More Fun than the Law Allows?

[red_satin_doll]

* 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.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Your banners are extraordinary! It's an honour to be your muse!


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

The honor and great good fortune are mine, dear!

[waddiwasiwitch.livejournal.com]

Your work never ceases to amaze me! Congrats.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the kind words!

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the picture of SMG you tracked down for your banner. It's so classy and elegant.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thank you, it's a beauty isn't it? And the quality if fantastic.

I forgot to add the link to the original image to my post, that's been corrected.

[kikimay]

These banners are so beautiful! I just adore the coloring! <3 I really love the first because is so melancholy and makes me think about the sunset (And I love how the color shifts from sky blue to pink) but the second ... yay! It seems like a real old photo and Sarah is so beautiful.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

These banners are so beautiful! I just adore the coloring!

Oh thank you dear! I was hoping you'd see this post, especially for the second banner; I knew you'd appreciate that one. I made several alts of that one - SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY WITH! Really it was a case of "gilding the lily". (is there a similar phrase in italian?)

And I was going for a feeling of old Hollywood cinematic glamour to fit the photo itself so I'm so glad that came across.

(And I love how the color shifts from sky blue to pink)

Thank you! I adjust the original stock image because I wanted tones similar to the pinks, apricots and blues in most of the icons, but I also wanted to go somewhat subdued and not overwhelm the icons. My favorite part is the way the font looks in the last two lines of text and really conveys "sunset". I wanted the banners to convey more motion to fit the theme, hence the birds; not sure I got that across but it does the job.

[kikimay]

Yeah, the birds convey motion. I actually think that the trees do that too. I imagine the branches dancing in the wind. The trees and the birds make me feel so calm. <3

What does "gilding the lily" means?

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I actually think that the trees do that too. I imagine the branches dancing in the wind.

I hadn't even thought of the branches moving in the wind! (which is funny, I live in a wooded area surrounded by beautiful trees) That's nifty, I like how you see things in my work I'm not conscious of.

What does "gilding the lily" means?

To improve something unnecessarily, to embellish with superfluous attributes.

The source is a misquote from Shakespeare's play King John: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw a perfume on the violet, to smooth the ice, or add another hue unto the rainbow, or with taper-light to seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, is wasteful and ridiculous excess."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gild_the_lily

[kikimay]

Your work is very inspiring.

Oh okay, thanks for the explanation! But honestly you made the picture far more beautiful. I adore the warm coloring so much! Now it really seems like an old photo (Yes, more with SMG artwork! I love her so much and her face amazes me)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oh sweetie I'm just blushing like a rose right now, thank you so much!

I have another alt that I want to use as an image at my welcome post, possibly. I also wish I knew who the photographer was because I like to give proper credit at least.

Yes, more with SMG artwork! I love her so much and her face amazes me

I can do something about this, yes. :D Her face is a lot of fun to play with and I can't even say why; like Buffy she's "not the prettiest" (to quote Sarah herself) but there's just a certain quality about her.

[kikimay]

But I think that imperfection is so fascinating and makes a person peculiar. Idk, I totally have a crush on SMG, but I also see that she's not the prettiest and she's certainly like the girl next door. (While when I see Cordy, especially in AtS, I think that she must be a top model or something. She's just too fit)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

(While when I see Cordy, especially in AtS, I think that she must be a top model or something. She's just too fit)

When I started watching btvs I admit that for some reason I COULD NOT STAND Charisma Carpenter's appearance; I just found her looks extremely off-putting. I actually warmed up to the character sometime in S3 but for the first two seasons I didn't want to look at her (which is an awful thing to admit.)

That user pic by deternot is BEYOND THE BEYOND lovely btw. Are they on LJ?

[kikimay]

When I started watching btvs I admit that for some reason I COULD NOT STAND Charisma Carpenter's appearance; I just found her looks extremely off-putting. I actually warmed up to the character sometime in S3 but for the first two seasons I didn't want to look at her (which is an awful thing to admit.)

I actually think she's kinda believable in BtVS. She's beautiful, of course, and she's totally in her twenties, but she looks so adorable and she kinda reminds me of the girl who won Miss high school when I was young, so I can buy her being a normal girl.

It gets really hard in AtS, especially in S2 and S3, when you can see that this girl is actually in her 30 - no way she's younger than Fred or Wesley - and that she's too sophisticated and stunning to be just a regular girl and the make-up actually makes things worse because it's just too perfect and complex all the time. (She wears eyeliner like a fucking goddess!) But, well, if we can accept hair queen Buffy, I think we should accept that Cordelia despite being the most beautiful woman around is just a regular girl who can't find any job in the showbiz XD


That user pic by deternot is BEYOND THE BEYOND lovely btw. Are they on LJ?

Do you like it? It was basically in my folder since FOREVER and I think it's so beautiful. I told myself that I should use all the icons I stored in these years as a Buffy fangirl and maybe change more often because all the icons deserve their spotlight.

I don't know if the author is still around, actually, but I could try to search him/her on google. Let's see. Okay, it seems so: http://deternot.livejournal.com/ I suppose she/he's the author.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Actiually I think CC was thirty when she started btvs? But that wasn't even my issue, there was just something about her looks that struck me the wrong way, as in I didn't enjoy watching her until S3 and I really warmed up to her.

But in terms of looking right for the part as the "top dog" in the high school, oh she certainly does. And in her case her height does serve to help especially in S1 when she towers physically over Willow and everyone else in wtth, and carries herself in a certain way - she has a hauteur and wears her clothes so well. (Whereas SMG as "Spordelia" in the Becoming flashback is a pint-sized dictator - and later slayer - and SMG uses that to her advantage in the role. Small, cute and surprisingly deadly.)

But, well, if we can accept hair queen Buffy,

Well of course I do; why wouldn't we? *LMAO* It makes sense actually that Buffy has certain things she's very fussy about. Middle class girl, was a leader of her clique where looks were of primo importance, she knows the value of using her appearance to disarm an opponent or to signal her competence, etc

Every season her clothes start out complicated, feminine, light or fussy to match the summer and the lightheartedness of the early parts of the season and become increasingly simple and spartan EVERY year until the end of the season (check it out - the ruffles and lace mostly disappear, Chosen is an exception)

She reminds me of the real Joan of Arc actually; I know Buffy's extensive wardrobe is typical of American tv shows (as far as I know, no one criticizes any other character on the show for their endless wardrobes despite a lack of visible financial support btw). So I accept it on that level - she's an american tv character. But I notice that when she gets into denial mode she seems to eat less (see her figure the late seasons) and go into self-denial (the low-fat yogurt), but she continues to enjoy nice clothes even if they get simpler during the course of each season.

the historical joan of arc was said to have given away gifts of food other people gave her to share with the poor but she'd keep rich cloth, at least according to Vita Sackville-West's biography of her. Or maybe it's a totally random and accidental association on my part.

Okay, it seems so: http://deternot.livejournal.com/ I suppose she/he's the author.

Oh thank you! They made some beautiful things - I followed your link to their icon journal too:
http://lapislazu-icons.livejournal.com
I found the icon you snagged and then I found this post with some absurdly wonderful "cinematic" style blended icons from 2010 and I MUST make one of these part of my gallery I just can't decide which one:
http://lapislazu-icons.livejournal.com/10856.html

Although I'm leaning toward three or four in particular, mostly Buffy and one Glory.