Zundu) and the Gnath (Nonmind) are just getting to know us - take a shot with one of the tribes, showing us how you're becoming a trustworthy friend.

Shots can be found here.

Voting form can be found here.

As always, rank the models in order of your favourite shot! We greatly appreciate all your votes. This round will close at 11:59 pm EST Tuesday, February 9th. Best of luck!

Voting ends tomorrow, Feb the 9th at 11:59 pm EST~!

We have reached the end of Week 8 – and unfortunately we must say goodbye to another amazing model. Please remember we appreciate you all, and everyone is awesome – but unfortunately there can only be one winner.

…but can I keep you all and love you forever?? Heehee~!

First a little note from us here at ENTM:

ENTM Fans, Friends & Supporters: With everything getting down to the wire - please remember to support the models by voting, we only have two weeks left!! I am sure they would really appreciate it, just as all models in this competition have enjoyed seeing their pictures being voted for~ it’s nice to know people care, support and enjoy seeing the hard work the models put into this! I know new patch stuff is coming up - but thank you for the support - all of you are awesome!

So:

This week we asked the models to hang out with two of our newer tribes and show the friendship they have with them. First we will go to the judge’s critiques~!

Ciara

Rivienne- Gorgeous! I love this shot, you look classy and rock that Elezen charm! the colors great and I honestly I’m not sure id change a single thing <3 Great job hun!

Annouille- What a neat idea for a shot, I love it! You like Rivienne really show off that Elezen charm. This is a cute idea and done in a lovely palette. Lovely, Annouille!

Kitori- So serene... So peaceful~ You seem right at home in this well done soft shot. caught at the perfect time of the night to start a campfire and get to know your new friends. Gorgeous Kitori!

Eldaena- Haha this shot is cute and the colors are gorgeous! I love all your expression and drive to show the Gnath a good time! Super cute and I’m really impressed at how you angled this and still managed to be the spotlight of the picture!

Stephen- So much love for the Gnath today! I’m sure you all have done an amazing job at helping to strengthen the bonds between beastmen and men! Stunning as always, Stephen steals the shot and light it softly but not overdone in any way. Great job Stephen!

Nozomi

Rivienne Cotrlaint - Great idea to use those legs! Do you mind if I try to incorporate it into some of my own outfits? Not a bad shot but I think you have some framing and placement issues with the picture being split almost in half content-wise. There's the half with you and the right Gnath and then a separate seeming shot of the area on the left. I think a way to fix these issues would be to pull the camera back a bit more to get the far left Gnath more obviously in the shot, and scoot Rivienne over to the left and towards the viewer. When I look closer I can tell the right Gnath is turned away a bit so you being deeper in the picture logically makes sense, but unless you really look she appears to be too far back and so slightly awkwardly placed as though she's blowing a kiss to someone offscreen. Good job on the styling and lighting. Although I kinda like the choice to stick with all grey on the outfit, with you pretty closely mimicking the Gnath it may have been better to attempts to match their various color patches (their colors are a bit more like a dusty brown but I mostly meant darker hat, redder body stuff like that.) Clever pose use to better resemble them.

Annouille Andouillant - Cute idea and nice outfit choice. I really think this shot would have been improved with the use of /gpose because as it is it is very very busy visually, such that the foreground details are difficult to distinguish from those in the background. A somewhat interesting concept and an interesting execution. Something that I like about this shot is that you succeeded in creating the illusion that you were actually interacting with the shy little buggy. Your lighting isn't actually bad but with the busy background it isn't able to do its job very effectively. Not sure how intentional it was but I like that your earring matched the somewhat radioactive green of the Gnath fume plumes. As I mentioned in the beginning good outfit choice. You managed to keep the slightly dieselpunk aesthetic of the Gnath without being to costumey, almost like a Gnath that turned into an elf. Your minimal styling doesn't detract from anything and helps to keep the nicely toned-down Gnath-ish vibe. Good expression and whatnot; matched your description.

Kitori Orihara - Nice job copying the cute, dorky smile that the birdies make. One of the things I'm not digging about your shot is how you aren't really interacting at all with the Gundu; you're just sort of... there. Your outfit isn't terrible and I see what you were going for but I think there are other things you might have worn to more closely match the islander aesthetic of the Vanu Vanu. Bikini tops, hempen tops, some of the flame hunt gear, possibly the summer yukata, taffeta/coliseum gear, there were a lot of clothes that would have been a better fit for the Gundu. Your styling is basic but that's fine; don't be afraid to change up your hairstyle/color and makeup to better suit a shot. Your lighting needs some work here. The light hitting your face dead on is making it a bit flat; try for a more indirect three quarter angle accentuate your features. Fires in shots are definitely not always a bad thing but in this case the flames are far too bright and distracting and make me want to squint when I look at the screen. The current lighting isn't helping Kitori be more distinguishable from the background. To deal with this you could try making her brighter, choosing a different location entirely that has less well-lit extras, or take the shot at a different time of day that leaves your extras less noticeable and you delicately illuminated by the sun minion.

Eldaena Vonxandria - An unexpectedly energetic shot for you but certainly not unwelcomed! Eldaena looks as lovely as ever but with a very different, sparkling vibe. Your outfit picks up on the organic, handmade, but slightly mechanical side of the Gnath aesthetic in a nicely subtle way. You color choices were good. The metallic green gives you the color variations of the gnaths' fabric and resonates well with the energy of the realm reborn spraying action and the sparkles it created. Going with a bright sunny day ties in nicely with the other happy, lively elements. While your lighting doesn't especially set you apart from the background your framing and image element arrangement does the job just as nicely. On closer inspection it is obvious that you're just firing wine into the side of some unsuspecting Gnath who's in the middle of a conversation's head but it isn't a big deal and not a real detractor for me. I'm very glad to see some life in Eldaena's face this round and glad to see some variation from your usual style. While it's lovely and you generally use it very effectively I was starting to worry that that was all you could do so it's very nice to see that your skill extends beyond what we've seen so far this cycle.

