Hello everyone!
I'm terribly sorry it took me so long to get the results and the critiques ready but the last two weeks have been very stressful for me and I needed to get over a very personal matter as well.
I'm all good and back now, though and ready to keep this contest running!

I want to thank everyone who submitted to the last challenge and want to say that you all did an incredible job and that I'm amazed by all the ideas and creativity!

Some people told me that this was very hard for a first challenge and that maybe I should have started off with something a little easier. To be honest, my intention always was to make you try out something new, push you, challenge you.
But I thought after I put you through so much I'd make the second challenge a little easier (at least I think it is) and will keep what I had planned for this round for the next one.

For the last challenge's results, please scroll down



I thought that since it's summer.. or it's supposed to be summer (here it's raining all the time), I'd give you a fun little challenge surrounding summer wear!
But there's a twist, obviously.. can't make it too easy for you!

This is what you will have to work with :



Your main colors are a hot pink and turquoise. To make it a little easier you can also use white but you don't have to.
Why those two? Cause I think they can work either really well together or look really horrible.. I want to challenge you to wow me with your ideas!
The way you use the two colors is up to you, but both colors have to be on one design.
To spice things up a little I also want you to use stripes.. in any way you like, how many you want, in whatever shape and size.. they just gotta be there.

What I want you to do:

1. Create 2 outfits for summer.. think beach, holidays.. one day, one night.
The day look can be anything from a swim suit to a summer dress. For the night look just
go wild (think of a beach party at night or something)!
2. Keep it sexy, keep it original and elegant..no matter if classy elegant,
sporty elegant, girly elegant, fantasy elegant.. you get the idea
3. You must use BOTH colors given somewhere in your design. To which extend is up to you.
Don't forget to add stripes somewhere! Make those colors work together in a fabulous way!
4. Only hot pink, turquoise and white are allowed in your designs. NO other colors!
5. Just go wild! .. I don't want to see something I could buy in every store!

That's pretty much it.. have fun!

Deadline is July 17th!





Without much ado, here are the critiques and results for the last challenge. Thank you everyone for all the effort you put into your designs!




This is a design that definitely wows you when you take your first look at it..and the effect remains for the second, third and fourth look!
The illustration is very nicely done, although it does have a bit of a smudgy feel to it (could have been the scanner maybe). There’s still a small issue with proportions as the head sits on the shoulder at a very odd angle, keeping the top of your design a little out of balance.

You created an interesting mix of the traditional Venetian carnival look and a trendy, modern style.
At first I thought the style of the pants was too modern but looking at the design for a while I found it does give a nice contrast and a bit of a 21st century edge to the costume, I really like.
The headpiece is definitely the highlight and main focus point of the design and it truly is impressive and would draw a lot of attention at the carnival.
While you kept your design mainly white, you still managed to keep it interesting with the clever layering of fabrics, the mix of textures and the clever use of black. You really put a lot of thought into that! I also loved the black pearl detail , it gives the costume that bit of extra spice.
You really managed to create a costume that keeps one looking and finding new details every time.
An awesome submission that stayed true to the Venetian style!



You designed a very colorful and cheerful costume that would definitely brighten up the cold February days of carnival in Venice!

Your illustration skills have definitely improved and the pose looks quite dynamic.. good job!
The only thing that bothered us was her vanishing left arm. It’s ok to “hide” it behind her body but with those kind of sleeves you would see a little more of it at this perspective and having nothing there is a little distracting.
Another big issue that still remains is the shading. The lack of shadows make your design appear a little flat, so I’d suggest trying to practice it a little. You either can do this with the markers or lightly color in where shadows should be with color pencils (just think of where the light is coming from and where the body or folds would cast shadows on).

In your costume you managed to combine the Vietnamese folklore and the opulence of the Venice Carnival very well. There is a balance between colors, the tribal feel of the mask and the extravagance of the dress.
The mask and headpiece are very original, quirky and I totally love them. While a judge thought you might knock over a few pedestrians with it ( ) I think it’s the most eye catching part of your costume.

