I am so proud of my ethnicity and I always love sharing my culture with friends and obviously my Italian cooking.
I have designed a cat islander named Sofia she is a fluffy cat with a colour pallet from the Italian flag.
My friend and I have cherished Animal Crossing for years and share an island together in New Horizons. He is a dear friend to me. He transitioned a few years ago, and I always do my best to show my support whenever I can. Over the years, I have crafted little clay figures for him that represent memories he holds dear. Miranda (a.k.a, Duck Mama) is his favourite villager, and he has had her in both New Leaf and New Horizons, even naming his island after her. I decided to craft Miranda holding a transgender heart as a token of my support for him.
So, with my entry I wanted to focus more on the ally.
I still haven't really fully realise who I am mentally, or my sexuality; and it hasn't stopped me caring for others, and supporting people who need it. Sometimes, supporting others can help them get through tough situations.
I made Julian, not just because everyone sees him as an icon, but I genuily believe out of a lot of the villagers, he would go above and beyond to support anyone mentally, and physically (Hugs too! ). And we need someone who can stand up like a hero!
I used:
- Air dry clay (First time trying it out too~! Was a lot of fun. But stressful. haha)
- Acrylic paint (Research led me to believe this was the perfect paint for clay once it's dry.)
- Tissue paper (This was for the lil cape Julian is wearing. It's suppose to have more colours but due to the angle you can't see them ;_: I tried using my hand fan to blow it, to make it look legendary)
- Polysterne Ball, for Julian's head. I had planned to use one for his body, but it was too big.
- Fabric, for Julian's clothing.
- Flowers, for Julian's flower crown. Which is another reason I did Julian, as I always wanted to make Julian and give him a flower crown~
Also, my reference video when it came to trying to make Julian~ This person made Marshal with air dry clay:
My original idea is proving a bit more complicated/involved than I initially figured, so hopefully I can still make this presentable somehow. Assuming I can finish in time in the first place; paint takes too long to dry.
So, with my entry I wanted to focus more on the ally.
I still haven't really fully realise who I am mentally, or my sexuality; and it hasn't stopped me caring for others, and supporting people who need it. Sometimes, supporting others can help them get through tough situations.
I made Julian, not just because everyone sees him as an icon, but I genuily believe out of a lot of the villagers, he would go above and beyond to support anyone mentally, and physically (Hugs too! ). And we need someone who can stand up like a hero!
I used:
- Air dry clay (First time trying it out too~! Was a lot of fun. But stressful. haha)
- Acrylic paint (Research led me to believe this was the perfect paint for clay once it's dry.)
- Tissue paper (This was for the lil cape Julian is wearing. It's suppose to have more colours but due to the angle you can't see them ;_: I tried using my hand fan to blow it, to make it look legendary)
- Polysterne Ball, for Julian's head. I had planned to use one for his body, but it was too big.
- Fabric, for Julian's clothing.
- Flowers, for Julian's flower crown. Which is another reason I did Julian, as I always wanted to make Julian and give him a flower crown~
Also, my reference video when it came to trying to make Julian~ This person made Marshal with air dry clay:
So, i couldn't get the string in the middle, very sorry. Username in the rainbow. I did an ac house with some cedar trees poked into foam board (v sorry, you can see the toothpicks ).
So this year the rainbow (prism, to be more precise) has changed my life. I found out I have an eye thing (alternating exotropia). All my life, I have seen the world as it is on the right side, with double vision, or outlines around things. Two moons in the sky, two roads, two lines of words, etc. I thought it was normal. Also had migraines, vertigo, all kinds of fun stuff.
But no longer! The eye doc set me up with some prism glasses. I don't see a rainbow through the glasses (sadly), but they do correct my vision. It's a bit weird seeing things through the prism glasses (left side). After seeing double my whole life, now to see everything without the "extras" is kind of odd, a bit boring, lol.
Hello, Hello!
My entry is representing three things about me.
I am demi-sexual, hence the color of the "glasses". Another thing about me is that I am bipolar, which means everything can be all "Happy, Rainbow and Unicorns" and in a second it switches to "Sad, Depressed, Angry". It also symbols how everyone of us is seeing the world through their own eyes. We all have our own view of the world. Lastly, Cally reminds me of myself. I always saw her as the "Shy, friendly little girl". That's me, hiding behind "my" glasses, as I am shy, but all I want to do is to make friends and be happy and proud of who I am.
