Guest Maker Spotlight #2: justonebeat & youwatchusrun
You'll have to bare the suspense for just a little while longer for February's Group Challenge, but in the meantime, I'd like to introduce February's two guest makers (yes, you read that wonderful news correctly), and tell you a little bit about why justonebeat and youwatchusrun were chosen as Guest Makers this time around (and get you pumped up for seeing their gorgeous work in the reveal post coming your way soon)!
absolutelybatty says:
Sarah is...a growing talent. That's one of her best traits as an icon maker. Not only does she want constructive criticism, but she implements it in her iconning and gets better. She's constantly evolving, and each new evolution is better than the last. Her color palette is limitless. Her fearlessness when it comes to new styles is admirable. Her ability to lighten up even the darkest of screencaps is brilliant. Sarah's a bit like skittles actually...you can taste the rainbow! Her icons are fun, fresh, and the light, airy style she's recently embraced is positively gorgeous. If you aren't already watching this girl, you should be.
dashberlin says:
justonebeat has truly beautiful colouring. She shows great command over all types of colours, being able to work every single colour and producing both vibrant and pale colours that always look gorgeous. And her brightness/contrast is always spot on! Her style is definitely her own, with gorgeous compositions and texture use. I can't wait to see what other beauties she comes up with!
deternot says:
I love makers who constantly reinvent themselves and Sarah fits that description beautifully. She is constantly trying new things in terms of composition, coloring, text work, lighting, etc and jumps at them all with enthusiasm. Flipping through the posts in her community is a truly interesting experience because every post is distinct in terms of style. Yet all her icons retain a sense of grace and thoughtfulness that make them uniquely hers. I can't wait to see what she posts next!
firstillusion says:
I discovered these makers through my fellow Wonderous makers and they are so new to me that I haven't even gone through all their icons yet. Which makes their participation here even more fun for me, because I'm just getting to know them. I have a icon-hunting session planned for these two makers and that's one of the biggest compliments I can give. :)
longerthanwedo says:
There's just something magical about justonebeat's icons! Her use of light and texture makes each one glow, shine, catch the eye, and her batches continuously do the same. She plays with color and monochrome, experiments increasingly with blending and text, and each post is more innovative and stunning than the last. She is a lovely presence in the icon community, both in product and in person, and I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us all.
raiindust says:
How does one find words to describe someone like justonebeat? She holds the ability to bounce from style to style, trying things on to see if they fit and has (as of late, and even before then) consistently delivered beautiful, diverse icon batches. While her ability to mix colour with texture to create stunning pieces should be flailed about regularly, in the end it's her ability to take constructive criticism offered and use it to grow as an icon maker that truly defines her rise to awesome! Asking for concrit is terrifying enough, so taking what has been said and using it to turn your icons into stunning examples such as these above me (and so many more) deserves applause and accolades and plain old praise. So here's to you my dear, and I honestly can't wait to see what else you produce for us!
rocketgirl2 says:
I learned about justonebeat fairly recently, but she won me over so quickly. Sarah has an amazing ability to pull off things I never thought possible (that amazing icon up there with all the red! That lightness in the fourth icon!) and work in so many different styles. She seems to constantly be pushing herself to improve, and it's amazing to watch her grow even from post to post! Rarely have I seen someone else with so much genuine enthusiasm for the icon community and all of the wonderful things in it. Sarah is always so supportive of her fellow makers and that, along with her wonderful skills, make her a great addition to the icon community and someone I am glad to get to work with this month.
tinebrella says:
I like the variety of coloring, lighting and compositions of justonebeat's graphics. Her icons can be very bright and aery but also dark and murky, and yet the contrast is always flawless; she's great at blending but she also makes stunning simple compositions and gorgeous close ups. Overall, she's really versatile and I like the fact that she's not afraid of experimenting with different techniques.
absolutelybatty says:
My love for youwatchusrun was instant. I looked at her icons for all of about two seconds before I knew that a) I needed to be watching this girl immediately, b) she needed fifty billion watchers, and c) that she had more talent coming out of her pinky fingers than some people have in their whole body. Her icons are warm and inviting. (Kind of like her, to be honest.) I believe I used the phrase 'don't you just want to sit down and have tea with them?' when mentioning her. I get a lot of joy from her coloring, her cropping, her light work, and her simplicity. I love that she creates these dramatic, gorgeous pieces without the need to over-complicate her canvas. She's a talent to watch this year, y'all. Pay attention.
dashberlin says:
What struck me most when searching through youwatchusrun's icon community is her ability to work with warm colours, especially yellows and beiges! Nonetheless, she works wonderfully with other colours as well. Her icons have this great sense of lighting and soft, eye-catching glow. Her icons are simple, but with her beautiful cropping and colouring, they don't have to be!
