red_satin_doll

nomineebuttonfaithwickedawards275x128_rsd2015_1.1final.png

So when I was perusing the list of nominees for Round 13 of

wicked_awards the other day I completely forgot that my Mr Gordo icon for

whedon_elite Challenge 147 was also nominated in the Best Icon category. And boy do I feel embarrassed because anyone who knows me knows I love me some Mr Gordo. Thank you

freecat15 for noticing my oversight and THANK YOU again to whomever nominated it!

With a great many apologies for extreme tardiness (and being totally MIA): THANK YOU to whomever nominated my artwork for Round 13 of the

wicked_awards. I have no idea who did but it's extremely gratifying. And I am THRILLED that one of the nominated works is the poster for

herself_nyc's "Closure (is a silly word)", for Round 19

seasonal_spuffy. That poster is the one thing I made the last year that I would have chosen, if I had decided to self-nominate. I'm really happy with how it turned out and honored that someone liked it enough to nominate.

Thank you also to whomever nominated my Category 2 Buffy icon for Round 17 of

btvsats20in20 . That took me by surprise as well and I am very grateful.

ETA: Also nominated was my Mr Gordo icon for

whedon_elite. Thank you

freecat15 for pointing out my oversight! *pets Mr Gordo*

nomineebuttonbuffywickedawards275x128_rsd2015_1.2final.png

closureposterforherselfnycround19seasonalspuffy1200x960_signedRSD.png

Click thumbnail for full-size image

A collection of "random" pieces I have loved this year - click images or go to original links to view full size:
(ETA: This was a post that was meant to go on the

buffyversetop5 and I hit the send button a couple of minutes too late. *Note to self: learn time management techniques!*)

Gift to me by the amazing spikesredqueen February 2015

1) Birthday Banner for me by

spikesredqueen (February)
SRQ knows my love of the Buffyverse ladies. This pairs beautifully with

teragramm's WInged Buffy banner, no? And well-done manips never fail to impress me (because I've seen far too many bad ones).

MORE after the cut:

2) I Walk Alone art picspam set and banners by

comlodge for

seasonal_spuffy Round 18 (May)

comlodge took the "simple" flipbook concept and turned into something incredibly sophisticated; then she converted merged the images at my request into a single banner for my LJ. I know of few artists (if any?) who can combine luminousity and grunge effects in a single image.

3) Look Both Ways by

boiiko - the rightful winner of the

seasonal_spuffy Round 18 Banner Poll, and the only banner for the SS banner poll I've seen done in a hand-painted style. (It was actually done on computer, but it sure fooled me.) Almost elegantlly spare, the composition is deceptively "simple" and packed with layers of complicated emotions. More, please.

4) Out of My MInd from the btvs episode poster series by no-literally on tumblr. This is an ongoing project and every one of the posters is a masterpiece of graphic design; but I chose this one to display because of the incredibly clean, simple graphic that, like the other images on this list, is deceptively complex. Look close at the text and you'll see Spike's dream of kissing Buffy, floating above Spike's head - the dream and the dreamer visualized.

5) Wrecked from the btvs episode poster series by maradyeries on tumblr. , Haunting, jaw-droppingly gorgeous work in the style of "modern-day aesthetic" gifspams popular on tumblr right now.

To celebrate her 10th anniversary as an icon artist,

fassy offered to make icons for a certain number of folks, and I was lucky enough to be the last person to make the deadline for requests. I asked for Buffy and/or Katniss (two of my favorite fictional ladies). I loved Catching Fire (the movie) and felt that Katniss was Buffy's spiritual heir.*

THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH! I adore these!

All icons below by fassy / destruction_box ; #1 - 4 not snaggable.

1 - 4

All the icons have now been posted at her graphics comm

destruction_box. Check out all 156 gems. Icons # 1- 4 are the ones she made especially for me and I LOVE them. I wasn't very specific about what I wanted; apparently I mentioned a maternal vibe (see the "spiritual heir" comment above)? She went with that, but in such a way that 1 & 2 are very open to interpretation. The vibe I get could be read as parallels, as mirrors; as sisters, even in a romantic sense, if one wanted to. I love the light, the glow and the softness of all 4 of these. The way Fassy balances softness with sharpness to avoid a hard, aritificial, hyperrrealistic quality is stunning. I love the warm/cool color balance in #2. And with 3 & 4, I'm an absolute sucker for work that can make monochrome palettes glow. And you know my love of sepia tones and effects.

#1 - 4 are not snaggable; but 5 - 7 are; I couldn't resist snagging these alts as well:

5 - 7

* Close, loving and fiercely loyal relationship with a younger sister who is really smart and cool in her own right? Check. Willing to die for said sister? Check. Skilled fighter? Check? Emotionally traumatized reluctant warrior who "soldiers on" regardless because she is needed? Check. Frequent thoughts of running away from her duty? Check. Uncomfortable relationship with a "sister warrior" who is far more comfortable with her own sexuality, the dark to the protagonist's light? Check. In the middle of a romantic triangle/quadrangle? Check. Turning against the patriarchial institution that tries to control her? Check. Am I forgetting anything?

P.S.: I haven't read the books, but I'm not bothered by spoilers.

P.S.S: For the record I'm actually a Katniss/Finnick shipper. I mean, their tension was off the charts in Catching Fire (the movie) and reminded me of a certain Slayer her bleached blond vampire lover. Ok, I know Finnick marries Annie - but there's still something of Spike in his devotion to the women in his life, particularly his "mother/mentor", as well as his bad boy persona that's just a cover for a heart of gold.