The pants work really well with the outfit, however the fabric choice is really poor. Denim is no fabric to be used in a costume like this. A satin or silk fabric would have been a more appropriate choice.
The feathery pattern on the pants personally bothered me a little, because I think it just breaks the balance of the round shapes you got throughout the design..but this is more a matter of personal taste.

Last but not least we really loved the train. The shape is very interesting and balances the outfit very well, making a good contrast to those pants.
You put a lot of effort into this and you have improved so much since the last challenge… awesome work!!




That headpiece is wowing me every time I look at your design! It’s detailed, it’s extravagant, it’s stunning!
There’s a very underwater feel to it, the colors are chosen very well and there’s a harmony between the fabric and the pearl necklaces as they seem to “float” around the costume like little fish (yes, my imagination is running wild ) That staff was a nice touch as well.

The illustration was very well done, I absolutely love your clean, beautiful lines. However you could have added a bit more shading to give your design some more depth.

Proportions, proportions… we did talk about that already…
Sadly the messed up proportions keeps the design off balance as the legs are a lot too short.
There are a lot of ideas going on in the design, each of them is nice on its own but put together they make the design feel a little incomplete and cluttered.
The bodice is lovely, I even like the fishnet because it fits the theme of the mermaid quite well. For the sake of tradition I would have preferred to see a more fitted top, but I do think this works as well.

Now we come to the skirt, which all of the judges had a problem with.
We want to grab it and make it longer and put a crinoline under it for more volume!
With those little things you could have made the entire outfit more Venetian. While you took the colors of the skirt from the headpiece, it still feels kind of lost since it’s so different from the bodice. If you took the colors of the top and added them on the skirt, the entire costume would have been more cohesive.

Your submission was great and I love your style..with a little tug here and there this could have just been even a little better. I absolutely adore your Anime and fantasy-ish take on fashion .



Now your design really impressed me again by the sheer amount of thought that went into it.
I loved all the detail you gave about your costume, the ideas behind every element and it came together in a stunning design.
We would have wished your illustration was a bit more crisp and polished to make seeing the details easier and would have lifted your submission up to be much closer to what it deserves to be but I do understand that sometimes you just don’t have the time.
This was also the main critique the judges had, since we really loved your ideas.

The black and white combination works very well since you used the black accents quite cleverly. I especially love the gradient and pearl combination on the skirt, very elegant and chic. It adds a bit of a dreamy quality to the costume that contrasts the well tailored, elegant bodice that reminds us of a really cool looking riding coat interpretation.
My favorite detail must be the mask and head piece. At first I wasn’t sure about it but once I read your thoughts on it, I really liked the idea of the clouds.

Another very stunning submission again, put together with a lot wonderful and creative ideas. You managed to create a costume that might not be over the top and a bit simpler than the usual Venetian costume but it’s is truly an elegant and beautiful piece that manages to convey its inspiration very well without being overly literal. Great work!




To quote a fellow judge: “This one is Alexander McQueen, not the venetian carnival”… Your submission was breathtakingly beautiful, both in illustration and creativity..but it simply didn’t fit the challenge given.

The illustration, as always is completely gorgeous and impeccable. The fur details look breathtaking and the pattern on the kimono are gorgeous!
From a creative point of view, this is outstanding and I do get what you were aiming for. You wanted your costume to be different and stand out in Venice.. but I wanted something more traditional, something to fit in.
I do admit I would have so loved to see what you would have done with that theme, but nevertheless this is breathtaking.
As for technical details, one of the judges, who knows kimonos well, mentioned that you didn’t quite get the traditional kimono down right. You did say you created a kimono with a twist though, so this might be intentional.

We feel you played a little too safe here and that you could have really gone over the top with this theme , because we know what you can do. Please continue to wow us!




