GoSupermodel is filled with so many creative and highly talented designers. We already had an amazing JD and GD-team, but with the introduction of Community Made we have been spoiled rotten.
This news segment is fully dedicated to put a designer in the spotlight. Who are they? How do they create these stunning designs and what are they inspired by? This spotlight post is by Ellie!
Let's introduce!
I'm Ellie. I'm a 28 year old cat lady. I originally joined gSm back in 2009, on September 25th and my old username was September25. I designed a little back then as well in the original designer tool but unfortunately those designs are long gone. I was never a designer back on gSm 1.0.
When I studied I chose to study a bit within different medias. I'm mostly familiar with Photoshop and still am til this day. I'm not that smart when it comes to technical stuff, at all, so I have only use pixel and brush pencil tools. I've tried downloading different kinds of brushes but it just does not work for me. So I'm a bit old school when it comes to using digital programs. As some have heard already, I also do not use a mousepad or a pad. I use a regular computer mouse and some short commands on the keyboard - that's it.
Reflecting about this now has made me realize I could possibly make my designs much faster if I learned more techniques. It probably won't change mine either way as I'm as stubborn as an old lady learning new stuff.
My biggest inspiration is clothing on Pinterest. Most of my designs are inspired from different clothing and fits from there. I usually start off with a reference pic and end up doing something complete else. The mermaid design i've made is only from my head, except for the hair that I didn't wanna make. I had to search up how to shade a rock though without it looking super strange. But there is no particular rock you'll find that looks like mine.
I think it's the mermaid design I'm mostly proud of, as it took me nearly 35 hours to complete in total and I was close to giving up around 10 times. I'm glad I didn't though, because it's those things you struggle with most that you end up loving in the end. I also struggled a lot with this holographic one. So those two are by far my favorites.
When it comes to designers here, I'm mesmerized. They are all amazing and have different styles. I wouldn't say any really inspire me, or all do - it's hard to put into words. I had a role model I really looked up to on another website. She was my biggest inspiration and became a friend of mine too. She's still way more skilled than I am but she inspired me to not give up and to develop. I used to design a lot for the other website voluntarily. I started with pixelart back in 2018 and learned a lot by doing but also by making mistakes.
I actually did apply as a JD in 2023 after gSm made it back. I ended up not even making it through the audition which made me feel unmotivated to continue. I believe it was a lot of talented people who applied. After that I kind of became inactive, I was petty honestly. But i came back in March of 2025 just when they announced the designer tool. I went back and forth wether or not to upload but I ended up doing it. I've been stuck ever since and designing has once again become a hobby of mine.
Moving on to the design process. I always start with rough hard outlines when making a new design. All items I make, I make in the color they're supposed to be. I've seen some who always start with black and recolor from that, but I don't. After making an outline I clean it up so it doesn't have double pixels anywhere or look "jagged".
Then I fill the item with the color I want as a base color. I always make ONE item at the time and finish that before moving on to the next item. That's probably why I often end up with another result than I had in mind. I make the hair last, as I absolutely hate making hair pieces. It's frustratin and I always turn up hating them all in the end.
This is what my process usually looks like:
I don't have any better pictures of the hair process because I remake them so many times. With the hair I always start with this grey-ish blonde shade as I find it easier to recolor from that one.
Right now I'm working on halloween stuff. I want to be able to make as much before my baby is due (4th of October) because I'll be quite busy after that I believe. Next week this will come in the CM shop.
And I'm currently working with this hot ghost. And don't worry - I'll make it pastel too
Ellie's: goSupermodel profile, goSuper.tools profile, design page
Thank you Ellie! for this amazing interview. The goSupertools team appreciates the time and effort you've put into the interview. We can't wait to see what you'll create in the future <3 And congratz on the baby coming soon!
Do you want to be featured in one of these spotlights? Contact one of the goSupertools staff members and we'll have a chat.