Whereas Peeta is kind of Riley - the decent guy who is the "college" romance, as opposed to the childhood sweetheart (Angel/Gale.) Ok, it's not perfect match but close enough. It's inspiration, not a carbon copy.

But first things first: congratulations to

boiiko for winning the banner competition for Round 19 of

seasonal_spuffy - and deservedly so! Her design is absolutely unique and although there were many lovely banners that round, this one deserved to be the winner. Very different to any previous winners and the perfect fit for the 10th anniversary round. Since I love it when artists talk about their process, I have to recommend her "making of" post.

Awards banners by angelus2hot

**********

THANK YOU to the judges of the

wicked_awards,

spankedbyspike and

angelus2hot; winning a Wicked Award was something I wished for but didn't really expect to ever actually happen, so it was a total surprise when I got the news! Thank you for the beautiful awards banners and THANK YOU to the folks who nominated my icons, banners and wallpaper. I honestly do not know who nominated my work in three catagories and wish I could thank them properly. (Please feel free to out yourself/selves!)

Speaking of little birds,

velvetwhip (Gabrielle)'s Answering Prayers won Best Series (as well it should) and I could not be more pleased! (Her fic Easy also won Best Dark.)That my poster for it earned Runner-up Honors is just the icing on the cake, and is as much her award as mine, IMO, because her story was the inspiration. (That my poster earned Runner Up, and my icon first place, when I consider the competition, is truly special and extraordinary.)

I'm really tickled about that icon; I made it for

slayerstillness Challenge 47, "IWRY" a challenge I very nearly didn't enter because I'm not much of a Bangel shipper (or Angel fan), didn't submit my set until literally the last minute; but it's proved to be one of my winningest artworks. The Little Icon That Could. :D

Congratulations to all the winners but most especially my friends (in the art categories):

comlodge,

chasingdemons,

katekat1010 (her Giles banner is simply superb);

snowpuppies;

spikesredqueen;

halliwell;

debris4spike;

sweet_lyri;

sueworld2003; (in the video categories)

double_dutchess;

thedothatgirl; (in the fiction categories):

punch_kicker15, s[

the_moonmoth,

spuffy_luvr,

hello_spikey,

aadler,

beer_good_foamy, lion-hearted girl,

snogged,

shapinglight,

dragonydreams,

Check out the entire winners' list here.

My cup runneth over: Thank you to the voters at

whedon_elite Challenge 126 and

slayerstillness Challenge 52 for voting for my icons, to

starry_night for the Mod's Choice, and to

tempertemper for her gorgeous Willow banners (B - F)!

Congratulations to

fassy,

sweet_lyri,

crazy_cordy,

emmatheslayer and

tempertemper for their wins in both challenges!

A - B

More banners and icons after the cut....

C - D

E - F

Entries for

whedon_elite Challenge 126 "Weapon of Choice": "For this challenge you have to icon your characters with their symbolic weapons. Doesn't need to be physical weapons, e.g. vampire with fangs, witches using magic, etc.".

thewitchcatherinemadisonicon1.2rsd2015.png

1 - 4

Entries for

slayerstillness Challenge 52 "Free-For-All"
doublemeatpalace0434_willowicon3.7.png

5 - 9

Alts/Extras:
buffyangelweaponicon1.4crsd2015.png

10 - 12

13 - 18

19 - 24

25 - 29

Texture Resources:

lookslikerain: 1, 7, 10, 23, 25 - 29;

whitebamboo: 9, 21;

jordannamorgan @

wolfbane_icons: 25, 26, 29
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Atahualpa, Fourteenth Inca, 1 of 14 Portraits of Inca Kings (el tirano Bastardo, Atahualpa), (Peruvian, mid-18th Century(?), artist unknown): 5, 19 - 20

Beta: Muse-Goddess extraordinaire velvetwhip

A Vague Disclaimer is No One's Friend:

~ DO NOT RE-POST TO OTHER SITES (INCL. FANPOP) OR LJ COMMUNITIES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!

~ Take what you like for personal use but please credit if used :)

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated :)

All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

Current Music: Sandy Denny, "It'll Take a Long Time"

* A VERY belated THANK YOU to the unknown person(s) who nominated and then selected me as "Reviewer of the Month" for August 2015 at Elysian Fields! I'm still astonished and have no idea how that all happens (and I confess I feel something of a fraud for the honor, not having reviewed as frequently this month) but THANK YOU THANK YOU! It's a very kind welcome to the community.

ETA: And congratulations to

spuffy_luvr for being voted Author of the Month! Getting to be Reviewer of the Month as the same month as a dear friend and one of my favorite writers and person to share thinky-thoughts with? Is VERY cool.

* And a VERY un-belated actually on-time HAPPY BIRTHDAY to

feliciacraft! She had kind words for my Round 11 Joyce and Buffy icons the other day, so I thought she might appreciate this pretty thing. Enjoy your special day, week and month, Felicia!

buffyjoycestarlightglowrsd2015_771x414_happybdayfeliciacraft2.png

It all connects to the dream, the real dream – the one she can’t remember well enough, the one she wishes she could just let go of and forget. She doesn’t know how and she doesn’t know why, but it’s sitting there, salt and bitter on the tip of a tongue that can’t tell the truth to the people who need to hear it…a tongue that rises in songs of bitterness and numbness and a longing for what she left behind – for a place from which she was torn, bleeding from wounds no one but her can see.

