red_satin_doll

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

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.

http://whedon-elite.livejournal.com/492887.html

And while you're looking at

whedon_elite Challenge 143 (deadline May 15), check out the entries that have been submitted so far by

sweet_lyri,

emmatheslayer, and

lookslikerain here, here and here respectively. Everyone is bringing their A-game.

I hope to get something submitted but I'm helping get ready for my sweetie's upcoming exhibition so I may not be able to. Real life gets in the way and all that jazz. Speaking of which, I apologize for being behind on finishing awards banners for Challenge 142, and also for

episodes20in20 Round 5. They are in the works. In the meantime congratulations to Challenge 142 winners

sweet_lyri,

nmcil12 and

emmatheslayer (whose technique and artistry are growing by leaps and bounds lately, if I may say so.) And congratulations to Round 5 winners

crucified,

gabby227, and

sandy79!

Last but not least THANK YOU to everyone who voted for my icons at

btvsats20in20 Round 17 and THANK YOU to

tempertemper for the gorgeous little gems of the awards banners she made us! Congratulations to the other winners

crazycordy,

vanishingspirit,

sweet_lyri and

debris4spike!

btvsats20in20 Round 17 last chance to weigh on on three tiebreakers.

whedon_elite still has some ties for Full body challenge 141 so VOTE here if you haven't cast your ballot already. Speaking of

whedon_elite, a few days ago I moped that I missed the "flowery" challenge over at

slayerstillness but WE challenge 142 is giving us a second chance at the theme.

And back from my perpetual AWOL-ery....

Tonight is the deadline to vote in Round 17!

Don't forget there are three posts for voting: Themes, Category Sets, and AC Sets;

There are only 14 - 16 votes cast so far in each post (there are always people who miss one, it seems), and for the most part I pretty much agree with how the vote is going; there are no egregious errors, no "wtf, people?"

The one exception is that I am surprised that the Content theme isn't more evenly spread; I thought that was one of the most difficult to decide among. (I confess I really like

debris4spike's Bangel icon from What's My Line? The "medieval" stained glass background is so richly and intensely colored, in contrast to the relative neutrals of Buffy and Angel's skin, hair and clothes. The dark shadows cutting across Buffy's torso and around the figures give them depth and solidity in contrast to the flat background, but the shadows also link the figures visually to the leading in the stained glass. It's a deceptively simple little icon but there's a lot of "there there" the more I look at it.

And don't even get me started on

crazycordy's beautifully subtle Faith AC set.

Some of of my icons are doing fairly well and I confess that makes me happy; after so many gen icon sets, doing a Buffy set was like a homecoming. When I was making the icons I had a "concept" for the AC set and put a lot of energy into it, but ironically the Category set, which I spent relatively less time on, is doing better, as it should. I think it came out more interesting and it's one of the better Category sets I've done.

Voting for Challenge 66 of

slayerstillness is up right NOW - and once again I have been absolutely abysmal at participation lately. (Which is dumb because I have all sorts of flower textures and imagery that I could have drawn on.) But if I didn't enter I can at least vote and encourage y'all to to do the same.

And voting for Round 17 of

btvsats20in20 is also up NOW, and this one I did participate in, with delays. And I have to say I'm pretty happy with my set. It's not showy, the icons are more "naturalistic" but I'm happy with how they came out. But I think "naturalistic" is a pretty good description of the entries overall by

sweet_lyri,

emmatheslayer,

vanishingspirit and

crazycordy .The icons are "subtle" and "unshowy" in the best way, because it really forced me to stop and look at them, to pay attention to the details. And I love that. There's a lot of "there there" but you're not being stabbed in the eye with it. No desperate "Look at me, look at me!" but rather an assured, "Oh, there you are. Yes, come in."

