red_satin_doll

This post will be updated frequently. I'm including some examples when possible because a picture is worth a thousand words.

UPDATED 05 July 2016:

TEXTURES:

colorfilter - Their big 40 pack of icon textures (download link at Facebook here) is still the one I use most often and I haven't begun to scratch the surface of the hundreds of textures within. Also check out the pack of larger 800x600 textures. You can also find the sets posted individually on their journal. I've posted a few more examples of my icons using these textures in the comment thread here.

1-7

8-14

texturize - (Many thanks to

teragramm for rec'ing this community) One-stop shopping for anyone interested in creating and sharing textures. Be sure to read the comm's very informative "Bible" (guidelines) before posting or snagging. Most of the artists post links back to their graphics journals or to Deviant Art.

lookslikerain at

soaked. I've used more of their textures than anyone's except

colorfilter's:

icon for fanfic Ipseity by spuffy luvr 2015

15-20

whitebamboo:

21-23

jordannamorgan at

wolfbane_icons

scoobyatemysnax at

burnedbreads - includes tutorials. A tremendous variety of textures including soft glow, grunge, frames, abstract and geometric patterns in any one given set. I like their medium (300pixels) square textures for icons.

25 - 30

*

broken_places The graphics journal of

akilah92

* Evey-V at DeviantArt I like Ericka's soft, painterly, abstract textures, gradients, and text brushes:

31

*

sweetiepebbles Gallery of icon textures and bases at DeviantArt
* Yeonseb at DeviantArt Vast supply of textures and application resources
*

spiritcoda -

creativehangout is their LJ graphics gallery, or check out their DA gallery; some exceptionally pretty textures

FRAMES:
* FRAMEs & BORDERs for use - Flickr image sharing group
* Your Picture Frames - Most of the icon frames in my awards banners come from this site.
* Victorian Frame Company - Mostly HQ photos of antique-style wood frames with carved detail, includes unusual shapes such as rounds, oblongs and hearts:

32 - 33

SCREENCAPS for Buffyverse

slayerstillness has a list of Screencap Resources for BtVS and AtS, including all the ones I use most frequently; if you know of
any not on the list, send the links to

starry_night. Some of my favorites from the list:

* Pretty as a Picture complete screencaps for BtVS and AtS plus promo photos for Buf (ETA: 12/21/15 site currently defunct)

* Bloodqueen has all seven seasons of BtVS complete, is one of my primary sources

* Leave Me the White by

_jems_ Spuffy-centric so no S1 or S3 caps and the remaining seasons are incomplete; but some of the best quality
caps of the series I've found. (S2 is the most complete with 14 episodes capped.) Includes Dailies for Smashed and Dead Things.
S7 is spread out over three albums including two Miscellaneous albums.

* Buffy in HD ON Facebook Fan analysis of the problems with Fox's recent "HD remaster", galleries of screencaps, edits, comparisons

* Shadow of Reflection also has all seven seasons; quality if variable. The early seasons caps compare favorably with
Bloodqueen's; the later seasons are strangely distorted.

* Screencapped.net WiP; S1-2 of BtVS are complete; plus one file of promo shots from S1 and the screencaps for Bargaining.
Appears to be using a new cleaned-up source for it's caps (the so-called "high deflnition" version.) Has a lot of screenshots that
may not exist elsewhere, but can appear slightly compressed or distorted.

* The Chosen Two Gallery high-quality promotional and marketing images and magazine shoots of all the major and most of the
minor characters/actors in BtVS, AtS and Firefly.

* Kiss Them Goodbye Seasons 1 - 2 complete, partial season 3; also appears to be working off newer DVD's or Blu-ray sources but
the images tend to be more pixilated than other sources.

* promo-pictures on tumblr

* Buffy Universe and Angel DVD caps

Individual Cast Members Fansite Galleries:
* Sarah Michelle Gellar France - What it says on the tin. One of my favorite fansite galleries for all things SMG and constantly
updated. Photoshoot albums sometimes identify the magazine and the original photographer.
* Glamorous SMG - online since 2003, another fairly comprehensive source.
* Captivating SMG - relatively new (since 2013), it divides the Photoshoot section by years, which few sites do. Galleries for Sarah's other tv
series still incomplete or empty as of this writing.

*Marc Blucas Source
* Michelle Trachenberg Web

For other fandoms:
* All movie/tv caps on Leave Me The White. Extensive collection including Grease, Amelie, Dangerous Liasons, Terminator; Parks & Rec, Veronica Mars etc.
* Genre Caps HQ screencaps for several fantasy series: Jessica Jones and other Marvel series, Doctor Who (New Who); OUAT, Outlander, etc

OTHER IMAGE SOURCES
* The British Library offers over one million royalty-free digitized images from their vast archives going back to the 17th century.
* The Brooklyn Museum of Art happens to be one of the best art museums I've ever visited. If I had to choose between a visit here
and the Met, go to Brooklyn. In the meantime, their online collection has a stunning array of images.
* The New York Public Library Digital Collections Thank you

petzipellepingo for the heads-up!
* The Graphics Fairy and the Background Fairy - the wonderful team at Graphics Fairy provide thousands of free large HQ images
adapted from antique and vintage greeting cards, labels, valentines cards and assorted emphemera, DIY tutorials, craft projects,
etc.
* morgueFile
* Archive.org
* StevenJamesMorris at DeviantArt

TUTORIALS & GUIDES
*

good_tutorial What it says on the tin. The last post was 2013 but still plenty of useful information

My entries for

btvsats20in20 Round 18; many thanks to

starry_night for allowing me to submit this past the deadline; my computer has been crashing continually the last few days. Not fun. Thanks also to my fantastic beta-Muse

velvetwhip.

