Can Stand Up - artwork for Slayerstillness Challenge 45 "Potentials"
Congratulations to tempertemper, sweet_lyri and teragramm on your winning entries for slayerstillness Challenge 45, "Potentials". Click on the image above to see all banners with winning icons. This was the first time I'd seen the Potentials as an icontest theme; and when making my own icons I was surprised by the possibilities the much-maligned girls offered in just one season (half a season?) My own entries below. I kept textures and effects to a minimum this round because it didn't feel right for the images; I wanted to keep the focus on the girls themselves as much as possible. And in the case of 2 & 3 - being hunted down and murdered in the street ain't pretty :
1 - 5
Some alternate icons and thinky-thoughts beneath the cut:
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When making my own entry icons I set out with the goal of doing at least one Kennedy icon because I think the character gets a lot of hate, unfairly (and I say that as a Tara fan). I also wanted to make an icon with the "Trailer Park Girl".
I always see the baseball girl (white, presumably middle class - those uniforms ain't cheap, as I know from my siblings experiences) used in fanvideos, linking her visually to Buffy; Trailer Park Girl (TPG) is rarely utlilized but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the moment she stops her attacker is THE moment in the "Ready to Be Strong" sequence that gives me chills every time I watch it because it's something I lived as a girl: the fantasy of being able to stop the monster you live with. Technically we're seeing her when she's a Slayer, no longer a "Potential" but I wasn't going to let a little thing like technicalities bother me.
In both cases (Kennedy and Trailer Park Girl), I failed. I didn't give myself enough time to make a Kennedy icon; and I spent a lot of time trying to make one of TPG but the caps of her tend to be very poor quality, on top of the fact that the shots of her are already very dark. Oddly enough, the caps from Lessons and Beneath You (2 - 3) are also very dark but brightened and cleaned up beautifully.
The only entry with TPG that I liked well enough has her hand stopping her assailant's arm (#5); her face isn't in the frame. This bothers me a lot because I'm implying, unintentionally, that she's not "pretty" enough to be seen; and btvs is yet another American television show where all the important girls are small and pretty. (Amber Benson being an exception and she was hired over Mr Potato Head Joss's intital objections over her size.)
So I decided to make her the focus of these banners and treat her to the same soft glowing effects and light leaks that I've lavished on SMG or Aly Hannigan without making her any less "herself" or minimizing her difference.
My alt icons:
6 - 11
12 -16
Icons and banners by yours truly, 2015. All icons snaggable, please credit; feedback is welcome and much appreciated. DO NOT claim as your own, hotlink, or repost to other websites/archives without my permission.