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Beauty seal entries 2017
Congratulations to the winners!
Show off your submissions for 2017!
Here is my honourable mention :
Show off your submissions for 2017!
Here is my honourable mention :
Appearance:
a soft, fondant green tea Ouroboros cake served with mercury mint leaves
Dropped:
A soft, fondant Ouroboros cake is here, looking absolutely tempting.
Examined:
A teal coating of fondant with emerald shadowy details forms a loop,
defining the curvaceous shape of a coiling Ouroboros biting its own
tail. The fondant is beautifully texturised with thousands of floral
scales slightly dusted with emerald and beige hued sugar fragments.
Sculpted emerald eyes of sugary dust are set on both sides of the head.
The generous coating of fondant envelops deliciously soft and moist
green tea flavoured cake of a jade green. Carefully placed upon one side
of the cake are mint leaves faintly glistening with mercury while the
few others are dispersed on the sides of the dark clay platter engraved
with serpentine scales underneath the cake.
Consume:
Flaunting utensils, you neatly slice through the generous teal coating
of fondant, revealing the soft, moist jade cake underneath. As you carry
a first bite to your lips, you are overcome by the delightfully light,
soft and creamy texture of the cake which almost instantly melts on your
tongue. Closing your eyes, you languidly enjoy the luscious, fragrant
whirlwind of green tea laced with faint minty details and an
undecipherable mineral bouquet. Each bite enables new nuances to be
tasted and a flourishing desire for more. You delicately place branches
of mint leaves glistening with mercury within your open lips and savour
the cool liquid woven with the refreshing mint.
Smell:
You approach the cake and deeply inhale while closing your eyes. Sweet, delicate mint and green tea
perfumes laced with a honeyed, faint metallic note overwhelm your senses, leaving you with a brisk
desire to sate your hunger.
Taste:
Glancing right, then left, you break a small piece of the cake while no one is looking. You bite
into it and languidly savour the sugary fondant mixed with bits of spongy, moist green tea cake,
discovering its faint flavours of mint. The taste slowly fades until you are left with an insatiable
hunger for more.
6
(c) Iron Realms Entertainment 2012.
Comments
Appearance:
a glorious golden cup cake of the dawn
Dropped:
A glorious golden cup cake of the dawn has been left here.
Examined:
The vivid colours of the dawn sky swirl throughout the smooth icing that
entirely covers the outside of this large cup cake. Atop the cake sits a
magnificent golden globe of blown sugar, surrounded by many thin shards
of shining, caramelised sugar. Varying in size, the shards protrude at
all angles to resemble the sun's rays and golden honey oozes from where
the shards have pierced the surface, dripping down the edges of the cup
cake.
Consume:
You pluck the delicate blown sugar globe that resembles the sun and pop
it into your mouth, barely letting the sugar melt upon your tongue
before you take a bite of the cake itself. The caramelised sugar shards
crunch between your teeth, while honey drips down your chin as a flood
of the sweet, nectarous fluid flows from the centre of the cake. You
take another bite of the spongy cake, the subtle taste of almonds and
the sweetness of the dawn-coloured icing mingle upon your palate. Soon,
the cup cake is gone and you are left with sticky, honey-covered
fingers.
Smell:
The scent of honey and almond invades your sense of smell.
Taste:
You nibble at the cup cake, the taste of honey and almond mingle upon your tongue.
The other two designs:
Appearance:
a delicate, white ethereal peacock cup cake
Dropped:
A delicate, white ethereal peacock cup cake has been left here.
Examined:
Large in size, this cup cake has been entirely covered in crumbling
frosting to resemble the snowy grounds of the Ethereal Serenwilde.
Perched high atop a mound of frozen whipped cream, is a delicate
ethereal peacock, made from shimmering fondant. Long, elegant snow white
tail feathers crafted from spun sugar extend up behind the peacock,
curving over to frame its head. The only colour on this cup cake are the
peacock's eyes, two tiny icy blueberries pressed into the fondant.
Consume:
You start by pulling a couple of the peacock's tail feathers from the
cup cake, popping them into your mouth and crunching the delicate
features between your teeth. You then take a bite of the cake itself,
frosting melting upon your tongue, while the subtle hint of vanilla
tickles your sense of taste. You pluck the peacock from its perch of
frozen whipped cream, and finish off the cake, before gleefully eating
the peacock whole. All that is left are crumbs of cake and crumbly
frosting, clinging to your fingertips.
Smell:
The scent of vanilla invades your sense of smell as you sniff at this delicate cup cake.
Taste:
You take a small bite of the cup cake, the sweet taste of sugar frosting and vanilla mingling on
your tongue.
Appearance:
a silver framed crystal gift box of half-painted koi
Dropped:
A silver framed crystal gift box of half-painted koi has been left here.