- velvetwhip, "Blink and You'll Miss What You Never Saw" (IWRY Marathon, 2011)

Gabrielle's story is my favorite IWRY fiction, ever. The passage above should tell you why. It might also give you an idea as to why I dislike the episode And yet, I'm fascinated by the notion that the repeated violations of Buffy's mind - Angel taking away one set of memories, the monks inserting another in S5 - contribute to Buffy's mental illness, to her trauma, depression and grief in later seasons, simply in terms of altering her brain's neurological pathways.

Which is to say that I very nearly didn't make any icons for

slayerstillness Challenge 47 - and I'm honestly stunned by the outcome of the round.

Congratulations to

muirthemne and

tempertemper for their wonderful winning entries this round and THANK YOU to everyone who voted for my icons and thank you also

tempertemper for the lovely, swoon-worthy banners! I love the contrasts of "glamour" and grit in these banners; the light leaks and the disintergrating font contrast against one another in much the same way the chain-link fence sets off the dolled-up Sarah. (And kudos to you for signing your work, babe!)

Entries

1 - 4

Alts:

5 - 7

8 - 12
My personal favorite is #5, and it was very close to being an entry instead of #1.

I really wanted to make at least one icon of he Oracles, because I think they look like rejects from a high school production of "Satyricon: The Musical!" I'm sort of disappointed with myself that I didn't but I wasn't inspired by any of the screencaps of them I looked at.

I honestly thought the awards would be pretty evenly spread out this round because there were so many lovely ones to choose from. I assumed

muirthemne's set didn't dominate. I didn't know who made them - or any of the entries - I just knew they were elegant, autumnal, and suffused with emotion. Her 3rd place Angel icon was my first place choice, and her Mod's Choice and Banner Maker's Choicer wins are well and truly deserved.

tempertemper's Cordy lightbulb icon, the other Mod's Choice winner, was my Most Creative choice; any icon that can make me chuckle every time I look at it deserves bonus points.

Don't forget to enter Challenge 48 "Five Faces"; deadline is midnight on Friday the 17th.

Texture Resource Credits:
#1 -

colorfilter;
#3, 11 -

whitebamboo;
#5, 9, 10 -

lookslikerain;
IWRY Screencaps from Pretty as a Picture

Want? Take, have! But proper credit a must; do not claim as your own, hotlink, post to fanpop.com. or any other archives or websites without my express permission first.

ETA: IWRY Icon #1 Nominated Best Icon wicked_awardswicked_awards 2015 -THANK YOU for the nomination!

nomineebuttonbuffywickedawards275x128_rsd2015_1.1final.png

Winner, Something to Sing About (Best Icon), wicked_awards Round 12, 2015

VOTE HERE AND NOW AT

btvsats20in20 Round 10: THEMES & CHARACTERS .

Remember that each post has 20 choices for you to make. You will in essence be voting on each icon twice (or not, as the case may be.) Last round we had four participants, this time it's eight. (Count 'em! Eight!) Last round I also waited until the last minute to really and truly promote it which is inexplicable (and inexcusable) given the amount of time and care that goes into making the entries. This round, I intended to promote early and often.

Also inexcusable and inexplicable? I never showed off the lovely awards banners

starry_night made for me, nor did I properly thank her and everyone who came out to vote in Round 9. So herewith, the banners (click to view full-size):

starry_night knows what I like, and I love the Summers women, oh I do indeed. These banners are so pretty, soft and feminine; you'd never know that the context of both of these is sacrifice, death and grief. More images after the cut:

In terms of Joyce especially this was a "transitional" round for me. Up to this point I'd not done any icons of Joyce alive successfully, only as a body, a ghost, an absence; even if she was alive, her face was out of the frame (6-10 below from Round 5.) I made one last try at the "Buffy & her dead mother" theme ("Shocking") but also two of Joyce from Blood Ties (Category 1 & AC1): alive, warm, a bit careworn and worried for her daughters. I've been wanting to for ages, inspired by

debris4spike's Joyce icons that captured her elegance and beauty; but I couldn't quite "grasp" her somehow, not until this round.

I really hesitated about the "Shocking" icon.

iconsoleander did such beautiful, heartrending icons for The Gift (particularly her Category set) in Round 2 last July and I still had those in mind as examples I couldn't hope to improve upon. But I also had in mind the Buffy & (dead) Joyce icons I made for Challenge 37 of

slayerstillness back in December (1-5). As I recall I was mourning a friend here on LJ who I thought had died 0 then discovered they hadn't, setting off another round of mourning of a different sort.

1 - 6

7 - 12

I think I may prefer the SS ones aesthetically, but I've gotten this award and more to the point, I'm making icons of Joyce as a living person, I'm reading

velvetwhip's gorgeous Answering Prayers, and I am done - for a while at least - the "dead Joyce" theme.

I also hesitated about the Drusilla one for very different reasons. One of course is the very disturbing, phallic imagery, but also the layers of victimhood that form the subtext of this icon. This image captures, to my mind, a lot of the sickness and depravity that Dru has been both a victim and perpetrator of.Vampires are victims, are violated - with the possible exception of Ford in Lie to Me, what vampire in the Buffyverse "agreed" to be killed and turned with anything approaching full knowledge and consent? And Drusilla, sadly, was the one most horribly victimized of the Buffyverse "Fang Gang"; in this shot the tables are turned and she is a victimizer, licking the blood of the dead Slayer Xin Rong off of Spike's finger - and so death, violation, perverse sexuality are interwoven and repeated from person to person, from generation to generation.