deternot says:
Gaby wasn't someone I knew before now but she has definitely burst onto the scene with style! Her use of light especially grabbed me from the second I laid eyes on her Haven post, but it was when I saw her Fringe icons that I fell truly in love because is was then that I, someone who hasn't watched Haven but looooves Fringe, could see how well Gaby marries iconning techniques to the specific characters. Her use of light and color to bring out character's inner conflicts and plot elements is nothing short of amazing.
firstillusion says:
I discovered these makers through my fellow Wonderous makers and they are so new to me that I haven't even gone through all their icons yet. Which makes their participation here even more fun for me, because I'm just getting to know them. I have a icon-hunting session planned for these two makers and that's one of the biggest compliments I can give. :)
longerthanwedo says:
youwatchusrun is awesome based solely on the fact that she dedicated almost an entire post to Juliet Burke, but that is most definitely not the only reason! Her command of light is incredible, each icon with a full range of shadows and highlights. Her colors are rich and warm, and each one pops with lovely yellows, oranges, greens. Each of her compositions is smooth, elegant, and stunningly cropped: a technical and aesthetic work of art. I can't wait to watch her work progress even further.
raiindust says:
Let this first serve as a reminder that shiny new iconers with stunning stunning skills really do appear each and every day. Secondly, let it represent all things that are good and pure and simple about icons in a most flawlessly fantastic way. Even though youwatchusrun only has a few icon posts to her name, there's something exquisite about her style, which seems so gentle and soft, something we sometimes forget can look as fantastic as a complex composition. She delivers stunning crops and colours with some interesting texture work, each and every icon beautiful in their own way. It is also a growing style as well - and something I shall excitedly follow throughout the year to see where 2012 takes her.
rocketgirl2 says:
I cannot get over the sheer amount of pretty that youwatchusrun has produced in such a short time. Her icons are all beautifully glowy and soft but there's more to her style than this. She also has a wonderful sense of lighting and color that really make her icons pop off the screen-if such a word isn't too harsh for her icons. Recently she started experimenting with textures to great results, and I'm eager to see her style continue to expand.
tinebrella says:
youwatchusrun's style shines through all of her icons. I love the colors she uses, warm reds and yellows in all their shades, making her graphics look natural and vibrant at the same time. The lighting and contrast of her graphics are gorgeous, there is some kind of glowing, soft quality to all of her icons, even those in which the chiaroscuro is more pronounced. Even though her icons are quite simple in terms of composition, they look complex in the end, thanks to the perfect lighting and the glorious rich hues.
absolutelybatty says:
Sarah is...a growing talent. That's one of her best traits as an icon maker. Not only does she want constructive criticism, but she implements it in her iconning and gets better. She's constantly evolving, and each new evolution is better than the last. Her color palette is limitless. Her fearlessness when it comes to new styles is admirable. Her ability to lighten up even the darkest of screencaps is brilliant. Sarah's a bit like skittles actually...you can taste the rainbow! Her icons are fun, fresh, and the light, airy style she's recently embraced is positively gorgeous. If you aren't already watching this girl, you should be.
dashberlin says:
justonebeat has truly beautiful colouring. She shows great command over all types of colours, being able to work every single colour and producing both vibrant and pale colours that always look gorgeous. And her brightness/contrast is always spot on! Her style is definitely her own, with gorgeous compositions and texture use. I can't wait to see what other beauties she comes up with!
deternot says:
I love makers who constantly reinvent themselves and Sarah fits that description beautifully. She is constantly trying new things in terms of composition, coloring, text work, lighting, etc and jumps at them all with enthusiasm. Flipping through the posts in her community is a truly interesting experience because every post is distinct in terms of style. Yet all her icons retain a sense of grace and thoughtfulness that make them uniquely hers. I can't wait to see what she posts next!
firstillusion says:
I discovered these makers through my fellow Wonderous makers and they are so new to me that I haven't even gone through all their icons yet. Which makes their participation here even more fun for me, because I'm just getting to know them. I have a icon-hunting session planned for these two makers and that's one of the biggest compliments I can give. :)
longerthanwedo says:
There's just something magical about justonebeat's icons! Her use of light and texture makes each one glow, shine, catch the eye, and her batches continuously do the same. She plays with color and monochrome, experiments increasingly with blending and text, and each post is more innovative and stunning than the last. She is a lovely presence in the icon community, both in product and in person, and I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us all.
