Challenge 38: Can't do this alone

[Ehlwyen]

Try as we might to be unique in our own art and autonomous from other artists, it's impossible. We see other's art and can't help but be influenced and inspired.

Fanart is all about finding your own style. Once you've got your own style then you feel you've found some peace in your arting and it becomes about exploring new techniques and perfecting that which you already understand.

However, fanart is also about inspiration and sometimes even the newest of fanartist inspire those who have been around for years. As an older fanartist, I sometimes find myself set in my ways and my preconceived belief of how others perceive art. I love the freedom that new fanartists have.

Finally, how often do you see a piece and think, "I have to do that scene myself!" Even though we use the same caps and photos, fanart can be so incredibly diverse.

The line between flattery and copying can be thin. However, communication with the artist who did something before you definitely tips the balance towards positive. I'm sure many artists are shy like me and are somewhat embarrassed to approach an accomplished artist. So this challenge is about opening up and sharing with the people that have inspired you in some way.

The best way to learn as an artist and to share appreciation of other artists is by feedback. So each category requires you to find a piece and to describe what elements inspired you. I listed what I think you should try to identify and focus on in your feedback for you to get the maximum understanding of what makes fanart.

CATEGORIES
1. Style & Grace
Find an artist who does art in a definitive style. Try to identify what defines that style and then make your piece.

2. Technique & Intention
Find a piece that tried something unique. It doesn't matter if it was successful or not, just that it inspired you to try something similar or improve upon. Maybe the person tried a cool color combo or cropping or brushwork or blending or symbolism. Identify the something.

3. Moment & Inspiration
Find a piece that was done by another artist of a moment you wish you had done and do it in a completely different manner. Try to identify what techniques you liked about the original and why you decided to do different.


RULES
1. Each entry needs a link to the piece that inspired it.
2. You also need to specifically state why that fanartist or piece has inspired you and/or your entry.
3. You can have unlimited entries, but you can only do each fanartist twice, and it must be for different categories. This is about trying new things and approaching artists you haven't talked to but love.
4. All fandoms, but you know which one I love. Can just be stocks if you wish.
5. Post entries as you do them as long as you're not double posting.
6. Have fun! This is a very laid back challenge and want it to be as interactive as possible.
7. Deadline: Tuesday October 9th.


FINAL THOUGHTS
Please don't feel intimidated. This is basically just an open and fun chance for older and newer fanartists to get to know each other. I'm not grading anyone's feedback. But I think if someone inspires you, you should be able find a way to identify what inspires. Nothing is too stupid to say. If you like the yellow smudgy effect that goes over half of a character's face, say it! Feedback is about honesty and you can't look silly for being honest. Please just try the little feedback and I think everyone will be a better artist for it.

Although this could skew towards only the older artists being used as inspiration, I really hope to see people finding inspiration in newer artists as well being inspired by artists that aren't on the forum.

[galathea]

First Entry:

Category: Style & Grace

So Distant
http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/thumb/distant.jpg
800 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/800/distant.jpg) | 1024 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/1024/distant.jpg)

Credit:
Caps: leggyslove SN gallery
Stocks: stock.xchng
Gradients: Misplaced, Black Lagoon
Lyrics: Linkin Park

Thoughts About the Art:
This is one of my favourite scenes from 'What Is and What Should Never Be'. Dean is desperately trying to connect to an estranged Sam, who keeps turning away from him, rejecting his touch, meeting Dean's enthusiasm with disinterest and condescendence. I used some ice-stocks and cold colours to emphasize Sam's estrangement from Dean and the 'frozen' state of their relationship. Yet, in the middle part I incorporated some warm light to show that despite their distance, there's a cordial emotional core between the brothers, that Dean could've build upon, had he chosen to stay.

Thoughts about the Inspiration:
The piece that inspired me: Across The Way (http://www.quicksand.ohstatic.net/fanart/acrosstheway.jpg) by Ehlwyen :p

My base inspiration for this piece was your 'Across The Way' wallpaper, but I also tried to use some of your general art elements. I love this kind of 'wallscroll' structure in your pieces, since it give a defined workspace to focus the images in. One of my favourite things about your art is your work with unfocused/blurry images (something that I never dare to use in my own style) which works very well as a symbol for distance, uncertainty, illusion, confusion, generally every state of mind that distinguishes something as vague or indistinct. So I tried to use it here to show Sam & Dean's estrangement.

Another main element in your art is lighting, you work a lot with light textures to either emphasize different parts of a wall or to create space for your overlapping blending. That's what I tried to achieve in the middle part of my wallpaper. From my own style I kept the work with stocks and the general soft, yet very sharp, image quality. So it's a bit like a Lyn/Chris hybrid. :lol:

[LRae12]

SUPER CHALLENGE IDEA LYN! :D

Ok, so my first entry falls under Category #2 Technique & Intention.

Francy :hug: so sweetly allowed me to use this peice as my inspiration:

Francy's wonderful art (http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/francyfra79/shawn4copy.jpg)

This peice completely called to me when I first saw it. It is so unique in style with the borderless and incredible brushwork and it is a style that I have never tried before. Plus, Francy has just incredible artistic talent with the layout of both the pictures and the brushes and I about fell over I thought this peice was so good! :thud:


So it thus inspired me to create my first entry. I tried to incorporate some of Francy's style with the boxed picture and the brushwork on a white background while keeping some of my own with the texture work inside the picture itself.

Credits:

Pictures: Lost-Media
Textures: Misplaced, Infinite Illusions
Brushes: Ugly Business, Misplaced, More Adventurous, & my own


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/LRae12/sawyerwall3small.jpg


Full Size (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/LRae12/sawyerwall3.jpg)

[ciderdrinker]

This entry falls under the Style and Grace category. There are so many artists that inspire me on this forum, but usually it's not I love how they did that effect, or the colour or whatever small detail that I love but the overall effect - how every tiny thing has played a part in making the piece just right.

The piece I've chosen for this was done by the incredibly talented Bre. Her pieces always look so well thought out and put together, and always always are strong in the areas I lack - composition and text. On this particular piece I loved the grouping of the faces and how that accentuated the emotion.

Deal by Bre
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/ciderdrinker/Thumbnails/ahbl2_deal-Bre.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/ciderdrinker/ahbl2_deal-Bre.jpg

My piece isn't anywhere as good but I can say that I have learned that something that looks simple isn't necessarily. I still found the composition hard even though its more-or-less a direct copy, and abandoned the intricate use of brushes largely, as they were making it look to fussy. Usually I use textures to bring depth to my pieces and for this I used brushes - sparingly, which is a whole new dimension for me. Anyway, enough blathering on, here's the piece:-

Favour
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/ciderdrinker/Thumbnails/Favour.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/ciderdrinker/Favour.jpg

Credits:
Caps: Screencap Paradise
Brushes: Daydreaming, Ugly Business
Words: From the Ep - Darla

[debbiefm]

What an awesome challenge:2party:

Like Ciderdrinker said:
There are so many artists that inspire me on this forum, but usually it's not I love how they did that effect, or the colour or whatever small detail that I love but the overall effect - how every tiny thing has played a part in making the piece just right.

My first piece is kinda based on this piece by the sublime Peace.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1219/searchingal6.jpg

This piece is something she doesn't so often (white background) but I loved the way it's all blended in, the brushwork, the font, the colouring and I thought it was different to see a scene arted this way (well for me anyway)
She's been my inspiration and it's because of her I started in this wacky world of fanart. Whether it be her work on manips or the symbolism she brings into her art it's just great:heart: Right I'll stop drooling now:D

Onto the action. It's for Category 2

I've been wanting to do a piece from Hush as those Gentlemen really creep me out but I didn't want to do just another episodic blend....Soo when I saw Peace's piece (does that sound right!) it gave me the idea to do it on a white background as I thought the creepy darkness of the gentlemen would look good against the white. It's also something I've never done before. As I said it's loosely based on Peace's but I tried to bring my own style into it.....hence the crappy font.:lol:

Gentlemen
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/9332/gentlemenpo9.th.jpg (http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gentlemenpo9.jpg)

Credits:
Images: screencap paradise
Textures: ootm, misplaced, insomniac, impulsive
Brushes: photoshop, vered
Words: From the episode Hush

[Lexus]

Entry one: Style and Grace

For my entry I thought I'd take inspiration from the fabulous J.j. From the moment I began fiddling with P.S, J.j was always one of my favouite artists on the board. Her style is very distinctive, very wild, and very in your face. I think one of the best things about J.j's art is that she always seems to have fun doing it, regardless of the show, the scene or the character she's always tounge in cheek, bright and just... fun. So when I made this art my main goal was to just have fun, and maybe try some things that I hadn't before or that I might restrain. I also thought I'd try out J.j's trademark text, which was woah time consuming but awesome. For the subject I choose the two most omg!fun people in tv land, and one of my favouite dippy, funny songs. So enjoy!

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/4340/ggprettyfaceos0.th.jpg (http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ggprettyfaceos0.jpg)

Textures: Radiance, More Adventurous
Brushes: Lovely Trash, Imagination
Patterns: 77words
Images: PAAP
Lyrics: Mr Blue Sky - ELO

[Jenni Lou]

This is a category three entry: Moment & Inspiration. And the artist I chose (AND I PROMISE I AM NOT A KISS ASS BROWN-NOSER :lol: ) is Ehlwyen. I actually hope I can do a couple more entries 'cause there were a couple other pieces from other artists that I really want to try and emulate. But anyway, I chose Ehlwyen this time around because I fell in love with this scene (and the whole episode) and I wanted to try it in a different way, with my own take on it.

Ehlwyen's fanart (http://www.quicksand.ohstatic.net/fanart/iwishi.jpg)


First, Ehlwyen used a sort of rectangular style with a lot of negative space and so I decided to use more images and cover a good portion of the canvas.
Second, Ehlwyen captured the scene with a lot of softness and blue tones. There's a somberness to it, a melancholy. So I went with some reds and some grain and sharpness to capture the warmth and realism.
Ehlwyen played with mother line by showing a mother from Dean's perspective. I chose to focus on the moth from Jo's.
Ehlwyen used some rock-like texture on a portion of her art. I chose caps from the episode itself for texture--trees and newspaper.


So that's it. And here it is. :) Awesome challenge idea, btw!!!

http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/albums/sn/ep/normal_noexit.jpg (http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/displayimage.php?pos=-1775)

credits. All mine this time.