Don't forget there are three separate voting posts: 10 THEMES, CATEGORY SETS, and ARTISTS CHOICE SET

Question: Is it weird that I am willing to pimp the heck out of voting for icontests here (even ones I don't participate in) but never got onto LJ once to promote voting for La'Porsha Renae in American Idol? I did that on facebook and it was like, I wanted to keep my fandoms separate? Or - I don't know. It was a learning experience. I never watched the show before and thank god it's over, I wouldn't want to do that again. Sheesh. The partisanship, the anger, the racial and sexual slurs, the nonsensical rationalizations...it all made buffyverse fan wars feel like a cakewalk in comparison.

PS to

velvetwhip : I see you over there voting! *lol*

For

btvsats20in20 Round 17. Many thanks as always to my Beta and Muse

velvetwhip:

Teasers:

Cat 2 nominated for Best BtVS Icon ("Something to Sing About") Round 13

wicked_awards, 2016:

10 Themes
Angst	Black	Content	Faceless	Clock

Smile	Levels	NS + Text	Far Crop	Not Human *

5 Category \|SING US A SONG **
Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5

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

* Not Human: There were no episodes this season in which Buffy was "not human" (a la Vamp!Buffy in "Nightmares"), and because we haven't been informed at this point in canon that Slayer powers have demonic origin (aka the writers pulled it out of their derrieres ) I went with Angel vamping out to feed on Buffy in "Graduation Day 2".

** Category Inspiration: "Breathe (2am)" by Anna Natick: I decided to focus on the episode "Anne: for this set.
'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe... just breathe

Alts:

1 - 6

7 - 11

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.

bangel_4e has offered to delay the deadline for Round 17 of

btvsats20in20 until Monday and it is all my fault - AGAIN - so I do apologize to the folks who actually got their gorgeous sets in on time:

crazycordy,

vanishingspirit,

emmatheslayer,

debris4spike and

sweet_lyri.

* Thank you to whoever nominated me for "Favorite Creative Artist (Buffy Fandom)" at the 2016 Fanatic Fanfic Multi-Fandom Awards! I had never heard of the site before and I'm ticked pink and blue and orange and ever color Crayola makes. I have no idea how to tell you to vote for me because I cannot figure out their website for the life of me. If anyone here does please let me know? ~~Voting closes tomorrow and I just found out about it.~~ ETA: Voting starts April 11 (thank you

velvetwhip for that update!) Speaking of voting and awards:

* Voting for the Willowy Goodness Awards has been extended to APRIL 3RD due to a relative lack of votes - thank you

velvetwhip for reminding me to vote! It's a shame that voting is low because there is no lack of quality in the nominee roster.

Yes, there are ties that need to be broken at

whedon_elite but

setentpet has cleverly decided not to reveal what they are. She's simply requesting more people vote at the original post, which only heightens the suspense in my opinion. Well played, indeed. Now goest thou and vote. ASAP.

Speaking of voting, only 13 ballots have been cast at Round 16 of

btvsats20in20, which is kind of sad. Do you understand what that means? Never mind the long hours spent slaving ~~over a hot stove~~ in front of a computer making icons, that means only 13 or so people have appreciated

bangel_4e's super-adorable Lorne banners for the round, and that just ain't right!

So I'll make it easy for you to join in the fun: THEMES CATEGORY ICONS & SETS ARTISTS' CHOICE ICONS & SETS

BTW, the rules forbid me from promoting my own work so I wouldn't and won't. However there is nothing to technically forbid me from saying that Set #1 in the AC sets deserves more looks than it's gotten. And I don't know the artist all that well beyond a few exchanges here on LJ and I won't even say their name. I just think it's a nifty set. And this is NOT to take anything away from any of the other wonderful sets. The rest of the competition? I'm pretty cool with so far. I'd always like to do better than I'm doing but hopefully that will just push me to improve. (Once again I feel I've hit that "brick wall" stage of things. Or maybe I just keep running into different parts of the same damn wall.)

Weirdly enough, I am actually allowed to promote my own work when it comes to voting for Viewer's Choice at the

rwsawards but I really haven't because...I like my own poster for "Closure" and am thrilled that it was nominated, but

boiiko and Restfield's (aka

rbfvid) entries deserve to be in the lead. Both of those posters are the total package in terms of aesthetic and technical merit.

