The Four Elements

My Little Ponies(TM) aren't the only dolls you can create on the Doll Divine website. Actually I'm really psyched because I just found one called Dark Fairy that is TOTALLY up my style alley, so expect some more posts after this! The site has hundreds of 'games', all similar in that you dress up the 'dolls' to your personal and (pretty nearly) unique creative choice with the options available, but widely differing in theme, content, artistic style etc. 

Recently I had a go with the Four Elements scene maker, because I love ideas based around the magical elements. Even though they aren't scientific, they resonate within my imagination, conjuring images of wild, pagan gods, demons and spirits, dragons and faerie. I started (somewhat inevitably) by making a Fire spirit; she was somewhat aggressive, because the Fire choices tend to lean that way, but I determined to make a gentle and aggressive spirit for each Element, to embody various archetypal personalities and show how each element can have both beneficial and harmful aspects. 

Here are my results; you can also visit my gallery on the Doll Divine website to see other creations, from other games. There, the Four Elements dolls stand alone, but here I matched them up so I'd only be loading four images to blogspot. That's why the images have different internal borders, which if I'd planned things properly from the start I would have changed, but it was an evolutionary process. Sorry about the background colour to the descriptions. I copy/pasted them from the site, and there doesn't seem to be a 'remove background highlight' option, only changing the colour - which still won't blend into the blog.

~ FIRE ~

Spirit of Delight ~ Spirit of Vengeance

DELIGHT: The kind face of fire, this is the deity of fun, beauty and sensuality - the patron of all parties, festivals and playtime. She is the harbinger of excitement, generosity and good cheer; and sympathy for those who overdo things just a little too much.

VENGEANCE: The fiery spirit of vengeful wrath, this volcanic deity can be summoned to give one strength against one's enemies and to aid in retribution - whether just or unjust. Fire doesn't care - fire just burns!

~ EARTH ~

Spirit of Joy ~ Spirit of Avarice

JOY: This earth deity represents spring, new life, hope and well-being. She is often honoured as a kind of Lady Luck, benefiting new ventures, especially in matters of the heart. She is the patron deity of dancing.

AVARICE: This is the deity of precious gems and minerals beneath the earth. She is a jealous guardian of her wealth and traps miners in cave-ins; her wrath is the source of earthquakes. She incites avarice among those who plunder her treasures, causing war and spoiling the enjoyment of riches.

~ WATER ~

Spirit of Tranquillity ~ Spirit of Malice

TRANQUILLITY: This gentle water deity is called upon to help soothe the afflicted, calm turbulent weather, and bring peace to any kind of conflict. She brings rest and harmony, helping people to resolve their problems calmly and wisely.

MALICE: This is the malign spirit of stagnant water, of fell swamps and choking weed. Her tendrils of malice can insinuate themselves into the noblest of souls and she is always looking to corrupt, whispering sly, wicked thoughts in the shadows.

~ AIR ~

Spirit of Grace ~ Spirit of Fury

GRACE: This airy spirit is the embodiment of grace, beauty and gentleness, so light she can dance upon the clouds. She is the goddess of twilight stars, jasmine and spring breezes, butterfly wings and soft laughter; ephemeral and lovely.

FURY: This tempestuous spirit is behind all rash, hasty, passionate decisions and flashes of violent temper; but she also empowers the ferocity of protection, quick thinking in a crisis, and flamboyant skill. Neither fully benevolent nor benign, she is a double-edged sword, riskily invoked.

You can see by the position of the matched dolls that you start with a basic body template for each element that cannot be changed. You could use one element to make another, but it would be trickier as the options tend to be themed; for example you won't find any fiery motifs in the water element, and the hair colours tend towards the blue/green rather than the red/yellow spectrum. You can change a huge variety of other things though, from clothing, hairstyles and facial expression to accessories, highlighting and backgrounds, and add minute final touches by dragging and dropping tiny beads and flowers to create delicate jewellery. My Avarice doll has 50 hand-positioned jewels! That's why I wasn't about to go back and redo them just to match the border motifs. Overall, I think my favourite doll is Grace; though Vengeance would make an unmistakeable Fledge avatar in Second Life.

~ * ~