Hey all. I'm piggy-backing off of the bar that is right next to this apartment's wifi and I was disappointed I didn't even get ONE confession. Come on guys! Be controversial!
ATRL's Next TOP MEMBER Cycle 8 | EP2: The Entries!!
ATRL's Next topmember Cycle 8
EPISODE 2: AVATARS
WHAT TO DO WITH THE ENTRIES: I want each of you to PM me who you think had the best entry and the worst entry. You cannot say yourself!
I would like the two names into me by
Tuesday October 9, 2012
@ 3 PM US Central Time
THE ENTRIES
Quote:
Originally posted by collin
This is the original of the photo I use in my avatar
My friend Rachael loves to take millions of out-of-focus, useless photos that I grow to adore
I find my avatar to quite unique on ATRL; most users don't use themselves in their avatar.
I'm not really sure why, but I also don't mind too much - I've always just felt I should use myself.
My avatar standard showcase of me for so many reasons.
It's not a big enough showcase to draw attention, but still not small enough to be lost in the crowd.
It not only showcases me pictorially, but it also portrays my personality. I love photos like this.
Though in the picture you can't even tell what I look like, it's me. It's random and bizarre, like me.
Here's an out-take from the shoot (feat. USB cord)
Quote:
Originally posted by MusicLoverDude
DON'T TRY TO CHANGE ME, I CAN'T BE TAMED!
....Now that I have your attention, my avatar for this challenge is that of my all-time favorite artist, actress, and celebrity, Miley Cyrus, in her Can't Be Tamed peacock outfit. If there is anyone that has been a big influence in my life, it's Miley (well...most of the time - you would never catch me smoking a bong, although I thought the video was hilarious). But, her music is big part of my life, especially Can't Be Tamed. She's the only Disney artist to break out of the mold and she strived to be ONLY her - and I absolutely admire that because I stand for people to be themselves as well. The song brought me out of my darkness and put me into a new light, and my Junior and Senior years of high school ended up being much better because Can't Be Tamed gave me self-empowerment to KEEP being myself - even after hard times - and my senior slogan ended up being Forever Untamed. And that is what I am and always will be, which is why Miley gets the honor of being my avatar for this challenge. She stands out because Miley and me are both crazy, untamed, and ourselves. There's a reason why Liam is marrying her you know!
~ Forever Untamed ~ - Ryan
Quote:
Originally posted by TheSeenScene
2NE1. 21. To Anyone.
No matter how you say their name, these girls are icons to the millions of fans they have all around the world.
[From Left to Right: Minzy, CL, Park Bom, & Dara]
Most importantly, they're icons to me. Earlier this year I discovered their music on a whim when I was listening to another popular korean girl group, Girls' Generation. 2NE1 was listed as one of the Related Artists. So, I decided to give them a listen. After just one listen to "I Am The Best", I was absolutely hooked.
I am proud to call myself a Blackjack (the name of their fanbase) because these girls are the epitome of style, confidence, & talent. Their drive to do their best both on and off stage inspires me to be the best person I can be. "Naega Jeil Jal Naga!", one of their most popular lyrics, is something I say to myself almost on a daily basis. The translation? "I Am The Best!"
In my eyes, these girls are the best. That is why I have chosen them as my Avatar for this challenge - because they mean so much to me, I'm amazed I was able to put it into words.
"2NE1 FIGHTING!"
Quote:
Originally posted by Sloth
Spirited Away
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Just last week, I decided to watch Spirited Away for the fiftieth time and document it by creating avatars. The above four images are the result; I selected these four scenes as a way to chronicle Chihiro's (the main character) journey in the spirit world. My current avatar is the fourth one and it's perfect for me because it showcases all of my favorite characters and represents my love for movies (as you can tell by now, I'm a movie junkie). I also believe it's arresting because it appears to be a still image at first but upon further inspection, you can see certain things moving such as the little bird and mice and the clouds. It's the little details that make me love this avatar.
Quote:
Originally posted by ethan
Well, as you can see, my avatar is a polar bear jumping out of a pool. I stumbled upon the gif one day by accident and was caught off guard by how random it was. While I have no idea what is going on in the gif, I think it is hilarious, and that is the primary reason I chose to use it as an avatar.
