Monsters
Velora 
Annouille 
Stephen 
Kitori 
Rivienne 
Eldaena
Judge’s Critiques
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.