galathea: (sam_kneeling)
galathea ([personal profile] galathea) wrote2009-02-05 11:59 am
Entry tags:

A Wallpaper

So, I usually wait until I have at least two wallpapers to show for, but I haven't been able to art for nearly two months and people asked me for new art, so I'll make an exception today. My current hectic RL situation will be be over in about 4 weeks and then I'll hopefully be able to make art on a more regular basis again. :) Thanks for all the impatient requests for new art, it's always very humbling for me to know that there are people who look forward to it! ♥

I also changed my LJ layout again and I used a fanmade custom layout this time. I loved my old layout, but I always ran into trouble with space if a comment discussion entailed more than 3-4 comments, so I was looking for a suitable alternative anyway.



Suidice Note: This wallpaper is an episodic piece from I Know What You Did Last Summer and deals with Sam's self-destructive course after Dean's death. After the episode I instantly thought of Johnette Napolitano's song 'Suicide Note' and knew I had to use it for a piece about Sam. I wanted the images to strongly resonate with the lyrics, hence the prominent placement of the broken bottle at the top, alluding to Sam's desperate attempt to numb his grief with alcohol. I visualised the 'that grenade you cuddle' line from the lyrics with drunken Sam looking at a gun in his hand, contemplating to end it all with one quick pull of the trigger. The deep red in the piece resonates with 'bloody', which is how Sam's life would have ended eventually. Originally I wanted the red to be accompanied by blue, to have a mix of cold and warm, but in the end the green worked better for some reason, so there's no particular significance to the use of that colour.

This piece actually didn't turn out at all as I planned it. The caps I initially wanted to use, because they communicated Sam's desperation best, were either too low in quality or very dark and didn't respond well to lighting techniques, so I had to work around that by either choosing different caps or heavy manipulation of the images. I think it came out well, but overall it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch I wanted it to have. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. :)

Suicide Note

1024x768 | 1280x800

You all know the drill, no posting elsewhere and no pretending it's your own. Just for private desktop use! *g* Resources as usual over at Salt'n Burn!

[identity profile] karenmiller.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:12 am (UTC)(link)
It's gorgeous. But may I be a pain and point out that it's grEnade, not grAnade?

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:17 am (UTC)(link)
Argh, thank you! I copied the line directly from a lyrics site. My bad I didn't look at it closely. LOL I'll change it as soon as I am at home. Glad you like it!

[identity profile] karenmiller.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
You were too busy making with the pretty. *g*

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:24 am (UTC)(link)
ROFL true that. But I am no native speaker, so sometimes errors slip by me nonetheless. 'Grenade' isn't a word I use often or see often in use, so I may not have noticed anyway. Never feel shy to correct my errors, in fact I am always grateful if people do. :)

[identity profile] ramoniciu.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
It´s so amazing again, i love your story behind your art. And during this episode i had to think too about Sam and suicide and hoped they would go there and show us an attempt or something. The broken bottle, the red color, the composition, and the pic with Sam and the gun in his hand...everything is perfect.

[identity profile] llywela13.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 11:59 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, there's that new wall you were telling us about. Yay for you arting again!

It's very beautiful and angsty. Poor sad Sam. :(

You need to go make a young boys wall now from 4.13...*G*

Ooh, and I love the new layout. Especially if it doesn't lose the comments off to one side. The banner is so simple and pretty. *loves*

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much! I think the show did a good job in portraying Sam as suicidal and self-destructive and I decided on a manip nonetheless, because I wanted to match that specific line from the lyrics. I am glad you think it works well. :)

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 12:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks, hon! *hugs* Ha, actually a wee!chester wall is next on my to do list. How did you know? Oh, right, that brain again! LOL

Yeah, I am really happy with this layout so far! Man, that comment thing was annoying. LOL

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow another fantastic piece of art! Bravo!

Oh don't ya hate when you copy and paste other peeps typos? I always do that!...lol...I get so wrapped up in the art that I screw up the text.

Your composition is perfect and I just love the coloring throughout including the use of sepia in the upper right. The theme of this is tugging at my heart. Very powerful piece and amazing work as always and an inspiration. Thanks for sharing! *Snags*

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
ROFL for a moment I was all 'huh, when did I make this comment' when I saw your icon. *g*

Man, I hate if that happens. Since I am not a native speaker, I always try to double check spelling of words that I am not entirely familiar with. I was just lazy here, so that served me right.