[~*Marilyne*~]

First of all, thanks to the wonderful galathea for letting me use this (http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Marilyne_22/frozenbygalathea.jpg) piece as my inspiration :)

Categorie : Technique & Intention

When I first saw this piece, I was speechless. And for once, it wasn't because of Jensen :p lol The technique is beautiful : the stocks, textures and light effects are simply perfect. Also, the piece is light which is not very common (well, at least for me because I always end up with dark pieces) and it captivated me. But even though the piece is called "Frozen", I saw warm in it, especially in the middle where the light effect is, and it's all I needed : it was too late, I was inspired lol :)

I immediately thought about Buffy in Season 6 : How warm she was before her friends pulled her out of heaven. I'm happy with the piece, but I still feel that it could have been better :p

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Marilyne_22/everythingshard200.jpg
1024 x 768 (http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Marilyne_22/everythingshard.jpg)

~*Credits*~
photo : much ado about buffy
texture : Black Lagoon
gradients : Misplaced, Mine
stocks : sxc

[amy1234]

Catogory 1: Style and Grace & Catogory 2: Technique and Intention

Artist
I chose JJ (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/art.php) as my artist inspiration, I love how she does her art its so bubbly and fun, and I think I incorprated it well, I didnt just base my piece on one piece of her art it was on many of wallpapers, just her rounded up style I think, I think I pulled it of ok, but obviously not as good as the Artist her self :D

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n98/XxXamy_ereXxX/thumbnails/ef-ch10-amy.jpg (http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n98/XxXamy_ereXxX/ef-ch10-amy.jpg)

Art
So my piece is about Wesley dying in Not fade away, I think that was a touching scene, and I love the way Illyria's feelings was coming through I thought that was sweet.

Credits:
Textures: Infinite Illusion
Images: AUO Gallery and Screencap Paradise
Brushes: moreadventurous

[galathea]

Second Entry:

Category: Style & Grace

Oh Boys
http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/thumb/ohboys.jpg
800 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/800/ohboys.jpg) | 1024 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/1024/ohboys.jpg)

Credit:
Caps: leggyslove SN gallery
Stocks: stock.xchng
Gradients: Black Lagoon
Textures: Rain Harbour, Textura, Tokyo Disparue
Brushes: More Adventurous, ca_pris,

Thoughts about the Inspiration:
The piece that inspired me: Don't Stop Me (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/misc/dontstopme.jpg) by little albatross

I think it's safe to say, that I never made something like this before. :lol: JJ's art is kind of the antithesis to my own art. Where I prefer dark pieces, doom and gloom and heavy emotions, JJ is bright, colourful, her pieces brimming with vitality, fun and joy. She uses a lot of brushes, light textures and strong gradients. Since SN caps are usually pretty dark, it was a real challenge to work them in a lighter context, so in the end it ended up a bit darker than JJ's piece, but I think it still captures her unique style. The main elements I used were the boxes for the text, her brushes, the bright colours and her crazy font style.

[BlasterBoy]

Mine is....

1. Style and Grace

I chose the brilliant artist, JJ, for my inspiration!:hug:She has this very definitive style! It always looks nice, bright, and beautiful. Her text is some of the best on the forum, and her colors fit so perfectly all the time that it's not even funny. I just don't know HOW she always does it. It amazes me.

I tried making a wall showing her style, bright colors, a good feeling inside, and many clean cutting things. So, I TRIED. Didn't work out too great. Here we go....

http://differentdimensions.taste-of-honey.net/art/thumbs/whoamithumb.jpg

1024 (http://differentdimensions.taste-of-honey.net/art/micsellaneous/whoamiwall1024.jpg)

Texture: The French Hobbit
Gradient: Black Lagoon
Caps: pretty as a Picture

Okay, well, I used that text because when I got the pics, I didn't know who the hell she was! Still don't! :lol: I just used her because they were sitting there at pretty as a Picture.....taunting me :lol: I had to use them. I duplicated her face and enlarged it, twice. Added more textures to one of the faces. Then, I shrunk the big cap of her and duplicated it three times and put it diagnol. Basically, I'm just rambling. So, I'll shut up now.

EDIT:

Second entry is up.

TECHNIQUE AND INTENTION

I chose the brilliant piece, Acid Girl (http://photobucket.com/albums/a306/ourladypeace02/bs-ch20-peace.jpg) by Nadia, aka, Peace! She is an amazing artist and really went all out on this piece! I loved how she decided to use smaller caps of her pics, without blending or doing anything to them. That is something very rare for artists and I loved the way she did it! The textures and gradients and blending is amazing, as well. But, the thing that inspired me was really that unique boxy feel to the piece! Now, let me give a go at it! :lol:

http://differentdimensions.taste-of-honey.net/art/thumbs/smgacidthumb.jpg

1024 (http://differentdimensions.taste-of-honey.net/art/btvs/smgacid1024.jpg)

Textures: Radience and Misplaced
Gradients: Black Lagoon and Misplaced
Caps: pretty as a Picture

[ficbitch82]

Okay, I decided to do go ahead, do #1 and take my first inspiration from the fabulous JJ (who I've taken lots from already - meaning layouts and things because I am lazy and she is, like I've said, fabulous) ;)

So.

#1: Style and Grace

JJ's Fanart (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/misc/dontstopme.jpg) - the most awesome Blake Lewis piece that stayed pride of place on my desktop for at least a month (quite an accomplishment considering I change desktops a lot!)

I love JJ's style. Her art is fun and funky, her use of brushwork and coloring always amazes me. My own pieces (like Galathea said about her own) are kind of dark and heavy, so for this one I wanted to use fun pictures. And funky text. And make my art really stand out like JJ's does.

Parts I failed on? Getting away from the black background while arting. That, to me, is the hardest thing ever. The two I've attempted have been sort of boxy pieces and they didn't look all that great - I don't know if I have blending issues or what but stepping away from the black background thing is somewhat difficult.

That said? I actually quite like this piece because it's different to what I normally do. I've been playing round with text for the last three hours and finally decided on a lyric from my Dad's favourite song (Music Was My First Love - John Miles) and a quote from Lorne (Angel) from Belonging.

http://www.layout-whore.net/artwork/lorne_sm.jpg

800x600 (http://www.layout-whore.net/artwork/lorne_800.jpg) | 1024x768 (http://www.layout-whore.net/artwork/lorne_1024.jpg)

Great challenge! :)

[colour_me_troll]

Catagory #1- Style and Grace.

I think Peace's beautiful fanart was the first thing to inspire me to try my own hand in... well, fandom at all, over a year ago. Her peice Acid Girl was the first peice of fanart I saw that I liked, and since, I've been regulary stunned by her beautiful manips.
The two peices that really effected this particular art were this one (http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=winterblue7ky.jpg) and this one
(http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=winterblue7ky.jpg).
I tried to capture her wonderful use of texture (using ones by her, of course), and detail to faces.
Anyway, here goes:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8003/twosidestoeverystorylf6.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=twosidestoeverystorylf6.jpg)

Awesome challenge premise!

[digitalMindy]

So this one is about Technique and Intention.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/fbd30101.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/5e5188d8.jpg)

Here is the post (http://boxed.livejournal.com/20949.html?page=3#comments) and the art (http://www.velut-luna.org/Wallpapers/seriousbusiness21280.jpg) that I was inspired by.

FeedbackI love this wall. It is my current desktop background. I love the 'cutout' look it has to it. I love the color scheme. I love the black - and - white look. And I love the whimsy at the bottom.

How that art inspired this artMostly the color scheme and the layout. Although I don't think the duo-tone was working in my wall, that was the original inspiration I took.

My thoughts about my wallI made two different versions. One with just the black - and - white Michael (seen here (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/022db80c.jpg)) but I felt like I needed some more color to balance on top with the bottom. So I put a layer of colored Michael on top of monochromatic Michael and I feel it works a lot better. I played with different textures and stocks until I came up with what you see. I wanted to show Michael's personality through words and images and I think I got that. I'm not sure though. Man, this really threw me out of my comfort zone. Although now I am inspired to do a whole round of character pieces similar to this but not quite the same. Thanks for this challenge Lyn!!

Credits very important here!
Image : Sparklies (http://www.sparklies.org/gallery/index.php)
Stocks : sxc.hu, google
Textures : headlock, Black Lagoon, Quicksand, hybrid genesis, Ugly Business
Brushes : moargh and one other I cannot identify (is it yours?)
Quote : OfficeQuotes.net (http://www.officequotes.net/index.php)

[Linda]

1: Style and Grace

Inspiration
The piece that inspired me to make my wallpaper was Believe (http://moments.misplaced.co.uk/art/buffy/s2/believe.jpg) by Nikki (http://moments.misplaced.co.uk/).
I got inspired by the way the pictures blended together, and the choise of pictures was great.

About my wallpaper
I chose pictures from the show Supernatural and the episode Heart because it's my favorite Sam episode.
This partucular scene is so full of emotions just like the scene Nikki made with Buffy and Angel so i thought that just that episode would be good for the wallpaper.... (Hope you understand since english isn't my native language)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/charmed_shows/th_heart.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/charmed_shows/heart.jpg)



Images : Screencap paradise
Stocks : google
Gradients : My own

[Bre]

Entry One: Superior
Category: Style & Grace

For my first entry, I chose Marilyne's fabulous wallpaper from 'The Body', as seen here:

http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/random/marilyne_thebody_mini.jpg (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/random/marilyne_thebody.jpg)

What I adore so about this piece is the style that she chose. It's bold and unique and it gets right to the point of that episode. The black and white in contrast with the red is gorgeous. It's rare in my experience to see such large letters used in this manner as the only text needed to get the message across, and this is just describing the wallscroll that was used for this piece. Another thing that I love about it is that this was created using a wallscroll that she had made before, which is lovely because she made them into two completely different pieces, yet they conveyed the same message. :heart:

http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/buffy/episodes/conversations_superior_mini.jpg
1024 (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/buffy/episodes/conversations_superior.jpg)

As for my piece, I just wanted to capture that style that she used. I made the wallscroll (which can be seen here (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/wallscrolls/buffy_conversations.htm)) and then I used that to make the wallpaper. I love the use of the black and white scratchy texture that she used as well as the burn/dodge blend mode that she used to accent some parts of the wallscroll, so I kept those. I wanted to add some text to this one because I think it's so important to the scene because, while Buffy is talking to a stranger (aka vampire Holden aka Knox - crazy Buffy world!), she's finally admitting everything that she can only share with a stranger, someone who wasn't there with her throughout it all.

Texture: Black Lagoon, Unknown
Images: Screencap Paradise
Text: Episode

[Cinderela]

Love, love, love this challenge! I've been inspired by so many of the artists here, it was hard to choose. I'm so happy to have the chance to let the artists and everyone else know what an inspiration they've been.