Examined:
This little, rectangular gift box has been crafted from clear crystal
panels, held together by a delicate silver frame. Caught between the
crystal panels of both lid and box are half-painted koi that have been
exquisitely carved from wood and then painted in a variety of shades.
Gold, green, silver, violet, blue, yellow, white and red, they lie among
swirls of blue sapphire and bright turquoise that depict the waters
these creatures come from. The inside of the box has been lined with
soft velvet of deep midnight blue, creating the illusion of deeper
waters from the outside, while obscuring the view of what may be inside.
Tonight amidst the mountaintops
And endless starless night
Singing how the wind was lost
Before an earthly flight
Item: Teaset Type: Teasets Org: Artifice Designer: Tamsin
Commodities: gems 250 diamond 250 moonstone 50 bluetint 30 faeleaf 10 redtint 5 silveressence 5
Mortal Reviews: Allowed Container: No Can Have Lock: No
IMPORTANT: The main noun MUST use one of these: TEASET, TRAY, SET
Appearance:
an exquisite glass teaset of Moon and stars
Dropped:
Resting upon a fragile glass tray of a fathomless blue speckled with diamond, an exquisite teaset of Moon and stars is here.
Examined:
The purest of translucent gems have been smelted together with flawless diamonds for a subtly iridescent sheen on the resulting glass that forms the base of this exquisite teaset. A delicate hand in the tempering has managed to swirl the glass with a deep, almost fathomless blue that resembles the deepest reaches of midnight skies. In the circular tray upon which all else rests, the colouring is focused in the centre and fades out as it creeps to the slightly upturned edges. Seemingly at random, specks of immaculate white moonstone have been scattered across the surface, and only close scrutiny reveals that several signs of the zodiac are represented. Dainty teacups fashioned from the very same tinted glass sit in a neat circle around the tray's circumference, each resting tidily upon its own matching saucer. Each saucer is similar to the tray, bearing its swirls of night hue directly below the small lip to hold the teacup centred and stable, and radiating out at varying rates until complete transparency is achieved at the raised rim. Rather than bearing their heavens in a central location, the teacups instead show patches of mismatched sizes at random, some bearing one large constellation across them and others two or even three. Every one is unique, their starry, opalescent patterns emerging in diverse combinations. Amidst this cluster of celestial teacups, a diminutive yet broad teapot takes centre stage, in spite of its fairly typical profile. Completing the breathtakingly fragile set with its construction from the same blue-tinted glass, the teapot has the expected swanlike spout and thin handle, though wispy curlicues add a touch of whimsy to the joints where the handle has been fused on to the body. Instead of the normal rounded knob atop the lid, a perfect glass moonflower provides leverage to open the pot, and the entire lid remains clear to view its contents with ease. Around one side of the teapot, the theme of the midnight heavens continues, with a smattering of moonstone-chip stars in no particular order. On the reverse is the captivating image of Mother Moon, her strong and beautiful likeness almost glowing against both the dark and the clear backgrounds. Piercing silver eyes draw immediate attention, followed by the lush smile of bright red. Her pale face is almost colourless in comparison, and the long, pale hair shown flowing freely about her face and shoulders is crowned by a silver circlet of moon and stars. One slim hand is raised and appears ready to cup the base of the teapot's handle as her eyes gaze off into an indiscernible distance.
The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable.
Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
My 5 cents.
Also congrats to the winner. Far superior designers than myself. My commentary is directed only towards more inclusiveness of styles of design this game represents.
I based this off the traditional Ukranian flower crowns:
Here was my other one, which was the design that I RP'd making, because Brea knits socks. Lots of socks.
I remember when I last played there was some Beauty controversy and one of the admin posted explaining that some of the admin who judge take the Beauty part literally and don't judge on writing so much as what creates the most evocative, beautiful image to them, and I think both approaches are valid. This was many years ago, so I don't know if it's still true, but perhaps that is part of it? There is no metric listing what the judges are looking for, so it's hard to say. Maybe that could be something worth implementing next year, to help designers know what things (sentence structure, lore relation, visual aesthetic, etc) are being looked for.
Edit: Example of what I mean by a metric:
Designs will be judged on the following:
- Aesthetic appeal
- Ties to lore and the world of Lusternia
- Creativity
- Cadence, flow and diction
- Estarran flattery
And then judges rate each design from 1-5 or whatever in each category. Then you just tally the points for each design, at least to get the top ones to pick from. I imagine it would make things clearer for crafters and perhaps easy for the judges. Maybe they already do this behind the scenes!The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable.
Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
See that's what I was thinking, it seems the the beauty part is literal. So like in theory someone could have designed the most well written and crafted sickeningly ugly thing and that'll not win even if it could win a design contest for best designed. Maybe for future years you could make the contest one about a design theme?