Teasers:

10 Themes
Full Body	Black & White	Plus One	No Eyes	Upside Down

First Appearance	Nature	Object	Weakness	Release

5 Category \|PURPLE RAIN
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

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 icons you like for personal use but please credit if used :)

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated :)

~ Icons with blank space can be personalized upon request.

~ If you wish to personalize because you have PS and more font or fx options than I do, by all means please ask first.

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

For

btvsats20in20 Round 16. Many thanks to my wonderful beta-Muse

velvetwhip!

Teasers:

10 Themes
Center Text	Party	Shadowed Profile	Personification	Plain Background

Bright Yellow	Dream	Flower Texture	Touch of Color	Fiery

5 Category \|TELL YOUR STORY ICONING
1.The Beginning	2.Conflict	3.Climax	4.Resolution	5.The End

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

I consider IRYJ to be one of the most underrated episodes of the series. Sorry, but I do not get the hate. It's got the introduction of Jenny Calender (did I mention I'm a G/J shipper?); and right off the bat foreshadows the idea that she is not what she claims to be; some great dialogue; a Willow-centric episode; Buffy looking out for Willow's welfare (she was only concerned when she realized Willow didn't actually know this "Malcolm") and the first instance in the series of me being truly afraid for Willow and her proving that she's smarter and more resolute than I gave her credit for.

And some of the stuff about computers and the internet turned out to be rather uncomfortably true.

Alts/extras:

1 - 7

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 icons you like for personal use but please credit if used :)

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated :)

~ Icons with blank space can be personalized upon request.

~ If you wish to personalize because you have PS and more font or fx options than I do, by all means please ask first.

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

Thank you VERY MUCH to everyone who voted in

btvsats20in20 Round 15! I won Close Crop, Light Texture, and 3rd Place Category Set. Congratulations to

crazycordy,

sweet_lyri,

midnightisclose!

Congratulations to the winners at

whedon_elite Challenge 135 :

nadya149,

dixon,

harlequinss_s,

hermionesparkle,

heterodynes,

sweet_lyri; and for my Banner Maker's Choice Award,

teragramm. Congratulations! The theme this round was "red heads", check out all the winning entries and banners HERE.

My entries for Challenge 135 after the cut. Fandoms: BtVS, Avengers (MCU). Many many many thanks, as always, to my beta-Muse

velvetwhip for her input:

1 - 4

Arranged roughly from most painterly/stylized to photographic/realistic. I'm really pleased with how #1 and it's alts (below) turned out. I layered several textures by

lookslikerain that give it the look of a post-impressionist oil pastel by Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas or Toulouse-Latrec.

Alts and extras:

5 - 10

I couldn't resist stealing

teragramm's idea to make the Buffyverse ladies redheads. (Teragramm's are much superior, of course.)

11 - 15

16 - 20

Or, the evolution of my New Year's greetings:

1) Here's to a happy new year!
2) It has to be better than last year?
3) Let's hope it doesn't suck.

On the other hand: Viola Davis is looking F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S on the cover of InStyle Magazine. It had this cover by Jan Welters at the doctor's office instead of the newstand version; and it looks more like the cover of Vogue circa 1977 than InStyle. I normally wouldn't line the bottom of a birdcage with that rag, but DAMN, that photoshoot. That woman.

******

Moving on.......It's been a while since I did a good old-fashioned promo post isn't it?

fassy is starting an new icontest comm and is seeking a mod or two to help run it. (There is already one volunteer but I imagine back-up can't hurt. And for the record, I saw Star Wars (the original of course) in the theater back in 19-mumblety-something, so I am still not used to seeing the name "JJ Abrams" in the same sentence with Star Wars.(Given the nightmare f**kfest that was the "prequels", I think I can learn to deal.)

Speaking of icontests:

*

whedon_elite: Icons for Challenge 135, "Red Hair" are due Sunday, January 24th by 3 pm EST. Make sure to scroll down the page and check out
the fabulous entries already submitted by

harlequinss_s,

teragramm,

all_malocks,

dixon,

emmatheslayer and

sweet_lyri. And I do mean "fabulous"; everybody's brought their A-game. At least in this little corner of the world 2016 is off to a roaring start.

*

slayerstillness: Challenge 61, "Reach Out and Touch Somebody" open for entries now through Friday Jan 29 midnight at your time zone.

*

btvsats20in20: Voting is open for Round 15 NOW through Friday January 22nd. Be sure to cast your votes for THEMES, CATEGORY, and ARTIST'S CHOICE.

Make sure to click ALL the buttons before you're done, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask the mods. There are about -19-20 votes cast right now which is super but more would be great! I don't think we've ever hit at least 30 votes in a given round but I always think "ok this is the round..." (Back to the Optimist vs Realist conundrum and in my heart I always want the Optimist to win out.)

And because you've made it this far here are some lovely parting gifts: alts and extras from Round 15 plus new alts/ extras from Round 13. I also have a thinky thought or two along the way:

Teasers:

Round 13, "The Pack"

1 - 3

4 - 7

Crossovers with the movie "Possession" starring SMG.

Round 15: (Buffy-heavy at first. Of course. This is me, this is my brain on the Buffyverse.)

