Art Post: My Elizabeth Banner for puddinhead, Seasonal Spuffy Header
When thepuddinhead asked if I could make a banner for her new fic My Elizabeth, I jumped at the chance. It took me a while to actually make the banner (procrastination + RL + job + slow computer = taking too long), but the banner and some notes are below the cut.
I also made a header for the contest at seasonal_spuffy and was happy to find that it had been voted the winner. So that's also under the cut. Speaking of, I really need to get a move on with some stuff for this round!
Preview
I started out with quite a specific image in mind of what I wanted this banner to look like. This is... nothing like that! I knew I needed to have William, Elizabeth and the boat in, and I also really wanted there to be a mirror image of Elizabeth as Buffy. Originally I thought about trying to get it to look like an actual reflection - changing clothes/hairstyle etc. but keeping the actual SMG image the same. This didn't work. Really - you don't want to see the attempts! I hope I've managed to convey the mirror-image thing anyway with the pictures I chose. Getting the mirror to look like a mirror was difficult - without a reflective 'sheen' it just looked like a picture frame (to me, anyway) - and I wanted the Buffy in the mirror to be easily seen but not prominent.
William was a problem. You know how difficult it is to find a useable image of JM as William? There are very few HQ images (the one I've used being pretty much the only one!) and whenever I make a William banner I find myself using it. The other alternative was to grab a cap from Fool for Love, but I think he looks too foppish there for where the character's at in this fic, so I figured re-using this image was better than going with something grainy capped from another ep.
The colouring came out different to what I had planned. The base image of SMG was very blue, so I thought I'd try and use that and continue the blue theme throughout the banner. Alas, it didn't work out well, but I'm happy with how the colours ended up. I like the warmth of the oranges and yellows, and there's a hint of blue/green in the background still.
All in all I'm happy with how this turned out and making it has pulled me out from the artwork-slump I was in. I haven't felt much like making anything for a while due to a lack of time/inspiration/feeling like I've already used every workable image of Buffy/Spike/JM/SMG ever. But I think I'm out of that now and am once again enthused for fandom and creating fanart. Woo!
I don't have much to say about this one. I made it during that slump in my inspiration and I think there are areas that could be improved on. But... how pretty is the font Dali? I want to use it all the time! And it pained me to use 'Fall' instead of 'Autumn' LOL.
Last thing... as I am now feeling more like making art, if anyone would like a (fic) banner please let me know. It might take me a while to get it done, but I will do it eventually!
Oh and I'm curious - are the notes on the artwork interesting? Or does it just come across as pretentious? I'd like to know because I quite enjoyed that, writing up some thoughts behind the banner and the creative process.
ETA: Grr, what the frilly heck is up with LJ? I can't get this thing to post!
I also made a header for the contest at seasonal_spuffy and was happy to find that it had been voted the winner. So that's also under the cut. Speaking of, I really need to get a move on with some stuff for this round!
Preview
I started out with quite a specific image in mind of what I wanted this banner to look like. This is... nothing like that! I knew I needed to have William, Elizabeth and the boat in, and I also really wanted there to be a mirror image of Elizabeth as Buffy. Originally I thought about trying to get it to look like an actual reflection - changing clothes/hairstyle etc. but keeping the actual SMG image the same. This didn't work. Really - you don't want to see the attempts! I hope I've managed to convey the mirror-image thing anyway with the pictures I chose. Getting the mirror to look like a mirror was difficult - without a reflective 'sheen' it just looked like a picture frame (to me, anyway) - and I wanted the Buffy in the mirror to be easily seen but not prominent.
William was a problem. You know how difficult it is to find a useable image of JM as William? There are very few HQ images (the one I've used being pretty much the only one!) and whenever I make a William banner I find myself using it. The other alternative was to grab a cap from Fool for Love, but I think he looks too foppish there for where the character's at in this fic, so I figured re-using this image was better than going with something grainy capped from another ep.
The colouring came out different to what I had planned. The base image of SMG was very blue, so I thought I'd try and use that and continue the blue theme throughout the banner. Alas, it didn't work out well, but I'm happy with how the colours ended up. I like the warmth of the oranges and yellows, and there's a hint of blue/green in the background still.
All in all I'm happy with how this turned out and making it has pulled me out from the artwork-slump I was in. I haven't felt much like making anything for a while due to a lack of time/inspiration/feeling like I've already used every workable image of Buffy/Spike/JM/SMG ever. But I think I'm out of that now and am once again enthused for fandom and creating fanart. Woo!
I don't have much to say about this one. I made it during that slump in my inspiration and I think there are areas that could be improved on. But... how pretty is the font Dali? I want to use it all the time! And it pained me to use 'Fall' instead of 'Autumn' LOL.
Last thing... as I am now feeling more like making art, if anyone would like a (fic) banner please let me know. It might take me a while to get it done, but I will do it eventually!
Oh and I'm curious - are the notes on the artwork interesting? Or does it just come across as pretentious? I'd like to know because I quite enjoyed that, writing up some thoughts behind the banner and the creative process.
ETA: Grr, what the frilly heck is up with LJ? I can't get this thing to post!