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

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.

I finally posted my first proper post at the comm - artwork inspired by

shapinglight's wonderful short story "Casablanca". Check out my cover art and icons here. I would have had it finished on the 11th as I should have done but for my internet connection going kaput for several hours. Better late than never?

Teasers:

Also, I want to mention that

killing_kurare made the Buffy/OMWF icon that I snagged for my default icon because it gives me so many feels (do we still say that around here or is that passe?). Isn't it an insanely gorgeous, evocative little masterpiece?

But first things first: congratulations to

boiiko for winning the banner competition for Round 19 of

seasonal_spuffy - and deservedly so! Her design is absolutely unique and although there were many lovely banners that round, this one deserved to be the winner. Very different to any previous winners and the perfect fit for the 10th anniversary round. Since I love it when artists talk about their process, I have to recommend her "making of" post.

Awards banners by angelus2hot

**********

THANK YOU to the judges of the

wicked_awards,

spankedbyspike and

angelus2hot; winning a Wicked Award was something I wished for but didn't really expect to ever actually happen, so it was a total surprise when I got the news! Thank you for the beautiful awards banners and THANK YOU to the folks who nominated my icons, banners and wallpaper. I honestly do not know who nominated my work in three catagories and wish I could thank them properly. (Please feel free to out yourself/selves!)

Speaking of little birds,

velvetwhip (Gabrielle)'s Answering Prayers won Best Series (as well it should) and I could not be more pleased! (Her fic Easy also won Best Dark.)That my poster for it earned Runner-up Honors is just the icing on the cake, and is as much her award as mine, IMO, because her story was the inspiration. (That my poster earned Runner Up, and my icon first place, when I consider the competition, is truly special and extraordinary.)

I'm really tickled about that icon; I made it for

slayerstillness Challenge 47, "IWRY" a challenge I very nearly didn't enter because I'm not much of a Bangel shipper (or Angel fan), didn't submit my set until literally the last minute; but it's proved to be one of my winningest artworks. The Little Icon That Could. :D

Congratulations to all the winners but most especially my friends (in the art categories):

comlodge,

chasingdemons,

katekat1010 (her Giles banner is simply superb);

snowpuppies;

spikesredqueen;

halliwell;

debris4spike;

sweet_lyri;

sueworld2003; (in the video categories)

double_dutchess;

thedothatgirl; (in the fiction categories):

punch_kicker15, s[

the_moonmoth,

spuffy_luvr,

hello_spikey,

aadler,

beer_good_foamy, lion-hearted girl,

snogged,

shapinglight,

dragonydreams,

Check out the entire winners' list here.

Congratutions to

whedon_elite Challenge 128 winners

fassy,

crazycordy,

sweet_lyri,

lookslikerain,

harlequinss_s and BMC recipient

sandy_s!

Click images below for full size or check out all the banners here. All banners by yours truly, 2015; icons by their respective artists.

The background image is from a photo I took this past weekend, when the clouds came down to meet the earth.

Banner Maker's Choice: Beneath You animated icon by

sandy_s As it turns out, ipiccy does not
preserve the animation when I insert the icon as a layer, so the banner loses the full effect, alas. *pouts*

Most times, BMC is a tough choice for me but not this round. THIS is a motion picture in miniature, the meat of the entire episode, of Buffy and Spike in S7, summed up in just a few images. It's evocative, emotional, tells a story, and is also beautifully made with rich deep blacks and a range of velvety grey tones.

Above all else it reminds me what fascinated and troubled me about those two characters, why I loved them when it was me myself and experiencing their arc three years ago; before I became aware of fandom and controversies and the did-she's/didn't she's. In other words, it's about love. (And bonus points from this Buffy-fan, it doesn't exclude her in order to prioritize him.)

If this is Sandy's warm-up act for

seasonal_spuffy, then bring it on, I say.

My entries: All these images are from the Pack; screencaps mostly from Bloodqueen and Screencapped.net. (The Xander icon is almost certainly from Screencapped.)