Even though I support all the folks I don't identify myself with any of the Pride Flags. But because of the colors my favourite always has been the Transgender Pride Flag, I just love this color scheme! So I've made Lily recolor shiny version that suits the theme.
Not me just starting on my entry now…
To be fair it’s been a busy two weeks. Thankfully I have an idea and I’m committed to putting my entire day to working on it. Here’s hoping it turns out ok!
Best of luck to anyone else finishing off or just starting on their entry today!
Finally able to submit! I made the wheelchair and floor out of foam board and sanded the edges down a little to smooth them out. Nicholas is made out of over bake clay, but I didn’t bake it yet because I just didn’t want any issues with it. The walls and wallpaper are cut out of colored paper and glued together.
My entry is our 4-year-old son, Nicholas. Most of you know about him, and know that he has Spina Bifida. He is unable to stand or walk, or use the toilet in his own, but he is THE HAPPIEST boy ever. In fact, when he rolls into a room, he is always the most confident child in the room. He is often a leader, and organizes hide and seek with other kids in his rec center classes while waiting for the class to start. He will be starting kindergarten online this year and can already read and count to 100.
Nicholas is my hero and my inspiration for everything I do. I love him so much. When I showed him this, he said, “Is that me?! You made me!” Yes baby, yes I did
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is affecting many people in my family, my mom, my grandpa, several of my cousins and they like joking I may have some traits as well. Hard time to focus on one task, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, disorganization, forgetfulness, start a lot of projects but don't finish anything are some traits that can make their everyday life and life at school or work difficult.
Here a fridge magnet with an overwhelmed Cephalobot not being able to focus on one activity and wondering what he was doing. A part is left blank to show he's not finished either (not true, I painted it white). It was supposed to be a fridge magnet holding a to-do list but the magnet I used (I wanted a bigger but the store didn't have any today) was not strong enough and my whole creation fell on the floor when I was ready to take a photo....poor Cephalobot broke in several pieces, paint damaged, so here is the glued back version without the fridge. (I even glued my fingers together and dropped paint on the tablet ...what a day...)
I really enjoy taking part in Celebrating Diversity events! The 2022 edition was my absolute favourite where we were prompted to draw an AC villager that represented ourselves. Well, I decided to do that again with my own AC villager, but this time as a clay model. It was my first time attempting it and while there are rough edges with shortcomings involved (the neck was cracking quite a fair bit...), I had a lot of fun! If I had loads of time, I'd also make clay models of the AC villagers that @/Midoriya (Tazan ), @/xSuperMario64x (Sterling), and @/Roxxy & @/Alex10 (Kylie & Kodie ) created themselves. With permission of course! I want to reunite the squad for the millionth time in the distant future someday.
Note: Hotwheels cars are not a part of my entry.
A closer look at the flags!
Before I got started on clay modeling, I had to make a wire skeleton and an aluminum ball for the head first to make sure parts don't fall off in the latter stages.
The wire skeleton is further solidified by wrapping thin layers of clay around it and putting a big flat piece of clay underneath for a stable foundation. Mind you, I used polymer clay which I baked in the oven to harden it.
This is what the clay model looked like before I started painting. It was at this time the neck was cracking... Thankfully, putting super glue in the final stages helped me out!
A few may be familiar with my AC villager, but for those who don't, his name is Pag-asa the Philippine Eagle! Just like me, he has a Filipino background. His name means "hope" in Tagalog and one of the reasons I chose it is because as a tribute to the Philippine Eagle in real life who passed away in early 2021. Adding on to this, these eagles endemic to the Philippines are critically endangered, so it really is painful hearing the loss. Deforestation, people who are crazy to actually hunt one down, and the fact that they only lay one egg every two years doesn't do much favours either. While there are roughly 400 pairs of Philippine Eagles left in the wild, it is nice to know that there are efforts being made to help them flourish in numbers once more. They're too precious to go extinct. Their head feathers look amazing!
As you may see, there are two flags which is Canada (left) and the Philippines in front of Pag-asa. This is to signify that I was born in the former and where I spent a huge majority of my life growing up aside from a few times I went to the Philippines to meet my family relatives there. As a result, I sound more Canadian when I speak aside from Tagalog (and even then I still mess up occasionally). And while there are some foods from my culture that I'm not a huge fan of, there are some that are my absolute favourites! Here's a bonus pic of Pag-asa eyeing one of my favourite dishes.
