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:

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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

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

Courtesy of the voters at Round 15 of

btvsats20in20, and the splendidly talented

tempertemper who outdid herself in her usual brilliant way. Thank you so much! I think my icons look the best they ever have in their lovely frames; the Light Texture and Close Crop icon really pop, and I can actually appreciate how nice the Category icons look as a set in ways I couldn't before. And I love the sly meta nod to the Category theme challenge (Silver and Gold) in the conception and execution.

This is why I enjoy winning because I get pretty pretty banners (and feedback and strokes); it's entirely pavlovian and I honestly don't care as much as I should. Even though I know it's probably childish of me. I really have never understood the folks who win at icontests and then don't ask for banners because they don't need them. You guys are better people than me, honestly. I'm shallow. Sue me.

And while I have your attention:

slayerstillness 26 entries in Challenge 61, "Touch Me"; voting deadline Tuesday Feb 2.

actress_ic has 28 entries in the very cool "vintage" theme of Challenge 111. Voting open until Thursday Feb 4.

GOEST THOU AND VOTE!

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

Banner for

lookslikerain,

whedon_elite Challenge 134 "Levels"; and banner for

slayerstillness Challenge 60. Thank you to everyone who voted my icon Most Creative!

sweet_lyri won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, Best Crop and Best Color;

crazycordy and

tempertemper earned Mod's Choice and

teragramm was awarded the oh-so-prestigous* Banner Maker's Choice for her witty and fierce Dawn icon:

Teaser:

1 - 2

#1 - Lens and optical flare light effects by daWiiZ on DeviantArt. The challenge this round was "levels" so I layered two or three light textures over one another, then created the repeat in ipiccy's collage setting. I also wanted a background that would suit the outer space setting of

lookslikerain's Firefly/Serenity icons.

#2 - The base image of torn paper and the grunge overlay are by AmaranthusCaudatus on DeviantArt. Thank you

teragramm for the link to this resource!

*Who am I making fun of here? Myself, obviously.

Header banners for

females20in20.

mylengrave requested banners from members so that she can switch out a new one every month:

Teaser:

All banners 990x300, click to view full-size.

3 - 4
Tatiany Maslany, Alison Brie and Sarah-MIchelle Gellar

5 - 6

7 - 8

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

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 please ask first.

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

Next projects on my plate: icons for

whedon_elite,

slayerstillness and

actress_ic;
fiction posters for

velvetwhip,

kerkevik_2014 and

dragonyphoenix

1) For

slayerstillness Challenge 60 vote for your favorite icon for the third place position.

BTW, did you vote at

btvsats20in20 Round 15 yet? Good. Now have you signed up for Round 16 yet?

2) And by the by, did you know that

dragonyphoenix posted the artwork she commissioned from me for her excellent Anya/Snap crossover fic, The Letters (84 Charing Cross Road)? (TTH post here.) But you will have to read the story to find it because it's intergrated into the text. And FYI, the actual text of the artworks is entirely her concept. I just followed marching orders.

At AO3 she also included a marvelous story banner by Restfield aka

rbfvid.

3) My friend

kerkevik_2014 has been writing up a storm - a very quiet storm that snuck up on me and took me entirely by surprise. His latest is a Buffy/Faith fic, "Casablanca" (not to be confused with

shapinglight's fic) that is poignant and mournful and like all of his work is a prose-poem unlike anyone else's.

Last year I sort of asked him to write Buffy more often (actually I may have whined about it a little, but never mind that.) He's come through while remaining true to himself in his own beautiful way. This story is actually part of the birthday gift for

elisi, the 22'verse that includes stories of Spike and Illyri, Riley Finn, Xander and Buffy, etc. Also worth a look - a charming, gentle Tara, Dawn fic (post The-Gift): Like Seeing Your Very Own Self Looking Back at You.

See, not every post I put up is longer than the Constitution. Some are only as long as the Gettysburg Address. "Short and sweet" is a relative thing.

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.

I'm really pleased with how these two participation banners for

hermionesparkle and

xoheartinohioxo in Round 76 of

character20n20 turned out:

character20n20round76participationbannerjanuary2016byRSD_hermionesparkle_400x295.png

character20n20round76participationbannerjanuary2016byRSD_xoheartinohioxo_400x295.png

Banners by me, shown full size. Icons by their respective makers.

