red_satin_doll

So, uh. That petpluto gifset you linked to made me very, very happy.

It's excellent isn't it? I wanted to rec it on the Buffyverse Top 5 but didn't get a chance, so I'm saving it for the October Classic edition.

Very nice, getting text to work is tricky.

Thank you for the compliment! These came out well in terms of legibility - you're right, it is very hard getting the text to "pop". I've even tried putting colored text on b/w or monochrome images and it doesn't always work as well as I'd hoped. (Also, I tend to want to say "too much" in some images and have to curb myself.)

I start with the largest image I can then resize about 100pixels at a time, constantly sharpening and adjusting rather than starting at 100x100. what do you do (and what program do you use?)

I love these icons! The "I hate housework" one pretty much sums me up quite nicely. :P
Well done!

Thanks for sharing the ones others have done as well!

The Housework icon is one of my favorites as well, we are of one mind on that subject! (Does anyone REALLY like housework?) Thank you for the compliment.

I wanted to share the classic "Smile Fan - No Apologies" but I seem to have deleted it from my photobucket icon album.

And this happens when I get my Anya and Buffy story, I take it as a sign! XD

But, seriously, I love everything about that meta on Anya and how much wrong she is. Rewatching S7 there is this constant catchphrase: Buffy is privileged to have the power. And in a way she is, I know. Weird power is better than no power. Being powerless means suffering but the slayerness of Buffy (I don't know how to call it) is also powerlessness because she was stuck with the burden of all the world's responsability and pain on her shoulders. So privilege my ass. (Being a slayer among slayers: that's the privilege because it's less responsability and more sharing) So, I love you Anya, but that was just wrong.

Love your icons. They are so funny. I still love the MEH icon - because of perfection - and the "Buffy wouldn't do that" which would be useful in so many ways. Little thing about Giles being a kid: isn't kid!Giles totally similar to a supposed kid!William? I ask this most important question.

this happens when I get my Anya and Buffy story

Wait, what? Are you writing an Anya and Buffy story?

Speaking of, have you read [Unknown LJ tag]'s AU rewrite of Checkpoint which is a thing of BEAUTY?
http://clockwork-hart1.livejournal.com/16507.html

is also powerlessness because she was stuck with the burden of all the world's responsability and pain on her shoulders. So privilege my ass.

I don't know if it's "powerlessness" in that she tries to deny it, to refuse it, but keeps reclaiming it (WTTH, PG, Anne, etc) but at great cost to herself, her relationships, her own life. So she makes a choice to "be" a Slayer because she has "a world of love in her heart" and a very strong ethical and moral code to help others. She decides to meet the Master after learning about the massacre in the school and Willow's tearful "What do we do now"? She reclaims her identity in Anne when Lily goes to her for help. She's torn up in Beneath You because she's having dreams of girls dying and knows she can't do anything, that girls will continue to die.

So I guess she does have a choice to be a Slayer or not each time. But I believe that has everything to do with who Buffy is, and not to do with the "Slayer package". Morals and ethics, the care perspective, do not seem to be included in the strength and skill deal.

Faith is a very good example of that - and I love Faith, but she doesn't have the same moral grounding that Buffy does; and poor Kendra can only parrot what her Watcher has indoctrinated in her. It's probably no accident that of the three of them, Buffy is the only one with a strong bond to a loving mother (Joyce). And Faith has a luxury that Buffy doesn't - she can not be a Slayer for a while. She chooses to go to prison, and good on her for taking responsibility for her darkness, and seeking a safe place where there are firm boundaries. She needs that for her growth and maturation. But the only way Buffy can get that "luxury" prior to Chosen is by running away to LA (and trouble still finds her anyway) or DYING. And look how well that went.

(Which, incidentally, is a bond that Willow lacks but Tara shares with Buffy. As a witch, Tara is the one closest to Buffy in terms of morals and the "care perspective". Just sayin'.)

So, I love you Anya, but that was just wrong.