Thank you for your enthusiastic feedback, again! *hugs* I am happy with the colouring as well, it's not a combo I use often, so I was surprised at the outcome myself. The boys grieving for each other is always a moving theme to work in art, I am glad you think the piece did the emotion justice. :)

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL...I didn't even realize I had chosen your icon! I was going for the mood and when I posted I said...hmm...interesting choice. ;)

My spell checks always end up happening after I've posted something!...lol..I'm not a 'word" person to begin with and I hate doing the text part of wallies. It's not my forte and I end up ripping my hair out over what quotes and fonts to use. *facepalm*

Oh you're very welcome and you must know you have been quite an inspiration to me and my own art. *Hugs you back* You are a true artist and I enjoy your creativity immensely! :)

Deb-

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I hate text as well to be honest. It's not my strongest suit in art I'm afraid. It's a rare occasion that I know upfront which text to use, like in this one, so I can actively work in sync with the text.

Wow, it's so nice to know that other artists feel influenced by my own efforts! I am just browsing your journal, man, you have some very impressive manips there. I don't watch Smallville, so I can't say much about the content, but visually they are stunning. ♥

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww thank you! Lately I've loved doing manips. Some come out great while others I shake my head at cuz they look too fake. I'm hard on myself when it comes to manips but they are challenging and I love it more and more. I haven't done much in SPN manips but I plan on it since I'm a new fan of the show. I've only used Jensen in one but hope to add him into other manips. Manips are great for fantasy! ;)

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm, I really love manipping, not only for fantasy wallpapers, but also to improve image quality or to achieve a certain effect. The amount of manipping for example that went into that one little image of Sam with the gun in his hand was insane, because I not only had to manip the gun in, but also the head, the neck and parts of the t-shirt because the quality was so bad. LOL

Oh, btw where do you get your fantasy bases for your manips? Is there a special site for that kind of images?

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow I didn't even know that was a manip in that wallie! Awesome job! I've had to do that as well and if only people knew what we did in some of these pieces...lol...Just manipping out that darn TV CW Logo and ads is a pain! It's always in the worst possible place on the best caps! :/

The fantasy pics are usually stumbled upon while searching for images. I just grab them for later projects until I get to them. I have googled "warrior" and "Fantasy" and found some good stuff but most if by accident.

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:36 pm (UTC)(link)
True facts! I hate that damn logo and with the CW it really is HUGE. /sigh Heh, glad you didn't notice it's a manip, well, after all that's the goal of a manip, right? *g*

Ah okay, I'll keep that in mind. I don't do fantasy manips often and I always wonder where people get their images. LOL

[identity profile] ladymanson.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
This is great. It wall really captures the mood of Sam in the episode and the lyrics you chose worked very well. LOVE THE SONG! I also really like the colors you chose, especially the partial red. Nice work! :-)

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :) I love that song as well and I wanted to use it in a wallpaper for a long time. When Sam's scenes came along I finally had the chance. :D

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
The logo's bad enough but now they have to add what show is coming up and all the other crap...lol...but yes you did a great job on that manip and it is the goal. I'm itching to do another manip. Just not sure what yet. The girl's are easier than the boys but I really want to do something sexy with Tom, Jensen and Jared. We'll see what happens. In the meantime I'll be watching out for more art from you. :)

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Looking forward to seeing more from you, I friended you back. :) Don't count on more art any time soon. The time for this one was stolen already. *g*

[identity profile] shawn-anne.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, amen, there's ART!

One word to describe it: WIN! *loves* Reminds me of a fic I once wrote too *grins*

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks, Ari! :) ROFL lately my art seems to remember you of fics of yours a lot. Hm, I wonder how that happens.

[identity profile] shawn-anne.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Err... We share a brain? :D

[identity profile] fotw-sv.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh cool! Thanks for friending me. :) Hopefully I won't disappoint. ;) I'm so addicted to making stuff that I can't stop even when I'm trying to take a break!...lol...As long as I can steal some time, I'm making either making something or collecting inspriration for my next project. *g*

Good talking with you. Have a great rest of the day or is it evening there?...lol...In that case, g-nite.

[identity profile] galathea-snb.livejournal.com 2009-02-05 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
ROFL I already share a brain with [livejournal.com profile] llywela13, so if I share the other half with you as well, there's not much left for me. /sigh No wonder I have troubles concentrating lately. *g*

When are you leaving for Italy?

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