raiindust says:
How does one find words to describe someone like justonebeat? She holds the ability to bounce from style to style, trying things on to see if they fit and has (as of late, and even before then) consistently delivered beautiful, diverse icon batches. While her ability to mix colour with texture to create stunning pieces should be flailed about regularly, in the end it's her ability to take constructive criticism offered and use it to grow as an icon maker that truly defines her rise to awesome! Asking for concrit is terrifying enough, so taking what has been said and using it to turn your icons into stunning examples such as these above me (and so many more) deserves applause and accolades and plain old praise. So here's to you my dear, and I honestly can't wait to see what else you produce for us!
rocketgirl2 says:
I learned about justonebeat fairly recently, but she won me over so quickly. Sarah has an amazing ability to pull off things I never thought possible (that amazing icon up there with all the red! That lightness in the fourth icon!) and work in so many different styles. She seems to constantly be pushing herself to improve, and it's amazing to watch her grow even from post to post! Rarely have I seen someone else with so much genuine enthusiasm for the icon community and all of the wonderful things in it. Sarah is always so supportive of her fellow makers and that, along with her wonderful skills, make her a great addition to the icon community and someone I am glad to get to work with this month.
tinebrella says:
I like the variety of coloring, lighting and compositions of justonebeat's graphics. Her icons can be very bright and aery but also dark and murky, and yet the contrast is always flawless; she's great at blending but she also makes stunning simple compositions and gorgeous close ups. Overall, she's really versatile and I like the fact that she's not afraid of experimenting with different techniques.
absolutelybatty says:
My love for youwatchusrun was instant. I looked at her icons for all of about two seconds before I knew that a) I needed to be watching this girl immediately, b) she needed fifty billion watchers, and c) that she had more talent coming out of her pinky fingers than some people have in their whole body. Her icons are warm and inviting. (Kind of like her, to be honest.) I believe I used the phrase 'don't you just want to sit down and have tea with them?' when mentioning her. I get a lot of joy from her coloring, her cropping, her light work, and her simplicity. I love that she creates these dramatic, gorgeous pieces without the need to over-complicate her canvas. She's a talent to watch this year, y'all. Pay attention.
dashberlin says:
What struck me most when searching through youwatchusrun's icon community is her ability to work with warm colours, especially yellows and beiges! Nonetheless, she works wonderfully with other colours as well. Her icons have this great sense of lighting and soft, eye-catching glow. Her icons are simple, but with her beautiful cropping and colouring, they don't have to be!
deternot says:
Gaby wasn't someone I knew before now but she has definitely burst onto the scene with style! Her use of light especially grabbed me from the second I laid eyes on her Haven post, but it was when I saw her Fringe icons that I fell truly in love because is was then that I, someone who hasn't watched Haven but looooves Fringe, could see how well Gaby marries iconning techniques to the specific characters. Her use of light and color to bring out character's inner conflicts and plot elements is nothing short of amazing.
firstillusion says:
I discovered these makers through my fellow Wonderous makers and they are so new to me that I haven't even gone through all their icons yet. Which makes their participation here even more fun for me, because I'm just getting to know them. I have a icon-hunting session planned for these two makers and that's one of the biggest compliments I can give. :)
longerthanwedo says:
youwatchusrun is awesome based solely on the fact that she dedicated almost an entire post to Juliet Burke, but that is most definitely not the only reason! Her command of light is incredible, each icon with a full range of shadows and highlights. Her colors are rich and warm, and each one pops with lovely yellows, oranges, greens. Each of her compositions is smooth, elegant, and stunningly cropped: a technical and aesthetic work of art. I can't wait to watch her work progress even further.
raiindust says:
Let this first serve as a reminder that shiny new iconers with stunning stunning skills really do appear each and every day. Secondly, let it represent all things that are good and pure and simple about icons in a most flawlessly fantastic way. Even though youwatchusrun only has a few icon posts to her name, there's something exquisite about her style, which seems so gentle and soft, something we sometimes forget can look as fantastic as a complex composition. She delivers stunning crops and colours with some interesting texture work, each and every icon beautiful in their own way. It is also a growing style as well - and something I shall excitedly follow throughout the year to see where 2012 takes her.
rocketgirl2 says:
I cannot get over the sheer amount of pretty that youwatchusrun has produced in such a short time. Her icons are all beautifully glowy and soft but there's more to her style than this. She also has a wonderful sense of lighting and color that really make her icons pop off the screen-if such a word isn't too harsh for her icons. Recently she started experimenting with textures to great results, and I'm eager to see her style continue to expand.
tinebrella says:
youwatchusrun's style shines through all of her icons. I love the colors she uses, warm reds and yellows in all their shades, making her graphics look natural and vibrant at the same time. The lighting and contrast of her graphics are gorgeous, there is some kind of glowing, soft quality to all of her icons, even those in which the chiaroscuro is more pronounced. Even though her icons are quite simple in terms of composition, they look complex in the end, thanks to the perfect lighting and the glorious rich hues.