The Monday Edition of "I HAVE BEEN SORELY, TERRIBLY REMISS FOR NOT..."

[red_satin_doll]

1) Pimping: btvsats20in20 Round 2 wonderful icon sets by federica74 , "Willow Rosenberg" and debris4spike's Season 1 icons. (She made a Joyce & Jenny icon! *flings confetti*) The deadline for all Round 2 entries is July 9th.(Not nervous, not nervous, nope, not me not nervous *gulp*)

2) Rocking the vote: Vote NOW in slayerstillness Challenge # 27 "Hair porn". Only 23 entries this round, still hard as heck to decide. Deadline is tomorrow, Tuesday the 8th, midinight in your time zone.   BTW, challenge #28 "Angel Investigations" is now up.

3) Thanking everyone who voted my Anne icon "Most Creative" in slayerstillness Challenge #26 "The Same But Different", and indeed thank you to everyone who voted for any of my Anne or Willow/Tara icons. I love seeing the unlocked voting threads; even if I don't win, seeing that at least one person voted for one of my icons is always a little morale-booster.


01) Yep, it's this cap from from "Anne".  I've used it before but I wanted to see if I could get better results in ipiccy than in Photobucket alone. And I was still upset at losing my job unexpectedly and something about playing with this image was balm to my soul. Glorious Buffy. Is it awful to admit that I went into this wanting to win Most Creative specifically? I think the whole "life sucks right now I need something to smile about" probably had a lot to do with it. I know there are folks who haven't won anything, ever. I should be ashamed - or should I?

4) Thanking comlodge and chasingdemons for their tips, advice and hand-holding. While comlodge works on the official banners for Slayerstillness challenge 26, which are such a treat to receive and make my icons look better than they actually are, I decided to put into practice some of the tips and advice she and chasingdemons generously offered me on techniques/tools such as blending and layers, which is a whole new country for me, to make my first "practice awards banners."  NOT the official deal, just playtime and practice:

  01-02)


I think #1 came out better than most of the Dark Willow icons I've put together for btvsats20in20 *pout* And it was the hardest of these four to make because I'm so new with layers and it seems simple but it's a lot of work planning each layer. Holy moly.  I have a LOT more understanding and respect for what goes into these awards buttons and for working with layers in general. Miles to go, miles to go....


    03-04)

These two are a bit overly-fancy for real awards buttons; the idea IMO is to create something that the recipient will enjoy receiving, that makes the icon look great but doesn't overwhelm it and these are definitely "overwhelming". But so much fun - I couldn't resist going overboard with reflections and frames to play with the "mirror imagery" of the icon itself.

     MORE artwork to come. Here be teasers.

Thanks of course to my beta-muse-god wickedbish for selecting my Anne icons to enter. Without him I'm nothing.  Congratulations to tempertemper, teragramm, rua1412, iconsoleander and kwritten for their winning entries. (Half the fun of that round was guessing who made what, and I guessed rua1412, teragramm, and kwritten's correctly based on my familiarity with their style and subject matter.) Such an amazing round, so many beautiful choices. I feel very fortunate to have won (earned?) Most Creative - to have won anything this round, with so many stunning choices.


My other four Anne entries (2-5) plus extras

02-08)

09-15)

16-20)

# 16 was actually my entry in otherworldlyric challenge 176. Didn't win, didn't deserve to, but I had fun making it.  I prefer the "vintage" coloring of 17 & 19.

***

I wish I had done better on the Willow/Tara (with a little Spuffy on the side) set. I nearly cried looking at that cap from Entropy. My icons are not as good as I wanted them to be and I'd wanted to do right by Willow & Tara because I've so rarely attempted W/T icons, In fact, I've rarely attempted lesbian "imagery" in words or pictures. Making this set I was reminded again that I grew up without a "vocabulary" for expressing love between two women and despite nearly two decades of real life lesbian life, it doesn't come naturally to me.

21)  This one is my favorite of that set - The Body + Entropy. Those kisses were broadcast over a decade ago but two years ago they still brought me to my knees. I wonder if it would have made a difference to me growing up if I'd seen kisses like these on tv in the '80's and had a context, an image for two women in love. Here's the rest of that set plus some extras, of course:

  22-29)


30-37)

#37 was potential entry to OWL that I decided against. The Tabula Rasa + Entropy icons 25, & 32-36, were better in theory than in practice.

I'm enjoying making larger works lately, in part because my skills are improving; in part because my eyesight has deteriorated to the point that I had to order bifocals last week and can barely see what I'm doing when I make icons lately. (And ye gods I hated typing that sentence, but 'tis true. Better ugly glasses than living in near-blindness.) But also because I like making things that are meant for someone else and for a very specific purpose.

Which won't stop me from making icons, or making bigger works for no other reason than I'm having too much fun. (And I swear I'll return to Willow and Tara another time. I'm determined to come up with something wonderful for them.)

Click on the image below for the full-sized version - and please tell me if that actually works or not.

Comments

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

Look at what you have learned! If you are this into it, you WILL have to get Photoshop or some other similar program eventually. You know that, don't you? And when you are ready to take the plunge, you will be way ahead of the game because of your knowledge of Ipiccy and the way you are figuring out your processes. I didn't know a thing when I started Photoshop. The only thing I knew was that it was damn fun! But I also had a mentor. Shanmara created artwork that I loved so much I thought, I just have to learn how to do this. She took me under her wing several times, and I will always be grateful to her. But her artwork was not like most of the people who were posting art at that time. And sometimes her work wasn't appreciated as much as I thought it should be. And that's one of the things I've learned about fanart, there are certain styles that people love, and some that don't get as much praise. But that often doesn't have much to do with the quality of the art. Also, I do hate to say this but sometimes voting isn't always completely objective either. So I try not to read too much into winning or not winning a contest. I had one piece that won first place in a contest, and it was really kind of a stupid picture and very gimmicky. I was actually a little embarrassed that it won first place. A few months later, I was nominated in a contest for one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever made. I thought it was perfect, artistically, creatively, emotionally, etc. There were five pieces in the contest. One got first place, and two got honorable mention. My piece was not even mentioned. So now I just work to please myself and to be proud of what I've made and to continue learning and pushing myself. I'm not saying I don't like acknowledgment, but even if I don't get any comments, I still know if I've done a good job or not.