As always your design causes a very controversial reaction! There are the ones who absolutely love your style and the ones who never quite seem to get the feel for it.
I’ve been looking at this costume for quite some time, pondering it.. and it still made me wish you would have gone with the Doppelganger which just would have been a more interesting concept for the carnival in Venice.
One of the judges said about your design that it’s really fresh, innovative and rockstar while still picking up the theme.

Personally I came to the conclusion that this actually could fit into the carnival.
The theme was conveyed very well, the entire look reminds me of a satyr. You chose fabrics and colors very wisely. The pants do remind me in their shape and color of a satyr’s legs.
The big fur coat serves the purpose well and I get the feeling it’s really one of your trademarks (you seem to design big coats a lot )
The mask is also very nice and ties the outfit together.
I’m not sure about that very low cut and belly free black top underneath, though.. it’s definitely not going with the theme.

Yet your costume remains very simple. You did try to spice it up with the necklaces but sadly they are barely visible underneath the coat.
I definitely can see it at the Venice carnival, but I also could see it at an Haute Couture fashion show..it would have been nice to see a bit more Venice and details than a rather stunning but still wearable outfit.
But I do love that you stay true to your personal style, but it would be nice to see you try new things, walk new paths some time




First of all this submission is such an improvement from your first, rather rushed one!
Thank you for a very interesting creature choice! It was nice to read about it and see you transfer it into your costume.
The illustration looks rather nice, if a bit washed out, but that’s probably due to the scanner. Proportions, fold and colors look really good too, just a few more shadows would help to give your design some more depth.

The idea to use menswear as your base was very fresh and innovative while you still managed to keep the costume very feminine and fragile. We all loved the bloomers; they give her such an innocent touch. However we would suggest covering up her lower legs a little. One because you don’t really see that much skin in Venice costumes and two, the poor girl would freeze terrible in the February weather!

You did really well combining male and female elements and it shows particularly well on the top with the shirt and the airy, flowy collar. Beautifully done!
The crinoline with the flowers and the skirt over it is a very lovely idea and probably my favorite part of this outfit.
Personally I would have made it longer, dragged it down to the floor, but it works short as well.

For a Venetian carnival costume I would have liked to see some more opulence and extravagance. You could have achieved this by adding an elaborate head piece for example and some small details like maybe white gloves and some pearls or beads here and there.
This was a really solid submission and you really have some great ideas. I can’t wait to see more.



This was another submission I looked at for a long time to get a feel for the costume and catch all the details.
Sadly the presentation lost a lot with the darkness of the picture you took. This happens often when you photograph a drawing. A scan might have worked better or if you don’t have a scanner you could use a graphics program to fix the lighting (if you don’t know how to do this, I’d gladly help you out. )

Your proportion´s look good so far, you could work a little on your coloration, though.
It looks like you’re working with color pencils. They are a rather tough medium, especially when you scan or photograph them, because the light picks up every single line. A good way to work with color pencils is to color in small circular motions. You can layer and mix colors very well with the technique. You could also try to add a few shadows to give your drawing some more depth .

There are a lot of really nice elements on your design. I really liked the feather collar and the sleeves. It looks very rich and fitting for a hippogriff. Also the texture of the sleeves and gloves look very interesting.
It also draws your attention to the mask and “hair tail”. I really like the shape of the mask and the beak, that’s a very nice touch as well as the idea with representing the horse tail with the hair piece. Nicely done! 

As we go further down your design, we come the main problem of it.. lack of structure there.
Venetian costumes are rather similar to renaissance clothing, so a corset structure for the top would have helped your costume fit in with the theme more.
Your dress flows down the body in one line and with it loses what would have made it more Venetian.
Drawing a corset and separating it from the skirt part would have helped the design a lot, given it structure and the bodice more shape.
I know that getting the details of fashion construction down isn’t easy and there’s a lot to learn. A good way to do this is look at technical drawings of clothes where you can get a good feel for seams and their placements.