*Nods* I know this has been said by - pretty much everyone, I guess, but Anya's speech would make perfect sense coming from the mouth of one of the Potentials. (I've even seen fans who HATE Buffy go WTF? to that scene.) NOT someone who has been there at Buffy's side for years and was there when she died (The Gift). Not from an ex-demon who knows that power can be given up but it also can be given and taken away at a whim by patriarchial father figures with their own arcane sets of rules (D'Hoffryn, the Shadowmen & WC.)

I even double-checked the shooting script on Buffyworld one time; Willow and Xander's dialogue is VERY different, but Anya's speech was shot exactly as written.

Thanks for the compliments sweetie! I'll probably repost the meh icon on another post here, I just did the tip-top of the iceburg to start otherwise this would have gotten very long. And yes "Buffy wouldn't do that" would come in very handy (the comics, for one thing. And Sarah used to be mocked for supposedly saying it - how many fans have said it since the comics came out?)

isn't kid!Giles totally similar to a supposed kid!William? I ask this most important question.

I have no idea - but now that you mention it, even without the comics there are probably similarities in upbringing. I don't know that I see Giles as having been a "poet" or artist but obviously a bookworm/academic from an early age. And in S7 it's obvious that he sees a little too much of himself (Ripper) in Spike, which is part of his discomfort with Spike in Buffy's life. So definite parallels.

I find it interesting that on the tv show the male characters especially are constantly failing to recognize the common ground they share, or are made nervous by the commonalities rather than learning to get over them. I think Xander starts to get there with Spike during S5 and then again in S7 after Selfless.

Beautiful. *laughs and laughs and laughs*

And that's just the snowflake on the tip of the iceburg sweetie. I HAVE MORE. LOTS MORE.

I know I've come late to fandom and the comics kerfuffles have died down but they are SO MUCH FUN to mock. Granted, it's like shooting fish in a barrel....

Okay, your icons are awesome, especially the ones which comment on the comics.


Gabrielle

Thanks sweetie! As I just told dragonyphoenix abovethread, I have many more for your delectation. I will parse them out slowly. :)

Making icons is an art onto itself. But adding the perfect captions - can take it to a place of brilliance! I think that's right up your alley, and I love what you've done so far!

Oh! Thank you so much for the kind encouragement! Coming from you that's just - wow, honestly.

One of my fandom books has a really good discussion of icons (though it's in the Supernatural fandom) that I think you might enjoy (this particular book has so many "ME TOO! BUT WITH BUFFY!" moments).

My particular favorite of your batch is "Meh," mostly because I love it when Sarah makes funny faces.

Also, if you want to go further with icon making, there's Gimp, which is like photoshop but free, and there are tons of tutorials around for it (I chose this one because it has Buffy).

Icons are ADDICTING when you start making them!

that I think you might enjoy (this particular book has so many "ME TOO! BUT WITH BUFFY!" moments).

What's the title? I'm tickled that someone has written about icons. (then again, I just did too - but they got it published. We need to get in on some of this action, hon.)

The other day I saw a Buffy in academia book (I think that's correct?) is available on interlibrary loan and I believe that's one you've mentioned to me?

mostly because I love it when Sarah makes funny faces.

Sarah gives good face!


I think she once said that part of the thing about Buffy that she thought made her relatable as a role model was that "She (and hence herself) wasn't the prettiest girl." Sarah's not "the prettiest" in any classical sense of (western) ideal of female beauty, but she can play her looks either way, up (Ringer, Buffy) or down (The Crazy Ones) depending on the needs of the project.

Thanks for the link - I've had several people recommend Gimp to me. A few years back my sweetie and I tried it on our older computer and got frustrated but it might be easier to work with now. I'll give it another try.

Icons are ADDICTING when you start making them!

I need three for this icon challenge coming up. I've made 45 between today and yesterday. Pure crack cocaine.

Some are so funny :P

Well done!

THANKS MUCHLY! :)

I love them, give me twelve. "Buffy Wouldn't Do That"? Passive aggressive swipe at the comics? "That's Season 8"? Slightly less passive swipe at the comics? "You Made Giles How Old?"? I'm dead at this point. Too funny, too right. Actually, my favourite is the first "Can't Cope With This" - mostly because I've never seen that summed up in an icon before and damn does it need to be said. The picture is perfect, the placement of the text just detached enough to really get the message across. I love it. The perks of extra icon space, huh?

