This news segment is fully dedicated to put a designer in the spotlight. We've asked them about themselves, their creations, their process and their inspirations. This spotlight is for and by Ekaemma!

Let's introduce! 

Hiii <3 I’m Ekaemma aka Emma.

I’m 25, half Norwegian and half Indonesian. You might’ve seen me in dress-ups, bingos or in a THG sim, but lately I’ve been pretty much offline or afk because of designing, and work. I first joined gsm 1.0 in 2012 (or 2011?), and shortly after joining I spent HOURS fooling around in the old designer tool (I wasn’t that good though so nothing was saved from that time). On gsm 2.0 I slowly started designing last year during the 2nd JD competition, and for the Halloween design competition hosted by Spigg last Halloween. Buuut ever since the Designer tool became available for everyone I’ve been designing, and releasing at least once a month. I love love love seeing all the different looks with the items I design <3

Typically my process starts with choosing a colour palette. I pick a mid tone, make the shape of the first item in that one colour, draw some darker lines for the folds and then smudge them with a fitting brush for the right texture and shades. Then I draw the darkest shades in the end (and most times I try to add a subtle outline). I continue doing this one item at a time, making up the outfits as I go. I often draw several parts of an outfit I eventually scrap, because I draw something else more fitting, but that’s what I love about my process; looking back at items and realise how much progress I’ve made by doing item after item.

The inspiration for my designs vary a lot from things I see in video games, to my very home or things I’ve seen IRL. I use pictures (both my own and other pictures from for example Pinterest) as reference so it’s easier to know how to draw texture and material more accurately. Like my "Sorcerer’s set" that has some items inspired by an armour set in the videogame Elden Ring. Or this background from my "Soaking wet" design that’s based off a photo I took of a street in Oslo. 

I also gather inspiration from designers I aspire to be as talented as. On top of my mind there’s Priestley with her delicate, soft and silky items, Haavsalt and Petrikor with their great talents especially for hairs and makeups, ano with her amazing storytelling through her designs, Hastings with his sharp eye for details and textures, Nightwing, Mikah, Jopie, and Frida just to name a few. I admire all the community designers for challenging and building each other with tips and tricks <3 

With that said I also got some tips and tricks I’d like to share with you:

1. Make clipping masks to avoid floating pixels, and to stay within the item’s shape.
2. Duplicate your layers when making big changes. Or if you can, duplicate your design and make several versions of it so you won’t get hundreds of layers in one canvas that you have to scroll through.
3. Study your references for the right texture (and shape and volume). Is the material metallic? Shiny? Don’t be afraid of contrast! Use the darkest shades in between some of the lightest highlights. Is the material matte or soft, then it’s less contrast and a bit muted highlights.
4. Use gradient maps to make recolours. This saves you a lot of time and you don’t have to adjust as much manually.
5. Don’t worry if you don’t have a big idea for a design before you start. Sketch something – ANYTHING, doodle some fun thoughts for an item, or just play with some colours! Make it exist first, you can make it good later <3

I think I’m most proud of either my first released design "Cottagecore" or my "Soft and quiet" design. The "Cottagecore" design has some of my favourite items: the dress-like top with puffy off-shoulder sleeves, the silky skirt, and the bag with the little accessory! But the "Soft and quiet" design has a bit more love in it. It started as a request from a friend that I’d design something modest, and maybe a hijab or a headscarf. I loved drawing the silky smooth materials, trying out different patterns and colour combos, and designing all the layers. But what makes it matter more is the thoughts I had behind it. The fact that more than half my family is Muslim, made me want to represent that soft, beautiful, graceful part of modest fashion that my fellow cousins would looove to dress in IRL, in the best way possible. I wanted to make something hot that’s not vulgar, you know?

And then a little sneak peek of what I’m currently working on… it’s for Halloween but it’ll be released in November I think…

Now, to you who have read it all: THANK YOU <333. I’d also like to thank you guys behind goSupertools, for letting me into the spotlight!! And for putting in all the effort to make gsm all the more enjoyable with the insights, the statistics, the database. To my fellow designers: I admire every single one of you, and I don’t think I would’ve come as far as I am now without the help and support from this community ❤️ And last but not least, you who have supported me through buying my design and you who wear it: thank you thank you thank youuuu <333

Ekaemma's: goSupermodel profile, goSupertools profile, design page 

Thank you Ekaemma! For this amazing insight in your design process! 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 

Do you want to be featured in one of these spotlights? Contact one of the goSupertools staff members and we'll have a chat.