Thank you

setentpet for the assignment! These came together surprisingly quickly today but I wasn't sure of the design until I overlaid the music sheet graphic over the Victorian card from The Graphics Fairy. I generally am dissatisfied with how text looks in my designs but I'm pleased with this - I think the text here looks like it could be original to the card.

If you haven't checked out the winners, btw, you really must because they are stunning.

These were the only two people to ask for banners, which happened last round as well - check out

sandy79's glowing, luminous banners for Round 75and how beautifully they compliment the light effects in the icons themselves. I'm always suprised more folks at the comm don't ask for banners but my love of pretty banners is well-documented. (If I could frame the ones I've received and hang them on the wall I would, trust.)

And I gotta wonder - why don't more people ask for banners? I'm genuinely curious and clueless on this count, so what say you Gentle Reader?

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.

shapinglight mentioned that #7 & 8 of the artwork I made for her fic "Third Wheel" looked Christmas card-like (thanks to vintage card graphics from The Graphics Fairy) and, well, this happened:

christmascard1a_darlaangelturninggalwaybecomingframed600x552.png

Yes I considered adding a blood spatter or two but decided to "stay classy" this time. You're welcome.

And that's all the Christmas-y fluff you're going to get out of me this year, Gentle Reader.

"Third Wheel" (Buffy/Angel, Darla/Angel) is Glassdarkly (aka

shapinglight)'s entry in the 2015 IWRY Marathon, and inspired an art binge.

These banners in turn provided the inspiration for my icon set in

slayerstillness Challenge 57.

This is the second story by

shapinglight I've made posters for; the first being posters for Casablanca, for Round 19 of

seasonal_spuffy.

Teasers:

icon inspired by Third Wheel by Glassdarkly for 2015 IWRY Marathon

Click to view full-size (except icon #9)

1 - 2)

Buffy_2x21_B1_007lmtw_buffydarlablend2.2.1P__framed705x669RSD.png

705 x 669 each

3)

665 x 588

Confession (and warning for Angel-unfriendly thoughts): A year ago I said I "couldn't" do Bangel art. I've already proven myself wrong on that count, but I think it's significant that the primary power dynamic in this story - or at least the most intereting one to me - is not Buffy/Angel, or Darla/Angel but Buffy and Darla. I'm surprised by how few fics I've read draw on the parallels the series made between Buffy and Darla right from the opening scenes of WTTH (but then, I'm not a Bangel shipper so it may well be that there's more out there than I realize.)

If anything, the least interesting aspect of "Third Wheel" is, for me, Angel himself. He's a - well, a bit of a mope, and frankly just a little self-centered. (HIs first response to Buffy's nightmarish dilemma - and it is horrifying for both Buffy and Darla - is violence, then brooding and tears, as if he were the one most affected, not she. But to be fair, he does rally and prove himself to be the better man at the end.) Sometimes I have a hard time understanding why two such interesting, clever, powerful women as Buffy and Darla were drawn to him.

"Third Wheel" actually reminds me that I'm really not sure I ship Buffy with any of her canon lovers; it also adds weight to the argument that Darla, not Buffy, is Angel's "true love".

Without (hopefully) giving too much away,

shapinglight's description of how the situation initially affects Darla reminds me of how it feels when I feel an epileptic seizure coming on, and I love how that specificity of feeling, and the precision of her language and the details, give the weight and substance of "realism" to a fantastical story.

Lobby cards:

4 - 5 )

388 x 300 298 x 401

6 - 8 below are what I consider the "alt" versions (which sounds a little nicer than "rejects" doesn't it?)

6)

550 x 750

7 - 8)

thirdwheelforglassdarklybecomingframed3a_600x552RSD.png

thirdwheelforglassdarklybecomingearshotframed4_600x552RSD.png

600 x 552 each

9)

And of course, an icon to go with.

Sources:

The background textile in #1, 2 & 7 a detail of an 18th Century bodice in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute.
Vintage card "frame" in #7 & 8 courtesy of the Graphics Fairy.

Black filigree layer in #4 by scoobyatemysnax for burnedbreads

Check out my Resources post for screencap sources.
Regretfully, I've forgotten the original source of the gold frame in #1, 2 & 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 :)

~ All artwork by yours truly except where otherwise indicated.

