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AFA Awards 2009
Yesterday the Academy of Fanart Artists awarded the best fanartists and wallpapers of the year 2008 and it was an amazing ceremony! ♥ To be honest, I had already decided to not take part in the AFA’s this year, since the time restraint I was under over the last couple of months was really eating away at me, and I didn’t think I would manage to get the time-consuming nomination and voting process done in time. It was ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
slaycandy who in the end convinced me to give it a shot anyway, and I am profoundly glad that she did. Thank you, hon! *hugs*
So, this post contains a lot of internal ramblings about my art, mostly in order to just reflect on my last year, fanart-wise, so I can always go back and refresh my memory. Just feel free to skip this post entirely! ;)
The Numbers: This year 41 artists nominated approx. 650 different wallpapers in 30 categories and the amount of absolutely amazing and creative art in this competition will never cease to amaze me. So, it’s all the more humbling to me, that I placed 1st in 9 of the 30 categories and received 19 awards in total, with the 12 different wallpapers of mine that I entered in the competition. 5 artworks of mine made it into the Top20 of Best Wallpapers of 2008, amongst them the 1st and 3rd place! That’s just a bit unreal to me! *g*
The Thanks: The year 2008 didn't really feel like a very good fanart year for me. S3 of Supernatural didn't inspire the same artistic fire in me as S2 did the year before, and changes in my personal life limited the time I had available to invest in art. I made 28 wallpapers last year, compared to 40 wallpapers in 2007. Additionally, I made a lot of wallpapers last year, I wasn't really happy with, neither artistically, nor emotionally. So, overall I didn't feel I had too much to offer for this year's ceremony.
I have to admit that I tended to think that people might be getting bored with me making Supernatural art exclusively, when there are so many fandoms to explore, and that they are sick of seeing Sam and/or Dean's faces on every single piece I make. *g* I mean, not necessarily for other Supernatural fans and artists, but for the fanart community in general. So, last night I have learned my lesson to never underestimate your audience! I can't really express how incredibly humbled I felt at the outpour of enthusiastic comments on my art. ♥ Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my pieces! To know how profoundly touched and inspired other artists feel by my art is something I can't quite fathom, and it completely floors me! *hugs*
I have seen so many artists come into their own style last year, especiallybre, amy_1234, marilyne_22 or 3mmet come to my mind. I think I lurked on Matilda's site constantly last year, her work with stock textures just amazes me. I also cannot stress enough the constant inspiration and motivation to strive for excellence in my art uglybusiness provides for me. She has been my fanart idol for so long, it's unreal to me to stand next to her on the winner's rostrum for Best Artist! ♥ Unfortunately we lost ehlwyen's site Quicksand last year, who not only is one of my closest online friends, but also one of my favourite Supernatural artists. I felt very bereft without her constant artistic input. So, I was very delighted that she came back to us this year and re-opened her site! I also have to mention nikkimisplaced who supports my art and fansite in every way imaginable. I am so glad to have you in my life, dear. *hugs*
These are just a few of the people who influence me artistically. I really have to thank all my affiliates and friends for the support, inspiration, feedback and help over the past year. You all rock! ♥ A special shout-out goes toslaycandy though, since all this wouldn't be possible without her incredible dedication to the AFAs. The amount of time and energy she puts into bringing us the AFAs will never ceaser to amaze me! You are a star, hon! ♥
The Awards: I guess it’s no surprise that I really set my heart on winning the Supernatural categories and I am very proud I made two out of three this year. Overall, I received 1st placement in the categories: Best Supernatural Episodic, Best Supernatural Group, Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Tearjerker, Best Lighting, Best Composition, Best Colour and Best Wallpaper of the Year!! ♥ Of course I love and cherish every award I received, but some of my wallpapers are just special to me and seeing them awarded makes me immensely proud. Click on the links to see the award and the piece that goes with it. But seriously, click on the awards, they are artworks in itself!
1st Place for Best Wallpaper of the Year 2008 - Triptych I have to admit, to win one of the 2 main categories was something I would have never expected. I was sure people would prefer the artistic approach of ‘Paint me Blue’ to the concept of 'Triptych', so this came as a real surprise. It’s really the most complex symbolic concept I ever tried to accomplish in a wallpaper and it’s very gratifying that other artists think so highly of it! Oh, Sayjay made me a gorgeous award out of a photo she’s taken at a convention for the 1st place in the SN group category, which Triptych also won. Check it out HERE! ♥
1st Place for Best SN Episodic Piece - Crisis of Faith To me personally 'Crisis' is one of my Top3 wallpapers I made last year and I feel very attached to it. It was my first attempt at this kind of part overlapping, part blending style thatrealdetective has mastered, and I am proud of how it came out. I also have an emotional soft spot for the theme. So yeah, the award made me very happy!