The Mary Sue one is perfect - exactly right (which is totally wrong). The Dawn one is gorgeous, too.

I've been making some icons here and there myself because I'm not so worried about how little space I've got (but I'm keeping well away from 32, just because I'm afraid I won't be able to let 'em go). I've felt like my icons were neglecting my other fandoms - still all girls, mind - so I made myself a River Song/TARDIS icon for my love of DW and a Mary Morstan/Watson icon for Sherlock (she was a new addition this series and I think I love her):




I'm not sure how I feel about the DW one, because the writing is a bit illegible, and i'm not sure if it's too busy? But i love the Mary one. It kind of tells you everything you need to know - charming, graceful, English, and all I did was heighten the light and soften the focus a little.

So that's what I've done with my day.

BTW - The Anya gifs and subsequent meta - so RIGHT. That NEVER sat right with me - what were the writers on that day? It's almost totally out of character for Anya too, because yes, she's the one who says the things with their bare bones, no sugar-coating, but SHE WOULDN'T THINK THAT. She's had power that was freely given to her and then taken away herself, but was that EASY, for even a second? Hell no. Doesn't Buffy work so hard at what she does? Isn't Anya someone who has stood beside her when the world has caved in and Slayer power hasn't done a thing to stave it off? All wrong, guys. ALL. WRONG.

Passive-aggressive? Nah. Just thoroughly pissed. I have MORE btw - lots more - but I'm saving them for another post. (Also lots of Olivia and Joyce and Tara icons.)

Re: your icons yes, I find it a little busy and the black text is very hard to read (the yellow text is fine. I know how that is btw - I have been going INSANE trying to make text pop and even when I make the image b/w or monochrome sometimes I still can't make it happen.) I like the general concept though.

And the image of her in the lower left? I don't know if she's carrying a gun or reaching something but I AM ALL OVER THAT IMAGE. Love her face in that one.

The one of Mary is GORGEOUS on the other hand. Perfect, stunning, beautiful. The sizing looks odd though compared to the River icon - more like a rectangle? Is it 100x100?

all I did was heighten the light and soften the focus a little.

Some of my favorite icons I've made are the ones where I've hardly had to do a damn thing like that. Like it made itself. (My Dawn & Buffy in Him icon is a good example.) I just made the icon for the Body yesterday and HAD TO HAVE IT FOR MYSELF. I'd forgotten how Buffy cradles the phone receiver as if it's something precious, or it's a child's security blanket.)

It's addictive isn't it?

That NEVER sat right with me - what were the writers on that day?

The same stuff Joss was on when he wrote the cookie dough speech? Oh, no, that's not right. EP is too angsty. No stoner would right a scene like that unless pot made them extremely paranoid. (I will never again smoke while sitting as the passenger in someone else's car. Just a tip.)

She's had power that was freely given to her and then taken away herself, but was that EASY, for even a second? Hell no.

Again I point to the beauty of "Selfless" - Buffy and Anya understood each other in that episode. Two women who had "jobs" to do, given to them by patriarchs who don't care about the girls themselves, only that the rules be obeyed. Xander didn't understand, couldn't, because he's a perpetual outsider. and for all his talk about being the heart and the one who sees he's very good at refusing to see or being terribly biased. D'Hoffryn got it right "sees with the eyes of love" doesn't mean seeing clearly or wisely or even lovingly (unselfishly).

So BIG NO to that speech coming from Anya. I guess they "had" to give each Scoobie a speaking part; and I get that Anya may have had resentment about Buffy's treatment of her (sword through the chest) compared to not staking Spike BUT - Anya knew what would happen when Buffy set that large dagger down in the Bronze in Beneath You. SHE KNEW it was Buffy's job to protect humans from demons. The Snark Squad got one thing right at least - "suicide by Slayer" indeed.

And then Buffy turns around and protects Anya from one of D'Hoffryn's hitmen, opens up her home to Anya and lets her live there because she cares about her friend. How much MORE does Buffy have to do, honestly?