8 - 14

15 - 21

22 - 28
After I cleaned the cap up I finally saw that the picture on locker behind Buffy is vintage comic book art, possibly a blow-/print of a Roy Lichtenstein piece, with the SDHS "Razorbacks" pennant covering the eyes of a pretty blonde woman in the picture. Meta commentary on the storyline or just an inside joke? The fact that we see Cordy blindfolded later and no one can "see" Marcy Ross suggests either reading is possible. It seems to coincidental to be a, well, a coincidence.

29 - 34

35 - 40

41 - 45
The flashbacks in the episode look great as screencaps but they're hard to work with; they're overlit as opposed to the rest of the early seasons material, which tends to be underlit.

46 - 49

Also, I need to take some tutorials on working with skin tones for people of color, especially dark tones and not turn beautiful deep browns into weird shades of orange-red, or flat black. (We've just acquired PS btw, so I'm still fumbling along in ipiccy.) #49: for the theme "green" I thought, well, I'll just tint the entire icon to go with the chalkboard behind her. Except that it doesn't look very good. Green skin? Usually associated with sickness or aliens? I should have known better. Plus, "black" skin reacts differently to tinting than "white" skin does.*

But it's the second association that bothers me. Our culture has a nearly long history of excluding black characters and actors from science fiction, horror and fantasy in literature, film and tv, except as background filler or literal "space aliens", demons and monsters. People of color as people just did not exist, with count-on-one-hand exceptions.

This may be changing now, I guess - slowly - but this is the reality I grew up with and "it's starting to get better" (by whatever yardstick you want to measure "better") doesn't undo decades of absence. So it just makes me uncomfortable, even if I don't "mean anything by it", I'd rather not go in that direction.**

* I realize I'm still using phrases like "black" and "white" that were au courant when I was growing up...in the 1970's and '80's.

** Using my personal comfort as the yardstick here is arguably problematic.

*****

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 icons you like for personal use but please credit if used :)

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated :)
~ Icons with blank space can be personalized upon request, they are not "bases". If you wish to personalize because you have PS and more font or fx options
than I do, by all means ask.

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

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.

And to celebrate a very special, generous, kind, supportive, incredibly talented person who is a dear friend, a superb beta-Muse and dedicated to her craft, cover art for

velvetwhip's fic, Civilian (Willow, Riley) plus icons.

She just posted the banner itself here along with links to other fabulous birthday presents she received. (Such as

angelskuuipo's fabulous Joyce/Angel fic "Hello From the Other Side" which has an absolutely brilliant "Why didn't I think of that? Why didn't anyone think of that?" premise that already has my imagining rewriting the entire canon to accomodate it. But I digress:)

Poster for Civilian v.1 (2016); shown full-size 650x500 pixels. Click image to go to

velvetwhip's story.

Final version cover art for Civilian by Velvetwhip made for her birthday Jan 14 2016 story link http://velvetwhip.livejournal.com/1625058.html DO NOT TAKE

More banners and icons after the cut.

Icons here are snaggable, the posters are not.

Alt versions 2 & 3 (reduced, click for full-size)

v. 2 cover art for Civilian by Velvetwhip made for her birthday Jan 14 2016 story link http://velvetwhip.livejournal.com/1625058.html DO NOT TAKE

v. 3 cover art for Civilian by Velvetwhip made for her birthday Jan 14 2016 story link http://velvetwhip.livejournal.com/1625058.html DO NOT TAKE

Icons 4 10:

Riley Finn icon from cover art for Civilian btvs fanfiction by velvetwhip made Jan 13 2016

Riley Finn and Tara Maclay icon from cover art for Civilian btvs fanfiction by velvetwhip made Jan 13 2016

Tara Maclay icon from cover art for Civilian btvs fanfiction by velvetwhip made Jan 13 2016

Willow Rosenberg icon from cover art for Civilian btvs fanfiction by velvetwhip made Jan 13 2016

I've wanted to make a poster for this story ever since I read it in June 2014; a general concept came to mind but I lacked the know-how to make it come together. I made an icon for the story last spring for Gabrielle using the same photo of Blucas. I really love that picture so surprisingly that was the easy part of the poster. The hard part was - everything else. I always knew I wanted "ghostly" images of Buffy and Tara hovering around Riley and WIllow because Civilian is a metaphorical (not literal in Buffy's case) ghost story; Willow and Riley's lives have been affected and are still shaped by the memories of their past lovers. Riley is a bit more melancholy here than in the story itself but the image means to imply the Riley that's hinted at offscreen more than him in the present moment.

Finding the right photo of Aly was the single element that held this project up the longest. The story takes place ten years after Chosen so I didn't want to use a photo from the series; I wanted something with gravitas as befitted the story and Willow's frame of mind, but I couldn't find one that had the right look for Aly and was of sufficient quality to work with. For someone with two major long-time tv series and several movies under her belt, she's incredibly hard to find photos for that fit the bill. I still haven't come across a fansite for her with a decent photo gallery. (Excluding sites like popSugar, etc.) She either tends to be photographed smiling or the few photos/screencaps I could find with the right mood were mediocre quality. The shot I ended up using is a cap from season 9 of HIMYM.

Resources: Photo of Marc Blucas via The Chosen Two (can also be found at Marc Blucas Source), photographer unknown. BtVS screencaps from Leave Me The White and Bloodqueen. Optical flares (light textures) on poster #3 by daWIIZ (Bessamer Azemi) on DeviantArt.

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 icons you like for personal use but please credit if used :) Posters 1-3 NOT snaggable.

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated :)

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

So we made it to the flip side - Happy 2016, my friends! May it be better than 2015. (I say that every year. It never is better, but I always hope anyway.)