I actually do like the idea of the skirt. There may be a little too many feathers (maybe just 2 layers of ruffles ) but the idea behind it is good.
After all the commotion about the horseshoes and after we figured out it was the hippogriff and not the griffin (I think a lot of people including me thought griff=griffin), I actually like the idea of the horseshoe embroidery.

Maybe I wouldn’t have put them on the bodice but I think a little smaller and along the hem they would have made a nice trimming with some added beads.
With a few little details like a corset and some more beads and pearls you could easily turn this into a stunning costume.
It was a good start for a really hard challenge and I would really love to see more of your ideas.





This design actually made me smile a lot! The octopus is just so much fun!
It’s fun, it’s quirky, it’s a very original take on a mermaid!
Your illustration style is quite cute and we loved the use of bright colors. There is a small problem with proportions, though. Her legs are way too short, but Pixy told you all about that already in her critique.

I like how you tried to show the shininess of the fabric but the colorization still looks a bit too sloppy on the skirt.
We see a really great base for a good costume but for the carnival in Venice it’s just too basic, too simple. Adding more details, maybe beads and pearls, lace, whatever you can think of or just some more different shapes with fabrics would have helped to make this more of a carnival costume.
Putting the scales at the top for the skirt for example would have helped give it more of a mermaid feel, because at first glance I thought it were underwater flowers (which would be a nice idea too, though).
I really loved the trimming, though.. it reminds me of a fishing net and a poor little mermaid getting caught in it.

There were a lot of really good ideas (we loved that you showed us a fabric swatch) in your design and we would have loved to see you take it a bit further and be more daring.
I’m very curious and can’t wait to see what you’ll do with the next challenge.



First of all: Wow! .. Where to begin?
The amount of effort and time put into this design is very visible and amazing.
I actually don’t know where to start.. There’s so much to look at!
There’s not much to critique about the illustration, except for adding a little more shadows or some deeper shading in places and maybe some seams for better fitting. But those are really nitpicks.

You found a very clever and elegant way to combine the bird and the lion in your costume and that cool mask just adds that bit of extra spice (I love those cheeks and red lips!!)
I’m amazed every time I look at those feathers. There are lots and lots and lots of them, yet they don’t ever seem to be overpowering or too much for the costume. I also love how you illustrated all different kinds of feathers, adding a lot of motion and life to the design. This must have taken you quite some time.

Fabrics and colors were also very wisely chosen, the browns and leather representing the animals and the rich, red embroidered silk as a perfect contrast.
I also insanely love the shape of the skirt… it’s definitely different and fresh. There’s really not much I can critique here..except for maybe the tail some judges thought was a detail too much and too literal.
Your costume is opulent, extravagant, beautiful and everything I wished for in this challenge. Awesome work!!!



With you we definitely have a contestant who isn’t afraid to take risks and go crazy!
I had to laugh when I saw you chose the phoenix. I guess it was a pretty safe choice after I had mentioned it.

Your costume definitely is creative and calls for attention. It seems to be screaming through the screen “Look at me!!”..and look, we did!
The illustration is nice, fresh and eye catching. We also love that you added seam details. Nicely done!

There is a lot going on in your costume and one doesn’t know where to look first and this is also the main problem of your design.
You didn’t put a main focus on one or two elements but made the entire design the focus making it look a bit over the top and too busy.
The idea of the layers is very nice and so is the play with colors.. but I do think you should have focused a bit more on the basic phoenix colors and used the others for accents.
There are basically 3 elements we think have the most impressive shapes and original ideas:
The headpiece and mask which are just very representative of the phoenix and are vibrant in their colors and shapes. Love them. The feathers also add a bit of a Brazilian feel.
Then there were the shoulders with their very unusual and beautiful shape, leading down to a fitted bodice.
And third there were the feathers around the hip. Now those are gorgeous and remind me of a phoenix in flight.

If you had toned down the skirt a little and let those elements do the main work with some added details, I think your design would have been a lot more impressive and put together.
I love your creative ideas and you definitely have talent.. just try to focus on one thing and not everything at once. I know it’s hard when you’re so full of ideas.. but it’s a learning process and I’m very confident you will manage.