I guess he's hungry now after seeing the Chicken Adobo I cooked myself. But if he wants to be full, he should eat it with rice! That boiled egg looks really tempting.
Obviously, the Hotwheels you see in the first picture are not a part of my entry. But I still want to leave them in the background to show my passion for cars and how its possible for me to use the same colours for the progress pride flag. Heck, I'm even learning to become a car mechanic at the time of writing this post. And me mentioning cars I see in reality from time to time for almost three years running... On top of rare occasions trying to draw them too!
Underlined names indicate I've seen them in real life! White: Porsche 911 GT3 (997) Pink: 1956 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Light Blue: 1970 Ford Escort RS1600 Brown: 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback
Black: Pagani Zonda R Purple: 1969 Dodge Charger 500 Blue: Mitsubishi 3000GT Green: Porsche Taycan Turbo S Yellow: Honda S2000 Orange: 1962 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Red: 2017 Acura NSX
Those with a keen eye and familiar with LGBTQ+ flags may notice that some stars on Pag-asa's starry tee that represent the pan flag. I'm actually not out to my family at all, nor do I ever plan to do so. This goes double for my father who is really homophobic and transphobic, so I'd be in a huge world of hurt if I did. Despite that, I still want to subtly incorporate those colours as a sign to embrace my romantic orientation and that, well, colours in general are pleasing to look at! I did come out here on TBT a year ago via my 2023 Celebrating Diversity entry, so I really appreciate the community's acceptance and still treating me like a regular person to this day. The front of Pag-asa's starry tee is pretty subtle, but the back of it is a little more obvious including the demiromantic colours too.
I'm fully aware the light gray star for the demiromantic flag should be fully white, but it would blend right into his starry tank. Nevertheless, these colours are huge vibes. Happy pride month!
And that's my typical Shellzilla style of creating a lengthy post! There have been a few ups and downs during the process, but I am really happy with the outcome of my clay model spending hours on it. I can't believe my AC villager Pag-asa will be turning two years old tomorrow at the time of making this entry.
I decided to make a dream catcher for my piece in remembrance of my great-grandmother who was Native American. My family says they see her in me, but unfortunately, I never met her. I hope that one day I will learn which tribe she belonged to, in order to fill in the missing pieces of my family trees' past. Chief howls to the moon, “Be proud of who you are!”
Wrapping coat-hanger in shape of moon.
Finished wrap
Sealing air dry clay chief
Personal challenge to make orchids out of air dry clay. These are so fragile.
Despite us all coming from different countries and different backgrounds, the one thing that brings us all together is Animal Crossing. Given that we have an amazing, diverse group of people on TBT, I thought about how Nook's Cranny is decorated for different seasons or different holidays, and thought it might be cute for it to be decorated for Pride Month.
I have been a little short on time, but I did my best to finish it!
I just want to say I am sincerely sorry and I promise I tried here. I’m out of time to try to fix it, but I was a wet noodle and I did not plan the craft appropriately given the shape I wanted to create, and therefore the whole thing can’t all be visible at once.
This is an odd craft that I made based on the old night sky in Animal Crossing:Wild World. In that game, you could draw your own constellations and they’d be visible in the sky.
I wasn’t diagnosed with autism until I was an adult, but I’ve known all my life that my brain was Different. Here I tried to represent the experience of hyperfixation by creating symbol constellations—images that are ever-present and largely self-created. There’s an anteater head for Antonio (I had a full meltdown when he moved out of my town in 6th grade) and for long nosed animals in general, a lightning bolt doing double duty for both Harry Potter and Lightning McQueen (I was OBSESSED with Cars, also in the 6th grade), and a ring for Lord of the Rings. I also included an infinity symbol for the autistic community, and in the center, a cross. I have a complicated and painful relationship with religion now, but I grew up very devout and I can honestly say it, too, became a hyperfixation for me in my teens. Regardless of how my beliefs change, that will always be a huge part of my background and a formative influence.
I liked the WW constellation metaphor because my mind has always seen unique patterns and drawn unique meanings, much like the game mechanic of getting to invent one’s own images for the night sky instead of using the preapproved ones.
The sky is curved into a tunnel shape because I love both high points with sprawling views, like on a mountain, and being tucked into tiny spaces. Some topics or experiences give me a strange, almost tangible feeling that I call “the bigness inside the smallness inside the bigness.” So here we have a small space wrapped up inside a big one—somewhere I would love to sit. As a bonus, I added some red and green strips because I really, really like Christmas. It was important to my family growing up, so the holiday feels like part of my heritage and also part of my relationship to that internal sense of both bigness and smallness coexisting.