This was my "last hurrah" of 2015 (Good-bye old year, I won't miss you. At all.) and my first hurrah of 2016, for

btvsats20in20 Round 15.
Plus a special treat for the Giles/Angel shippers in the house! (Anyone?)

Teasers:

10 Themes
Close Crop	Red + White	Pastel	Surprise	B&W + Quote

Provided Texture	Green	Hair	Light Texture	Peaceful

5 Category \|SILVER & GOLD
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

For the first time ever, I attempted "slashy" Giles/Angle icons. Actually, this would be my first ever m/m slash-y* icons, period. I'm surprised that Giles/Angel isn't more of a "thing". Somewhere in the world I am sure there's a website filled with G/A fic of the two of them screwing each other senseless, but I haven't come across it. Not that I want to, tbh. (This may be a sign of the End of Days. Remember to pack a toothbrush.)
Enjoy - I think?

1 - 6

7 - 11

12 - 13

* I actually hate the words "slash" and "femmeslash". I know where they originate in this context but I think it's time to retire them. And yet, saying "my first gay male icons" doesn't quite sound right either.

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 icons 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.

So, I'm not feeling "Christmassy" this year, at all. But I do wish everyone a peaceful day and a peaceful season. Whatever you celebrate. (I was raised Catholic, I've been pagan, now I'm atheist, and I have friends all across the spectrum.)

dragonyphoenix asked me a while back to do some graphics for part 3 of her buffyverse/potterverse crossover fic "The Letters" (Severus Snape/Anya, Cordelia). It was the first time I've been commissioned to make fanart without having read the story first. Dragony told me exactly what text she wanted to see on the graphics, including the brilliantly funny RSVP from Cordy.

sparrow2000 posted an amazing end-of-the-year fic rec list; some I've enjoyed, a good many others I've missed and must make amends for that. Because all the stories sound wonderful (and she hasn't steered me wrong yet.) She was also kind enough to name-check me and my artwork on the list! Thank you very much, I'm honored!

I will end up doing a recap of the year here in fandom in the near future but I want to say "THANK YOU" to the folks who have been so incredibly supportive of me in my growth and struggles this year. Special thanks and love to

velvetwhip for her guidance, friendship and for being in my corner.

I have to admit I'm glad 2015 is almost over.

And finally - I've read issue 22 of the season 10 comics and I have one thing to say, one really essential thing that NO ONE is talking about - WILLOW DOES NOT HAVE BLUE EYES, PEOPLE!

*Actually, Buffy's eyes also look suspiciously sort-kinda blue on page 23, which is weird because they were green in the rest of the story. But the color is just muddy enough that I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But Willow's eyes are absolutely blue - clear, beautiful, unmistakeable blue. The first issue that actually features Willow in any significant way this season and they can't get that one basic thing right. *le sigh*

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 022-005_crop1.png

This special 10th anniversary round of

seasonal_spuffy was the first time I'd actively participated with regular posts;

teragramm made special banners for all participants and customized this one for me. THANK YOU!

If you haven't had a chance to catch my three posts for Round 19, find them in the master list under "artwork" along with all the fabulous stories and artwork this round.

seasonalspuffyrsd_participationbanner10thanniversary2015byteragramm.jpg

********************

Thank you for the Best Crop Award at challenge 56 of

slayerstillness and thank you

tempertemper for the beautiful banner!

Teasers:

1- 2

***************

Thank you to Challenge 57 voters for Most Creative Award (a category I don't score very often so I consider it quite the desirable prize indeed), and thank you

starry_night for the Mod's Choice Award! The Dara in Becoming / Buffy in Halloween icons were all inspired by

shapinglight's entry for the 2015

iwry_marathon , "Third Wheel". The costume Ethan supplies Buffy has somewhat different effects than in canon, linking Buffy and Darla telepathically across the centuries. Banners for this round by yours truly; vintage dancer image, and floral "frame" in icon #6, from The Graphics Fairy.

3 - 7

8 - 11

12 - 16

17 - 22

Fun fact: when I looked very closely at the screencap of Angel's sketch of a lady in "Halloween", the text next to her reads, as best as I can decipher, "Sarah Goodfriend." I've often wondered if the drawing was a actually a portrait of one of his victims.

***********************

My awards for Round 14 of

btvsats20in20; thank you for everyone who voted for my work! Congratuations to

sweet_lyri and

gabby227 for their wins; their awards banners as well as all the winning entries can be seen here and here respectively. Banners by yours truly. For the background images I used my personal photos of New England skyscapes in a nod to this round's "In the Clouds" theme.

This is the third time I've won the gold medal for Category set, so it's a nice way to end the year. The Numbers icon is one of my favorites of this set, so I'm pleased and proud that the voters honored it.

I love the subtly and understatement of

gabby227's Faith icon, the way the softness of the light and coloring compliment the tenderness of the character's expression; bonus points for using an image I've not seen in an icon before.

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 icons 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.

My set for Round 14 of

btvsats20in20.
Beta'd by the fantabulous

velvetwhip
Thanks to

bangel_4e for allowing me a small extension due to illness.

Teasers:

10 Themes
Desperate	In the Clouds	Enemy	Handwritten	Nose Down

Negative Space	Numbers	Safe	Circle	Kiss*

5 Category \|HORROR
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

* There was no "kiss" in the episode so I used the next best thing.

The Cordy icons were some of the most challenging and interesting to do, partly because I hadn't planned on making any Cordy icons when I started. Her fear is played entirely for laughs in the episode, hah-hah, vain, self-conscious, socially-aware girl is terrified of being a nerd on the chess team who wears frumpy clothes and has "ugly" hair. Hah hah.