I hope to make many entries, but here is my first one - for Category 1 "Style & Grace"

I love Beth's boxy style. All her work has inspired me numerous times. With her boxy style, I used a simple starter.
Beth's Bizarro Land Inspiration (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/BizarroLandbyBeth.jpg)

I love the new summer replacement show Burn Notice, so I used this show for my first attempt at Beth's boxy style - it's very simple, but I figured simple was the best way to start! Also, it gave me an excuse to work on text, because I suck so much at it. I love the opening monologue of the show, so I tried to incorporate it into the style.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/BurnNotice500.jpg


Burn Notice bigger (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/BurnNoticeBethStyle.jpg)

Caps - Jeffrey Donovan Fans (http://jeffreydonovanfans.com/gallery/index-13.html)
Jenni Lou's Site (http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming)
Dragon Lady (http://dragonlady981.livejournal.com/41862.html)
Texture - Creamy Coolness (http://thefrenchhobbit.deviantart.com)

Text - the show

[slaycandy]

Okay, I think this piece falls under Category 2. Technique & Intention.

The piece I have used as inspiration here is 'Across the Way' by Ehlwyen, and you can see it here (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/fanart/acrosstheway.jpg).

My Feedback of the piece:
Another awesome piece, and another great composition. I love how you have the confused images of Dean on either side looking toward the middle and seeing the image of the girl, with this lightening bolt coming down and striking in the middle. I love the way this girl and the bolt just cuts through the text and through Dean, and causes a momentary lapse in his life as he sees her - and as he has this moment of realisation that something isn't quite right. The colouring and text is as always flawless, but I have to say those lighting stocks just work wonders on this piece, as they really force Dean into the background and make it look as though he is looking through something, and seeing from another POV, I love that feel about this piece. It's great!

About my Piece:
I wanted to use a break in Dean's life similar to the lapse Ehlwyen created in her piece. Here however, I wanted to show Dean in the foreground in a box in the present then a sudden break, with all of his memories and insecurities of that past in the background. I really just wanted to create this break in his train of thought back to the disappointment from his father. I wanted however to also use the colours in this piece to show the warmth in the present, and the stark cold colouring of the past creeping into the foreground and present. I hope that really makes sense. But I also loved the idea of the lightning used in Across the Way, and decided to throw some of the lightning in to try and give it a stormy atmosphere too. Hope that made sense.

Lost Under the Surface

http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/supernatural/118-01.jpg

Size: 1024x768 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/supernatural/118-01-1024.jpg) 800x600 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/supernatural/118-01-800.jpg)
Credits: x (http://screencap-paradise.com) x (http://sxc.hu) x (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net) x (http://callhergreen.com)

Sayjay
xox

[Liz]

My first entry falls under Style and Grace. I was very much inspired by Ehlwyen, which is more often than other artists but this piece (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/fanart/charisma.jpg) particulary inspired me.

About the piece

I love the simplicity of this piece the images in a wallscroll manner, the blending and the grungy feel the composition has is excellent. The one thing I always like about Ehlwyen's work is that she doesn't use much texture while I always feel the need to use it and without much texture her pieces turn out stunning.

About my piece

For my piece I used a small amout of screencaps on a black canvas and simply blended them together. Then I felt the need for texture and because Ehlwyen is the source of my inspiration, it's a good idea to use her textures :D With the first one I chose the green one, it gave the straight line caps some curve to it which I loved and then I thought it felt was too plain and the bottom so I used another to make the caps feel more centered and more of a shape.

This is like one of the simplest pieces I have done and I love the effect of it. I found the lyrics by referring to the film.

Till the end - http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y43/violets/tilltheend.jpg

Caps - http://howelljenkins.blogspot.com/
Textures - Quicksand

Howl's Moving Castle if you haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled through key plots, points and the ending don't look. My explanation doesn't cover everything, just how it relates to the piece but it still spoils it all.

Howl's Moving Castle is about a girl called Sophie who is turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste. She comes across a moving castle where she meets a powerful wizard with many aliases and a bad reputation called Howl. Calificer, a fire demon working for Howl says he will break her curse if she can break his contract with Howl but he doesn't know how.

Anyway during the course of the film Howl and Sophie fall in love and they both help each other out during this war and I wanted to focus on the end because it's a nice finish to a well thought out story where Sophie's curse is broken, Calcifer is free, Howl is back to his normal state and not so out of control. In the end it finishes with them kissing in their castle in the sky which is really sweet and serene and I wanted the lyrics to reflect Sophie and Howl being with each other through the war, through their own curses and mix ups to finally being in peace to spend the rest of their lives together :heart:

[~M@rie~]

First Entry: Thunderdome
Category 2: Technique and Intention (I think)

I was inspired by Sayjay's Spuffy piece, which you can view here (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/btvs/222-01-800.jpg).

About Sayjay's piece
I fell in love with the composition she used. A small linear portion of the canvas is used but really stands out. The grungy brushwork and the lightning was also amazingly done. I just love everything about it, hence it being my inspiration for the challenge.

About my piece
I re-used Sayjay's composition and a smiliar text placement. I lightned, as Sayjay did, the center part of the piece to show that Buffy triumphed at the end. However, instead of using vibrant colors like her, I used black and white to make it feel more "battle like". Also, instead of having a plain blck background, I added a grungy texture to emphasize the epic feeling of the battle between Buffy and the Ubervamp.

http://left-unspoken.net/starryskies/walls/buffy/ep/th_buffy_thunderdome.jpg
800x600 (http://left-unspoken.net/starryskies/walls/buffy/ep/buffy_thunderdome.jpg)

Caps: SP
Texture: tokyo-disparue.org
Brushes: I'm not sure but I think they are from Daydreaming
Quotes: Buffy in 'Showtime'

[Bre]

Entry Two: F**k Off
Category: Technique & Intention

For the second entry, I did something a little different. I chose an icon by Sayjay (aka slaycandy) for my inspiration, which is here:

http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/random/sayjayicon.png

In this icon, the coloring is simply... fabulous. It's so different and it's no lie that Sayjay is the queen of epic colors in her wallpapers, but in this icon, it's simple and to the point, and it just has a brilliant lighting/contrast effect. It's definitely one of her more unique techniques that she's so not afraid to use in everything she does.

http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/buffy/episodes/hush_fuckoff_mini_challenge.jpg
1024 (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/buffy/episodes/hush_fuckoff.jpg)

Has language, made a special thumbnail. :roll:

For my piece, it was definitely based on a wallpaper I think she used to have up, but has taken down (or maybe my brain is farting as I write this, :p ), but it's the same idea. Coloring and darkness and contrast. As well as the text, :lol: . I've been on a Buffy watching tangent so I chose this moment between Spike and Xander when they first lose their voices in 'Hush'. Hilarious and Spike's gesture... greatness.

Texture: Misplaced
Gradients: Mine
Images: Screencap Paradise
Text: Mine/Episode

[DigitalLeonardo]

I love this challenge Plyn, and it made me go around looking at everyones art and I found a piece I kind of over looked before and looking at it again I really loved how it looked.

ficbitch82's piece
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4089/presln0.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/1927/casmh1024mt5.png)

ficbitch82's piece Cordelia/Angel :: You Steal My Heart is amazing. The epic feel it has of the two characters and just the seemless look to it really stands out to be, and it inspired me to do a piece with the Charmed sisters. The one thing that really drew me was just the two images, I love art that doesn't use a pile of images, it really shows what the artist can do and how they can stretch images into looking simply amazing. It also rocks cause I am a major Cordy/Angel fan ^^~

Entry One: I Need To Be Loved
Technique & Intention
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6127/charmedhumanpreup7.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6016/charmedhumanxm7.jpg)
images: http://www.charmed-gallery.com/
texture: http://moments.misplaced.co.uk
brushes: http://missm.paperlilies.com/ , http://jennssanity.blogspot.com/
text: love spit love 'how soon is now' (originally by the smiths)

My piece I felt captured that epic feel that Ficbitch82 was able to capture. Originally I wanted Piper, Prue, Phoebe, but some how Paige fit the spot better so I just went with it. I couldn't think of any text that would work, I tried "Power of Three" and "Charmed" but ended up going with the series theme song lyrics.

I dunno if it fits under Technique & Intention or Style & Grace... So I'm going with Technique & Intention.

[wenj]

Well, you know me, always a little different and never easily satisfied when it comes to inspiration. That's why this piece was inspired by two pieces!

Missing You Already

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/updates/residentevil01big.jpg
1024 (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/art/movies/residentevil01.jpg)

The Inspiration

Technique & Intention

I suppose the first piece of inspiration came from Lyn. I was looking through my archive of my favorite pieces from artists and this one struck me as it did when I first saw it. It was 'Alice', one she had done a long time ago, but none the less was still gorgous. What really drew me in was the style. I loved the boxy elements paired with the light stocks. It really brought in a little of the flavor of the movies. And I really wanted to make a 'Resident Evil' piece, just never really thought about how I would want to. This was a great template for me to jump off of. However, no, the story can't just end there!

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/alicebig.jpg (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/alice.jpg)

Then I was looking through some 'Heroes' pieces and came across JJ's 'Special' piece. Again, the same boxy style, but I really loved the background contributions she had put in. The layering and just coloring of the piece. Strong and yet hopeful. As I wasn't doing such a piece I drew from this that the coloring should serve as a mood on it's own, without actually having to delve into the piece too deeply. I wanted it to be stark and crisp. And her composition was so lovely, I knew I wanted to follow that layered style as well. Especially since I knew I wanted to use several images.

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/specialbig.jpg (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/special.jpg)



The Art

So for my piece I really wanted to capture those elements from Lyn's and JJ's boxy style art. However, I really wanted it to have a little of my own personal style as well. I knew I really wanted to keep it highly contrasted, and I also knew I wanted it to have a sort of surreal feel to it. And as I am a fan of croppings and repetition with boxy art, I knew I wanted to include that element as well. However, as I loved the images it drove me nuts that the coloring was so different. I struggled for a very long time, trying to adjust for the color balance, but just never got it right. Finally, before I killed someone or something I just let it go and accepted it. So Alice's color balance is a little off, making her look more like a zombie then I would have liked. And yes, I could have changed the cap to something from the same scene, but I loved this moment as it was a perfect balance to his quote. :)

[little albatross]

First Entry: A Boy Like You
Inspiration:
Category: Technique and Intention (?)
I think that's where I'd put it. I remembered Nikole (http://harsh-light.org/phantasm/)'s recent Friday Night Lights pieces, and I was planning on doing something like one of them. But I was going through her site, and came across her Gaspard Ulliel piece. I have to admit I had no idea who that was, but I liked it anyway. :o There's something special about her art. There's a simplicity to it, but a unique simplicity. And I loved the look of this specific piece. I like the dark background. And it's really faint, but there's this light wash of blue texturing at the top right of the piece, which I thought was really neat. The boxes kind of chop it up, while the texture and coloring pulls it together. And I LOVE the asymmetry of the piece!