I have no opinion to offfer on the Reader's Choice section - there is a list of terrific work, many by people I know, love and respect, and really not a bad one in the bunch. So you're on your own there. But do vote while you have the time. It takes but a minute.

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

....because HERE be 3 tiebreakers for Round 15 of

btvsats20in20. And we all know how

feliciacraft feels about tiebreaker voting but darn it, it's a happening thing and if it leads to more of her brilliantly satirical stanzas I make no apologies.

And HERE be voting for Challenge 135 "Red Heads" of

whedon_elite; 33 - count' em, 33! - gorgeous icons to choose from for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Best Crop, Best Color and Most Creative. Most rounds of WE lately haven't gotten enough entries to warrent the full voting slate; this time everyone came out to play and they brought their A-game.

Voting is such sweet sorrow.

And totally off-topic:

* I've read Buffy comic S10 #23 and overall I quite enjoyed it. I may at some point even choose to discuss it.

* Things I didn't know I needed in life until I saw them: I came across two Orphan Black/Buffy videos today on YouTube by Orphan Crack:
-- Orphan Black credits Buffy-style by Orphan Crack; spoilers for all three seasons.
I love how the credits list the characters rather than the actors. (Although it would be funny to see "tatiana maslany" repeated)
-- Orphan Black + Buffy musical episode sets the OB characters into the episode "Once More With Feeling", specifically the number "I've got a
feeling" and it works suprisingly well. The biggest giggle is Felix being assigned Xander's lines.

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.

So, I'm stalled on Day 3....whilst the Snowflake Challenge is at Day 9. Pretend to be shocked by my sad inability to do a simple daily meme. And bless the mods for this: Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

But first things first: THANK YOU THANK YOU to the amazingly generous benefactor who responded to my Day 2 wish and extended both my paid account and my extra icon space! This time I do know who my patron is, and I am overwhelmed by their kindness. I honestly didn't expect anyone to respond to my request, never mind so soon!

Second things second: THANK YOU THANK YOU to whomever nominated my fiction posters for

herself_nyc's Closure is a Silly Word and

spuffy_luvr's Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are in Round 11 of the

rwsawards! (I also know who nominated Closure and I can guess who nominated Come out Come Out, but I'm not certain.) There's plenty of spaces left on the nomination sheet, so make some deserving authors and artists happy! The nomination period is open until February 3rd.

Speaking of the poster for "Closure", let's get back to the Snowflake Challenge whilst I pretend to play "catch up":

Day 03

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

2015 was the year I think I began to come into my own as an artist. My technical skills have a ways to go but considering I'm still working in ipiccy and not Photoshop, overall I can say "not bad".

For this post I'm going to concentrate on my banners and posters and not on icons, which require their own post. I've got a few items to show off, I hope you don't mind? I tend to think in terms of groupings, projects and "genres" rather than individual pieces. In no particular order:

1) Awards Banners for Round 6 of

btvsats20in20 (January 2015): my first major art project of the year proper. More posters than awards banners, these were far more technically complex than any I'd attempted previously as I pushed myself to learn new techiques. And I think they are more "artistic" than any I'd done previously, if in a somewhat self-conscious way. I wanted to create awards banners that were works of art in their own right. I think this project helped determine the stylistic direction my artwork has taken this year. It also pushed me to depict characters and pairings I rarely do; in fact, the banner for

sweet_lyri may be the first time I'd created a romantic Bangel image.

Right click all images to view full-size.
All artwork by me unless otherwise noted. Icons on award banners property of their respective creators. Not snaggable.