1 - 3

Alts:

4 - 7

Speaking of

seasonal_spuffy, have you voted for your favorite banner for Round 19 yet? And if not, why not? (Unless you don't ship the pairing, in which case, carry on.)

FYI I'll be away from the computer for the next 4 - 5 days so I won't be around to keep reminding you; ergo, mark it on your calender, kids, and I'll see you around the bend.

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.

** Deadline for submissions to

slayerstillness Challenge 54 "Roy G Biv" is today Friday Oct 9th midnight at your timezone. For this
challenge we may submit up to seven icons rather than the usual five, one for each color in the rainbow. There are 31 entries so far and I love
the theme so I'm expecting a real humdinger of a contest.

** Breaking news: The deadline for the banner contest for Round 19 of

seasonal_spuffy has been EXTENDED one week to Sunday Oct
18th (PST). Which means that anyone who said they wouldn't entering due to lack of time? Here's your chance. It's also a great opportunity to
PROMOTE the upcoming comm so by all means reblog, retumble, tell your friends, whatever it is the kids do nowadays.

A word to the wise: Don't make the mistake I made the last time and submit more than one banner and end up competing against yourself. One of those first time-y novice mistakes.(In my own defense..~~.I'm awful at making decisions~~ I did not yet have the most amazing wonderful erudite Muse-Goddess

velvetwhip in my corner at the time. Now I do, and my life is all the better.)

Speaking of last round, I never did post the banners and icons I made for Round 18's competition:

1

Spuffy Hand Banner v.1 - 3 (2015). 750x300

All banners on this post by yours truly. Click the images below to view full-size:

2 - 3

Spuffy Hand Banner (what else could I possibly title it? I think that says it all) is still one of my favorite and, I dare say, best things I've made yet. I was nervous about entering the round because it's difficult for me to express my views on Buffy&Spike. How in the world could I encapsulate my complex feelings for two insanely, deliciously complex characters in a single banner? But this is IT for me in terms of my feelings for the pairing. I was determined to avoid using the flaming handfasting in Chosen because I've seen it used so often in fanart, but I wanted to depict Spuffy hand imagery and I couldn't not use it. There's "iconic" and then there's beyond "iconic". Know what I mean?

For this particular project I got a lot of my inspiration from the music I was listening to at the time. The lyrics in this banner are from "Flaws" performed by Bastille (Writer: Daniel Smith Copyright: Wwkd Ltd.) The backdrop is one or two of my sweetheart's photos of - you guessed it - a New England autumn sunset that's come in handy so many times before and since. In this instance I used it as a backdrop then I layered it over the screencaps a second time, turned in a different direction to "fill the gaps" and create continuity across the image. Then I used Sharpen, Glow and various other filters to make the caps look less photographic and more painterly.

The cap from Listening to Fear was the most difficult to adjust in terms of brightness and contrast because that scene is so damn dark. Layering on the cloudscapes was pretty much a necessity. It ended up being my favorite portion of the banner - the icon I made from it (#8 below) is still one of my all-time favorite icons I've made.

I entered both 1 & 2 to the contest; I have no idea what I was thinking. I also entered my first version of this design which was very bright, over-saturated, had a triangle in the center and was just a hot freakin' mess; I'll be damned if I'm going to repost it here. I have no idea what I was thinking.

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

Round 18 spring 2015 entry banner 2 lyrics by Bastille and Hozier

4 - 5

That Sad Earthly Scene v.1-2 (2015) 750x422 & 750x400
Figuring out sizing and proportion was something I was still strugling with at the time.

My second-favorite design. I was intrigued by the resemblance between the Normal Again and Beneath You images. Madness, insanity, depression, the damaged caused by experience and memory, by a life of violence, is another of my favorite themes when thinking about the Buffyverse although part of my interest lies in how Mutant Enemy sometimes gets it all wrong.