Nikole's art (http://harsh-light.org/wallpapers/actors/gaspardulliel1te.jpg)
http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/stuff/gaspard-nikole.jpg


The art:
So for my piece, I put these pictures of Robert Pattinson to use. I've always wanted to use them, but never got around to it. Anyway, I wanted to go with that same composition. The boxes, the asymmetry, the dark background. I wanted to use the same texture over the boxy parts to give them a bit of uniformity. And I wanted to stray away from using SO many colors, because Nikole's piece has just a simple blue scheme going on. Well, I did tone down my use of colors, if you compare this to other pieces :lol: And then I went to work with it, to give it my own flavor! I think the overall effect of the piece is a bit different from Nikole's, but what I really wanted to sample was the composition and the overall unity of the work.

http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/actor/tn-boylikeyou.gif
1024 (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/actor/boylikeyou.jpg)

Images: Pattinson Online (?...I've had them for awhile)
textures: Fangirls_Inc, tokyo
brushes: Ugly Business, Misplaced Moments, my own
lyrics: rilo kiley

[Pandora's_Box]

First Entry: Hollow
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f93/panbox002/panbox_buffywall_01/Hollow7.jpg

Category 2: Technique & Intention

For this piece, I've been inspired by Ehlwyen's art, Goodbye My Broken: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f93/panbox002/panbox_buffywall_01/goodbyemybroken.jpg.

Her Piece
What I like the most about her art is the capacity she has to sublimate the black, the empty. And that piece particulary inspired me.
My Piece
It automatically inspired me for a "The Body" piece, because I wanted to show the emptyness, the nothing which was swallowing Buffy little by little at that moment. The fact that she doesn't realise what's happening, that she's not connected anymore with the things around her, that's also why you can't see Joyce's head, because she doesn't understand her mother's dead at that point, she just see a body.
Caps: Screencaps Paradise
Ressources: Misplaced, Daydreaming, OOTM
Lyrics: Submersed_Hollow

[wenj]

Second Entry

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/updates/mercybig.jpg
1024 (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/art/angel/mercy.jpg)

Credits:
Textures: Ugly Business, Daydreaming
Gradients: Elucidation, Ugly Business, Daydreaming

Inspiration
Moment/Inspiration

I would have to say, my biggest muse has to be Olga. I mean come on, her art is intricate and yet delicate, the coloring is gorgous and the stocks she chooses are always so perfectly tailored to her pieces. But, I also love her choice of scenes. And for this piece I was really in love with her 'Conviction' piece. I always loved that bit, but had never actually sat down and take the time. Because frankly, it's not Angel's best moment, but at the same time it is. And frankly, I love her for making this piece! Just the textures, the blending is fabulous and makes you step back and take another look at this scene as a whole.


http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/convictionbig.jpg (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/conviction.jpg)


The Art

Well, again, I liked this scene and it's not the typical one you would find in an Angel collection. Very rarely do I see it. Anyways, I really wanted to emulate some of Olga's technique (though no where near as beautiful) and keep some of her wonderful broody coloring. I also really wanted the blending to follow her style a bit, however, I wanted to rework the composition and images a bit to tweak it to my taste a bit. Overall I love how dark this turned out, even though it was a bright moment, really revealing the line between right and wrong for Angel. I still think it does just that.

[slaycandy]

Entry 2: Crushed

http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/212-02.jpg
Size: 1024x768 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/212-02-1024.jpg) 800x600 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/212-02-800.jpg)
Credits: x (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net) x (http://left-unspoken.net/shadowoftheday) x (http://moments.misplaced.co.uk) x (http://katastrophee.fadedglow.com/)

Category: 1. Style & Grace
Artist: Ehlwyen (2nd time)
About:

Ehlwyen's Art: Your art has such a unique style from the blending of the images with light, to the subtle framing of your scenes. So many of your pieces incorporate a bright colouring against a bleak, black background, such as By the Water, Blaze of Glory, and Transcend. I love how you use the colouring to symbolise the emotions of the scene, capturing that moment and allowing it to stand out against the background, much like the moment you are capturing stands out from its surroundings. link (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net)

My art: For this piece, I really wanted to use your style to highlight this moment in Max's life where she realises that she's just lost the chance to be with Logan all over again. However I wanted to emphasise the fact she was feeling that this was a repeat, that she's having to suffer again, and so repeated all of the images used. Max got a second chance with Logan and now she has fresh memories of them being together, and I really wanted to show her divided feelings on getting a second chance: on one hand she has warm memories of her and Logan, but on the other hand she has the cold sting of their parting again - hence my mixture of the warm and cold colours. But I felt like the episode ended on a moment of hope as they both said 'I love you' for the first time, almost advancing their relationship, so I threw in a little stream of hope [yellow] cutting through the piece. Well I hope that made sense, I knew roughly what I was trying to do while I was in photoshop, :)
PS. this piece is actually based on a similar icon I made a while back, and I always wanted to art the scene as a wallpaper.

Entry 3: Fire Your Gun

http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/121-03.jpg
Size: 1024x768 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/121-03-1024.jpg) 800x600 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/121-03-800.jpg)
Credits: x (http://quicksand.ohstatic.net) x (http://www.offthesky.net/tre-xture.html)

Category: 2. Technique & Intention
Artist: Bre (1st time)
About:

Bre's Art: 'Fire Your Gun' found here (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/supernatural/episodes/devilstrap_fireyourgun.jpg)
I love obvious contrasts of this piece: the black and white vs. the colour, the large capital coloured lettering vs. the lowercase smaller white lettering, and the contrasts in images of John's sureness vs. Sam's hesitation. I think for this scene, it just really sums up the confusion that Sam was feeling, and the warring emotions about whether or not to fire his gun. I love the way Bre put this piece together, forcing all of these contrasts so close together and overlapping one another to really create this dichotomy in her piece, and that's the main reason I was so inspired by this piece. :)

My Art: I wanted to use the same contrast, but instead of doing it between two characters, I wanted to show Lydecker's war with himself, while he knows [in his mind] it's best to shoot Max and himself while they were in the motel room being tracked by Manticore, he was wishing there was another way to save her, to take her away. I wanted to use the same black and white vs. some colour in the contrast, and similarly using caps of Lydecker while he's doubting himself, and also ones of him confidently preparing to do the deed. And I wanted to use his hesitating line 'I wish...' in colour against the contrasting, line of 'There's no other way' in black and white. Well again, I hope that made sense too.


Entry 4: Renegade

http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/max-03.jpg
Size: 1024x768 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/max-03-1024.jpg) 800x600 (http://left-unspoken.net/radiance/walls/dangel/max-03-800.jpg)
Credits: x (http://sxc.hu) x (http://daydreaming.fractured-simplicity.net) x (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net) x (http://hybrid-genesis.net)

Category: 1. Style & Grace
Artist: JJ (1st time)
About:

J.J.'s Art: J.J.'s art encompasses a use of bright and bold colouring with fresh crisp images, and fun fonts and lyrics to make her pieces stand out from everyone else's. But I truly adore the vivid colouring, especially since I tend to work with dark canvasses and find it so inspiring to see so much life and energy in a piece just created from the use of colour, with a little help from some patterns and brushes. And I think that's what inspires me most about JJ's art, :)

My Art: Basically I wanted to use the patented font designs that JJ uses flawlessly rather than my usual classics that I tend to stick to. Similarly I really wanted to limit myself to just one image for this piece. So basically I found this great image of Max bending down and looking up with this ****y grin, and it's a season one promo, and season one ends with her being caught, so I figured I'd use the Renegade lyrics for this piece. Anyway I wanted to create this piece, to show Max's energy and desire to go on fighting, and to use that ****y image to show that although she's been captured she's not going to loose that, she's going to go on. But I tried to do it in JJs style so hopefully I pulled it off a little, :S Link (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net)

Sayjay
xox

[wenj]

Entry 3-Style & Grace

So yeah, how could I do an inspiration challenge and not post something with some of JJ's unique flair? That would be...insanity! Because face it, who in their right mind could look at her work and not feel at least a little inspired?

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/updates/newwomenbig.jpg
1024 (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/art/bigshots/newwomen.jpg)

Credits:
Image: Daydreaming
Textures: More Adventurous, Gender, Daydreaming
Brushes: More Adventurous
Gradients: Daydreaming, Mine, Shadow of the Day

About the Inspiration

So I was wandering through JJ's gallery, looking for some stylistic inspiration for a 'Big Shots' piece I wanted to make and low and behold, I saw this piece. Loved the half and half feel of the piece, with the large pattern and the slight hints at a pop style...very subtle and I loved it. I knew this was the direction I wanted to go.

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/thedonnellys.jpg (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/thedonnellysbig.jpg)

About the Art

I loved this quote from 'Big Shots' (Men, We're the new Women'), I mean come on, how great is that?! I knew I wanted to make a character piece, just finding the inspiration to go from was a little tough. But, then I thought witty comment, and fun....that's JJ! So I saw her piece and knew that was the direction I wanted to head in. I did a halfed cropping at the bottom of the image and instead of using a pattern I went with text spread across, to tie in with the quote. I also used a ton of brightly colored textures, both from JJ and Jenni Lou to help give it the little zing :)

[little albatross]

Entry 2: Tangled
Category: Technique & Intention

Inspiration:
I was making this piece just for personal enjoyment, and felt like it was missing something. And sudden stroke of inspiration! I really love the way Joe's (http://u-mockers.obsessionofthemoment.com/) been experimenting with his art, namely text. Because text is one of my favorite things when I'm making art. I was especially inspired by this piece (http://casefiles.pre-occupied.net/lewis/art/joe/wallpapers/moneymaker.jpg) (of my hero, nonetheless), where he used that large block of text as sort of a decoration, but it's still very much part of the piece. (and he pulled it off fantastically in this piece (http://u-mockers.obsessionofthemoment.com/wallpapers/buffyandangel/episodic/iwont.jpg) as well :D)

Teh Art:
So, in my art, I wanted to echo that technique in my piece. Not to the extent of how heavily Joe uses it. But I still wanted the block of text to have meaning and relate to the art, like how Joe used lyrics. So, I made this Fox and Kay piece, and the song "Tangled" by Maroon 5 totally popped into my head. And those are the lyrics that I used :o

http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/tv/tn-tangled.gif (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/tv/tangled.jpg)

Images: Kryptonite, Passions Talk
Textures: Tokyo, timedrawer (lj), fangirls_inc (lj)

[Jenni Lou]

A lot of folks have chosen JJ. And there's a good reason. She's totally unique. So I went with Style & Grace with my inspiration being one of her Jenny Lewis arts, The Moneymaker (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/misc/themoneymaker.jpg), which I adore. It's got such vibrancy and awesome pattern/brush/texture work. It's so fun to just look at. :) She does a lot of cool stuff with promos and photoshoots and I rarely do celebrity art so this was a good opportunity to do that! Of course, I decided to make it a little of my own so there are some elemental differences like the text and the background. I think I still like hers better though. ;)

http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/albums/celebs/kbell/normal_KristenBell2.jpg (http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/displayimage.php?pos=-1790)

[digitalMindy]

I sincerely hope this is allowed.