"Best Love" was perhaps the biggest surprise of all the ones I won here because it was the simplest Icon I made, the one that had no special effects and I said, oh well, it's not great but it's something, throw it in. No one will look at it. (There's at least one of those in every single round, at least for me. Anyone else?)

Banners by starry_night, do not steal, deface, claim as your own, repost to fanpop.com or any other archives/sites without express permisson of the artist.

When the incredibly talented and generous

comlodge put out an open offer to personalize the FFL picspam banner set she made for Round 18 of

seasonal_spuffy, I asked if she could put the top two close up images of James' and Sarah's faces into one banner, perhaps with a ghost image of the two of them on the back porch step in the center? And could she please keep that pretty watercolor blue at the top, and that nifty framing device? She could, she did, and did she ever. Behold the glory:

I Walk Alone variation by the Goddess

comlodge (2015), personalized for me. Click to view full-size and appreciate the fine details; it really needs to be seen full-size.

You can see all of the banners and icons she made me below the cut, here in my scrapbook album - or better yet, check out the originals at

comlodge's journal here and here, leave her feedback about beautiful they are, request your own personalized version if you like, and tell her that I sent you.

This is my favorite version of the several alts she made for me and I've added this below the cut on my Welcome Post, where the Winged Buffy she made me exactly two years ago also holds pride of place. (Has it been two years, already? Surely not.) But I certainly might switch it out with any of the other, equally beautiful alts. Each one has slight differences to the other and I love all of them.

Thank goodness she came out to play for this round of

seasonal_spuffy, which would have been poorer without her contributions. She captured so much of what I love about these two characters, as indvidiuals and together.

1 - 4 banners, click to see full-size

5 - 9 icons

All artwork in this post courtesy of comlodge, 2015; do not steal, deface, claim as your own, hotlink, or archive to other websites (Fanpop, etc) without the artist's express consent.

THANK YOU THANK THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

I NEED TO NOT GET SO DARN EXCITED ABOUT THIS STUFF. Seriously.

MANY THANKS TO MY MARVELOUS MUSE

velvetwhip for her support, guidance, friendship and hand-holding as necessary!

This is the first time I've won anything at

btvsats20in20 that was NOT a Willow (or Wiffy) icon, with the exception of the Love icon. (And I was not expecting that one to win the theme at all btw, it's not my favorite icon or the one I fussed over most. Love was the single hardest theme to vote for this round IMO.)
Thank you to

starry_night for running a marvelous comm, and congratulations to the other winners

dark_x_huntress and

sweet_lyri!

Check out all the wining entries here! And don't forget to visit the individual artists' sets at their own journals (including

halliwell's) and leave comments if you haven't had a chance to already (Scroll down on this Round 9 link.)

Y'all have made my day. Possibly my week - or my month! THANK YOU!

* ENTRIES for Whedon Elite: icons for Challenge 115 "Blondes Have More Fun" are due today, Sunday the 19th at 3pm EST. The folks at WE don't mess around with deadlines, Gentle Reader, so last chance to get cracking. Do also take a look at the 16 wonderful entries already submitted; the easiest way to do this is simply to scroll down the main page as not everyone incldues the challenge tag in their posts.

* ENTRIES for

slayerstillness Challenge 43 "Helpless" (the episode) OTOH are not due until midnight on Friday April 19th. Which feels like a ways away - until it doesn't. If i submit anything I will most likely follow my usual pattern: procrastinate now, regret it later. Don't be like me, Gentle Reader; profit from my mistakes. But by all means do give it a go; Helpless is one of my all-time favorite episodes.

Speaking of

slayerstillness, thank you

starry_night for the Mod's Choice honors in Challenges 41 and 42, and for allowing me to make the banners for these round. Many thanks to the wonderful, supremely generous

velvetwhip for being the bestest Muse a gal could ever ask for:

Check out all the banners and the marvelous winning entries by

rua1412,

sweet_lyri and

tempertemper here and here.

All artwork above by your's truly, 2015; do not hotlink or archive on other websites without my permission.
ETA: Right-hand banner: Photograph of SMG courtesy of Nocturnal Light Image Gallery; photographer unknown.

Whilst real life keeps me suitably occupied for all but the quickest posts:

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of

btvsats20in20 Round 7! I love the spread of names this time especially in Themes winners, there's no one dominating. I like that - a lot. And why not? There were so many beautiful icons and so many things that still had to be bypassed. Special congrats to

halliwell on her first win in this comm!

(If I were going to be banner maker this round and had banner makers choices amoung things that didn't win awards - which I must regretfully decline *sniffle* -

killing_kurare's Cold as Ice icon,

spikesredqueen's Buffy/Willow icon *points to userpic* and

kwritten's masterful entire AC would receive mentions.)

kwritten has a new Bara fic "no lies, no apologies" (with her own artwork) inspired by our recent conversations re: tropes in Buffy/Tara shipping and it's become something else entirely - an examination of the price of being a "good girl", of the ugly truths behind that mask, how "selflessness" becomes a sort of badge of pride, about girls from abusive, broken families not making one another whole, not magicially healing one another but reaching towards moments of solace.