To me, an avatar represents a big part of your identity on ATRL. It's what people see beside every one of your posts and it helps people to make connections between your posts, especially if you don't have a particularly striking username (like me). My avatar is very different from most others on ATRL considering it doesn't feature an artist, but I think that's a good thing; it helps me stand out more.
My goal was to choose an avatar that tells people that I am more than just a (insert artist name here) stan, because those artists are only a small part of me. I wanted an avatar that I thought would make people smile, because that's a big part of who I am, and, pretty soon after deciding that,…
… this absurd gif came across my screen. It was destiny.
Quote:
Originally posted by Hugamari
Did you know the heart shape didn't always represent what it does now?
My avatar is not over-the-top, flashy, extravagant, or extremely exciting. I feel that it does not need to be. When I look at a heart shape, I always think of love, happiness, peace - very positive thoughts. I also get a cheerful feeling when I look at bright colors; pink is a great example of this. The simplicity of the avatar, along with it's message, are the reasons why I use this avatar. It gives a sense of hope to me - others may feel the same. Even the smallest of things can make huge impacts.
Quote:
Originally posted by VJoker
So we meet again judges.
---
Anyway let me start to explain my avatar.
Its obviously about a cute yellow figure beating up some cute green figures (and doing some other random things for example destroying a wall or working out ). I think it stands out because its really funny, the figures are really cut and its just really fun to watch. I sometimes look at it for few minutes and just laugh and smile the whole time. I also only recieved positive feedback about it. I remember Vin posting it in ATRLHQ and saying it would be his favourite avi at that time and many other people asking me where its from.
This gets me to the next point. Its actually from a not yet released sandbox game called Zombox. The second I saw the creator of this game post this gif of some random animations of the game on his blog I fell in love with it. So I resized it and used it as my avi since I was searching a new one for a longer time already.
The avi shows me because its fun and you can actually have a great and fun time with me if you get to know me better since I'm normally quiet shy. It also shows me because I did love to play video games as I was younger and also still enjoy them now. (I just dont play them as often anymore.)
Thats the end of my explanation. I hope it isnt too long or too short.
Lemme post another cute picture at the end of my entry.
Quote:
Originally posted by EdgeOfAddiction
*Puts on "The Edge of Glory" instrumental and clears throat*
"In this sea of moving pictures I strive
To stand out, yea baby! (Forever distinctive.)
So I plead Andre to help me make an unique avi..."
And this is why, for every Sias and Ester Deans we have, we also have Rebecca Blacks and EdgeOfAddictions.
Anyways, minus the rare instances where I switch to Base uniforms to promote, my avatars on ATRL are always one of a kind. I like to not only be recognized instantly by my name, but also by my avi choices. When I choose a video to make an avi, I make sure that no one has any scenes from that video, and by extension, the concert, if my avi happened to come from a live performance. And with that rationale, my babies were born.
For this challenge, I chose this avi
(Courtesy of Andre. Love you.)
created from snippets of GaGa running along the Brooklyn Bridge from the Google Chrome commercial, aka what should have been the original Edge Of Glory video. You see an amazing view of downtown Manhattan juxtaposed with chic, athletic GaGa breathing in and enjoying the freedom of who she is and what she has become. The song and the actual commercial, more specifically, my avi, sort of became a mantra for me. You see her running and dancing for her hopes and dreams and blows a kiss at the end, symbolizing that she knew perseverance and hard work will pay off. What sort of underdog victory? Rising all the way from living amongst rats in the sewers to the penthouse suite in Narnia with just hope and Cheerios?!
As a recently graduated student living in NYC, that same hope and box of Cheerios is everything to me.
Sorry for all the cheese. Here's a Shamwow to wipe your faces with.
Quote:
Originally posted by boyonce
Feet stomp, fists punch, shoulders punctuate. With this simple movement, so much is conveyed. Strength, power, ferocity - but most of all, CONFIDENCE.