The InspirationI've been checking out some multi-media type artists lately (they inspire me a lot) and I came across this one. Ty Palmer has a very distinct style and his art has a message (even if it isn't screaming it) that I can identify with. He's not what I would call a fanartist, but he is an artist.
I would never approach the man, but I did take some inspiration from some of his arts and did something (digitally) that I think is pretty cool.

So I believe that this falls under the category of Style & Grace.

His art (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/79da1202.jpg)

My art -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/c78f858b.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/mindylynn/fe247198.jpg)

Credits
Image - google? I'm not sure really.
Stock - me :)
Brushes - Misprinted Type, and one other that I can't recall.
Gradient - Black Lagoon

[Amantine]

I debated a long time whether to enter this challenge or not and in the end I managed to bring myself to do it... so...

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i193/aleeramcguire/th_itends2.jpg (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i193/aleeramcguire/itends2.jpg)

This entry falls under Technique & Intention and I used Galathea (http://www.misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/)'s wallpaper (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i193/aleeramcguire/shreds.jpg) as inspiration. She's one of my favorites artists and I really loved the 'shreds' effect on her wallpaper and decided to attempt that technique on one of my own pieces. I was very stunned by the dramatic effect that Chris' wallpaper has and the way it fit the composition perfectly.

Credits:
Caps: Stripped Wall
Textures: Misplaced
Brushes: Misplaced
Gradients: Black Lagoon and Misplaced
Stocks: Grooni
Text: my own

[wenj]

Entry 4-Moment/Inspiration


http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/updates/helpmebig.jpg
1280x800 (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/art/buffy/helpme.jpg)

Credits:
Textures: Mine, OOTM, Colorblinded
Gradient: Daydreaming, Elucidation, Shadow of the Day

Inspiration

I saw Colour Me Troll's piece this morning and it's sort of stuck with me, nagging at me, until finally I had to break down. Firstly, I loved this episode and never really arted it, so when I saw her piece and how gorgeous her composition was it just dawned on me. I love how art can do that! :)

http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/remembermg9big.jpg (http://blacklagoon.ohstatic.net/temp/remembermg9.jpg)

Art

So I love how it just dawns on Spike that he has been doing these evil things, even with a soul and how he's so desperate to forget about it. How it torments him and all he wants is release, and how Buffy seeing that something was pushing him to it, can't kill him. I just adored the need here. How desperate and sad, you really just love Spike in that moment. And I really wanted to work with the bigger canvas again as it presents a whole new set of challenges...but I really wanted to leave the piece really dark and hollow.

[EndersWrath]

I went with Style & Grace.

Never Rains
http://u-mockers.voided-space.com/thumbnails/neverrainsthumb.jpg
1024 (http://u-mockers.obsessionofthemoment.com/wallpapers/veronicamars/episodic/neverrains.jpg)

credits:
caps - screencap-paradise

Inspiration that I got:
Lyn has such a unique style and to this day is my #1 source of inspiration. I can get lost in her art and site for hours, I love everything that she does with her art. She can do so much with just coloring and caps, and then make it look even more stunning by adding in some light textures. The text she does is simple yet stunning and just puts me in awe.

My main inspiration for this piece is from the wall Charisma (http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/SheriffMars/charisma.jpg) from Lyn.

My Piece:
Originally my piece had a big light stock in it, but then I decided not to go with it and try more simple, and rely on the colors to do the piece and I really like the turnout of it. I chose to do the final scene from Veronica Mars because 1) I needed too and 2) because I really love the emotional impact of it and Lyn specializes (that so isn't how you spell that word) in that. I went with the lyrics from the scene 'It never rains in Southern California by Albert Hammond'.

[DigitalLeonardo]

Ohh I was glad I got enter another entry, I wasn't sure I'd be able to, but who needs sleep right?

LRae12's piece
http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/onblackish2.jpg (http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/onblackish.jpg)

One of LRae12's pieces in the buffy fan art thread really stood out to me. Just alot of black, and I love fanart that is darker and looks darker and this why I really liked this piece. Also the color and just the placement of everything, it captures alot of emotion and just has some great textures over it and it really stands out. So I just had to be in aww for a little bit.

Entry Two: He Took Everything
Style & Grace
http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/wallpaper/veronicamars/hetookeverythingpre.jpg (http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/wallpaper/veronicamars/hetookeverything.jpg)
images: http://www.vm-caps.com/
texture: http://moments.misplaced.co.uk
text: episode quote

I was kind of sick of Charmed art, so I went back to Veronica Mars art. I picked the season 2 finale with Mac and Veronica, I felt it shared similar emotions and really fit the same idea. I tried to get similar colors and textures to capture the style in the original. Now I don't usually use that texture under the filters, cause I dun like how they turn out, but I kind of went with it this time to add a little more, and I think it worked.
I just went with an episode quote, cause I felt it didn't need anything more.

[Zack]

Entry 1 - PB & J
Category - Style & Grace

Inspiration, Concept
There are very few sites that I visit on a nearly daily basis - Imagination (http://nadine.fan-arts.net) is one of them, and for good reason. Her use of space, repetition and brushes are quite (pun not intended) imaginative and allow her to present moments in ways that are striking and unexpected. I was inspired by this wall (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/CoolKel/gfm.jpg) - I love the negative space and the use of black and white in addition to the empty spacing and flowery detail.

Now that they have dodged a bunch of relationship bullets and had a secret romance, Jim/Pam is The Office's answer to LoVe, so I wanted to show them off being a couple (while they still are, if the comparison is apt :lol: ). I added some office-y touches (the paper clips, the paper), but instead of just white, I wanted the background to be slightly dynamic because I'm odd and because I like the contrast with the yellow paper. Anyways, here it is.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/CoolKel/pbjsm.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/CoolKel/pbj.jpg)

Cap: NBC
Stock: sxc.hu
Textures: Daydreaming
Brushes: Immortal Memories
Quote: from episode

Second entry, very last minute, but I had been working on it for a couple of days, so it's good that I'm just in time :)

Entry 2 - Breaks My Heart
Category - Moment & Inspiration

Inspiration, Concept
So first, an admission. I do not like Izzie Stevens - she's tres judgmental and this George obsession? Not cool. However, there was a while where I loved me some Izzie (which generally faded to "You aren't Derek Shephard, so I like you.") Anyways, in spite of my feelings on it, I think that Izzie happening on Denny is one of the most heartbreaking things on that show. Bre (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/) had made a very gorgeous wall (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/other/television/losingreligion_goodbyetoyou.jpg) of the scene; I particularly like the purple, the stock and the unobtrusive text. My main issue is that it's very busy, and while I admit that that reflects the internal state of Izzie nicely, I just think that it's a little too much, especially with the sharpened effect. (Minor issues in the grand scheme of things, I think it's gorgeous overall :))

For my version, I wanted to make a stripped down version of the same scene, utilizing just 2 caps (Izzie on Denny's bed and Alex/Izzie) that really summed up the emotions. I wanted to jazz it up somehow, so I put in a bunch of textures faded in, including one of a wood-burned painting - it made the background interesting but still kept in the somberness of the piece. Lastly, I think the lyrics of Fidelity were just perfect for this - the heart references as well as Izzie hearing the voices, words, music that say that Denny is dead.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/CoolKel/breaksmyheartsm.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/CoolKel/breaksmyheart.jpg)

Caps: SP
Textures: awmpdotnet @ LJ, Daydreaming, Google
Lyrics: Fidelity - Regina Spektor

[Peace]

My entry
Believe in Angels
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa52/touched_bangel2/believe_in_angels_sm.jpg
1024x768 (http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa52/touched_bangel2/believe_in_angels.jpg)

1. Style & Grace
Frankly speaking, two artists gave me inspiration to make this art.
First one is Jenni Lou (http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/displayimage.php?pos=-1786). What I love about her style is the distinctive colors, like red and green. In my art I tried to use the same color scheme - intensive noticeable hues.
The second muse is Dana (http://dana.thedudes.nu), who actually made me do this blend, since I've been very lazy for the last 3 weeks :D Thank you, honey! :heart:

[little albatross]

Third Entry: Crazy
Category: Technique & Intention
so, this challenge is ridiculously rocking. I love trying different techniques I've seen and loved :)
Inspiration: Original Post (http://www.buffyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?p=23789#post23789)
I was inspired particularly by an entry for my own challenge a few months back, made by Pandora's Box. I thought all the rotating images completely added to the idea of the piece. And they were just plain fun! I always told myself, after I saw the entry, that I would have to try doing that.

Art:
So, I tried the rotating images images thing. Not on as large a scale though. And then I incorporated that into my own style (which, I think is crazier than I usually go in this piece).
http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/misc/tn-crazy.gif
1024 (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/misc/crazy.jpg)

Image: Blaker Girls comm
Brushes: mine, Misplaced, Ugly Business
Textures: Fangirls_Inc, timedrawer
Lyrics: Seal

[Heather]

Guess who's back back back...Back again 'gain 'gain 'gain...Heather's back back back...Tell a friend friend friend... :D Great challenge, Miss Lyn! I LOVE IT! :D

Entry One - Feeling the End
**SPOILERS: Smallville 6.22 "Phantom" (if I need spoiler tags, just PM me pwease)
Category: Technique & Intention
Inspiration(s): Wendy (http://www.wittycomeback.all-thats-left.net/fanart/Smallville/inspiration01a.jpg) & Jenni Lou (http://www.wittycomeback.all-thats-left.net/fanart/Smallville/inspiration01aa.jpg)

http://www.wittycomeback.all-thats-left.net/fanart/Smallville/Smallvillewallpaper25aaaa.jpg
1024x768 (http://www.wittycomeback.all-thats-left.net/fanart/Smallville/Smallvillewallpaper25aa.jpg) :: 800x600 (http://www.wittycomeback.all-thats-left.net/fanart/Smallville/Smallvillewallpaper25aaa.jpg)

Screencaps: Screencap Paradise
Textures: awmp
Text: My own

I love my Wendykins. And my JenniWooWoo. But not because they're awesome ladies who are so creative and original and funny, but also because they give me so much inspiration everytime I wanna go out and make a wallpaper. Wendy makes walls for like...every tv show you can imagine and, even if I don't watch the show one of her walls is about, I still get my muse back from her required-by-labor-laws break and into the sweatshop for more art. Same goes for Jenni.