Isn't Anya someone who has stood beside her when the world has caved in and Slayer power hasn't done a thing to stave it off?

Who saw Buffy's broken body at the end of The Gift. (Which reminds me of Giles and I WILL NOT GO THERE RIGHT NOW. I swear.)

But I guess I have the out of fiction - when a favorite character does something I like, I credit the character. When they do something I don't, I can blame the writers. Fiction FTW!

Doing text on an icon can be tough because there are so many variables, the font, the size of the font, the placement and color of text and the actually wording. When all of the variables come together the icon can become perfect miniature art. When I first started putting text on icons I was so worried about the wording that I never gave the font a thought. Which makes for funny icons that look terrible. (see above) Kudos for an excellent job on the icons. If you got yourself a better program (one that uses layers) you could probably rule the icon world. ~_^

Thanks for the shout out for the icons I added text to for you.

Which makes for funny icons that look terrible. (see above)

Actually the fact that this journal template shrinks the icons considerably means I can't even read the text on that one here (I can see the word birthday) but I checked it out full size on your user pics page and I like the composition very much; I don't think it looks terrible at all.

I would like to be able to have bars or blocks of solid color to set the text on as you've done in this example (I guess that's where layers come in); and to be able to do icons that are "collages" of two images or more images. (f.ex. Buffy's death in PG and in the Gift. I am SUCH a cheerful person. *lol*)

Kudos for an excellent job on the icons. If you got yourself a better program (one that uses layers) you could probably rule the icon world. ~_^

OMG can you see me blushing right now? Because that is HIGH praise coming from a true master of the form such as yourself!

And no need for thanks on the shout out; they're truly lovely (and appropriate to this post.) I should add that other friends have noticed and commented appreciatively on them to me privately. At first I was all "no don't snag" and then that felt selfish so I send people your way instead.

User oni_9 referenced to your post from Tuesday, February 11 - Wednesday, February 12 saying: [...] Deadline For Otherworldlyrics Icon Challenge Extended - & Icon(ic) Thinky Thoughts [...]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And welcome to the craziness that is working with text! :D
Love what you did here, these are truly excellent, especially considering you're not using layers!

My intro to the use of layers (and text) was with paint.Net: the userpic and this are examples of those efforts that I still like .
Later I tried the GIMP and I had a blast, though it required quite a bit of tutorials.
Eventually I settled with PS which is HUGE, there are endless options and the learning process never stops. ;)

Truth is text remains one of the most elusive parts of icon making, I'm never certain about it, but I love experimenting with fonts.

Nowadays I never have enough time to check LJ , but occasionally I post to otherworldlyric because it's such a fab comm and the challenges are so intriguing. I even ventured outside my comfort zone, trying other fandoms thanks to it.

Looking forward to seeing your entries! <3

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes AND the kind compliments on the icons! Considering your own work that's really an amazing compliment. Those fonts are gorgeous - I have NO idea how you got that fading in and out effect on "Hero" so I imagine that's one of the layers? (And that Angel icon - OMG, too funny in an ironic way. And creepy at the same time.)

I can just see the happy birthday on your icon because my template shrinks icons in comments(*waves to Spike*) - but it's red and it's an "italic" (copperplate?) style font and I can still read it, which, amazing. I have tried over and over to use red font on icons and have yet to get it to pop, even in thick fonts. Clearly I need a better program.

Some of the PB fonts are so ridiculous with the curlicues that even in large size they'd be illegible.

My sweetie was going to purchase pixelmater for me to use but she's gone back to a variation of photoshop, so I may have to get it on my own. (It's best if I'm not using the same program as her. For reasons.) She has occasionally tried to show me what she does on PS and, whoa. And she's not doing text or fancy effects either.

Truth is text remains one of the most elusive parts of icon making, I'm never certain about it,

Thank you for saying that because that is VERY reassuring to hear! I like playing with different fonts on one icon or the same font in different colors like the record covers of the 1950's.

I'm really pleased with the entries for this challenge whether or not they "win" (Ryan was an awesome beta, practically held my hand) and will post them here. It's the first time I found myself getting really emotional and politically motivated while making icons. Who knew?