Add the handoff of the amulet from Chosen, an image of a shattered mirror by Lauren Elisabeth Photography, and stir. I was really pleased with how the images came together here. The place where their hands come together and the glow from the amulet just happened to fall pretty much in the center of the banner; and the fact that Spike's face seems to be tucked into or leaning against his own body from the later episode was pure serendipity. Lyrics on #5 from "Flaws" and "Take Me to Church" by Hozier. (Writer(s): Andrew Hozier Byrne. Copyright: The Evolving Music Company Limited)

#4 was preferred by the voters in the poll over 5 by a slight margin; I think the voters were right but I really do love both versions for different reasons and go back and forth as to which is "best" - probably six of one, half a dozen of the other. Once again I submitted both versions to the poll. What in the world was I thinking at the time?

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

The Work I Have to Do (2015), 750x300

I wanted to compare Buffy's sacrifice in The Gift with Spike's in Chosen because they are after all parallel events. This is perfectly obvious and yet somehow doesn't get discussed all that much. Or when it does, it's in terms of a competition: this person's sacrifice was just "suicide" and therefore not really all that heroic compared to that person's sacrifice, blah blah bitty blah. Whatever.

The design turned out to be rather simple - the image of Buffy leaping into the exploding portal is well, a gift to the fan artist because it's such an incredible visual. Layer it with the image of Spike's soul "effulgent" in Chosen, add a Shine filter, balance warm and cool color layers and tah-dah! It just glows. Instead of song lyrics I used dialogue from The Gift and Chosen. Once again, the way that the lines in different fonts and colors intersect with one another ("This the work I have to do" / "I have to do this") was a very happy accident.

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

round 18 spring 2015 entry banner 7 lyrics by Joseph King and Isaac Slade

7
How to Save a Life (2015), 532x512

This banner received zero entries in the poll - and it shouldn't have. This was the first banner I made for the round, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to make anything in time (hah); so I adapted the composition of the awards banner I made for

oh_cheezit for Round 6 of

btvsats20in20, using a different image of Spike. So it wasn't a strict cheat in the sense that yes, I had to go back to my original source images and make the whole thing from scratch; but I was ripping ("riffing"?) off my own work - and I did it better the first time.

Lyrics: "How to Save A Life" performed by The Fray (Writer(s): Joseph King, Isaac Slade Copyright: Aaron Edwards Publishing, Emi April Music Inc.)

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

Icons from the banners: I wish #9 had come out a bit better (there are superior icons of that image out there) but I was thrilled with how well #8 worked as an icon.

8 - 11

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

12 - 16

12 - 16 is based off a banner idea I rejected; more The Gift/Chosen parallels. Good idea but the execute of the banner was a mess (to be polite), so I settled for an icon instead. I'd still like to return to the idea for a banner at some point. Dylan Thomas' poem seemed like a natural here. Light texture in #15 by

colorfilter.

Check out my Resource post for some of my image sources.

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 Music: "Tightly", Neko Case

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Profile

red_satin_doll

My Website

June 2021

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

Page Summary

These Are A Few of My Fanart Resources
5 FAVORITE PIECES OF FAN ART: ALL BANNERS (& POSTERS), ALL THE TIME
Happy 10th anniversary Seasonal Spuffy!
A little bird told me...that I won two honors at the Wicked Awards!
In living color: Whedon Elite Challenge 128 banners
The deadlines are a-comin' just around the bend....But wait, is that a reprieve I spy?

Syndicate

Style Credit

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

Page generated May. 24th, 2025 01:55 pm

|

Entries tagged with pairing: spuffy

These Are A Few of My Fanart Resources

5 FAVORITE PIECES OF FAN ART: ALL BANNERS (& POSTERS), ALL THE TIME

Happy 10th anniversary Seasonal Spuffy!

A little bird told me...that I won two honors at the Wicked Awards!

In living color: Whedon Elite Challenge 128 banners

The deadlines are a-comin' just around the bend....But wait, is that a reprieve I spy?