I've been going through a dryspell with art the past...oh...2 months? And it's really sucked. But just recently, I rewatched Smallville's most recent finale - 6.22 "Phantom" - and got inspired by Lex and Lana's official breakup scene. Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum relit my fanart candle and now, all I needed, was that final boost of inspiration - which came from Wendy and Jenni Lou.

From Wendy, I looked at her piece from Charmed 4.01 "Charmed Again" of Piper as she tries to bring Prue back from the dead. I absolutely loved the black, void spaces and the exaggerated red colors in the piece and the blending was fantastic. I knew I wanted to achieve something similar.

From Jenni Lou, I followed some advice she gave me about the way she does her text and how she keeps her pieces relatively simple but looking complex and gorgeous. I talked to her previously about the Veronica Mars 3.05 "President Evil" piece I was inspired by and she told me to use one of the images from the my wallpaper as texturing - which I did in this piece, mainly over the text and in the corners.

But yeah. The conception of this piece was a surprise (as was Rory Gilmore's conception) and it took a few days to finally finish it (unlike Rory Gilmore's conception), but I really am proud of the final product and of myself - which doesn't happen very often after such a long hiatus from fanart.

So the pieces in this challenge? Un-freakin'-believable. Seriously. I love 'em all! Great great greattt competition here and I pity you, Lyn, for having to judge all of them! Gonna be a tough one! Good luck to everyone! :heart:

[Jenni Lou]

I made another entry, this time for Style & Grace using one of Peace's Bangel manips (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sunsetandshadows3ce.jpg). Of course, she loves the two of them together and she makes some neat manipulations of them from time to time. I really liked the embrace they were sharing in her piece and thought it would fun to make something about the epic nature of their relationship.

http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/albums/btvsats/con/buffyangel/normal_agonyandecstacy.jpg (http://fractured-simplicity.net/daydreaming/fanart/displayimage.php?pos=-1793)

[Alucard]

Entry One

Category #2 Technique & Intention

This entry is based on this (http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/6210/unbreakablecopydf2.jpg) piece by the super talented Francy :)

When I first saw this piece by Francy it became one of my favourite pieces of artwork, I loved how she used three promo images amongst the piece and most of all the composition, The background looked really fun and the colouring was brilliant, As well as the details in the piece, Thats what I love about Francys work how she uses detail and how she has fun with her art. For my piece I wanted to use several of the aspects of Francy's piece, One of the main things being the background which I wanted to make as coulorful as possible and these textures from Black Lagoon were perfect. One of the things I couldnt wait to try was the text style which was used, I'm not very good when it comes to using text but using the same idea from Francys work I managed to come up with the same outcome using a similar font. This also gave me a chance to try out using filters and brushwork which are things I rarely use and the filter which Francy told me she used in her piece worked great, It gives the images black outlines like a comic book drawing.

http://unending.harsh-light.org/images/simmth.jpg
1024 (http://unending.harsh-light.org/images/simm1024.jpg)

Credits

Images: BBC
Textures: Black Lagoon
Brushes: Ugly Business, More Adventurous
Font : Dafont

Welcome Back Heather! :wave:

[galathea]

Third Entry:

Category: Technique & Intention

Cain & Abel
http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/thumb/cainabel.jpg
800 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/800/cainabel.jpg) | 1024 (http://misplaced.co.uk/saltnburn/images/wallpaper/supernatural/1024/cainabel.jpg)

Credit:
Caps: leggyslove SN gallery, Screencap Paradise, Striped Wall
Gradients: Misplaced, My own
Text: King James Bible, Quote from BUABS

About the Art & Inspiration
Parallels are one of the many wonderful things in the SN-verse: In S2 the storyline around Dean possibly needing to kill his beloved younger sibling is paralleled in various episode plots: Gordon, killing his sister because she was turned into a vampire, Andy needing to kill his twin brother in order to stop him from murdering more people, Maggie taking the (willingly given) life of her little sister Rose, to end her lonely existence as a ghost.

I wanted to make a wallpaper about that theme for a very long time, but couldn't come up with a satisfying way to show 4 different plotlines in 1 wallpaper without it becoming completely chaotic due to the many caps I needed to use, until I saw Olga's wonderful Dean wallpaper 'What's Dead Should Stay Dead' (http://www.misplaced.co.uk/uglybusiness/1024/staydead1024.jpg) and she allowed me to use it for my wall. Thanks hon! :hug: Her use of soft cap edges as a way to split the canvas up into different sections and yet keeping the overall fluent feeling of a blend, proved to be the perfect way to execute this complex theme of sibling murders.

To the left I depicted the sibling murders by Andy, Gordon and Maggie, while on the right we see Dean struggle with Sam's wish to kill him and ultimately refusing to go through with the task. So, since we didn't actually see Gordon's sister, I took caps from Gunn's sister :D and vamped her SN style, I hope that's recognisable. Heh!

Edit: Sorry, changed the colour scheme last minute, since I felt as a whole it was too pastel for the theme. Hope that's allowed! If not I can put the old version up again!

[little albatross]

Fourth Entry: Now I'm Gold
Category: Style & Grace
Is this my last entry for this challenge? I don't know. I might just be a Lyn-challenge entering machine. :lol:

Inspiration: Nadia (http://dyingday.all-thats-left.net/) (aka Peace)
Nadia is one person whose art I always find completely gorgeous and beautiful. She doesn't just work with stocks and textures. She uses them to create a setting in her pieces, and the background becomes an artwork in and of itself. Her love for the subject (usually Buffy or Bangel :p) shows through each piece. Nadia's art always leaves an impression. Her lighter pieces have such an ethereal quality, and her darker ones are so haunting.

Art
As Nadia loves her Bangel and Buffy-ness, I wanted to use one of my favorite people in my art...so I went for one of my favorite actresses of the moment, who plays one of my favorite characters- Rashida Jones (who plays Karen on The Office). I love the graininess in Nadia's artwork, as it gives it that extra glow and at the same time a nice softness, so I tried to capture that. I tried to incorporate Nadia's love for three-toned gradients, but my habits started to kick in (though, you might notice I tried to tone down the punchy reds and the blue highlights in the hair). Most importantly, I tried to use stocks to create a background and setting for the piece, rather than my usual brushwork and patterns. And as Nadia often does, I tried to use all of these elements to pull the piece together (she usually does so well with creating a theme in each piece :))

http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/actor/tn-nowimgold.gif
1024 (http://adventurous.all-thats-left.net/other/actor/nowimgold.jpg)

Image: Rashida Jones Fan
Stocks/Textures: Misplaced, Radiance
Brushes: Headlock, fangirls_inc
Lyrics: Rilo Kiley

[~*Marilyne*~]

Category : Style & Grace

I think that Kate (http://all-thats-left.net/artificial/) lovely style is one of the most unique in this community. What I love so much about it is her simple color schemes. I don't know if you're like me, but I always feel like I put to much gradients in my pieces. Kate's works are light and that's what make them beautiful :).

This (http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Marilyne_22/rustedsilhouettebykate.jpg) piece particulary attracted me because of the contrast of the light effects and the dark textures. I tried the same concept, I still feel like there's to much (green!) gradients but I'm happy with it :)


P.S. Kate's style of text is also so fun to try ! :D

No escape
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Marilyne_22/noescapemini.jpg
1024x768 (http://left-unspoken.net/shadowoftheday/noescape.jpg)

~*credits*~
photo : pretty as a picture
textures : artificial sweetener, gender, walking-downtown, impressive-instant, discolor, horizon road
light textures : more adventurous
gradients : mine, misplaced
lyrics : Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

[Cinderela]

Here is my 2nd and !unfortunately! :cutecry: last entry to this awesome challenge! There 's so much wonderful art inspiration here at BF that even MY muse gave me her forwarding address (didn't come back home yet, tho! :roll: )

This entry is for the Moment & Inspiration category. :hug: and :kiss: to the wonderful Line for allowing me to use this awesome wall (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/btvs_noreviewbyLine.jpg) for my inspiration.

My thoughts on Line's wall:

I've always loved Buffy's speach to Quentin and the Watcher's Council in Checkpoint. Her insight and matter of fact delivery has made me want to cheer and clap with the Scooby's looking down - no matter how many times I've watched it. I've tried tons of different times to try to capture this scene and never felt I quite got it. I just fell in love with Line's inspired flow and coloring in this wall. The whole "unit" concept is the very core of the show and Line's piece captures it perfectly. Coloring, blending, concept - all are just incredible in this piece.

My latest attempt -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/38-Line-Inspired-500.jpg

No Unit Review Bigger (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/cinderela/Challenge%2038%20potentials/38-Line-Inspired.jpg)


Why I did this scene differently -

I toned down the colors and restrained myself from brushwork or textures because I felt that plain was more in keeping with Buffy's matter of fact, no frills tone of voice. The large cap of Buffy looking at Quentin speaks for the entire scene. The filmstrip captures the rest of "The Unit". Selective text from the scene highlights Buffy's "No questions, no negotiations, period" presentation.

There's so many wonderful entries here, I'm glad I don't have to judge them, Lyn! I wish my RL had left me more time, because I've been inspired by so many pieces I've seen here!

P.S.

Many, many thanks :hug: to those who graciously gave me encouragement and their permission to use their art - Zugma, Nikki, Jenni, Obsessed, Smth_Blue and - Vrya, who gives public permission on her site (I know she has inspired many, many artists!), I just wish I could meet the deadline with inspiration from your pieces! I love this challenge so much, I may carry the theme on and post the pieces inspired later in the appropriate threads. Maybe I can get my muse to at least move to a closer zip code! :rotf:

Good luck, everyone!

[Ehlwyen]

Well, I must say that I'm overwhelmed at the gorgeous entries and turnout! :heart: This should be a lot of fun to judge and lots of awards. Thank you!