FINAL_v1_AngelthemesbannerfortempertemperJan2015byredsatindoll_zps48a9ea45

Harmonybannerv3.1_starrynightthemesACwinners_byredsatindollJan2015

1 - 5

*****

2) I'm very pleased with all the artwork I made this past year for

seasonal_spuffy Rounds 18 and 19. The Spuffy Hands Banner is one the my favorite artworks I've ever made, I think I actually exceeded my expectations with that one and made something truly artistic. My banner for Round 19 isn't quite as "artistic" and is probably a little more traditional but it gave me an opportunity to hone my skills in terms of layers, textures and creating a convincing manip. And then the fiction posters for Round 19: the aforementioned "Closure" and

shapinglight's "Casablanca" . "Closure" is one of the few fiction posters I've made that has no alternate version, I made it at the very last hour of Round 19, but I was able to produce so quickly because I started with a draft of one of the alternates for Casablanca. Being able to "reuse, renew, recycle" is one of the benefits of digital artwork.

Round 18 spring 2015 entry banner 3 lyrics by Bastille

unsigned final entry for round 19 banner comp seasonal spuffy autumn 2015n

6 - 10

*****

3) Fiction posters for

buffy_genfic: Each of these stories is very different to the others and I tried to capture what was special about each one, as well as convey what they all have in common - loving attention to the women of the Buffyverse, and each of these authors skillfully turns "heartwarming" into "heartbreaking" and back again. The also aforementioned poster for

spuffy_luvr's "Come Out Come Out" , actually isn't my favorite; I can see a lot of things I would have done differently, although I'm still pleased that the print and texture on the scrunchy look convincing. I'm happier with my other efforts: posters and icon for "Who's That Girl" by

velvetwhip , "Show you the World" for

aliceinkinkland - my favorite detail is the fact that the jeep actually looks like it's on that road and not a separate image that was pasted on top; and another poster for

spuffy_luvr, "Choose 1 for Ready, 2 for Not Ready" :

buffyskateficposter1.2_byRSDforspuffyluvr900x720.png

whosthathgirlposterforvelvetwhip_v3.9a500sq_RSD2015.png

showyoutheworldposterforaliceinkinklandaugust2015_rsd_1.2_600x402.png

Alt 9 for spuffyluvr round 2 buffy genfic exchange sept 2015

11 - 14

*****

4) Character Posters of Willow and Buffy for

spuffy_luvr's Ipseity I challenged myself to adhere to roughly the same size and compositional format for both. The poster of Buffy is a bit flashier and more dramatic, and the symbolism far more obvious (the fracturing of Buffy's image, the sense of entrapment), which is what I was going for, but personally I prefer the more subtle, melancholy one for Willow. I love how the textures in that one remind me of a vintage handkerchief or tablecloth and give the image a quiet "domesticity", while the sigils to the left add an exotic contrast and yet also balance the ghostly image of Buffy.

Poster 2 for Ipseity by Spuffy Luvr Willow variant

Poster made for Buffy chapters of Spuffy gen fic Ipseity by Spuffy luvr 2015

15 - 16

*****

5) Other awards banners: This past year I've made banners for

btvsats20in20,

slayerstillness,

whedon_elite and

character20n20; as well as unofficial "commissioned" nomination banners for

wicked_awards. And I discovered this year that as much as I enjoy making icons, I love making posters and banners. The larger space gives me more scope to play. (The fact that I've had to start wearing bifocals for the first time this past year undoubtedly has something to do with it. Larger image = easier to see.) And whereas an icon is like a haiku, where every single word must be absolutely perfect, larger images allow for more "mistakes" (that in the end may not be mistakes at all.) Making banners on a regular basis has been a fabulous way to practice, practice, practice, and someone ends up with a lovely image to show off on their own journals.

17 - 23

FINAL2_kwrittenbannermostcreativebyredsatindoll_SS39

3rdplacetierua1412banner533x338_byrsd_WErd113_final.png

we120_bestcropbannerwithicon1.2FINAL.png

we123_bestcropbanner_doubledutchess400x300_1.4.png

trumpetflowerbanner350x272modschoiceteragramm1.4.png

24 - 30

nomineebuttonbuffywickedawards275x128_rsd2015_1.1final.png

therelishcollectionbannerforkerkevik2014_style2.1_byRSD2015_550x268.png

******

6) Last but most certainly not least:

velvetwhip's Answering Prayers was one of the projects that defined the year in fandom for me. The poster itself earned Runner Up in the

wicked_awards; I'm grateful for that and at the same time I'm still very dissatisfied with how the image turned out. It was definitely a learning experience (and it led to a commission for aadler's "All Ye Who Enter".)

answeringprayersbannerbyrsd2015_flamesversion1.4signed_zpsdt5fm2g4.PNG

version 2 as requested by the author August 2015

ETA: Poster for aadler's "All Ye Who Enter".

