I was just looking at the cult thread on Subeta and this seems like a great place to be. I'm not the most fantastic HA maker in the world, but I feel like with a little guidance I could find a home here.

Here are a few examples of my work to date:

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

I'll be back to check for critiques! Please let me know if you guys think they're good enough for me to apply.

Hey there Jules! I love your name ahhhh

Anyway yes! Hellooo I'm Jodie and I'll be tryna help you out I like your overall style, it's really cute. I won't critique every av, just the few things that really stand out.

In your first avatar, I think you were going for a sort of summery-beachy feel maybe? That's the vibe I'm getting, and while it looks really nice overall, when you isolate certain parts it looks a little odd. Mainly because you've used a mix of old and new wearables, so the lineart doesn't match up in places (like between the shoes/jeans) so it just stands out and throws it off a little. If the lineart were all the same this would be a great avatar

In the 3rd avatar, I love the colours and this is my favourite out of all the ones you've posted ^_^ the only things I don't like about it are the way the headband doesn't quite meet up with the wig so it looks sort of off, and the colour of the shoes doesn't really match anything else in the avatar. But other than those I really love it.

In the 5th avatar, I love the matching of the hat/neckband/shirt, but again I don't think the shoes are quite right for this av, maybe the low black heels or the small black flats could have worked better? Also the eyes you're using, I tend to try and warn people away from those eyes because they're sort of weird and can ruin a really great avatar because they're so glassy and unrealistic looking. So maybe if you found some other eyes/shoes for this it could be really great!

Hopefully that helped I look forward to seeing what else you can do!

Thank you for the critiques!

I just noticed that the headband doesn't quite reach the end of the wig in #3 - thanks for pointing it out! I'm going to get to work on some newer HAs and see what I can do. I'll be back with more soon!

Hey there Jules, paramedic story sharing buddy! I'm just gonna jump right in with an overall critique.

Color matching seems to be one of your weaknesses. For example, in the 2nd avatar, the pink in the belt is much different from the pink in the rest of the avatar. In the 5th avatar, none of the colors seem to match at all. Your color choices are mostly pleasing (I really like the color palette in the first avatar; very nice take on the primary colors!), but keep in mind that single or 2 color avatars (like the 4th avatar) aren't usually fashionable.

Your layering is pretty good, but there's always room for improvement! In the 1st avatar, the lei appears to be layered over the hair. It might not be, but it's what the hair style suggests. In the 3rd and 4th avatars, the headband doesn't quite layer with the hair, and, to be honest, those headbands don't really layer with any hair style at all. And this isn't a huge deal, but in the 3rd avatar, it looks like the hair is layered over the jacket. This would be fine except for the hair cutting off the jacket outlines. It just looks a bit odd to me.

Some of your item choices are a bit questionable. The lei on the 1st avatar is rather outdated and bulky looking. I can understand why you chose the glasses + hair on the 2nd avatar, but with the glasses being so high on the face, and the bangs/fringe being so low, it looks kind of funny. (Perhaps you can try the restockable nerdy glasses, or switch to a different ring and match the glasses to that?)

When it comes to the face, you used the colonial eyeshadow on 2 out of 5 avatars, and the mimi moe truffle gloss on 3 out of 5 avatars. There's nothing wrong with having favorite items, but there's so many options with wearable and default facial features that you can't go wrong with switching it up a bit! Speaking of which, the default eyes you use on each of these avatars is my least favorite. If not for the wonky eye sizes, then for the runaway eyebrow. It's really your choice as to which eyes, facial features, and other items you use, but if you take a look at the 3rd avatar, the eyebrow is so far up that it's a part of the hair - hair that is pulled back rather tightly.

So yes! Overall I would suggest working on your color matching, layering, and item choices. Switch up your face items and features, and experiment with lighter or darker skin tones. I'm looking forward to any changes or future avatars you choose to show us.

Hey there Rachel!

Thank you for the critiques. Facial features are definitely one of my weaknesses - I often find myself defaulting back to the tried, tested and true. I'll definitely attempt to switch it up for future entries.

Ditto on the color matching. I found out that part of my problem is that my monitor settings are wonky, so colors look the same to me but on other screens seem obviously different. I'm going to try working with an app in Google Chrome that lets me pick up the hex codes for colors so I can work with matching items exactly as I work on an HA.

I've got a new HA here that I've worked on for critiquing. I'll post that here while I work to revamp the other ones as suggested.

1.

You're welcome! Yeah, monitors tend to cause trouble to many avatar makers, but no worries!

The most recent one you've posted is pretty cute! The blacks aren't quite the same, but it's really only noticeable in the jacket, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. The knee star sticks out because it's so bright and seemingly out of place, so I suggest removing it. However, this is a perfect opportunity to accessorize more! Try socks (such as the hobo socks, or white ankle socks with sweet lolita lace cuffs), an anklet, or a different white wearable near the ankles. You could also try a ring or bracelet, as well as something on the head.

I went ahead and added your avatar to your profile, so it will display next to your posts.

Thanks again for the suggestions, Rachel!

I've taken them into consideration! Unfortunately due to work time, I've only had the chance to revamp the last HA I posted and create one new one, but here are both for further critique!

1. 2.

I tried to be a little more daring and step outside my comfort zone with number 2. I didn't match the pinks in the corset because I wanted them to stand out a little as a sort of "statement" piece, so I chose to match the two burgundy stripes instead.

And thank you for adding my avatar!

I'm going to do some quick crits ^_^

On the first one..
The shirt is a grungy white and the socks are blindingly bright white. Also, all the gray is in the middle of the HA.

Second one..
That pink color on the corset isn't anywhere else. I know you said you wanted a "statement piece" but I just think it's really eye catching in a bad way. It'd be nice if you had some more silver throughout, but it's not necessary. Also, the light pink leg really draws my attention =/

Editing to say:
I love your current goldfish HA ^_^ <3

Thank you for the input, Kaci! I liked the goldfish HA, too. I may change back to it later on. Right now a few of us on the forums are just dressing up as Pokemon gym leaders and this is my attempt at Sabrina lol.

Anyway, now that I've taken a second look at my last HAs, I see what you mean about the pink standing out in a bad way. It is a bit too bright to fit in with the more muted grays and burgundies. I'm going to see what else I can come up with.

Thanks again for the crits, I'm off to try and come up with a few more HAs to post.

No problem ^_^

When I saw your current I was like 0.0 is that Sabrina?!
We definitely have a Pokemon thread here <3

I don't know if you've checked your portfolio in a bit, but your current HA is very lovely. The colors blend very well, and it's got a simple elegance to it (which I'm always a big fan of).

Thank you for the critique on that day's HA, Rose!

This new summer contest is really helping me to stretch my HA making abilities. I'm getting more confident with my color matching and layering. In a few more days I hope to have collected enough satisfactory HAs to finally get my application in.

With the second one you have up there, the one thing that is blindingly and painfully obvious is the shoes, they don't match anything. It might be because the darker background on here, which I find makes the flaws of an avvie more prominent, but yeah... I would fix that. :p