Kelsey has been writing Bara fic since her blurring the lines series but I honestly think - if she'll forgive me for saying - she is now hitting her stride in her depictions of Tara as a complete and full-blooded, satisfyingly complex character. I claim this fic as a birthday present - because I said so, that's why - but I really hope everyone reads it, and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

I just discovered that I once again have a mysterious benefactor who has gifted me with additional userpic space for an entire year - THANK YOU THANK YOU and hot damn!

Yes, I was trying to be all philosophical the other day when my temporary package expired the other day that I didn't need all those extra icons. Oh phooey. Fact is, I LOVED having those extra icons. I was addicted to trotting them out, to having a gallery where I could show off the work of more artists alongside my own. Having room for not one but three Summers women icons (five if you count my Buffy & Dawn icons), for whatever had most recently won an award or I just happened to like best at the moment.

So a goodly number of those 60+ icons i jettisoned the other day can come back to Mama, asap. I also have a "shopping list" that includes

bangel_4e and

kwritten's icons,

hsapiens and many other amazing fan artists. How many folks can I fit into one gallery?

To everyone who wished me Happy Birthday last week THANK YOU so very much!

(and thanks to LJ's lousy non-existent notification system I am still discovering birthday presents and wishes.) If I've missed saying thank you please forgive me, I'm working on catching up. I've worked more hours at work this month and been well nigh exhausted, which also explains my lack of posts.

Two gifts in particular I wanted to show off to everyone:

redsatindoll_birthdaybannerbyspikesredqueen2015

spikesredqueen asked me the other day what I'd like for my birthday and my eloquent response was along the lines of "um, I don't know" - so knowing my love of the buffyverse ladies, she made me this beautiful Buffy/Faith/Willow banner! (Try making a smushname out of that.) Isn't it sexy and ethereal, elegant and scrumptious? It makes me wish I were a fic writer because it feels like the inspiration for a post-series 'verse, a Witch and two Slayers, powerful, strong-willed women saving the world and having incredible adventures.

Speaking of sexy, ethereal and elegant:

teragramm made this incredible addition to my Winged Buffy collection. Once again I'm awe of how skillfull the artistry is here, how delicate and how beautifully these two banners belong together. Teragramm's choice of text very much evokes memories of Buffy throughout the seasons for me, an "ordinary" girl who is really quite extraordinary in ways she herself can't begin to see; an Everywoman who takes on the weight of the world time and again.

Artwork by their respective creators do NOT snag, steal or archive without their express permission.

But first a word from our newest sponsor: I've joined the fray of

whedon_elite for the first time with Challenge 107, "Cool Colors" and voting is up NOW for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Best Crop and Best Color. Thank you

rua1412 for encouraging me to overcome my doubts and fears and enter this one. Membership to the comm is now open to anyone, as entrants or voters. Vote for the best entries and then check out Challenge 108 "Shield Pass it on".

*******

THANK YOU to all the voters who honored my icons in Challenge 37 of

slayerstillness with 2nd Place (my first at SS!), 3rd Place (tied with

rua1412), Best Crop and Most Creative; and THANK YOU

starry_night for one of two Mod's Choice Awards to one of my favorite entries this round. WOW - just WOW. What a wonderful gift and way to wrap up my year (as an artist) on a high note. Congratulations to

rua1412 and

comlodge for your awards, your wonderful entries and for keeping me guessing (unsuccessfully) who the other entrants were! Check out

comlodge's meta-ish post with her Buffy icons and thoughtful write-up.

*********

THANK YOU to the thoughtful anonymous donor who gifted me with spaces for 70 more userpics for the next two months! I have no idea who gave the gift; this fandom is full of generous people like I've never experienced anywhere else. I'm a little reluctant to fill up those spaces (and become too accustomed to them) for two months but gosh it is tempting - I could certainly fill them in no time. There are plenty of other artists whose work I've yet to add to my "personal gallery". Speaking of other artists and adding to my collection:

**********

Awards banner by starry_night. Click for full-size:

THANK YOU

starry_night for the wonderful

btvsats20in20 Round 5 awards banners for the folks who requested them: myself,

tempertemper (here),

0ncer (here); and very special memorial banner for our friend Megan (

pickamix) of her entire set as well as her top three icons, as thoughtfully requested by her friend Lenore.

I love when banner-makers personalize banners for each winner as Starry has done here, with different backgrounds and color schemes - a wonderful, thoughtful touch. I always get a little thrill over receiving banners - not just a frame but another work of art thoughtfully created to make my icons look better than they did originally. Seeing the top-vote getters of my Round 5 set together really emphasizes what they have in common and how strong they are together. And in this instance, the winter blue snowflake pattern not only coordinates with the background of my Dead Things icon, it brings out the "coldness" of the other two as well; each icon captures a "frozen moment" for Buffy and Willow, the calm that precedes storms of fear, sadness, anger and passion awash in hot tears.

But it's the banners for Megan, especially her top three icons, that really got to me, not just because I've avoided looking at this set for a few weeks. It's been too difficult to see them again and think about the last time we worked together, how hard she worked on these; about the hope for more such collaborations and the conversations left unfinished. (And...here comes the tears once again; not quite a "storm" perhaps but a solid cleansing cry nonetheless.)

I think she would have loved the rich, royal purple background and the very mysterious patterns on it that suggest all sorts of things that might be erotic, pleasurable and/or somewhat dangerous - not a bit unlike the lady herself.

She's not here to enjoy them and express appreciation but we can do so on her behalf. Brava.