This is the final warning bell for those lollygaggers who are wanting to enter. ;) I plan on closing the challenge tomorrow at about this same time.

[Andrew]

Guess I'm a lollygagger :)

Entry 1: Creamy Coolness (Style & Grace)

http://wm.taste-of-honey.net/images/thumbnails/allthesethingst.jpg (http://wm.taste-of-honey.net/images/allthesethings.jpg)
Inspiration (http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6026/preparemelr4.jpg)

My piece was generally inspired by Creamy Coolness'/Romain's style. I've always been fascinated with his lighting and textures and tried to emulate them with this piece. The stream of light through the centre of the piece is something that I've seen a lot in Romain's wallpapers and tried to use here. Hopefully I've done his style justice. I've linked to the piece that I think most closely resembles mine above but I wasn't referring to it while making my entry.

Credits:
SP for caps
Colorblinded.eu for textures
sxc.hu for stocks

Entry 2: Peace (Style & Grace)

http://wm.taste-of-honey.net/images/thumbnails/thegirliusedtobet.jpg (http://wm.taste-of-honey.net/images/thegirliusedtobe.jpg)
Inspiration(couldn't find a bigger image) (http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/6708/allek9.jpg)

This is a manipulation based on Peace's style. I'm one of the many people in awe of Peace and her manips so I decided that using the same techniques would be a fun experience. It was very interesting making this wallpaper as I haven't manipulated anything worth posting before. I really like my concept for this, showing Buffy's past loves. I was originally gonna have Riley in it but found that he didn't fit into the piece. I'll probably redo this piece as I'm not too happy with the rips in the pictures of Angel and Spike.

Credits:
Her Famed Good Looks for the base
PAAP for the three character images
UMDD for the textures
Misplaced for Brushes

[Signe]

Made it!
First of all, fabbity fab challenge :D Second, here's my entries:

Entry one
Inspirational source: Nikki (http://moments.misplaced.co.uk/)
Which way: Style

Since I'm short of time, I'll try to wrte this fast ;) Nikki's site was the first site I found that made me go WOW! It was probably the site that made me want to *start* with web-design and art-making! I have a lot to thank Nikki (and her Misplaced) for. A lot of my art is therefore Nikki inspired, like this piece.

My piece:
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Pigneso/wallpapers/th_sleepalone.jpg (http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Pigneso/wallpapers/sleepalone.jpg)

One of Nikki's: http://moments.misplaced.co.uk/art/gilmoregirls/kissingagilmore.jpg

Resources:Caps: Screencp paradise
Textures: Obsession of the Moment, Misplaced
Gradients: My own, Black Lagoon
Brushes: April Sky


Entry two
Inspirational source: Anna (http://aldieb.callhergreen.com/)
Which way: Style

She's my best friend. Last week I was looking at her new art and inspiration hit me! Her pieces always inspires me though ;)

Oh, and cos I know Anna'll read this: Na-na-nana-na :D

My piece:
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Pigneso/wallpapers/th_crucify.jpg (http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Pigneso/wallpapers/crucify.jpg)

One of Anna's:http://aldieb.callhergreen.com/kiss1.php

Resources:
Images: Daydreaming (I think)
Textures: Aprilsky
Brushes: Aprilsky, Fractured Sanity, Echoica
Gradients: My own

[Bre]

Entry Three: Through The Never
Category: Style & Grace

For my third entry, I chose another piece by Sayjay, except I wanted to focus on her all-around technique rather than just one aspect, such as in my last entry. For this this one, I chose this wallpaper from Dark Angel:

http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/random/sayjay1_mini.jpg
1024 (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/random/sayjay1.jpg)

I adore this wallpaper, mostly because it's hilarious. But I also like the dark colors, the shadows, the amount of images, the textures, the stocks, the text... in Sayjay's art, she does a lovely job of getting so many images into her final product without making it look crowded, IMO, as well as adding so much text it's almost another layer of texture itself.

My piece: (from the third season premiere of Supernatural!)


http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/supernatural/episodes/magseven_throughthenever_mini.jpg
1280 (http://infiniteillusion.primordialsouls.com/supernatural/episodes/magseven_throughthenever.jpg)

For my piece, I chose the season premiere of the third season of Supernatural, at the end of the episode when Sam and Dean talk about Dean's future, or lackthereof, and I wanted to capture what it was they were talking about, Sam's passion to save Dean as well as his misunderstanding of Dean's entire situation and Dean's determination to still not let anything happen to him.

As for the style of the piece, I wanted to capture Sayjay's use of images so I loaded it all up, especially stocks, which is definitely a different choice for me. I also used her text technique, using the black boxes and the cursive font to emphasize, to focus, the lyrics that I used. The coloring actually happened by mistake and it just managed to work out very nicely with my intention. :p

Texture: Misplaced, Black Lagoon
Gradients: Mine
Images: marishna, stock.xchnge
Text: "Through the Never" - Metallica

[EndersWrath]

Wooo! I got one last entry in before the challenge closed :2party:

I went with Technique and Intention this time.

My Inspiration:
Amber has been one of my biggest inspirations ever since I laid eyes on her art. I have been looking and looking for the right piece to use and then she just recently did an update with this piece (http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/SheriffMars/LOVEmomentary.jpg), and it struck. I love the way she composed the piece and how she mapped everything out, it is just beautiful (though I'm sure that LoVe had some influence also ;))

My Piece:
Well I have been rewatching Greys Anatomy Season 2 and things just happened all at once, I was watching this scene right after I saw that piece from Amber and I thought it would be a great scene to do (not to mention it so sounds like something that Amber would say :roll: ) At first I didn't add a texture to it, but then I decided if Amber was gonna be my inspiration, I was gonna go all out :p I used one of her textures and I like how it turned out, I dunno how I did it... but it sorta came out in her style...I don't even know how, but it did :lol:


I Can Do Hot in My Sleep
http://u-mockers.voided-space.com/thumbnails/hotinmysleepthumb.jpg
1024 (http://u-mockers.voided-space.com/wallpapers/greysanatomy/episodic/hotinmysleep.jpg)

credits-
texture: hideus beauty
caps: screencap-paradise

[DigitalLeonardo]

I had an entry three, but I have removed it. I have found I don't really like it, and want to work on it more..

So I have entered this! This is for Buffy Season 8, but it uses actors XD. I had this idea to do this wallpaper after issue 7 came out, but the problem was using the comic images. So I opted out and decided to pick an actress for Lady Savidge. I chose Sofia Vergara because she looks like she'll fit.
Now I used inspiration off Joe (Enderswrath) again. I love his drastic colors, so I HAD to capture that. Look at any of his art and its the colors that you remember, and its simply amazing how he captures these colors. He tried to show me, and gave me some help, but I just couldn't get it right like he is able too.
No spoilers really... so I dunno if I should or should not put it in a spoiler tag, I'm not.

Entry Three: Faith & Lady Savidge
Style & Grace
http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/wallpaper/buffythevampireslayer/faithsavidgepre.jpg (http://singingshrimp.voided-space.com/wallpaper/buffythevampireslayer/faithsavidge.jpg)
images: http://www.an-unforgettable-obsession.com/ , http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/
texture: http://moments.misplaced.co.uk
stock: http://rabidwire-stock.deviantart.com/
text: mine
purple curve/help: JoeJoe


(last minute entries are a blast XD)

[Ehlwyen]

Thanks so much everyone! :hug: I’ll be doing the awards this weekend. :heart:

[Ehlwyen]

Thank you everyone! Honestly the most amazing set of entries I've ever had and probably ever seen in a challenge. Everyone brought their art to a new level and I hope every still feels inspired to art and to broaden their arting horizons. I know I do and *supersquishygrouphug* thanks for inspiring me.

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/inspire.jpg

Since this challenge was about inspiration and not copying I couldn't very well judge the awards on the amazingness of the technique that inspired you. Or how well you could replicate another persons style. Though I was impressed at how fluid many of you were at moving between the varying styles. :heart: And trying to compare the best of jj's style to nadia's style or slaycandy's style is fruitless.

So the awards are by how much the piece took an inspiration and seamlessly incorporated it into the artists own work of art separate from the original inspiration. And obviously how much it inspired me. ;)

I was extremely proud and very much enjoyed everyone's feedback on their inspiration. *gets misty* And a special thanks to everyone that tried something of mine. It's gives a whole new perspective on how my stuff is perceived. I'm genuinely honored.

Okay on to what everyone is here for...



Powerless to Resist
I loved these pieces so much with their beautiful lighting and coloring and I would be remiss to not honor them.

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/shiny1.jpg
You always amaze me with your art and this piece is no exception. The coloring is so beautiful and the entire piece feels alive with the lighting. Gorgeous piece!!!


http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/shiny2.jpg
I love how you took a promo piece idea and made it into a very apt and telling piece about Buffy. The coloring and sharpness are gorgeous. I love how you did the text all around her hand and the break in the ice. I find the tunnel/archway stock to be overused these days and so its a bit distracting to me as its own separate object. I think it might have worked better if more behind Buffy. Text is super stunning!

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/shiny3.jpg
I first saw this on LJ as a preview and was like omg, I wish that was entered in my challenge. I could just sink forever into the stunning coloring and brightness. I love the texture placement and how Buffy's looking over her shoulder. Simply lovely! :heart:


Ultra
These were the pieces that went beyond just being inspired to actually inspiring me to want try the same.

Most inventive use of technique
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra1.jpg
Such a great scene but I had assumed not artable or at best awkward. However, this is utterly perfect. You captured their separation and the divide between them with Bobby connecting them. Everything is technically done fantastically.

Inspiring Scenes
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra2.jpg
Such a heartbreaking scene. I don't think I could have portrayed it any better. You captured her emotion as well as progression of the scene with close ups, faraways, and her turning away. I love the rich warm coloring and the lyrics.

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra3.jpg


Jaw Dropping Techniques

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra4.jpg
Bre
I love this dual wallscroll nature. I've long wanted to do something like that but couldn't conceptualize it. It thing the "peri" is a bit distracting to me since it is a word frag with its own connotations rather than just invocative of the whole word "superior". Amazing piece hon! :heart:


http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra5.jpg
I don't know who this person is...and I don't care. :love: :love: It's still omg awesome!!! I love how you twisted the blocks and gave it a jj flair! :heart:


http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/ultra6.jpg
I just love the trailing nature it feels very vulnerable. Though I am usually bound by straight lines in my art I love the freedom here. Such beautiful execution. :heart:



Transcend
I had such a wide range of artists enter, I wanted to recognize more than just the most advanced artists. These next artists are ones that may have presented some of my most favorite art from them. Each of these pieces has such amazing concept and impressive execution.