Of greater importance was the process of being a guest pencil (beta) for the story, the journey that Gabrielle took me on with Joyce, and the journey Gabrielle and I took together is something I'll be forever grateful for. And the story fills a real need: fanfiction that examines Joyce Summers and allows her center stage, that makes up for the way she was shortchanged in canon, is something that I've hungered for ever since I watched the series and it's all too rare, too difficult to find. Which seems odd given the number of mothers and/or maturing women in this fandom. And as usual with Gabrielle's work, I love that the story twists and deconstructs romance novel tropes and kept me guessing every step of the way. I'm incredibly proud to have had even a tiny part in bringing this story to fruition.

Reading Gabrielle's response to the Day 9 challenge: I fully intend to write another Joyce-centric story made my day. Possibly my year. That's how much I want her to write more Joyce-fic.

Day 04

In your own space, create a fanwork. Make a drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Draft a critical essay about a particular media. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of a Broadway show, a movie, a concert, a poetry reading, a museum trip, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Compose some limericks, haikus, free-form poetry, 5-word stories. Document a particular bit of real person canon. Take some pictures. Draw a stick-figure comic. Create something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I tried to fill

kikimay day 2 request for some amusing Buffybot banners. And what I came up with sucked rotten goose eggs, IMO. But Kiki would like to see them anyway and she has a habit of seeing the worth in icons I've rejected. However I also came up with some Michelle Trachenberg icons that I think are pretty snazzy and Kiki has spoken admiringly of MT's beauty so I hope she likes some of these:

32 - 34

35 - 39

40 - 44

See? The MT ones are much, much better than the Buffybot ones. You were well and truly warned.

Day 05

Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork. The key is to leave some sort of feedback. If you've already left feedback in the course of a previous challenge, it totally counts. But you're free to leave more feedback.

Some works I've left feedback for in the past few days include Displacement and The Starfish by

spuffy_luvr on Elysian Fields, Chapter 17 of Dreams and Mirrors by

kikimay, feet been draggin' cross the ground by Celaenos, Go to Sleep by

evil_little_dog, Empty Hearts and Heavy Hands by Dactylgirl on EF; and in the art department I've left feedback for

comlodge's absolutely stunning self-portraits and

crazycordy's The Zeppo icon set for

btvsats20in20 Round 15. (And as it happens

crazycordy's birthday is today, so Happy Birthday and many more to come!)

And that's more than enough for one post, I should think.

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.

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

Congratulations

sweet_lyri,

entwashian, and

harlequinss_s on your wins in

whedon_elite Challenge 129! Snag your banners here .

Congratulations

spikesredqueen,

starry_night,

sweet_lyri,

crazycordy and

tempertemper on your wins at Round 13 of

btvsats20in20! Banners here in the comments thread including my BMC to

gabby227's oh-so-elegant Cordy icon. BMC was a really tough choice this time around because there were so many I would have loved to honor:

starry_night's Wesley Icon, which I've already snagged, her Darla and her AC4 icons;

sweet_lyri's clever Crossover icon,

tempertemper's Cat 3 Amends icon,

crazycordy's Sepia+Profile icon (that theme was one of my favorites overall). So many beautiful things this round.

And if I didn't single out

spikesredqueen just now, it's because I'm well pleased that her icons were richly rewarded; her Category and AC sets in particular just rocked.

