BABY POWDER!

The title does nothing have to do with the post, but Nimka told me it doesn't matter soo....

Anyways, here's something I've recently been working on: a graphic of me, wearing nothing but a blazer and a cigarette in my hand.

Opinions?

xoxo Rafael

Back From The Dead

"Rafael Grant ... I've heard that name before I think."

Yeah, that Rafael dude used to be a designer and a contributor of this blog. He took a break from Stardoll because he was a flop towards the end he had some very personal issues going on.

Oh wait, did you say Rafael Grant?! ... that's me!

Yes, you heard right.

I AM BACK!

It's been quite a long time since I last posted something on TGV (my last post was on 27 June 2014 to be exact). But I broke out of my grave and I'm back to take back my crown and slay you and here to stay!

... and I've brought a new graphic with me as well!

Just a tiny headshot. Nothing too special.

But you can definitely expect something bigger for the Stardoll Fashion Week.

It's gonna be fancy!

That's all for now. See you on the red carpet at Stardoll Fashion Week!

Love y'all!

xoxo Rafael

Ps. Sorry for the gif overkill but I simply had to!

SPICE COUTURE IS OVER.

I don't know if I'm supposed to post this here, but I thought since it contains lots of (new) graphics, why not.

I used to have this fashion label called "Spice Couture". I only released two collections but they were quite a flop considering all the critics and their mediocre/bad reviews.
That's why I decided that it's time to move on ...

I made this video so that you will understand why Spice Couture is no longer relevant.

Rafael xx

I just HAD to!!

This is for your, my dear Lindsey!! 

Trololololol!!! :D

Isn't she just sexy? And she really seems to LOVE chocolate cake!

xoxo Rafael

Are You Ready To Open The Gates?

The title actually says all. This is an exclusive sneek peak for the RNTM Finale. If you haven't noticed yet, it will now take place next Tuesday* due to ... well, it's so much work and I just couldn't finish it :P

Here you can see how this year's runway will look like. For this cycle I've planned something very special:
The media walls are now huge gates that can open and close which makes the show a lot more exciting. The design is based on the outer space theme, but the appearance of the media walls will of course change for several occassions and performances.
Hmm, I wonder what is hidden behind those gates?

Find it out. Next Tuesday!*
xoxo Rafael

*updated!

Final Countdown!

Only one day left!!

I already can't wait to get this show started. What do you think of these tiny little sneek peaks?

xoxo Rafael

The Message Is Revealed ...

Yesterday I've posted a little graphic, saying it was a misterious message from a far away galaxy. Well, the message will be revealed now ...

You are officially invaded invited to be part of the big Finale of Rafael's Next Topmodel Cycle 6!! It's gonna be a galactic show with many performances, walks and backstage views! I hope you'll attend this big event, don't miss it ;)

xoxo Rafael

A Message From Outer Space ...

What could this be?!

A misterious message from an alien??

Can you guess what this might be?

Stay tuned ...

The Face!

Hey everyone!
Couldn't think of any better title. x)

Guess who is busily working on graphics again? Right, me!
And this is what I've been working on for the last 10 days ...

It's the banner graphic for Sparkle Model Management. The model is Catherine aka mathildamath who is the face of the management. I'm actually very proud of it, it took me quite a long time as it wanted to put more effort into detail. The hair probably took me the longest.

What do you think of it? Anything I can still improve?

And which version do you like better? 

xoxo Rafael

Beauty Shot

Hey everyone! 

This is what I've been working on for the last few hours. It's now finished. The skin took me the longest.

I originally liked the hair, but now it's like ... O.o

I think the whole head part looks awkward, but I don't know. What do you think?? :3

By the way, I like the shimmer on the nails.

xoxo Rafael

My 3rd task for SNTGD

I know, it's been a long time since my last post.

I'm sorry ...

Anyway, here's my entry for Task 3 of SNTGD. I know, it's not my best work, it looks kinda rushed, everybody hates the dress, blah blah blah ...

I'm kinda disappointed myself, too. I mean, I've worked so hard on this, and I really tried so bad to make it something special, but I somehow couldn't manage ...

I think my skin shading needs a lot of improvement, maybe I should add some more layers? 

I also don't like the collarbone, it looks awkward to me. I'm pretty proud of  the hair, though. This happens to be the only thing I can do really well these days. What do you think about it??

I guess I won't be able to win SNTGD if I keep doing graphics like this, but let's be honest. It's gonna be Jack or Luisa anyway ...

xoxo Rafael

My Entry for SNTDG

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post. :/

Anyway, this here was my entry for the 2nd task of SNTGD and I thought I'd share it here on the Vault with you...

I got quite positive critique for this graphic and I'm glad the judges liked it. Nevertheless, I also want to ask you how you like it? Is there anything I can still improve?