Yes- that’s what I wanted to see from you!
Gone is the sad face and you finally let your wild side out!

In all honesty there isn’t really much I can critique on.
Your design is so well thought through, beautiful and convincing none of the judges had much critique.
We feel you could have done a little bit more with the head, added a head piece and tying it together with the mask instead of letting the hair just flow.
Other than that we couldn’t think of anything else.

The shapes of your costume are very interesting and that balloon skirt adds a very interesting twist on the mermaid and gives it the typical Venetian feel. I also totally adore the sleeves.
The color choice is very lovely and cohesive. There’s an incredible harmony and calmness in it which I love.

Also the top is very interesting with the scales and those little tubes on the bust. The pearls also seem very natural in your design and go very well with the mermaid theme, they are beautifully placed and enhance the costume greatly.
I also love the gradients in the sleeves and skirt, they give me a very underwater feeling, kind of like seaweed in motion.
The mask is eerie in a certain sense, like the mermaids in mythology aren’t always good. I like that touch.
Awesome work and I can’t wait to see more!



Your design really was a surprise!
The pose is very dynamic and although the legs look a little odd, they work very well.
Your colors are very soft and some more shading would have been nice, but then again this could be the case of scanner eating colors.

I love your take on the nine tailed fox and how you used the fox tails as a train.
Your design has a very interesting esthetic to it and it’s so incredibly Venetian in its own way.
You created a really nice balance between shapes, textures and patterns that make your design so detailed and in a way complex while the base still stays relatively simple. I love how every pattern seems to have its own place and is repeated one way or another throughout the design.
I also insanely love those pants!

I find it very interesting how you kept the top rather traditional in its construction and then added that short balloon skirt with the fox tails train and those pants giving it a modern edge.

My favorite part must be the mask and headpiece. Keeping the mask rather basic and simple but adding those long ears makes it so special and fresh. I also really like how you tied the veil to the ears and make it one big unity.
I can absolutely see this in Venice and can’t wait to see more of your work!




You definitely captured the essence of the Medusa very well!
If I came across this costume during the carnival, that mask would give me one heck of a fright and I mean that in a very good way!
The amount of thought and detail that went into the mask and headpiece is amazing and I really loved that you added those extra sketches to explain it to us better.

There’s also a certain fierceness about the entire costume that goes very well with your creature.
I love the mix of fabrics , colors, textures and the small details with jewels and beads.
The drape at her side is very beautiful and a nice contrast to the more flowing character of the rest of the dress. However I’m not sure velvet would be a good choice here. In texture it definitely would be a nice contrast and very rich but I doubt you could drape velvet like this as it’s rather stiff and thick (I even grabbed some velvet I had to try this).

The only thing I don’t get about the structure is that plastic you wrap the velvet around. I imagine that would make the costume very stiff and uncomfortable to move in. If you add a crinoline or a petticoat under the skirt you will achieve the same shape.

Also I’ve been wondering about those swirls representing the claws. They are an interesting touch but seeing as they are wider than the costume itself I think she would have a lot of problems moving around with them, poking people left and right or getting caught on something.

In terms of illustration you did a really good job, it’s not a very clean marker style but it still works and looks good.
You really managed to create a very stunning and original outfit and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your work very much!



Another very well researched design from you!
There’s a certain calmness I feel when I look at your design and I’m absolutely in love with the skirt representing the water.
You managed to capture the main characteristics of the carnival very well although I have the feeling some more detail could have been added. The mask also bothers me a little because it’s a little too simple. While most Venetian masks have the same base, there are a lot of variation and you can find some very rich masks out there.

While the water theme, the skirt and the bodice gives the impression she is “coming out of the water”, I don’t get the feel for the sea creature. Making the mask a bit more detailed would have helped a lot here. I don’t think you would have needed to draw a dragon mask but some more serpent features on the mask would have been enough to suggest what she is.
The boat hat is a lot of fun and I really love it. I love the whole symbolism of your costume, the creature coming up under the boat to destroy it.