All banners by yours truly, icons by their respective artists. The background of the WE banner is based on a photograph I took in Old Lyme, CT a couple of weeks ago; I wanted the bright colors to contrast against the dark icons. The background of the 20in20 banners is a photograph by Susan Murphy from her art studio blog that I adjusted, adding addtional grunge textures to it for a warmer overall look. I love framing effects but I also love the back sides of frames and pictures; I like to see how things are made. I wanted to subvert the normal expectation of a pretty frame by showing off the beauty of the flawed backside. The font is meant to appear to have been printed on the paper except for the artists' names; I imagined a space there that someone filled with a big fat marker or paint brush.

aka I have been falling down on the job again - BADLY.

Time to get my groove back in gear. (Or something like that.)

btvsats20in20 Round 13: Today, Nov 1 is the LAST DAY* to vote for Artists Choice sets and icons, Category (White Decoration) sets and icons, and Themes icons. Don't forget to press ALL of the little vote buttons.

Today (around 3pm) is also the last day to submit your icons to

whedon_elite Challenge 129 "Dark Villains".

*Excluding the inevitable tiebreaker votes.

For which there is no good excuse - especially since I'll be away from the 'puter from Wednesday night onward. And there is much to see, much to do, much to promote! So let's get cracking:

Banner by tempertemper Oct 2015

First off, THANK YOU very much to the voters at

slayerstillness for awarding my Buffy/DMP icon Best Crop in Round 54 and thank you

tempertemper for the pretty pretty banner to go with! And congratulations to

sweet_lyri,

crazycordy and

emmatheslayer for your wins this round! The theme was "Roy G Biv" and we could submit up to 7 entries, one for each color of the rainbow (hence TT's clever banner design. As per usual I love her font choices here.)

My entries 1 - 7. I was delighted when both 6 and 7 vied with one another in the Best Crop tiebreaker, but genuinely surprised that 7 led by a 2-1 margin. I would have voted for the vamp!Buffy icon myself. Shows you what I know.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whedon_elite: Vote for the best of the best out of 32 entries in Challenge 128 "Shades of Grey". Never mind that I haven't voted yet because I'm still making up my mind. (Did I mention there were 32 entries?) I've had a love affair with black and white photography going back decades, so this challenge is particularly pleasing to me - and what a stellar array of entries! (32, count 'em, 32.) Deadline for voting is sometime tomorrow (10/20) so don't delay on this one.

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

seasonal_spuffy: The banner poll for Round 18, celebrating the comm's 10th Anniversary, is up! (10 years? Can you dig that?) 16 wonderous entries to choose from. Oh such pretty, pretty things to choose from....! Fortunately you have about a week before the poll is up per

teragramm - and can we have a big round of applause for her work on the comm as the Ambassador of Art? But that said, don't wait around until the last minute and then find yourself out of the loop, ok? (Did I mention it's the 10th Anniversary?)

This banner poll makes me wish there were a friendly, comfy forum where folks could get together and talk about the banners or about making fanart in general - how they were made, the artists' thought processes, the thought processes of voters and constructive critiques. I'm genuinely curious about all of these things and I love to learn from other people. But I know that's difficult to impossible because - 1) I know from personal experience that giving and receiving constructive criticism is a tricksy thing and too few people are versed in the art; leading to the 2) ugly, ugly implosions 3) potential for hurt feelings all around, and finally 4) a lot of our reactions to visual arts are emotional, not intellectual, and fall along the lines of "...but I know what I like."

Thoughts, Gentle Reader?

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

btvsats20in20: Deadline for Round 13 is extended to Thursday, Oct 22. So if you have a last-minute jones to jump in, here's your chance. This is a very good thing because

bangel_4e is back in the game and I wanna see her Buffy claim - and

spikesredqueen's Willow claim. (For once I don't need an extension because I actually finished before the deadline - I think that's a first for me? Never mind that I pulled a few all-nighters *does exhausted happy dance*)

@@@@@@@@@@@@

If you haven't already voted in the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards, you have until October 31st to do so! The list of nominees is long and illustrious and I WOULD NOT wait until the last minute if I were you.