4th Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/transcend4.jpg

You very much evoke Peace's grand style. I love how Angel and Spike are portrayed as stains on her wall. Nicely done manip and the sentiment totally intrigues me.

3rd Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/transcend3.jpg
I may not like GA at all, but still this piece made me want to stare at it and attempted to seduce me to watch the show. I'm most strongly drawn to the cap arrangement. It is so natural flowing. I love the smallness of the caps which evokes aloneness and sadness. I like th arrangement at the top of the piece symbolizing hope and positiveness.

2nd Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/transcend2.jpg
I love this piece to death. The colors are so vibrant and warm but there is still this feeling of darkness and impending doom or sadness. I find this very evocative of Lorne and ATS. The happiness and hope paired with the dark. Excellent use of jj's style in your own way.


1st Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/transcend1.jpg
This is one of the most professional and jawdropping things I've seen from you. :heart: I love the arrangement of the two characters on different courses and how the house is quietly placed in background. The text is phenomenal and I love the coloring and lighting. I also really like the Charmed ficbitch inspired piece, but this Faith one is more cohesive and eye grabbing.






Places

Onto the places. These were the pieces that stole my heart each time I went through this thread. It was very tough to limit to just five places. Each artists own style and grace shone through but was all the better for having incorporated inspiration from another artists. I don't believe I could make a single comment on how to improve them. They're utterly perfect in concept and execution to me.

5th Place

Sorry I had to cheat just a little and have a tie here! It was impossible to decide. :xd :xd :xd

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place5j.jpg
Oh you know I had no chance at resisting this. I love how you aligned all the different angles giving it an ordered but off balance feel. I love how you will do something subtle like the different polka dot sizes which keeps the mind agile and interested. The technique of Joes is quite appealing way to add lots of text without being bulky and I like how you refined the technique. The blue glow shouldn't work and actually odded me out the first couple times. But I've grown to love it and I love how you take risks with outside the box techniques.

4th Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place5w.jpg
I love all the boxes like Alice's memory shattered and started to reveal themselves. I love the clear colors which feel hollow and lonely. Yet there is texture at points to show so much more is going on. The lyrics really strike a nerve in me.

3rd Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place4.jpg
This piece has captivated me since I first saw it. I love how you placed Ellens worry and made it more inclusive of the episodes events than the piece that inspired you. I love the dark violent red paired with teh innocence of the blues. Such a harsh world to lose your mom and Jo's innocent blindness of how lucky she is.

3rd Place

http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place3.jpg
I adore the split screen with 2 different faces paired together. The divergent nature yet common bond is so powerful. All the imagery and scenes surrounding them like a maelstrom and the use of the song is perfect. I could have loved this piece only more if it had brighter coloring, but since this was about influence I clearly see how you were following in Sayjay's muted coloring. :heart:

2nd Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place2.jpg
I'm blown away by your visual realization of such a reoccurring theme and Dean's opposition to the pattern. This technique that Zugma first implemented works so perfectly. I also love how you visualized Gordon and his sisters story. I had to double take for a minute that I didn't miss some flashback scene in the show! :lol:


1st Place
http://quicksand.ohstatic.net/ch38/place1.jpg
I love the b/w coloring punctuated by teh smoky light streak like a trail from a fired gun. I loved the conflicted emotion of the caps. And the text packs a punch in design plus meaning. All three entries of yours had such beautiful coloring and mountains of emotion. This piece just demanded my attention every time I tried to skim by it.




MORE FEEDBACK
I really want to feedback at least one piece by everyone who entered. I'm missing quite a few of you but I will come back by this weekend and finish it. Thank you so much for your entries, they all had something that touched and inspired me. :hug:

color me troll - I love this idea here. Your coloring is so beautiful and haunting and I love the simplicity of text designe paired with its intriguing nature of meaning. Buffy looks wicked cold. However Dawn seems a bit timid and being at the forefront I think she could have been a bit more confident. Lovely idea!

LRae
Looks liek you really brought your game here. Such a cool style and I love how you made it your own. I think the bright red coloring and the and all the white were too much for me. I think more natural colors might have made the artwork and photos stand out more.


DigitalMindy - Uppermanagement - I'm not super familiar with the office, so I don't get everything that's going on here. I think the dumb rock is hilarious. And the coffee stained postit note is a great idea. Perhaps angling the words a bit in comparison to the postit note edges might have given it a more natural feel. I like how you've done Michael's character as cut out yet still has the same fabric texture as the background. The cutout clouds seem to imply childness.I like the paper edging a lot. But I think the liquidy blurriness of the bottom most edging doesn't accentuate the piece with all it other flat solid colors. Another solid color would have given the piece an emphatic nature rather than trying to compete with the rest of the piece for the viewers attention.


Pandora - I adore the coloring and the soft lighting. I mostly wish the piece hadn't been so small. Its a bit hard to read the text and grasp its full meaning. I like the scene progression and how so many parts of it are of Buffy's back as she looks into the piece. It really gives a feeling of we're looking through her eyes. I like how you chose this technique to use with scene with the blackness closing in around here. Quite poignant and feels time is running out or nearing an end.

Blasterboy - jj style - I like the warm fun coloring and attitude of the piece. You're really getting much better with blending and composition, it feels much more natural and spontaneous than some of your first stuff. :D

[little albatross]

AAAAHHH! The participation award alone is SO made of WIN :xd (hey, my name's listed first. *does a little ego-stroking dance* :2party: )

But seriously, Lyn. This was one of the most fun-fantabulous challenges ever. (And it's nice to know that Kay and Fox are an effective form of bribery.) I heart you, and the giant number of people who continue to inspire me. I would have done an entry for each of you if I had the time!

And a big superthanks to the people who did pieces based on my art :hug: You know when there's some person who does something and gets warm fuzzies about it, but when everyone looks, feels slightly embarassed? Yeah, I kind of felt like that for a moment. But above all. it is extremely flattering. :heart:

[EndersWrath]

Why must you be made out of awesome? It makes the rest of us all look way less awesome! These awards are so crazy and fun! I love 'em!

I was so surprised that I place in there because did you see how many amazing entries there were?! Seriously! Everyone seemed to have brought their 'A' game to the table!

Thank you so so much for the award Lyn :hug: and even more for this challenge! I love it when I can go away from a challenge and have learned something new!

Congrats to everyone that won! And I so knew that SayJay would take first! Her pieces were incredible!

[Jenni Lou]

Well, this was one of the most awesome of the awesomest chellenges ever! :D Thanks so much for the great idea, Lyn, and for the super awards post with the mundo feedback and pretty awards! Thanks for mine! I don't know how you even went about judging this! :eek:

Congrats, everyone!! :celebration: There were tons of amazing entries and I really liked seeing them as you all posted them. Especially those who chose me! :lol: :p

I was going to rep you for this and your birthday but it says I have to wait. :mad: So...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

[slaycandy]

*dies* Wow! 1st place, I'm all giddy now, and totally joining in on that super-squishy-group-hug!

The awards are all absolutely stunning, and I love your little tag-line on the participation award, so awesome!

A huge congratulations to all the other winners, I saw some truly amazing pieces in this challenge! And thanks to Ehlwyen for giving us such a great challenge!

*hugs*
SJ
xox

[DigitalLeonardo]

This is the first time I've gotten a first place anything for my heart, thank you so much. This was such an amazing challenge that I wish I would have more weeks to do more^^

Damn so many people entered, can't beleive you actually went through em all did the awards, amazing Plyn!

Congrads to everyone else, such amazing pieces.

[Alucard]

This challenge was so much fun :D and the awards are fantastic, Ehlwyen. Congratulations to everyone for making such awesome inspiring art, Congratulations Sayjay on first place :), I can't wait for your next challenge Ehlwyen

[omri]

Great awards!!! Congrtulation to the winners!...

[debbiefm]

Congrats to all the winners.:2party: All the entries were awesome and really inspired me to do something different and to really think of my art. My god Ehlwyen you have put some much time and thought into the awards and it's soo thougthful of you to try and give everyone a little feedback.:heart:

[Lexus]

Thank you for the ohmigod!pertty award! Great Challenge!

[galathea]

Aww thank you for the awards, hon! :heart: Very beautiful and I love the thoughts that went into the judging! :hug:

This was one of the most inspiring challenges in a long time for me and the way it made me look into and work with other techniques really gave me new inspirations for my own art! :heart:

Congrats to all the winners, the pieces in this challenge were amazing!

[Andrew]

Thanks so much for the award! All of the awards look awesome and very original. This is one of the best challenges I've ever participated in and I'm delighted that you gave me an award since I haven't arted for a while.

[~*Marilyne*~]

Thanks so much sweetie for the award :hug:!
And congrats everyone (especially you SJ, you totally deserve 1st place ! ;) )
xxxx

[Pandora's_Box]

Thanks for the mass of awards and for the feedback...And thanks for inspiring me my entry, congrats to the winners!!

[Amantine]

Congratulations to all the winners! All your entries were fantastic! :hug:

[wenj]

Wow! Thank you for the beautiful awards hun! I absolutely loved this challenge :) And :thud: all the feedback! You never cease to amaze hun! :hug:

[Bre]

Ahhh!! You are teh definition of cool, Lynny-poo! I mean, look at these awards. They just pop out and say, "Look at me, look at me!"

Thank you so much for the awards, they're gorgeous and OMG*dies* A 3rd place? *freakishsqueeoffreakishjoy*

:hug:

[Zack]

Lyn is what cool is :worthy:

Love the awards, and congrats to the winnahs, especially SJ :D :celebration:

[~M@rie~]

Thanks for the gorgeous award, Lyn! :hug: I loved this challenge; it's one of the most inspiring challenge I've ever took part in (even though I submitted one entry only). So, thanks a lot! :heart: Congrats to all the winners and participants! :)

[BlasterBoy]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Lynnn!:hug:

[ficbitch82]

I love this piece to death. The colors are so vibrant and warm but there is still this feeling of darkness and impending doom or sadness. I find this very evocative of Lorne and ATS. The happiness and hope paired with the dark. Excellent use of jj's style in your own way.

Wow, thank you so, so much! :D I wasn't expecting anything after seeing the fantastic entries in here and yet I got 2nd place, a nifty banner and fab feedback!

Congratulations to all the other winners, too. There are some seriously gorgeous pieces in here. :)

[Peace]

Wow, thank you for the award! Congratulations to all the winners!

[Amber]

OOH what pretty awards!! I loved seeing what you guy came up with. Congrats to all the winners :)