Well, not so funny when you consider what the loss of social status would actually mean (as we will see in Season 3, when she's left isolated by both the Scoobies and the Cordettes); not so funny when you consider the fact that she's been raised in a culture where a woman's self-worth is traditionally rooted in the kind of husband she is able to "catch", and her appearance is her main tool or weapon in pursuit of a husband.

And not so funny when you consider the racial implications of how smooth, silky, manageable hair is prized over curly or "kinky" hair. The "right" kind of hair is the kind that you see in the shampoo adverts; the wong kind is anything else, regardless of your race or ethnicity, although it's identified non-whites. Which is why I myself, as a white female, didn't appreciate my own thick, curly mane until I was well into my 20's, because it was the "wrong kind of hair" and ergo, the implication that something was fundamentally wrong with me. (Also not funny - catching said mane on the button of a professor's peacoat on the bus during a field trip.)

The more I looked at the images of Cordy, the more I also realized how well her fears reflected or paralleled those of the other characters and fit into the episode; and so I wanted to have one of her and the one of Vamp!Buffy touching her own face in the Category set.

Most of the nightmares can be catagorized as Appearance or Performance, regardless of the gender of the dreamer. So Xander shows up nearly nude in class, Cordy has ugly hair and clothes that mark her as a social outcast, Buffy is turned into a vampire (appearance); Billy is beaten nearly to death for disapppointing his coach, Willow is forced onstage to sing an opera she doesn't know and can't make a sound, Buffy's mind goes blank during a test, and Giles mourns at the sight of Buffy's grave (performance). But these two catagories often overlap, and so Buffy's failure to kill the Master (performance) leads to her becoming a vampire (appearance.)

For the AC set I originally wanted to do all Vamp!Buffy, but that felt like it would have been sort of copy-catting sweet_lyri's all-Buffy AC set.

Alts & Extras? But of course!

1 - 5

6 - 11
#11 was inspired by a comment I read at the AV Club Buffy rewatch three years ago: "Would you think I was weird if I said I think Joyce is kinda hot?" And I thought, dude, I'd think you were were weird if you didn't think she was "hot". WTF? Because she's over the age of 30? GMAFB

12 - 16

17 - 21

22 - 25

26 - 31

32 - 37

38 - 43

44 - 47 suitable for customization. The background of 46 47 puts me in mind of an AU plot where Buffy and Joyce are in Istanbul and Paris fighting monsters, having grand adventures and doing a little shopping along the way: The Incredible Summers Women World Tour. (Featuring Dawn as Watcher Junior, of course.)

44 - 49

50 - 55

56 - 60

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 icons 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 Mood: sick

My entries for Round 13 of

btvsats20in20 - actually ahead of deadline!

Beta: The erudite, eloquent, extraordinary and irreplaceable

velvetwhip.
ETA:*Orange and Cat5 (Angel!Pig) reserved for Gabrielle and are NOT snaggable. Sorry.

10 Themes
Orange*	Unusual Crop	Truth	Sepia+Profile	Retro

Hot	Crossover**	Contrast	Angry	Yellow+Blue

5 Category \|WHITE DECORATION
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5*

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1**	AC 2***	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

Resources:
Screencaps and movie posters from Bloodqueen, Screencapped and SMG-France.
Textures by

colorfilter,

scoobyatemysnax and

lookslikerain. Angel wing by Kyle Butler

Alts/extras:

1 - 6

7 - 13

14 - 18

19 - 23

I'd love to do this episode another round because there is SO much going on in this episode and so much fantastic imagery that I can't begin to cover it with one round. OTOH, I forgot how CREEPY this episode is, and how emotionally harrowing. REALLY creepy.

I tried as much as possible to emphasize the "victims" here, rather than the perpetrators; but also show how the victims fight back and resist victimization in their own ways. The moment depicting in the Truth icon when she sees through Hyena!Xander's facade ("Now I know") is one of my favorite Moments of Willow Badassery (TM). I remembered that Bob Flutie died terrified, eaten alive; I'd forgotten that before that he chased the pack down in a genuine rage because they killed the school mascot, and dragged them into his office, determined to put a stop to their rein of terror. Buffy manages to fight off Hyena!Xander if just barely escaping being raped or worse; then quips about it to Willow afterwards:

"He tried his hand at felony sexual assault...it's safe to say that in his animal state his idea of wooing doesn't involve a Yanni CD and a bottle of Chianti."

On a side note: it's interesting that in the episode that focuses on hierarchies and bullying in high school, Cordelia and the Cordettes are nowhere to be found. It's interesting to consider where she would have fallen on the food chain if she'd been in the episode. Was Charisma Carpenter unavailable the week they filmed that episode?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Gabrielle has first dibs on the Orange and Cat5 (Angel!Pig) icons; ~~these are NOT snaggable.~~

But all other are entirely snaggable or make suitable gifts *lol*. Please give proper credit and do not claim as your own; do not post to other websites or archives without asking first. Comments and feedback are always appreciated!

** Crossover, AC1, Alts 20 - 23: Possession starring Sarah-Michelle Gellar as a woman whose brother-in-law body may or may not contain the soul of her comatose husband after both brothers are involved in a car accident. Think a cut-rate version of Jonathan Glazier's flawed masterpiece, Birth (2003).

***Crossover, AC2: Scream2 featuring SMG in a small role as the trope Buffy is meant to subvert: the helpless blond girl in the alley (or in this case, sorority house). Watching "Buffy" crying and begging for her life while being chased by a psychopathic killer is surprisingly unpleasant, btw. (Just saying.)