Thank you to everyone who voted my WIllow/Aly Hannigan icon 2nd place in round 279 of

btvs_hush! I really was not expecting this at all. It's my very first award in

btvs_hush (on my third try in this comm) and my first second place award in any icontest. Congratulations to the other winners

teragramm and

pickamix - two artists who inspire me. I'm really honored. I would be lying to you if I didn't admit that seeing my name alongside their's didn't thrill me - and it's an especially sweet surprise coming at the end of what's been an emotionally turbulent weekend for me.**

And thank you

dragonydreams for the gorgeous banner - a masterclass in understated elegance and simplicity.

I swore I wouldn't have time to enter this contest, and furthermore how could I enhance such a beautiful photo of Aly Hannigan to any degree of justice? But it was so pretty, and such a high quality image, I couldn't resist. I took a similar approach to it that I did to the S5 photo of Sarah by Greg Gorham, pushing the soft "glamour" effects to gild the lily. This time I used a pre-existing clouds "texture" in ipiccy and altering the coloring for a soft rose tonality. I worried that I was being a wee bit cliche, to be honest (maybe it's time for me to retire cloud imagery for a while before y'all get sick of seeing it?)

But I was having fun and I wanted to make something pleasing for my Willow/Aly Posse, most especially

velvetwhip and

snogged, who I had in mind while making it. I can definitely see the flaws in my entry, all the things I wish I had done differently (I wish I'd been bolder with the rose coloring around the border, and gone for sharper definition) but overall I surprised myself and succeeded in what I set out to do.

Here are my entries, including my first ever Angel/DB icon! *yawn* (Sorry, but the dudes just don't excite me the same way the ladies do.) All snaggable with proper credit. (And frankly, if you can make 2 or 3 better, have at.) With the Sarah icon I was apparently trying for an antique or "Renaissance" era look.

01-03

So what did we learn this time? PAY ATTENTION TO THE DARN RULES. Ok, I already knew that one but apparently I am extremely dense and require sledge-hammer treatment. I was ready to submit two icons each of the Aly and Sarah images. Including some with text. Yes, that's right. I spent a good bit of time getting the text right on some icons and was ready to submit them until I remembered..its called btvs_hush. For a reason. Oops. (That's actually the second time I've done that.)

04-05

#4 is probably my favorite icon of this entire set. I very nearly submitted it and spent a lot of time trying to get the text right on it. I like the subtle overlay barely-there effect of the dark lettering; #5 has the same font but the lighter text isn't as effective. The inspiration for the phrase here was twofold: Willow's "We changed the world" was mashed up with Coldplay's "Carry Your World" from the Buffy fanmix

eilowyn made me were swirling together in my head. "Your world" felt more personal and intimate than "the world", and it felt right with this image of her looking into the skies, looking forward into the future. And ever since

pickamix advised me on the use of elegant, slender fonts re: my Etymology poster, I've pushed myself to achieve results I hope she'd approve of in that regard, even as I've becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the narrow range of fonts in both ipiccy and PB.

06-07

I didn't have time to show these to

wickedbish for beta advice because I made all of these at half past the last minute but thank goddess I didn't submit 6 or 7. It's the same cloud texture but more "literal" and wandering dangerously into cliche/camp territory.

08-11

I almost submitted one of these instead of #3 above. I made the choice to go with #3 after looking at past btvs_hush winners and seeing that they've tended to downplay "special effects" or heavy textures. I'm not sure if making my selections based on that is a good idea, though.

It amuses me that I get my hands on a high quality image of Sarah for a challenge and my first impulse is to break it down, grunge it up; try to make it look like a drawing or painting. I used a texture from Encompass-Rose for #8 for an effect that reminds me of an aged fresco painting; the icon is terribly flawed and the definition is not good but I don't hate it. Sue me. I used ipiccy's pencil drawing filter in 8-16. And yes, 12-13 made were before I remembered that text isn't allowed. It's ridiculous to think of the time I put into trying to get those two right - and not succeeding. But, hey, practice and lessons learned.

12-16

17

Angel alt, a little more saturated. *shrug* Instead of the pencil drawing filter I used one of the light textures on the Angel icons that provided the "brushstrokes".

Want? Take, have - but give proper credit! If you wish to alter, add your own text, etc, please just check with me beforehand.

**Long story short: Dark thoughts and despair, not worth discussing, except I did voice them to my sweetheart who gave me the thing I needed most: she held me, and that was enough to remind me why I love her and why we've been together for 17 years, however difficult our relationship is - and it is, very. You'll never find us on the inside of a Hallmark card.

norestforthewickednomineebuttonbyangelus2hot

The nomination period for Round 11 of the

wicked_awards is OPEN through August 1st - and I know this because a dear, precious little bird informed me that she had nominated two of my artworks: Prodigal Daughter in "Under Your Spell (Best Banner)" and "Guess Who? (Let a Smile be Your Umbrella - Vamp Willow)" icon from Round 2 of

btvsats20in20 in "Something to Sing About" (Best Icon)!

And someone else (I know not who) nominated my poster** for

clockwork_hart1's fic "Conclusive Etymology of a Summers" in the Banner category!

WOW! and THANK YOU!

I'll let my first benefactor reveal themselves publicly only if they wish, but I know - and I like knowing. In the second case, I have a short-list of suspects but nothing definitive, so my gratitude rides a warm embrace through the air to Whomever-You-May-Be.

I'm just - WOW. I never expected this. In the art categories? SERIOUSLY?

