meme: 2008 (Fic &) Art Roundup

[astridv]

gakked from crysothemis...

2008 (Fic &) Art Roundup

My favorite piece of this year: tie between The Long Way Home and In The Pale Moonlight.

My best piece this year: Again, tie between 'The Long Way Home' and 'In The Pale Moonlight'. Honestly, I think ITPM is one of the best illustrations I've ever done. But comic has an added layer of difficulty compared to one-shot illustration and there's the whole storytelling aspect. I can't decide.

Most fun piece: The Long Way Home. Not least because of the collaborative part. ITPM was fun, too, but in a different way... like, ten hours of obsessive drawing and coloring entirely on autopilot.

Most sexy piece: Huh. Well, there's my Shirtless!John and its companion piece, Shirtless!Rodney?

Piece with the single sexiest moment: Um. Clear Blue Skies, while being gen, has a definitive slashy vibe... the sexy moment has to be left to the imagination of the viewer... okay, so I don't have a sexiest moment in my art.

"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" piece: Well, I did entertain the idea of creating shirtless versions of all the characters. All the guys, anyway. But I didn't. So, I got nothing, really.

Piece that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I realized John Sheppard makes a great Muppet.

Hardest piece to create: Muppet: Atlantis. I did the drawing of the team in like an hour, and then I spent hours and hours (and layers and layers) on getting the photoshopped background right. And it never really turned out quite like I'd envisioned it.

Biggest Disappointment: The stuff that disappoints me goes straight to the garbage bin.

Oh wait, there's this almost-finished illustration of John and Rodney exploring a creepy underground mine, and I can't find an angle for it. A theme, a punchline, anything to give this scene context. I just had the image in my head and started drawing, and hoped that an idea would form in time. If someone wants to take a look at it, I could use some input. [yay, I think I know what to do with it now.]

Biggest Surprise: got nothing

Most Unintentionally Telling piece: I dunno. You tell me. ;)


in all this year I produced:

1 finished comic
1 almost-finished comic (I'm still hoping I might finish it by the end of the year, but probably not)
half a dozen illustrations and sketches

Comments

[ratcreature]

Maybe the creepy underground mine could be turned into a creepy hive ship corridor? Or a Genii bunker if it is less organic? Or one of Michael's creatures could lurk or something? I mean just that a more canon creepy underground reference would create context instantly for a scene.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Hive ship won't work, it's all rock and gravel. Definitely a mine. Hang on, I'm digging for a jpg...

here's what I got so far. (http://pics.livejournal.com/astridv/pic/000kwc3p)

[ratcreature]

Hm. Yeah, it's a bit random. What are the smaller panels for? I don't really see a sequence happening in them?

I still think something could lurk for them. Like in the front to the right, where so far there's only columns, something could wait for them that they can't see yet, but the viewer can. If the smaller panels are going to be an event sequence, and are right before John and Rodney enter, something could skitter back in these panels, so we see something, like a shape, hide from their light, and then in the large frame we can make out what it is, because it is in the front. Maybe an iratus bug? Perhaps the hanging bats could be changed to their cocoons too.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

What are the smaller panels for? I don't really see a sequence happening in them?

The sequence is in the lighting. I was thinking of gradually showing someone with a flashlight approaching: the first small panel would be colored monochromatic and darkish, the next one dark in the foreground with that tunnel in the background shining brightly. Then next, in the large panel, up show our guys. I'm not married to the idea though, I could kick that out and use the space for something else.

Iratus bugs, hmm. Has the advantage of being easily recognizable. I'll mull over it.

[crysothemis.livejournal.com]

I love this meme, because it means I get to revisit old favorites and discover things I'd missed. You did fantastic work this year.

[rheanna27.livejournal.com]

I love In the Pale Moonlight. Everything about that picture is just perfect; I adore the sense of menace, and the feeling you get that it's this still moment *just* before everything gets very, very violent.

I think I had more fun on The Long Way Home than anything else this year. It was a fantastic thrill to write something and then see how you created a visual narrative from it. So much fun.

[makd.livejournal.com]

I'm bookmarking this for later reading; thanks for doing this for us.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Hey, I hope you'll like it! (It's all Stargate Atlantis though...)

[trystings.livejournal.com]

I love your work. In the Pale Moonlight is gorgeous, Clear Blue Skies is a wonderful friendship piece and The Long Way Home is fantastic.

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

God, what *gorgeous* work you do! I love this meme so much, because I get to revisit things I already loved, and discover new things.

I get the feeling on that mine that, hmmm, that it was originally something Ancient -- the columns feel that way to me, but that somebody else, some other native civilization or bad guy has been mining in there, not realizing what those Ancient column thingies are/can do. I feel like something should happen with the columns if someone with an ATA gene touches them...but that's just me.:) Tons of potential with that drawing: it's awesome, simply awesome!

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Technology, hmm. Hm.

Rambling about this drawing really helps loosening up the stuck gears in my brain. (I did this thing in August and it hadn't gone anywhere since then.) It just occurred to me that maybe this doesn't have to be a John/Rodney piece, much as I love to draw the two. More possibilities that way. The Moonlight pic was originally conceived as John/Rodney as well until I read the prompt and I realized it had to be Todd and Ronon.

That meme is great, I hope it'll make its way around. It's impossible not to miss some stuff at the time it's posted.

[less-star.livejournal.com]

Oh, Clear blue skies. I loved that so much (and still do, of course). John looks so happy. I think that was the first time I saw any of your work.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yay :o) I'm glad you found your way here.

[argosy.livejournal.com]

I love Muppet Atlantis! I mean I love all your work, but I hadn't realized that Muppet Atlantis was by you! ♥

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it looks a bit different from my usual stuff because of the photoshopped background. Well, that and the fact that they're muppets.

Edited because one typo in two sentences, that's just too much. Also, to pick a more appropriate icon. :)