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?

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.

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.

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.

** 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

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.

So last week I was making award banners for

slayerstillness Challenge 53 - and then this happened:

Nightmares banner sept 2015 if you want this for a Xander fic please let me know

Title: Why So Serious, Kid? (Nightmares) 2015

Artist:

red_satin_doll

Characters: Xander Harris and the Evil Clown

Size: 706x469

All images 706x469 click for full-size:

alt 2 of previous banner with tagline from The Dark Knight

2 - 3)

I prefer the brighter version myself but in any case I realized (and my lovely beta confirmed) that it was too showy to be a proper awards banner and would only overwhelm the icons it was meant to highlight and honor. So I went with another design but I'd love to see this used for a fanfiction poster. I don't know of any Xander Nightmares fics off the top of my head but I confess I don't read a lot of Xander fic. So if anyone knows of a story or any author would like to claim this, let me know and I can personalize it to suit.

Per

velvetwhip's rec I asked

sparrow2000 if she'd be interested; she graciously declined as she hadn't written anything that this would go with, but am I now reading her fic Cracks in the World. (Her prose is amazing.) Perhaps

lusciousxander or

aadler?

eurydice72? Suggestions, anyone?

Alt # 3) I made a version with the tag line from the movie The Dark Knight because I couldn't resist.

Screencaps: Buffy the Vampire Slayer HD/Blu-Ray, Bloodqueen

"Frame": PSDgraphics

*****

And now a word from our sponsors: LAST CHANCE to cast your vote at

whedon_elite Challenge 127 Close Crop. This is yet another "yes I voted but can I vote again a time or five?" Because the icons submitted are an amazing, gorgeous, evocative set as a whole. Deciding what I don't like is a helluva lot easier than picking "bests".

Then check out the rules for Challenge 128 "Shades of Grey" (oh yes, please.)

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Page Summary

These Are A Few of My Fanart Resources
Belated thanks: I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards!
My First (OOPS - second) Awards and Awards Banners of 2016!
Congrats to the winners of btvsats20in20 and whedon elite!
I was actually productive yesterday....
Here be a tiebreaker....And shout-outs to fiction by Dragonyphoenix and Kerkevik2014
5 FAVORITE PIECES OF FAN ART: ALL BANNERS (& POSTERS), ALL THE TIME
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VELVETWHIP!
Just a quickie for no reason than self-pimpage and an excuse to ask a question....
I'm making an absolute hash of the Snowflake Challenge....and nobody is surprised by this.
Because I am utterly incorrigible.....
Ghosts of Impossible Things: Artwork for "Third Wheel" by Glassdarkly (Shapinglight)
Happy 10th anniversary Seasonal Spuffy!
Congratulations to the winners of Whedon Elite and btvsats20in20!
A little bird told me...that I won two honors at the Wicked Awards!
In living color: Whedon Elite Challenge 128 banners
Your Town Cryer - Has Been Falling Down on the Job Lately
The deadlines are a-comin' just around the bend....But wait, is that a reprieve I spy?
So close you can feel it: Awards banners and icons for Whedon Elite "Close Crop"
A poster in search of a story : Xander and the Evil Clown (Nightmares)

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

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Entries tagged with form: banners/posters/wallpapers

These Are A Few of My Fanart Resources

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

My First (OOPS - second) Awards and Awards Banners of 2016!

Congrats to the winners of btvsats20in20 and whedon elite!

I was actually productive yesterday....

Here be a tiebreaker....And shout-outs to fiction by Dragonyphoenix and Kerkevik2014

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VELVETWHIP!

Just a quickie for no reason than self-pimpage and an excuse to ask a question....

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

Because I am utterly incorrigible.....

Ghosts of Impossible Things: Artwork for "Third Wheel" by Glassdarkly (Shapinglight)

Happy 10th anniversary Seasonal Spuffy!

Congratulations to the winners of Whedon Elite and btvsats20in20!

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

In living color: Whedon Elite Challenge 128 banners

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

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

So close you can feel it: Awards banners and icons for Whedon Elite "Close Crop"

A poster in search of a story : Xander and the Evil Clown (Nightmares)

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