Two years ago if anyone had told me I'd be nominated in any awards for fanart, not meta or even fiction category, my reaction would have looked something like this:

Then like this:

And then asked what the real punchline was. Because I was going to be all writerly and, you know, write meta and stuff. My sweetie is/was the "visual artist" as a painter and sculptor; that's her territory, not mine. She's the "artist" in the family. Or that was the idea anyway. Making fanart wasn't even on my radar. (I hadn't even made a single icon since I'd wandered away from Moulin Rouge fandom a few years ago.) So this feels strange and a little surreal, in the best possible way.

It's also sweet because the nominations are coming from people whose work I respect and admire so much, in a fandom filled with amazing artists; (and because RL has been a bit on the sucky side lately. 'nuff said.) This is just a lovely surprise all around. THANK YOU again to the souls who nominated me and to everyone here who has welcomed me so warmly and openly, and supported me with friendship, encouragement, advice and tutoring.

These are happy tears:

REALLY.

An extra-special thank you to kwritten, whose icons I so admire for their layered delicacy, for mentioning one day, off-handedly that she used ipiccy and had I ever heard of it? No I had not - but my work took a huge leap forward when I started playing with it. I know gimp and PS are more sophisticated and I will end up using one or the other no doubt, but ipiccy is free, user-friendly and similar enough to programs I've used before to transition away from Photobucket.

****

Three things I love about the wicked_awards (among many many things):

1) They have categories in Art, Music Video AND in Fiction. This is the only award I know of in this fandom that does.

2) The winners are decided by judges (the "Inner Workings" post is a great read, check it out) rather than popular vote. Not to diss one or the other but there is definitely room for both types.

3) Moderators

angelus2hot and

spankedbyspike are all-around wonderful human being and ever gracious. (Which has been true of every admin and mod I've encountered since coming to this fandom and to LJ, to be honest. You folks are a rare breed and deserve many kudos for your work.)

The nomination period ENDS AUGUST ~~1st~~ 25th - and I'm noticing a lot of empty spaces on the Nominee list. Remember that there is no limit to the nominations they accept in any category (unless it gets ridiculous, knowwhatimean?), ~~a person can be nom'd up to twice in any category~~ writers can only be nomm'd once per category, visual artists/vidders can be nomm'd twice per category *** (not including collaborative work) and DID I MENTION THE NOMINATION PERIOD ENDS SOON AND LOTS OF EMPTY SPACES ON THE LIST? You know what to do, Gentle Reader - make somebody happy - just make sure you real the Rules and Past Winners list first. If you're not certain, just ask the always helpful mods!

Along those lines, the mods not only welcome but encourage self-nomination. I did that last year with my Ted meta, which felt a little embarrassing at first but I got a pretty Runner-Up banner, and a few people saw my meta who might not have otherwise. Aside from the kudos and encouragement this is the point: to give people a chance to see, watch and read something that mightn't have crossed their paths otherwise. Sharing is Caring!

** I know "banner" is used for just about everything that ain't nailed down when it comes to fanart, but I like the term "poster". PS: the Etymology poster I swore I would always love instead of just seeing the flaws ten years down the road? Two months later, I'm already seeing the flaws and what I woulda/coulda/shoulda have done better. Durn it.

***ETA:

angelus2hot gently corrected my errors re: nominating period and number of noms per category: a masterclass in graciousness, that's what I'm talking about.

THANK YOU for everyone who voted my Vamp Willow icons 1st PLACE in "Themes: Guess Who?" (Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella) and 3rd Place Set for "Category: Same Picture" in Round Two of btvsats20in20! This is my very FIRST first-place award in anything fandom-related, and my first awards in a 20in20 comm! And for Vamp Willow, not Buffy, icons? The world is a strange and, occasionally, wonderous place.

I never thought that "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" would win anything. I made it literally the night before I finally submitted my entiries - two days behind schedule - exhausted and up too late, cursing the html tables and in a weird zone where it suddenly hit me as funny and I didn't care if no one else "got" my humor. What was the worst that could happen? No one would like it, big deal. This is VERY unexpected. And as an artist I'm super-proud of the Category Set I produced this round (and the alt versions of them). At the risk of sounding arrogant, I think I did good, solid work here and I'll still be proud of these icons down the road. And I've already earned my Willow Posse Seal of Approval, so it makes this award so much sweeter. I'm really grateful for everyone's votes and more importantly the feedback, advice, tutoring, support and friendship y'all have given me along the way.

Congratulations to all the other winners: starry_night, iconsoleander, rua1412, federica74, teragramm and sweet_lyri! So many wonderous icons to chose from, such sweet, sweet pain being forced to chose. For this round your banner-maker is...YOURS TRULY! Another "first" to add to my list.

20in20's are a bit different to icontests with fewer entrants overall (

slayerstillness ,

otherworldlyric,

btvs_hush etc) in that there are so many winning entries that the winners have to request a banner if they want one made. Personally, half the fun of winning an icontest award is the banner, so if you're one of those folks I've already named above and you think the way I do, go over to the Winners Post and place your order.

teragramm and

iconsoleander have already done so. Here's a sample "spec" banner, using

starry_night's lush and lovely "Hairporn" winner, to give you an idea of what to expect:

Hairporn Rd 2 banner final version signed

You like? You want? You know what to do. And then you can sign up for Round 3;

starry_night has posted the rules and themes.