Stephen Fairbrook - A sweet concept as usual for a sweet Lala. I'm very glad to see that you utilized the darkness of the night to massively tone down the busy texture of the landscape surrounding the Gnath. This also meant that when you used the sun minion to light yourself up your Gnath friends got the beneficial buff of gentle light that seems to be subtly radiating out from your tiny potato body and even more subtly reinforcing the implication that you're the star of the shot. You picked the ever popular red to set yourself apart from the background and it worked as well as it did because the rest of your outfit compliments it and makes you come across as being an adventurer in his casual clothes because he is comfortable around the Gnath. You still managed to settle yourself into the shot with your well-chosen green necklace. You did a great job of looking like you are actually interacting with the buggies. Your pose and line of sight make it quite convincing. Your framing works well and thoroughly directs the eye towards you but because of your gaze going to the left our eyes are set on a path that continually bounces from one person to the next in a pleasing way.

Xev

Stephen Fairbrook:
*Dark clouds roll across the scene as ominous music plays.* Opponents of Stephen Fairbrook want you to believe they’ve brought their A-game this week, but anonymous sources say some of them are nothing but shady, shameful tater haters.

*The music swells to a sunshine harmony as we are bestowed the gorgeousness of Stephen’s screenshot.* Unlike his opponents, Stephen Fairbrook is an equal opportunity potato lover that can use his low center of gravity and cutesy wiles to win the hearts of shorty beastmen everywhere. While other diplomats are only willing to work the 9-5, Stephen works around the clock to conciliate the Gnath in this nicely lit night shot. A vote for Stephen is unanimous with a vote for good taste; A good taste for taters!

Kitori Orihara:
If you’re gathered here today, it’s because like us, you care about quality costumes. Impressive, rich colors are important to you and to screenshot fans everywhere. Kitori is here this week not to placate us with empty promises of glitz and glamour, but to serve as an official ambassador of the fierce. If we vote for Kitori this week, not only will it serve as a win for Vanu fans everywhere, but it will also be a decisive strike against bland and basic coloring everywhere. So go ahead, vote Kitori and let her razzle-dazzle your world with her savagely perfect fashion ensembles.

Rivienne Cotrlaint:
This battle of the shots has come to a crossroad and the time is now to vote for high-heeled (without the heels) elegance. Rivienne has hatched the perfect plan to win the votes. First, she will stand center stage against a backdrop so bleak that she shines like a fiery beacon of gorgeousness against the bland. Second, she knows what it takes to win over even the most gnarled and twisted beastmen and that something is shameless smoochies. When will your faves ever? Lastly, she will use her lithe Elezen grace paired with high fashion shoesies to blast your eyes with a burst of fashion glamouring so strong, its amazing Loth Vast Ath is not a smoldering hole on the map.

Annouille Andouillant:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for considering Annouille for ENTM’s top model of the week. Reaching out from higher altitudes than any of his contemporaries, he works a mount pose to serve us up some sassy diplomat realness while still gifting us a handsome screenshot. I have full confidence that if we vote for Annouille this week, not only will he refrain from cooking the Gnath in that very convenient cauldron, but he will also continue to grace us with fab costume accessories that complement touches of green in the beastmens coloring to cultivate a pleasing palate. Annouille is a visionary like that and if he earns your vote today, he can continue to color our world with stylish splendor.


Eldaena Vonxandria:
Are you tired of the same stale beastmen content day after day? Eldaena understands. That’s why she’s busting out the bottle to bring us the party in an ensemble so vivacious, even the drab, rocky outcrops of the Gnath are illuminated by her presence. Voting for Eldaena is a vote for fun. I’m sure if we cast our votes for the shimmering Au Ra, not only will all of our wildest dreams come true, but that she will continue to bewitch us with her bold fashion choices and penchant for perfectly placed panache. Vote for Eldaena today and let her share that bubbly magic with the world; Or at least me. Are any of us really above bribes of the sparkly drank?

Remember scoring is as follows:

For scoring, each model was awarded points based on their placement in vote order. So, if Model A was ranked 1st out of the 11 models, they gained 11 points. 2nd place gained 10 points and so on, until the 11th ranked model gains 1 point. We then tally the judge scores too, which get inflated to count for 75% of the total vote. Below are the total rankings, along with the public score count and judge total pre-inflation.

I would like to point out something very important this week: We had a tie for first place when it came to judge’s votes, and it was the public vote that broke that tie! Which goes to show how important it is that y’all vote for the model you want to see win~!

Overall Results:

Eldaena Vonxandria: (95 public, 11 judge)
Kitori Orihara: (82 public, 11 judge)
Stephen Fairbrook: (96 public, 10 judge)
Annouille Andouillant: (87 public, 9 judge)
Rivienne Cotrlaint: (90 public, 4 judge)

Congratulations to Eldaena~! Your partying has crowned you the winner this week. But will she continue to rise to the top next week? Come back next week to vote and find out!

As for Rivienne, your grace and elegance will be missed – you are fierce and from myself, Ty and the Judges – you will be missed and are forever part of the ENTM family! <3