1st Place for Best Comedic Piece - The Odd Couple Honestly, I don't regard humor as my forte in art and that's why I make probably one or two funny pieces per year. I actually think it's one of the most difficult genres to accomplish in art. So, just like last year this award just took me by surprise. I just blame this on Jensen and Jared's completely hilarious facial expressions and amazing brotherly chemistry. They are irresistible! ♥
1st Place for Best Dramatic Piece - Dead End This was actually the award that surprised me the most all evening, apart maybe from Triptych winning 1st in Best Wallpaper. I was very hesitant to enter this wallpaper in this particular category, because its drama lies more in the emotional content than in the visual approach I chose for the piece. I thought that for exampleehlwyen's entry in this category was visually a LOT more dramatic than mine. So, yes, this was a shocker! *g*
1st Place for Best Male Celebrity Piece - Paint Me Blue From a purely artistic point of view I think this was my most creative piece of the past year. To figure out how to turn an image into a pencil drawing and then achieve the effect of a drawing turning into a half-finished painting took me some time and I am very, very proud of how it turned out. ♥
1st Place for Best Composition - Chain Reaction This is by far the piece with the most images I have ever tried to bring together in one wallpaper. I am always a bit surprised myself how well the concept of this composition worked out and how it allows the eye to follow the flow of the caps naturally. It tries to tell a complete story in one piece of art and somehow it works. I am immensely emotionally attached to this piece, so I am grateful for the attention it received.
I think that's enough bragging! *g* I will add all the other awards to my website in the next couple of days, so you can check them all out over there. Have a look at the beautiful awards from the main categories! I thinkslaycandy has outdone herself this year! ♥
slaycandy who in the end convinced me to give it a shot anyway, and I am profoundly glad that she did. Thank you, hon! *hugs*So, this post contains a lot of internal ramblings about my art, mostly in order to just reflect on my last year, fanart-wise, so I can always go back and refresh my memory. Just feel free to skip this post entirely! ;)
The Numbers: This year 41 artists nominated approx. 650 different wallpapers in 30 categories and the amount of absolutely amazing and creative art in this competition will never cease to amaze me. So, it’s all the more humbling to me, that I placed 1st in 9 of the 30 categories and received 19 awards in total, with the 12 different wallpapers of mine that I entered in the competition. 5 artworks of mine made it into the Top20 of Best Wallpapers of 2008, amongst them the 1st and 3rd place! That’s just a bit unreal to me! *g*
The Thanks: The year 2008 didn't really feel like a very good fanart year for me. S3 of Supernatural didn't inspire the same artistic fire in me as S2 did the year before, and changes in my personal life limited the time I had available to invest in art. I made 28 wallpapers last year, compared to 40 wallpapers in 2007. Additionally, I made a lot of wallpapers last year, I wasn't really happy with, neither artistically, nor emotionally. So, overall I didn't feel I had too much to offer for this year's ceremony.
I have to admit that I tended to think that people might be getting bored with me making Supernatural art exclusively, when there are so many fandoms to explore, and that they are sick of seeing Sam and/or Dean's faces on every single piece I make. *g* I mean, not necessarily for other Supernatural fans and artists, but for the fanart community in general. So, last night I have learned my lesson to never underestimate your audience! I can't really express how incredibly humbled I felt at the outpour of enthusiastic comments on my art. ♥ Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my pieces! To know how profoundly touched and inspired other artists feel by my art is something I can't quite fathom, and it completely floors me! *hugs*
I have seen so many artists come into their own style last year, especially
bre, amy_1234, marilyne_22 or 3mmet come to my mind. I think I lurked on Matilda's site constantly last year, her work with stock textures just amazes me. I also cannot stress enough the constant inspiration and motivation to strive for excellence in my art uglybusiness provides for me. She has been my fanart idol for so long, it's unreal to me to stand next to her on the winner's rostrum for Best Artist! ♥ Unfortunately we lost ehlwyen's site Quicksand last year, who not only is one of my closest online friends, but also one of my favourite Supernatural artists. I felt very bereft without her constant artistic input. So, I was very delighted that she came back to us this year and re-opened her site! I also have to mention nikkimisplaced who supports my art and fansite in every way imaginable. I am so glad to have you in my life, dear. *hugs*These are just a few of the people who influence me artistically. I really have to thank all my affiliates and friends for the support, inspiration, feedback and help over the past year. You all rock! ♥ A special shout-out goes to
slaycandy though, since all this wouldn't be possible without her incredible dedication to the AFAs. The amount of time and energy she puts into bringing us the AFAs will never ceaser to amaze me! You are a star, hon! ♥The Awards: I guess it’s no surprise that I really set my heart on winning the Supernatural categories and I am very proud I made two out of three this year. Overall, I received 1st placement in the categories: Best Supernatural Episodic, Best Supernatural Group, Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Tearjerker, Best Lighting, Best Composition, Best Colour and Best Wallpaper of the Year!! ♥ Of course I love and cherish every award I received, but some of my wallpapers are just special to me and seeing them awarded makes me immensely proud. Click on the links to see the award and the piece that goes with it. But seriously, click on the awards, they are artworks in itself!