By the way, the model is actually me (some people didn't even realize it ._.) and not only the judges but also some other people in the comments mentioned that my doll's face doesn't look very male.
Honestly, is my face really annoying/not male enough to model for a graphic? :O

xoxo Rafael

The winner of RNTM is...

Hey guys!! On Thursday was the finale of RNTM Cycle 5. And I've created a video split into three parts. This one is the last part where MandaMichalka is announced as the winner of RNTM.

She's really amazing, don't you think she looks gorgeous? :3

Anyway, here are some graphics of the Finale ...

What do you think of them? I know some of them are kinda blurry, and Manda's waist on the Cover looks kinda... too slim. I'll try to fix it for the finished RNTM backstage magazine issue :)

To see the full Finale, click here. 

xoxox Rafael

RNTM Spoiler & Catwalk Pose

Hey guys!! :)
I've been quite busy the last few days with making some graphics. I now want to share two of them with you. The first one is the spoiler for the finale of RNTM Cycle 5. It actually didn't take me very long and I'm very happy how it turned out. Have a look:

(Updated)

The dresses are taken from Stardoll, just edited them a bit. I really like how the hair turned out, especially of the hair of the right doll. I think I've really improved at making hair. :3
I'm also quite satisfied how I made the collarbone, I think I will keep it that way as it doesn't look too exaggerated. What do you think??
By the way, you can of course join the live-chat if you want and watch the finale with us! :)

The second one I'd like to show you is a catwalk graphic. I'll be using it for a project, won't tell you which one but maybe you can guess it... ;)

I think my skin shading turned out quite good although I still need to improve. Yes, I censored all parts which are inappropriate as well as the model's face. I'm so happy that I managed to make her look slim but not too skinny (like I did at Spice Couture).

What do you think? Please comment!

xoxo Rafi

Graphics for RNTM Backstage Magazine

Hey guys!

I've just released the latest issue of the RNTM Backstage Magazine. (finally!!)

Have a look at the graphics and tell me what you think.

I guess you already know these two, eh? ;)

I really like both of the graphics, but I prefer the left one. Oooh and I hope you notice that I've improved my hair!! I'm so proud of it. :3

Make-Up Editorial with elisavetdella. I'm still not sure if I will keep doing the collarbone like this, but I still think it turned out quite good. I think it's one of the best I've ever created so far (doesn't mean they look good haha).

xoxo Rafael :*

For A Competition In School

Hey everyone!
I want to show you a graphic which I finished on Thursday. It was for a competition in my school. I gotta be honest, it didn't turn out as I wanted and now it looks kinda... I don't know. Maybe it's because I had to rush as I didn't have much time to do it and I had so much stress with learning for school and other projects. Anyway, have a look:

I made some parts (face, cap, hands and snowball) with my mouse, the rest was done with my tablet.

This ain't be my best graphic, but at least I tried. The girl looks like a thicker person although she was meant to be thin. *ehem*  I guess it's because the jacket turned out so fluffy plus the head is very round. 

The cap looks like a tortured jellyfish and I forgot about a shadow of the girl, so it also looks a bit 2D.

But still, I gave my best and I hope and I win something (hopefully I'll get 1st place but I doubt that).

What do you think?

xoxo Rafael

New graphic!

Hey guys!

I've made a new graphic. I plan to use this for the RNTM magazine.

What do you think? Anything I can improve before I'll publish this in the magazine?
Hope you like it, it took me quite a few hours of work!

xoxo Rafael

Graphic for RNTM Magazine

Hey guys! :)
I've finally managed to finish a graphic which I had started two weeks ago. I'll be using the graphic for the covergirl photoshoot for 'RNTM Backstage Magazine'. The model is mathildamath. (I noticed that I'm using her doll quite often for my graphics O.o)
I didn't really have much time for graphics this month because of stress at school. But I hope I will finish the magazine very soon, I will then show you the graphics.

Anyway, here's the graphic.

This ain't my best work. I'm not sure about the hair, something just doesn't look right, but I won't change it (no time, too lazy..)
I'm quite happy about the dress, I think I'm getting better at clothes shading. :)

What do you think?? Comment please! :3
xoxo Rafael

Update: I won't be using this graphic for the magazine any longer. I somehow have to agree with the people who commented, it simply looks cheap and tacky.

Rushed graphic for RNTM

Well, I think the title says everything...
Today I made a graphic of myself for RNTM. I'm using it for the banner as well as for the Cycle 5 Opening video. Anyway, it's a remake of an old graphic that muffins97 made for me about one year ago.

Old graphic by muffins97

New graphic which I made



 Comparing the two graphics you can tell that my doll's face has changed quite a lot over the past few months. Anyway, I'm not that happy with my graphic as it's very rushed. I spent most of the time on the sweater but now I think that the folds are too ... much.

But I hope you won't realize the flaws of this graphic so much in the video, haha.

What do you think? I know I could have done better but I just didn't have time and I still don't.

xoxo Rafael