We also really loved the corset with the double bows at the back. The color combination is gorgeous and I love how the bright blue catches your attention. The entire illustration is absolutely beautiful and you did an amazing job once again.
It’s always a pleasure to see your work and I get the impression you really love to research and let out your creativity.



East meets West in your design and the combination definitely works.
I love the vibrant colors and the different shapes and patterns you used in your costume.
The flame theme is very obvious and I love the layering of the skirt.
I also totally adore the shoulders and bust area- Very original shapes there and definitely eye-catching and my personal highlight in your costume.

The one problem I see with your costume that it isn’t quite typically Venetian. One of the reasons for that is the Obi belt which is gorgeous but so completely atypical for Venice.
Keeping it a bit more Renaissance here and there, like adding a corset or going for small puff sleeves under those shoulders would have brought the design to Venice carnival.
Also we would have liked to see you do a little more to the hair. The hat you have is very lovely and I really like those spikes with the dangling beads, but we think you could have taken it a little further.
Which brings us to the mask which we were told to ignore
With a proper mask you could have pulled the whole theme together very well. I could imagine a mask inspired by Chinese dragons in shapes and symbols very well, that would have shown us once and for all that this is a dragon.

You really did well in this challenge and I loved your ideas. Your illustration is very vibrant and pretty, maybe a few shadows more here and there would help the overall presentation a little.
You did a great job and I can’t wait to see more from you .



I knew you could do better and right I was!!
The Cerberus was a very interesting choice for this challenge and I’m still amazed by how well you managed to pull it off in a costume!

First things first: your illustration looks really good and I love how well you handle watercolors (personally I’m at war with them). Two minor things you could still work on are shading, it’d add so much more life to your design, and some technical details, such as seams. I know that’s always hard to do when you have never done it before but it really gives your designs more credibility and that jacket really could use some seams for fitting. 

While your design is rather simple I don’t think it’s too simple. The rich fabric and the details totally make up for it.
I’m a huge fan of the shoulder pieces representing the two other dog heads.. a very nice idea!

There’s a certain darkness about your costume that goes well with the theme of Hades and the hell hound, while also keeping it very elegant with the color choice of black and purple.
Also the collar is quite stunning and makes the outfit more at home in Venice.
The cape also helps greatly there and I love that you gave it a soft purple lining making it even richer. The small silver details are definitely eye catching and I love the embroidery on the cape.

Also got to love the mask that is so clearly a dog but is not too literal and the feathers just add a bit more extravagance to the entire outfit.
The one thing I’m not so sure of are the claws on her hands, because you colored them gold while nothing else is gold in your costume. I just think it’s distracting a bit too much from your gorgeous outfit and I would have gone with the silver like you did for the boots.

The skirt you created looks like a lot of fun and I personally imagine it to be an organza with wire in the hem to create the shape. It’s a very nice touch and adds a lot to the costume, giving it a very interesting shape and adding some spice to the simplicity of the rest of the outfit.
A simple yet very effective design.. awesome work!





The banshee was a very interesting choice and your design definitely has something very dark and creepy about it. You really captured the creature very well.
The mask looks very interesting and I love that it has two halves and how you added a little color.

Your illustration, while a little blurry, is great. The exaggerated limbs really go well with the theme.
I really like the draped top that ties in with the head piece. It has something eerie and constrained about it. The way you illustrated the fabric though made us think more of a knit than satin, though.
The skirt is very beautiful as well, I like the shredded look and red details there.
All in all your costume is quite stunning but sadly it’s not very Venetian. For this challenge it would have been better to go with the little more traditional concept.
Your design is something we can rather see on a runway than in the midst of the carnival in Venice.
It’s still an outstanding piece, though.




Again, here are the Top 5 for this round. Points were really close together for this round!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Thank you for submitting and I really hope you'll continue to enjoy being part of this contest!