1st Place for Best Wallpaper of the Year 2008 - Triptych I have to admit, to win one of the 2 main categories was something I would have never expected. I was sure people would prefer the artistic approach of ‘Paint me Blue’ to the concept of 'Triptych', so this came as a real surprise. It’s really the most complex symbolic concept I ever tried to accomplish in a wallpaper and it’s very gratifying that other artists think so highly of it! Oh, Sayjay made me a gorgeous award out of a photo she’s taken at a convention for the 1st place in the SN group category, which Triptych also won. Check it out HERE! ♥
1st Place for Best SN Episodic Piece - Crisis of Faith To me personally 'Crisis' is one of my Top3 wallpapers I made last year and I feel very attached to it. It was my first attempt at this kind of part overlapping, part blending style that
realdetective has mastered, and I am proud of how it came out. I also have an emotional soft spot for the theme. So yeah, the award made me very happy!1st Place for Best Comedic Piece - The Odd Couple Honestly, I don't regard humor as my forte in art and that's why I make probably one or two funny pieces per year. I actually think it's one of the most difficult genres to accomplish in art. So, just like last year this award just took me by surprise. I just blame this on Jensen and Jared's completely hilarious facial expressions and amazing brotherly chemistry. They are irresistible! ♥
1st Place for Best Dramatic Piece - Dead End This was actually the award that surprised me the most all evening, apart maybe from Triptych winning 1st in Best Wallpaper. I was very hesitant to enter this wallpaper in this particular category, because its drama lies more in the emotional content than in the visual approach I chose for the piece. I thought that for example
ehlwyen's entry in this category was visually a LOT more dramatic than mine. So, yes, this was a shocker! *g*1st Place for Best Male Celebrity Piece - Paint Me Blue From a purely artistic point of view I think this was my most creative piece of the past year. To figure out how to turn an image into a pencil drawing and then achieve the effect of a drawing turning into a half-finished painting took me some time and I am very, very proud of how it turned out. ♥
1st Place for Best Composition - Chain Reaction This is by far the piece with the most images I have ever tried to bring together in one wallpaper. I am always a bit surprised myself how well the concept of this composition worked out and how it allows the eye to follow the flow of the caps naturally. It tries to tell a complete story in one piece of art and somehow it works. I am immensely emotionally attached to this piece, so I am grateful for the attention it received.
I think that's enough bragging! *g* I will add all the other awards to my website in the next couple of days, so you can check them all out over there. Have a look at the beautiful awards from the main categories! I think
slaycandy has outdone herself this year! ♥
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I am so happy you won so many awards, hon. Aside from the fact that you are my friend, your work sets an example of how amazing and deep fanart can be and, basically, shows that it really IS an art. The fandom doesn't matter - what matters is the message you manage to convery through it in such a way that it reaches the viewers even if they aren't a fan a particular show. You inspire all of us to think deeper, to try and put more creativity and depth into our own pieces. So, your victory is very well deserved! :)
(The other reason I'm so pleased with who the winners are is that I think Jenni Lou's, Matilda's, Wendy's, and especially yours art being recognized like this is a very good and healthy sign for our community as whole. I see so many arts on the other forums and LJ that is pretty looking, but unoriginal and empty; and so many people seriously thinking that "pretty" is all fanart can (and should) be. I'm so glad to be proved again that we on BF are not like this: that we choose originality and appreciate the intricate and conceptual artwork.)
Congrats again, and thank you for being here and sharing your creativity with me and others ♥
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Hm, I agree. I think digital fanart is still not recognised as a real art form, especially in comparison to traditional art like drawings and paintings, although it requires a lot of similar 'technical' skills like an eye for composition, colour harmony or perspective. And in regard to 'content' digital art can be as deep and meaningful as any other art form in my opinion. There's absolutely nothing wrong with 'just' pretty art, but it's not limited to that.
I think BF is an amazing community and I see a lot of art around the net, but on BF the elite of the elite comes together. It's not only the amazing art but mostly that everyone is supportive, helpful and approachable. I think all winners in the Best Artist category really did outstanding work last year and I loved that everyone was acknowledged as such, no matter which fandom they art, what style they utilise or who their friends are.
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It wasn't a surprise to me at all that you did so well in the AFA's. =)
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Awww! Thanks, Chris! Knowing you voted for one of my pieces totally makes my day!
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I enjoyed reading the above as well. I see an amazing support team in your BF group. It's so good to see artists really coming together to support one another the way you all have. You're all inspiring to me.
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We really have a fantastic community. You should come and join us. I am sure our Smallville fans would love your artwork! *g*
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*Hugs*
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*hugs*
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Yes I noticed that about BF. Everyone seems to take more time on each post or feedback and it shows how much you all care for one another and their artistic success as well as the friendship bonds you've developed. I only came across it a few months ago and that's the sense I got then while going through the pages. I'll see how things go and it I can get there again. :)
*hugs*
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