Congratulations to the winners of

whedon_elite Challenge 127 "Close Crop"

marishna,

everythingshiny,

sweet_lyri and

sandy_s! WE has gone from strength to strength in terms of themes and this was no exception; artists responded to the challenge with a remarkable batch of entries. I love close-cropped icons so this was a little bit of heaven getting to work with them for the banners. Many thanks to my remarkable Muse-Goddess

velvetwhip for her feedback:

Banners by yours truly, icons by their respective creators, 2015. See the winners here and all the entries here.
More banners and my icons after the cut:

Click on the images above to see the banner full-size.

I awarded Banner Maker's Choice to

sandy_s. I had a really tough time choosing among the entries for BMC but went with the FFL icon because of it's emotional intensity and focus, and the physicality of Buffy's tear and her skin.

For this banner I went back to the original photo of my landlord's yellow rose, cropped and altered it in ipiccy; added a reproduction antique wallpaper in the background because I liked the contrast between the genuine rose and the ones in the background (although even the real one looks astonishingly fake thanks to the softening and sepia filters.) I chose the color scheme in part because I thought it would compliment but not compete with the skin tones in the icons.

My entries - all icons snaggable, please credit:

Whedon Elite 127 Sept 2015 entry1

1 - 3

Alts:

parkerbuffyharshlightofdayiconrsd2015_1.1a.png

parkerbuffyharshlightofdayiconrsd2015_1.7.png

parkerbuffyharshlightofdayiconrsd2015_1.3.png

parkerbuffyharshlightofdayiconrsd2015_1.4.png

4 - 9

Because everyone else focused on faces I decided to close-crop hands instead. Hand symbolism in the Buffyverse is one of my favorite subjects, but instead of the handfastings in Hush and Chosen I chose less famous or at least less frequently iconned images: Buffy and Parker in Harsh Light of Day, Willow and Tara's Grave in Help and Tara/Willow in The Yoko Factor.

Of alts my favorite is #9 and I wanted to use that one but decided it wasn't a close enough crop. It's a great, understated moment, aside from the creepily voyeuristic "Spike's POV when he realizes the girls are lovers and figures out a way to get under their skin and upset them to help Adam" of it. Or maybe that's part of the point, because it parallels a similar moment in This Year's Girl where Faith watches Buffy play with Riley's hands and comes to a similar conclusion. Those two moments also make the arguement that W/T is every bit as "legitimate" a relationship as B/R. (Which was important to establish in the hetereosexual landscape of American television at the time.)

#9 is my favorite alt but I decided it wasn't a close enough crop for the theme. I like the contrast between Tara's strong looking hand and delicate embroidery on her blouse, and the softness of Willow's hair and sweater. I also think that of the Buffy/Parker icons I might prefer alt #4 to my first entry, but hindsight is 20/20 and all that jazz.

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 icons 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.

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"

Instead of making posters for several different stories as I did in Round 1 of

buffy_genfic, this time I made several variants of a banner for one story, "Choose 1 for Ready, 2 for Not Ready" by the very talented

spuffy_luvr. (This wasn't planned - sometimes you just gotta go where the Muses take you. All the stories this round were absolutely wonderful so no snub is intended on my part. But Buffy and Willow are one of my OTF's.)

Versions 1 & 2 are

spuffy_luvr's favorites; at the time they weren't my favorites but I find myself agreeing with her choices and her reasoning is wonderful, especially with #2. I worried that Buffy and Willow's expressions were too light-hearted for the story but she felt that they were putting on their best faces for one another in that banner; whereas their faces in #1 express how they actually feel. The "polaroid" of Buffy and Willow in the library is from Teacher's Pet. I loved it because with one image I could make a compare/contrast and speak volumes about their friendship, about what's changed, what's damaged, and what binds them still - the history, the shared trauma, the forgiveness and the love.

Teasers:

Alt 9 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

Alt 8 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

Click all images to see full-sized versions:

I think at this point #1 is now definitely my favorite. I can image Willow's face looking exactly that way at the moment in the story when her memories simply become to painful and she abruptly ends the call.

spuffy_luvr's characterization of both Willow and Buffy is so on-point; she makes me want to cry for both of them.

I know that Buffy and Willow would be using laptop computers but the banner looked better using a desktop monitor; it was a stronger graphic image and much easier to work with. I also know that the monitor is too modern and not appropriate circa 2002 but....shockingly, I don't give a damn.

The vintage wallpaper grounds the laptop in an actual setting, and adds a bit of warmth and domesticity. And I wanted a wallpaper that could somehow be linked to either Revello Drive or Giles' estate without specifying either one. It reminds me a little of the striped wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom of the Summers home, and it looks like it could conceivably be found at Giles' English country home, which is why I faded the wallpaper just a little. Based on #3 below, I'm not sure it's actually necessary though.

In 1 & 2, I used lesser-known images from the episode Same Time, Same Place; the caps from STSP that I used in #3 are quite well-known but I just loved Sarah and Aly's expressions and the lightness of the caps.This was originally my favorite version but now it feels unfinished. I didn't add the polaroid from Teacher's Pet because every time I used it I had to cut the borders anew and I simply ran out of energy. The wallpaper background is missing but I actually don't mind that. I overlaid an image of a cracked mirror over the Skype lens as a symbol of the "cracks" in their relationship, which looks nifty but in hindsight might be a bit heavy-handed.

#3

Alt 3 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

Alt 2 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

#4 is a bit darker, obviously - and more than a bit heavy-handed, what with the monitor itself being cracked in addition to the camera lesn, the images from Villains, the stains on the polaroid and tape. An example of going too far and having too much fun playing with layers. And yet I still like this.