It should come as no surprise that I admire so much about Beyonce. Above all else I admire her unwavering confidence. The gif I use as my avatar is from the music video for Diva, and the walk she does in it screams "I've got this". I struggle some times with confidence because while I believe that I am good at what I do, I'm constantly afraid of coming across as cocky. Beyonce's confident attitude in my avatar serves as a personal reminder that it's ok to be bold, assured, and confident. As I get older I remind myself that confident and cocky don't necessarily mean the same thing, and my animated avatar reflects this.
Unlike some users, I keep the same avatar rather than changing it often. I spoke in last week's entry about looking at one's reputation as "branding". Keeping my avatar the same is a personal, conscious choice to strengthen the recognizability of my posts.
Besides, if you don't like my avatar, at least it's not my cat's face...I draw the line of identity theft at that.
Quote:
Originally posted by Energy
My first ever gif created by me
I created this avatar to reflect my history on ATRL.When I got here, alot of people had it out for me and underestimated me, and they all seemed to be just alike, but I keep my cool and hung with the best of them and proved that I am here to stay and I am not going anywhere. I am a big fan of supernatural things, manga and anime and this scene called out to me so I had to choose it. I may joke around, but I am in this competition to win, and I want my avatar to reflect that motivation.
Quote:
Originally posted by Ammer
I selected Adele as my avatar as I feel that her, and this image represent who I am in this competition. My previous avatar (seen here) represented a more sophisticated, mature Adele. While I (and she) still maintain these characteristics, this selection of Adele's photo represents a shift in her image to a more sexy and vibrant vibe, and how I too am going through a similar shift. I often feel as I box myself into a label of being "mature" and "sophisticated", and feel suffocated within these confines. Thus, this extremely cropped image represented a symbolic escape from these boundaries. I felt the cut off of her right eye left a tinge of mystery, and carried an air of seduction. As someone who is constantly growing as a person, I feel this new image of Adele represents me finding a balance between maturity and sexy and understanding that there is a way to be "sexy" without losing ones sophistication.
Quote:
Originally posted by DillonATRL
Currently, my avi is of Ke$ha because she is my main bitch at the moment. Die Young was just released and the video isn't out yet so I decided to find a different GIF for my avi. When I first signed up I had this avi:
But I knew there would be an avi challenge so I found this GIF from the We R Who We R video and resized it myself. Ke$ha is a very quirky out there person, so what better than an avi of her making a crazy face and just being Ke$ha. I myself am a person who uses ATRL to have fun and this avi is quirky which gives people an indication that I am a member that has a good sense of humor and just wants to enjoy my time here. On another note, her eyes go well with the color of my signature. With this avi, I can give people the impression that I stan for Ke$ha(obviously) and that I'm one to have a good time and joke around with which is how I want to be perceived here.
Below is the original image. There is a watermark but It doesn't bother me since you can't even see it when the image is avi sized.
Throughout this competition, I think I have had a struggle to really stand out, and apparently my username has even become something of a joke. At first I was thinking about certain artists that I embrace or even certain fabulous models to complement my taste in the entertainment industry.
I then choose to have an avi who can personally appreciate my music device, the Zune, MYSELF:
First of all, personal gifs of yourself is a risk in itself. Placing anything out on the internet about yourself is the risk I speak of and I then find making this my avi for ATRL since the representation of “team zune XD” directly back to me. I find my avi to also coincide with my image as a “team zune” supporter. Esspecially with the comments from a particular judge, I wanted to covey a little bit of “workin’” the zune in my avi. The avi actually shows me (literally) but the avi is a message to know to anyone who had doubt that I didn’t like my zune, I will keep walking forward with my Zune and embrace it. Haters gonna hate right?
). I think it stands out because its really funny, the figures are really cut and its just really fun to watch. I sometimes look at it for few minutes and just laugh and smile the whole time. 
I also only recieved positive feedback about it. I remember Vin posting it in ATRLHQ and saying it would be his favourite avi at that time and many other people asking me where its from. 
Rising all the way from living amongst rats in the sewers to the penthouse suite in Narnia with just hope and Cheerios?! 
