My personal favorites: 1-5 and 9-10, which covers all the WIllow-VampWillow meta-icons. I did a lot of work with layers this round, and I love the meta possibilities of the technique.  I have to laugh because back in Round 1 I didn't even know what a "layer" was, or what comlodge meant when she advise me to master "blending" technqiues; now I'm absolutely addicted.  I'm a little surprised by how many icons I did in orange here because it's not my favorite color IRL, but it has a warmth that yellows sometimes lack (especially when they're on the greenish side) which makes it less dramatic and friendlier than red with it's association of blood, passion and death.

Every one of those was "almost" an entry that I dropped at the last minute, especiallly #1; it was originally the segueway icon between green and blue on the rainbow, and I'm not sure now why I dropped it except that it repeated the image from Prophecy Girl in my entry icon #1, and there is a line along the edge that looked to me like a mistake in cropping rather than something done intentionally.

#2 I think is an awesome icon; it's unlike anything I've ever done before but I've admired in professional graphics on book covers and movie posters. But it's so muted I couldn't find a way to place it in the rainbow, and I admit I worried that the fact that the faces don't line up perfectly would be considered a flaw by voters. Which strikes me now as a really silly thing to worry about.

Both #4 & 5 were very nearly my Red entry in the rainbow. If you've seen my Round 2 Category set entries you know how much I adore that image of VampWillow in #4. I really like the faded photo effect here; she looks entirely like a queen of the silent movies. But I have worked with the image before and this really isn't saying anything new, the blood spatter is nifty but looks to me like I slapped it on and called it a day. Looks neat though.

5 is a really weird icon IMO - I like it, a lot and I can't explain why (except my fallback mantra: pale skin, red lips ). It's interesting to look at; her hair and face look like they are reflecting something and very glossy. But it's also "off" somehow. I kept taking it in and out of rotation until I looked at it in the slideshow format in Photobucket and saw the pixilation and flaws in the image more clearly.

#6 made me realize why some of my friends in Willow fandom prefer the early seasons to the late one; and if I were a Willow fan, I would probably feel the same. All of these were tons of fun to make except #6. No offense to those who enjoy her but I honestly hate working with S6 DarkWillow imagery - absolutely hate hate hate loathe it. (But then I also didn't think that Lily going red-eyed with rage in HIMYM was at all funny. Oh, Tara.....)

If anyone else had made #7 I'd be completely agog and over the moon over it, and wonder how in the world they achieved that look.  I finally make one that looks like this and my reaction is - meh, whatever. It's pretty, it's smooth, it has a nice graphic quality that will make for an eye-catching icon, it just doesn't move me in any way or make me want to look closer.

I'm more interested in #9-12, which are variations of my #4 entry.  My actual entry uses an orange cloudscape from a photo my sweetie took recently as the texture that links the two Willows; although alt 12 might actually achieve that link with a more unified look and without the distraction of the texture. (But the one I chose for my entry just made me happy. Sue me.) My favorite alt here is #10 because I love the grunge quality in the back - it looks to me like VampWillow's image is part of the wall behind Willow, an old poster or mural that has faded over time; but I also like the warm orange color of #9.


BTW, while working on this round the on Monday I goofed and decided to move all my 20in20 entry folders in Photobucket - forgetting that would break all the links. NOT GOOD. So if you've been looking at my previous 20in20 posts and see a lot of blank spaces - that be the reason.