One thing I used to talk about a lot with shanmara was how sitting down and working on Photoshop could just take all your stress and worries away, even if only temporarily. That is still the case. I'm glad you feel that sense of escape too.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

If you are this into it, you WILL have to get Photoshop or some other similar program eventually. You know that, don't you?

Yup. I tried downloading gimp the other day but there were compatibility issues with Mac Mavericks; Lexi pointed me to some forums that offered suggestions. (I have to admit though I stared at what I could download and thought WHAT. THE. HELL.)

Our old computer had PS but it's too expensive now and there are compatibility issues; and my sweetie finds Apeture unwieldy compared to her PS program.

I do need to take things to another level, though, if I'm serious about this. I never expected to get into visual arts this way, my sweetie's the artist in the family! I think decades of studying art and art history is paying off.

But I also had a mentor.

I have at least a couple here - you're one of mine. (You know that, right?) And you know I love talking about this stuff - and why not?

I do need to take things to another level, though, if I'm serious about this. I never expected to get into visual arts this way, my sweetie's the artist in the family! I think decades of studying art and art history is paying off.

I was curious about Shanmara btw so I tried to look her up - couldn't find an account but found some icons here used by randi2204. http://www.insanejournal.com/allpics.bml?user=randi2204
The one of Spike's (JM's) eye is just - HOW is that degree of perfect clarity possible?

But that often doesn't have much to do with the quality of the art. Also, I do hate to say this but sometimes voting isn't always completely objective either.

As I learned when I observed fanfiction awards.(thank god I'm not a writer.) And the last 20in20 - the icons I LOVE because they're distinct were not the ones that got the most votes; while one of the ones I cared for least of my own was a favorite. Even in terms of other people's work - some really stunning things did not get the attention they should have. (The Xander icons - WHERE WAS THE LOVE?)

*shrugs* I'm not really that "competitive" and I've complained that I don't like to vote, so it feels a weakness to want feedback and get votes.

I think for myself right now, the main thing is wanting to get better. Maybe that's why I wanted the MC award in this round of SS - or rather a voice in my head said, I want... I think it was another hurdle to cross, a marker.

Maybe that's another reason I've wanted to do fic banners, posters and buttons. Not only are they specific to a purpose but - I never thought of this until just now - it's not about "competition".

So now I just work to please myself and to be proud of what I've made and to continue learning and pushing myself. I'm not saying I don't like acknowledgment, but even if I don't get any comments, I still know if I've done a good job or not.

Trying to second-guess what might get votes and what people might like is tempting but also dangerous. (It's a whole 'nuther thing if you're getting paid for artwork and pleasing a client, of course, than work we're doing for free and therefore we SHOULD be allowed to please ourselves. I feel the same way about fanfiction btw, when I see an author changing how they write or giving in to demands lest they lose their audience. Honestly? they can go elsewhere if that's the case.)

About how long did you say you've been doing "fanart" or digital art in general? I think you told me once but my mind = sieve.

That is still the case. I'm glad you feel that sense of escape too.

Isn't it wonderful? I thought of myself as a writer, but I don't get the same amount of pleasure from writing as i do from making art on a routine and regular basis. I can get into the flow of a project and lose myself; and then I've got a finished product. No "second drafts", or days and months overworking something.

Thanks again for sharing, sweetie, your encouragement and suggestions have meant so much to me. I look forward to many more conversations! *hugs*

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about fanfiction btw, when I see an author changing how they write or giving in to demands lest they lose their audience.

I've seen that too. It never ends well. But for some reason, I think it's harder to write fiction and not have feedback than it is to post art. I feel like art can be a more solitary endeavor, but writers need an audience.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I think it's harder to write fiction and not have feedback than it is to post art. I feel like art can be a more solitary endeavor, but writers need an audience.

*ponders* I think that - depends on the situation? I know a LOT of people who write things (stories, poems, etc) that they shove into dresser drawers because they don't mean for anyone else to read it, it's truly a private expression. But writing is certainly a solitary process in the moment, or used to be before the internet. And I know that my partner is constantly frustrated by the lack of an "audience" for her paintings. The artists I know want their stuff to be seen, NEED it to be seen.

Then there's the fact that we have all these icontests, every single week. There are tons of 20in20 challenges out there, too many to count. There are comms with fic prompts like sb fag ends, but it's not the same thing. Imagine the Wicked or SunnyD memorial or Willowy goodness awards being held every week or month. That's pretty sterling proof that artists do indeed need an audience.

There's also places like deviant art which is basically a huge online artists community. (I found some pretty text textures that I wanted to use but the makers only allowed them to be used if you had a deviant art account which I don't.) LJ really isn't as conducive to that.

And then there's the fact that writers are, well, writers. They are comfortable with language and with writing and talking about what they do; whereas a lot of visual artists may not be as comfortable with language and talking about their work. that's not an absolute but a high number of visual artists are said to have learning "disabilities" of some sort. (My sweetie is dyslexic for example.) Of course there are tons of exceptions, and people who are good with both art forms.