Like this year the judging criteria is who every can create the most grotesque item. Or an item that portrays the concept of "Violence" etc etc
On the whole judging thing: I assume it's like the library. Some gods have rubrics that they use, some don't, but there's no standardization. But you can look at older entries and find trends (hopefully from years with more or less the same pool of admin.) Look for trends, write accordingly. After all, there's no objective standard for aesthetics, but you can construct a useful standard if you do it relative to a given group's preferences. Know your audience, write accordingly.
That having been said, I'm always in favor of standardized, public rubrics for competitions. I also like themes, more because I think that constraints can lead to a more interesting pool of submissions than for any concerns about judging fairness.
That said, I am very happy for the winners, they did do an amazing job, better than I probably can at my current skill level in designing. Kudos and congratulations.
The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable.
Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
Dropped:
Examined:
Appearance:
Submission 2:
a multicoloured sconce depicting the return of the Pyresmith
Seven different coloured flames throw the Divine figure emerging from a sconce on the nearby wall into stark detail.
Delicate flutes of glass have been fashioned into ornate fire blossoms, making up the main body of this sconce. Each glass is coloured one of the different colours of the Sacred Pyres: violet, green, orange, light blue, yellow, pink, and red. A large cap rests on each, fashioned to look like the pistil and stamen while holding candles and allowing them to burn. Motes of fire essence have been carefully worked around each stamen, affording the delightful illusion of miniatures of the Seven Pyres emerging from each blossom. The stem of each flower is attached to a door of blackened iron, the base of which is attached to the wall. Emerging from its open doors, the Divine figure of Yomoigu, the Pyresmith, rises from among the faux-Pyres. The marble, iron, and gold, the Pyresmith is made of is lit from the perfect angle at all times, thrown into picturesque light by the seven candles to give the appearance of glowing with power and strength.
Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
Until then, congratulations to @Zyphora! As soon as I saw her design, I knew it was going to do well, because it was so pretty and creative. Here was my design:
Appearance: a silvery zeppelin music box
Dropped: A decorative music box sits here, crafted to resemble a silvery, streamlined zeppelin atop a bank of clouds.
Examined: The base of this music box is sculpted from pristine white ceramic into a billowing bank of puffy, windswept clouds. Tiny chips of mica within the ceramic shimmer softly when caught by the available light, as if the clouds were glistening with iridescent ice droplets. Above the clouds, a large silvery zeppelin seemingly drifts upon unseen wind currents, although a spiralling chain-link ladder extending from the zeppelin provides both crucial structural support and a connection to the music box's base. Sleek yet intricate in its design, the zeppelin consists of a translucent crystalline membrane shaped like a streamlined, tapered cylinder with a cruciform tail in the back, as well as a series of silver flight decks and observation domes with clear glass windows along both sides. Through the windows, the minute gears, spools, and other clockwork mechanisms of the music box can be glimpsed; when the zeppelin's cruciform tail is turned, much like a key in a lock, they whir into motion and an enchanting melody begins to play. A hatch flips open along the bottommost flight deck and a trill figurine in a blue flight suit emerges upon a miniature antigravity disc, flapping its golden wings and waving a tiny beam generator in the air in time to the melody. Once the melody concludes, the trill disappears back inside the zeppelin, the hatch snaps shut, and the clockwork mechanisms within the music box fall still to await the next song.
Appearance:
an ash tree shaped bookshelf
Dropped:
With book laden branches, a replica of an ash tree stands in the centre of this space, serving as a bookshelf.
Examined:
This replica of an ash tree stands freely, tall enough to dominate any space yet not quite as large as the stage of growth it has been carved to reflect. Obvious care has been taken to ensure the illusion, the branches and bark reflecting the chaotic harmony of nature, the bark rough and the branches sprawling outward at random, growing and dividing, reaching upward and outward, growing more and more covered with replicas of ash leaves and flowers as they reach their ends. Closer inspection reveals that the leaves and flowers have been crafted from dyed paper that has then been coated in a light layer of a flexible laminate. While not quite capturing the feel of a living specimen they offer a visual likeness. Scrolls and books of all types have been scattered all over the tree, some rest in hollows, others balanced on limbs. Rope webbing has been woven between some branches to provide more storage, and some volumes merely rest on the ground, cradled within the embrace of the root system. Thick ropes descend sporadically from within the crown, large knots tied into them to allow one to climb to those books that are just out of reach. Slender slivers of silver have been pressed deeply into the bark of the tree. Little wider than a wire, they are obviously designed to only be visible in the correct lighting. Some form tribal representations of the various spirits of nature focusing heavily on those allied to the northern forest, while others take the shapes of various runes, those relating to wisdom and preservation being particularly prominent.