And because I am a completist:

#5

Alt 6 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

This is only distantly related to the story and the wood frame makes no sense in context but I couldn't resist playing with this image; this led to the "polaroid" in 1 & 2, so it was worth the experiment. And gosh aren't they just adorable?

Also I apologize to everyone (especially our mods

kwritten and

aliceinkinkland, and of course the author herself) for the delay in getting this posted; inspiration finally struck just the other day, quite literally.

Vague disclaimers: Artwork by me, 2015. Look, enjoy but do not snag, or post to any other website or archive unless your name is spuffy_luvr. Do not steal, claim as your own or alter.

I only needed one extension this time, whoo! Many thanks as always to my wonderful Muse-Goddess,

velvetwhip, for her inspiration and feedback. Don't forget to check out the rest of the gorgeous entries for Round 12 by

teragramm,

sweet_lyri,

killing_kurare

spikesredqueen and

clarahow. Now without further ado:

Teasers:

10 Themes
Blocking	Clean	Red	Passion	Looking Down

Last Scene	Happiness	Determined	Attraction	Blur

5 Category \|FADE AWAY
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5

Alts/Extras:

1 - 6

7 - 12
*RIP Janna Kalderash*

13 - 18

19 - 25

26 - 32

33 - 38

39 - 43
I love #39 but I thought it looked more like a "blend" than a "blocking" icon.

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 :)

Thank you to everyone who voted my Buffy icon "Best Crop" at

whedon_elite Challenge 125 and congratulations to

marishna,

sweet_lyri and

teragramm! The theme for this round was "Muted Coloring" - more banners and icons, including Banner Maker's Choice Award, after the cut:

Reminder: Entries for

whedon_elite Challenge #126 "Weapon of Choice" are due Sept 20th.

The last round of

slayerstillness I was agog over

teragramm's icons especially her Helpless entry; this time around

marishna's Buffy and Willow icons blew me away. The color and shine of Willow's hair in her first place winner alone is indescribably beautiful, as are the peach, ecru and blue tones in the Helpless icon. How does she achieve that perfect balance of softness and clarity?

BMC goes to

sweet_lyri's Chosen icon; the first time I saw it it, I thought Buffy looked like she was standing in front of a bisected mirror. Getting those images to line up perfectly is harder than it looks (I know, I tried); and the dark texture in the foreground echoes the dusty setting and makes the dirt on her skin seem palpable; I can almost feel the grittiness of it.

See the rest of the winning icons and banners for

marishna,

sweet_lyri and

teragramm here.

Banners and background photograph of daisies by your's truly; photograph taken at Wilcox Park in Westerly Rhode Island, 2015.
Icons by their respective makers.

My entries:

PDVD_033_BYicon1.2_rsd_zpsbmjmqkra.png~original.png

1 - 4

My personal favorite of my set is #1. But I also had a ridiculous amount of fun playing with #3 - see alts below for occular confirmation.

Alts:

5 - 8

sphereglow8buffyicon1.6e_patronsaint_rsd2015.png

sphereglow8buffyicon1.6g_patronsaint_rsd2015.png

9 - 13
True Champions of Buffy Summers (TM) will appreciate #12 - 13 (I'm looking at you,

kikimay and

clockwork_hart1)

A Vague Disclaimer is No One's Friend:

~ Want? Take, have for personal use but please credit if used.

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

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated and feedback is coin of the realm; leave a little and make an artist's day. :)

But first a word from our sponsor: Cast your votes for the top three icons plus Best Crop and Color NOW if you haven't already at

whedon_elite Challenge 125, "Muted Coloring.". There are 20 lovely icons to choose from, and only ten votes cast so far so more are definitely welcome! Now back to our program:

THANK YOU for voting my Angel and Drusilla icon "Best Crop" at

slayerstillness! And congratulations to

teragramm and

tempertemper for their beautiful winning entries! I was tickled to see everything I voted for on the winner's slate. Not that I need anyone else to vet my choices, but I like seeing these things go as they should. Nevermind that there wasn't a bad icon in the bunch.

Check out the complete set of winning icons here - I love reading

starry_night's reasoning for her Mod's Choice Awards; then see all the awards banners here. I didn't choose a BMC this round because it simply didn't feel necessary (go the the banners post and all will be explained.)

trumpetflowerbanner350x272modschoiceteragramm1.4.png

I adore teragramm's Helpless icon. Truly, madly, deeply.

killing_kurare's wonderful set for Round 11 of

btvsats20in20 inspired my Daddy's Home icon; I actually had the phrase in mind from the episode Ted and thought about making a Ted/Joyce icon to match but didn't have time. The "flame" texture is by

pensnest, which I found via

colorfilter's journal, set on Lighten or Screen.

Banners by your's truly, icons by their respective artists. For the background image I cropped a photograph of a trumpet flower in our yard that I took this afternoon, pointing my Nikon Coolpix upward on macro setting to keep the blossom in focus and the sunlight-dappled trees in the background blurred. This accounts for the natural "bokeh" effect in the lower portion. I wanted to capture the elegant simplicity of the flower; it's texture and form remind me of a parasol made of the most gossamer silk, it's edges billowing slightly in the breeze.

The gold frame around the icons is meant to be a punning reference to the phrase "gilding the lily". The flower isn't a lily but the phrase became my mantra anyway when making these banners. What I had in front of me was already beautiful - the flower, the icons - so don't overwhelm, overwork or overdo.