And far be it from me to tell anyone what to vote for but I am more than happy to make suggestions and thus make your life easier (all of the below are safe for general audiences). The below list doesn't reflect everything I voted for by any means; these are simply some of my favorites.

Answering Prayers -

velvetwhip (Gabrielle) If you haven't discovered this story yet, you really do owe it to yourself.
Ipseity and Proud Trophies -

spuffy_luvr
The Girls in Question - TigerDragon (AO3)
The Sound You Found For Me -

punch_kicker15
red turns into green turns into yellow - lionheartedgirl (AO3)
In a Corner of My Soul -

dragonyphoenix
Beautiful Butterflies -

kikimay
Flight Patterns -

eurydice72
Giles and the Mountain -

rebcake
Undertow - faithtastic (AO3)
Somewhere Hot and Sharp and Shimmering -

aliceinkinkland
Tricks are for Magicians -

snogged

And now that you've immersed to overflowing in drama & angst here's some pure, unadulterated comedic fun:
Dirty Deeds - Imrryr (AO3)
blindr dot com, or, the importance of coconut-milk lattes to long-term success - antennapedia (AO3) I don't know this author, I don't ship B/G but this AU take is NOT to be missed.

Pretty much anything by the above-named authors, and also

brutti_ma_buoni,

rahirah,

the_moonmoth and

feliciacraft. My apologies to anyone I've overlooked or forgotten here.

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.

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Page Summary

Belated thanks: I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards!
btvsats20in20 Round 18: When She Was Bad (S2.01)
In black and white and living color: Check out Whedon Elite's latest challenge!
Here be tiebreakers!
Voting closes TODAY at btvsats20in20!
Wow I've been MIA - and how about those icontests, eh?
btvsats20in20 ROUND 17: BUFFY SUMMERS (SEASON 3)
MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO BOTHERED TO GET THEIR STUFF IN ON TIME....
Goest thou and vote!
btvs20in20 Round 16: I Robot, You Jane
Congrats to the winners of btvsats20in20 and whedon elite!
And here I seek to disturb feliciacraft's peace of mind.....
HERE'S TO A NOMINALLY TOLERABLE 2016 EVERYBODY!
I'm making an absolute hash of the Snowflake Challenge....and nobody is surprised by this.
btvsats20in20 ROUND 15: Out of Mind, Out of Sight (BtVS S1.11)
I made some things - and I won some things! (A treasure trove of banners and icons)
btvsats20in20 ROUND 14: NIGHTMARES (BtVS S1.10)
Congratulations to the winners of Whedon Elite and btvsats20in20!
Did I mention today is the deadline to.....?
Your Town Cryer - Has Been Falling Down on the Job Lately

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

Page generated Jul. 4th, 2025 04:14 am

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Entries tagged with comm: btvsats20in20

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

btvsats20in20 Round 18: When She Was Bad (S2.01)

In black and white and living color: Check out Whedon Elite's latest challenge!

Here be tiebreakers!

Voting closes TODAY at btvsats20in20!

Wow I've been MIA - and how about those icontests, eh?

btvsats20in20 ROUND 17: BUFFY SUMMERS (SEASON 3)

MY APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO BOTHERED TO GET THEIR STUFF IN ON TIME....

Goest thou and vote!

btvs20in20 Round 16: I Robot, You Jane

Congrats to the winners of btvsats20in20 and whedon elite!

And here I seek to disturb feliciacraft's peace of mind.....

HERE'S TO A NOMINALLY TOLERABLE 2016 EVERYBODY!

I'm making an absolute hash of the Snowflake Challenge....and nobody is surprised by this.

btvsats20in20 ROUND 15: Out of Mind, Out of Sight (BtVS S1.11)

I made some things - and I won some things! (A treasure trove of banners and icons)

btvsats20in20 ROUND 14: NIGHTMARES (BtVS S1.10)

Congratulations to the winners of Whedon Elite and btvsats20in20!

Did I mention today is the deadline to.....?

Your Town Cryer - Has Been Falling Down on the Job Lately

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