After that essay, you can’t possibly be expecting this, but:
Here are the two sides so you can actually SEE the constellations:
"Wherever you are, whether you're in a house or in your own head, make it comfy. You be good to you, maaan"
Decided to portray diversity with Pascal and some koi fish! I find it fascinating how koi fish are so similar and yet so different, with each one having a unique and brilliant pattern that makes them their own version of serene and beautiful. And Pascal is right; you only have one you, so be good to yourself and make yourself comfy in your own body. We are all humans by design but we each have specific patterns that define us, that make us feel comfortable with ourselves, that make us go, "Yeah, that's me!" Wear your patterns on your sleeve! Be who you are and flaunt it! Be proud, be happy, be you!
I decided to try crafting Julia for this Celebrating Diversity event. I've liked to read Julia as trans for the past number of years due to her vibrant peacock coloration, as real world peahens are a brown color without the extravagant tailfeathers. She is one of my favorite villagers and so I wanted to have her represent support for transpeople as she waves the trans flag. I myself, while I lean more one way, would say I'm a bit fluid in gender identity. Trans people have been under a lot of fire in the realm of politics in the past few years especially, and I think it's important that trans people be visible in society and I encourage everyone who considers themself an ally to vote and help protect trans rights. Civil rights aren't static, one and done, everyone must always stand ready to defend them; not just for trans people, but for everyone.
This didn't go well... at all. I couldn't come up with an idea for the longest time. I ended up doing something inspired by the Belltree banner/pride colours, but it turned out really bad and I don't have any time left to restart and ahhhhhhasdlhkl;f I just hope it's enough to count (forever going to be sad that I only finished one flower, it's looks so sparse )
Here is Kiki made out of oven bake clay. Her flags are made out of toothpicks and paper.
I chose to make Kiki as she’s always been an ally to me. She’s showed up in pretty much all of the Animal Crossing games whether I seek her out or not. It’s like she’s always there for me. Like with many diverse people I’m sure Kiki has had trouble with her identity as a black cat as many people see them as evil or meaning bad luck. She doesn’t let it get to her though as she’s always a warm friend willing to lend a hand with a smile on her face.
I chose my entry photo to showcase her holding the Autism flag as it’s the one I hold closest to my heart. While I myself am not on the spectrum many of my friends over the years (including several on this site) are. Also not many people know this as I don’t talk about it much but my older brother also has Autism. Unfortunately he is non verbal and it has greatly affected my family over the years. As a young kid I never really realized he was different. I played with him just as I would any other kid, and assumed all siblings were like him. As I got older I quickly learned the difference. There were many struggles over the years and we never got to go and do things due to his needs. Eventually my parents had to make the heartbreaking decision to give up their legal guardianship of him in order to get help as we just couldn’t keep it together as a family anymore. After that I only got to see him every other weekend as he was with his new guardian the rest of the time. It really hurt I don’t really have words to describe how much so, but unfortunately it had to be done. In high school I had a friend openly make fun of the special needs class (which my brother was a part of) and it made me so angry. I know he just didn’t understand in the same way that I did but it was still wrong. Anyways, even today as an adult I can’t help but feel guilty as I always wonder if there’s more I could have done as a sister for him. A lot of the time I don’t even remember I have a brother as I just don’t have the same amount of time and memories with him that most siblings have. Regardless I love him just the same.
Shoutout to anyone out there struggling be it a disability, sexuality, race etc. You’ve got this and you are amazing just as you are. If you ever want to talk to someone about anything I’m willing to be what Kiki is to me to you.
Bonus flags are the Pride flag and Demisexual flag. I personally identify as Demisexual so I felt like making that flag as well.
The deadline for submissions has now passed. I will leave the thread open for comments. Thanks everyone for your participation! I see the longer deadline this year has really paid off, the entries are all great.
I also spent quite some time reading everyone's thought processes and experiences, I'm glad you all felt safe and willing to share those parts about you. It really is such a diverse community! I'm still going to be bad and make a big, shameless generalisation here by calling each and every one of you "wonderful."
Please hold while we (as in the staff team) try to figure out our favourites. We aim to announce the winners and distribute prizes no later than June 30th 2024.