The rules of this contest do not provide for a Banner Maker's Choice, but I will post my traditional and customary Meta in Praise of the Overlooked Worthies ~~once the banners are finished.~~ As I am wont to do. (*cough* oh_cheezit and how I secretly hope she does an Anya set this time around because her recent OMWF icons were superb & why debris4spike's "First" entry with Buffy and Cordy brings me to tears when I look at those two little girls and think about what could have been and what's to come and it makes me want to get all meta on your asses and I know teragramm isn't lacking in awards love but in my heart of hearts her Sorrow icon KILLED. Just sayin'. Why aren't there more icons of that scene from Helpless? ("You stuck a needle in me?") *cough*) .

*Please note that the excess bold font isn't my fault. Blame LJ.

Six fine entries for

otherworldlyric challenge 178 are up now waiting for your VOTE! (I knew y'all would come through in the end.) And a due to the lower number of entries you only have to cast votes for your TWO favorites. Six entries (five if one is yours), two votes to cast - should be easy, mais oui? Easier than voting for 5 or fifteen or gosh knows how many in

btvsats20in20 or

slayerstillness, yes?

Well....no. Not if you're me at any rate. I stared. I studied. I removed my brand-new bifocals that I'm still learning to negotiate with/around. I jotted (mental) notes. Then I took a deep breath and hit the 'send' button. WHEN WILL THIS "DECIDING AMOUNGST EQUALLY GORGEOUS/DELICATE/DRAMATIC/CAPTIVATING ENTRIES" EVER GET EASIER? TELL ME, MY DARLING F'LISTIES! *le sigh*

Entries for Challenge # 176 "A Soft Place to Land" are due midnight July 25th.

On another note, indulge me while I thank the marvelous

velvetwhip for rec'ing my artwork in her Semi-Weekly Rec Lists. It really is an honor when someone in this fandom thinks I've done something of note and a singular honor from Gabrielle, who is such a treasure to this fandom and does so much to keep us all connected without a hint of ego, fanfare or fuss on her own part; just a heart as wide as the ocean, a willingness to share the goodies - and excellent taste. When I first came into this fandom I knew her only as "the Willow/Angel shipper par excellence", and have been so very lucky to discover the fantastic human being is she beyond that.

d251b6c1-5b11-47f1-b740-99258dd41e80_zps0517a4bf

My Landlord's Yellow Rose, 2014 - Vintage Postcard Variation

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June 2021

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Page Summary

Wicked Awards: OMG I forgot about Mr Gordo!
Belated thanks: I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards!
5 FAVORITE PIECES OF FAN ART: ALL BANNERS (& POSTERS), ALL THE TIME
PRESENTS FROM FASSY! BEAUTIFUL BUFFY & KATNISS ICONS!
A little bird told me...that I won two honors at the Wicked Awards!
Fairie Queens, Flying Fatalities, and Wicked Words
Belated Gratitude to the Members of Elysian Fields and Unbelated Birthday Wishes for Feliciacraft
The Dream She Can't Remember : Icons and Banners for Slayerstillness #47 (IWRY)
VOTE NOW AT ROUND 10 OF BTVSATS20IN20! (Who needs a preamble, we've got art!)
I Walk Alone (but not without friends - A Gift from Comlodge)
THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO VOTED MY FOR MY ICONS IN ROUND 9!!!!
More Fun than the Law Allows?
The Winners of Round 7 have been announced! Plus, new fic from Kwritten....
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ADDITIONAL USERPIC SPACE!
I never did say a proper thank you...(and special presents from Spikesredqueen and teragramm)
SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT, Pt 1: Slayerstillness, Secret Santa, & a pretty prize from starry_night
Oh my goodness I won second place in btvs_hush! THANK YOU!
I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards THANK YOU!
If I knew I'd get so many prezzies I'd go on vacay more often (NOT) - And look who's making banners!
Summertime and the votin' is eas...nope, still just as hard. Does it ever get easier?

Syndicate

Style Credit

Style: Ivory Alcea for Mobility by branchandroot
Resources: Mitsuba Aoi

Page generated Jul. 6th, 2025 06:04 pm

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Entries tagged with my cup overfloweth

Wicked Awards: OMG I forgot about Mr Gordo!

Belated thanks: I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards!

5 FAVORITE PIECES OF FAN ART: ALL BANNERS (& POSTERS), ALL THE TIME

PRESENTS FROM FASSY! BEAUTIFUL BUFFY & KATNISS ICONS!

A little bird told me...that I won two honors at the Wicked Awards!

Fairie Queens, Flying Fatalities, and Wicked Words

Belated Gratitude to the Members of Elysian Fields and Unbelated Birthday Wishes for Feliciacraft

The Dream She Can't Remember : Icons and Banners for Slayerstillness #47 (IWRY)

VOTE NOW AT ROUND 10 OF BTVSATS20IN20! (Who needs a preamble, we've got art!)

I Walk Alone (but not without friends - A Gift from Comlodge)

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO VOTED MY FOR MY ICONS IN ROUND 9!!!!

More Fun than the Law Allows?

The Winners of Round 7 have been announced! Plus, new fic from Kwritten....

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ADDITIONAL USERPIC SPACE!

I never did say a proper thank you...(and special presents from Spikesredqueen and teragramm)

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT, Pt 1: Slayerstillness, Secret Santa, & a pretty prize from starry_night

Oh my goodness I won second place in btvs_hush! THANK YOU!

I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards THANK YOU!

If I knew I'd get so many prezzies I'd go on vacay more often (NOT) - And look who's making banners!

Summertime and the votin' is eas...nope, still just as hard. Does it ever get easier?