My entries (1 - 4) and alts:

innoccenciconpaperwhite1.3a.png

Buffy_2x13_Surprise_246_crop1_icon1.1.png

buffygilesfirstdateicon2.2a_rsd2015_SS50.png

Buffy_2x14_Innocence_038_crop1_icon1.1.png

1 - 4

InnocenceHD_762545Sanstitre1_HDicon3.1.png

5 - 8

I suddenly realized that I've never seen a smushname for Angelus-Drusilla. "Dangel" perhaps? "Drangel"? "Drungel"?

9 - 13

Now that I'm looking at these again I'm sort of kicking myself for not entering 12-13. I think I was bothered by the fact that I couldn't get the area around Giles' mouth right with that one. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have let it bother me so much because I like the color and luminousity of it otherwise, especially on the right side of the image. Textures in #3 and 12 - 13 a combination of textures by

colorfilter and

lookslikerain.

The father/daughter icons (Angelus-Dru and Giles-Buffy) were obviously the ones I lavished the most attention on; which is contrary to my usual habit of focusing almost exclusively on the women; but I do seem to have this "thing" about surrogate (not biological) fathers and daughters (BtVS, Doctor Who, Moulin Rouge). My father died when I was three and I had two abusive, shitty stepfathers after that. Analyze away, Dr. Freud.

A Vague Disclaimer is No One's Friend:

~ Want? Take, have for personal use but please credit if used.

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

~ No hotlinking!

~ Comments however are appreciated and feedback is coin of the realm; leave a little and make an artist's day. :)

My artwork for

velvetwhip's Answering Prayers led to a request by

aadler for a poster for his story All Ye Who Enter.

version 2 as requested by the author August 2015

All Ye Who Enter (2015) Click poster for full-size image, then to go here to

aadler's story. Read the story. I can wait.

Commentary below the cut -

*Mild Spoilers below - did you read the fic first?*

Unlike the poster for AP, this one came out very different to my original concepts - and probably for the better. I wanted an image of Dru less obviously her, more mysterious, but the S32 promo images are excellent quality and absolutely swoon-worthy. I layered one of my photographs from a bonfire the summer over her twice as the background.

The screencaps were of far lesser quality and merging images of very different quality together into a cohesive whole was the biggest challenge.

ETA: I thought about redoing this poster to deepen the shadows, as in the earlier drafts of this image. But that would make it look more like the AP poster and I wanted to differentiate them. The lighter contrast of this image helps to mask the differences in image quality especially re: the cap of Joyce; at least that was my conscious motivation. It wasn't until after I finished it and sent it to aadler, then saw it on his journal, that I realized that the relative lightness or haziness of the image reminded me of the apartment fire my sweetie and I had in 2013, and how my vision slowly filled with smoke until it became difficult to see.

The image of Angelus I think is from Passion - or Phases - it really doesn't matter. I didn't want to use a well-known shot of him from a particular moment in the series and this fit the bill. The burning wood in the lower left corner is from another of my bonfire photos that I used as a foreground texture to mask the edges between the figures, and it happened to fall over Angelus' coat in a really interesting way.

The photo of Joyce is from Gingerbread near the end of the episode - ironically, the scene where Buffy and Willow are nearly burnt to death at the stake. I assumed the image is not well-known but her expression of shock and horror was perfect for my needs. I wanted very much to emphasize the horror of the situation without turning Joyce into a quivering damsel, to suggest some of the strength and dignity and determination that carriers her through the story. A tall order for just one little image. I erased out the MOO badge on her blouse, which I changed to a lavender color from the original earth-tones.

The image of Buffy is from Ted, when she's sitting on her front steps thinking she's killed Ted; the stairs inside the house are just visible behind her. It doesn't represent a moment in the actual story. Drusilla imagines Buffy as a hardened warrior and I was going to use a image from The Wish but Wishverse!Buffy looks rather silly in that thick black eyemake-up so I tried to evoke a moment that isn't in the story but what I imagined in-between the spaces. I cut the image around her roughly, dropped it in and it fell into place perfectly.

I originally wasn't going to put Buffy in the poster; unlike Answering Prayers, she's not actually a character in the story but as with AP she's a presence despite - or because of? - her absence, the Buffy-shaped-hole that everything else revolves around. Which makes sense to my mind - this is the Buffyverse after all, and even if she's not the protagonist of the story, she is the Buffy-shaped-force that everyone else revolves around, the reason why everyone in the story does what they do.

And the women are the most important thing in All Ye, as in BtVS; Angelus is just a puppet on their stage even if imagines himself the puppet-master.

Speaking of the women of the Buffyverse, congratulations to the winners of

slayerstillness Challenge 50 "Willow":

sweet_lyri,

tempertemper, and

debris4spike! And as banner maker my BMC this round went to

teragramm for her iconic (and adorable) icon of WIllow from the Body. Check out all my banners here.

Many and I do mean MANY thanks to

velvetwhip for her feedback on these banners.

All artwork here by me, 2015, except for teragramm's icon. Do not snag, steal, alter, hotlink or post to another website, archive or journal without my express prior permission. In other words, look but don't touch.

My set for Round 11 of

btvsats20in20:

As always, kudos and praise for my fabulous beta-Muse velvetwhip, for her ceaseless and generous encouragement, support and inspiration. And big THANK YOU to starry_night for once again extending the deadline.

Teasers:

10 Themes
Vulnerable	Battle	Pink + White	Dress Up	Scenery

Obscured	Pattern	Strong	Vampire	Inside

5 Category \|COLOUR PALETTE
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

5 Artist's Choice
AC 1	AC 2	AC 3	AC 4	AC 5