2014 Review!

[amberdreams]

Following like a lemming, I thought I might attempt my first retrospective. Thanks to Stats Mistress extraordinaire monicawoe, and my membership of the 12mowrimo, I know that I wrote 198,473 words in 2014, which leaves me somewhat gobsmacked. Probably 99% of that was fanfiction, the rest comprising of notes, journaling, episode reactions and the like. Sadly virtually none of the words were novel-related, which I really should do something about this year.

Fic Review
This year I took part in several challenges, including:
spn_cinema - King of Hearts (World War 1 J2 AU - with art - *points to butt icon!*)
spn_reversebang - Knit the Ravell'd Sleev of Care (SPN Season 9 pinch hit)
sammessiah's anti Christmas - Snow White, Rose Red (SPN boys with powers - with art)
spn_summergen 1) Still haven't found what I'm looking for (Sam and Gadreel)
                                        2) The Book of the Giants (SPN AU - John, Sam, Dean and Chuck)
                                        3) The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away (Season 5 Hurt!Dean)
samdean_otp minibang 2014 - The Treadmill with fab art by dollarformyname! (SPN but with multiple AUs/French Mistake stuff)
spn_j2_xmas - Second Verse Same as the First - (The End AU)
spnspiration bingo gave rise to some interesting challenges! Including slam poetry (!!) The Bunker.
hc_bingo as usual, I started with good intentions but only managed a couple of prompts...
                                                        1) A Rolling Stone - H/C Bingo square: Food poisoning (kinda)/Hoodietime Dean H/C meme prompt
                                                        2) Trinity - Bingo square: Secret identity revealed. Speculative Season 10 fic
ohsam's Birthday comment meme 1) Sam's Inner Cat Sam's cursed to turn into a kitten
                                                         2) Happy Birthday Sammy Sam forgets his birthday but other people don't
spnspringfling The Texas Resistance - J2 apocafic AU
spn_gen_bigbang Nothing But a Magic Shadow Show with wonderful art by alexisjane. Bunker fic with Kevin, Hurt!Sam and Hurt!Dean.



Not for any particular challenge, or written as comment fic, but also maybe where I tried challenging myself:
Yours sincerely, Wasting Away Curtain fic set in the Bunker. Could be read as a prequel to an old story from a while back An Ordinary Death.
Seek and Ye Shall Find For a prompt in the 15 character challenge (which of course I never finished...)
The Boathouse - J2 old age deathfic
Breathing in, Bleeding Out - SPN poem with art
Allotropes of Sulphur - Dean learns what it means to be a demon. (Started as an episode coda for 09:23)


A ton of drabbles...I actually posted more on LJ than I thought but the majority are on fanfiction.net.


Art Review
I've been trying to do more actual drawing, and this year I bought Photoshop so I've been learning how to use it - though being a lazy cow I'm still hopping between GIMP, PaintTool Sai and PS to do different things instead of knuckling down and going through the many tutorials I've got waiting to be watched...
Still, I've done a fair amount of stuff - in fact far too much to link it all here so I'll just do a personal highlights thing and pick a few that I like for some reason or other.
Clicking on the teasers will take you to the full picture masterpost if you are interested.

I was really pleased with this one of Mary and Sam, done for a prompt on an ohsam H/C challenge. I was really happy how Mary's face turned out. I think Sam Smith has beautiful bone stucture and she conveys such a feeling of love and compassion, and I thought I managed to catch a bit of that.

I also liked how this Sammessiah portrait turned out after I revisited it - a combination of PaintTool Sai's lovely watercolour-like blending facility and PS6.

One of the things I've been trying to do this year is to allow myself to be a bit looser in how I approach drawing/art, and to be less pedantic! I have a tendency to want all my pictures to look exactly like the person I'm drawing, when sometimes an impression or a representation is enough. So I was actually really happy with my latest Sam, because I think there is enought there so you know it's Sam, but it's actually quite sketchy. And I like that I was able to leave it without over blending and smoothing everything out.

And I've been trying being bolder - using biro (no erase facility...eeek!)

I do particularly like this NSFW birthday pic I did for tifaching - it's a rare one where I think the initial drawing was good, and then the colouring worked well too. Pencil, coloured digitally. Perhaps this year I'll dare to do some traditional colouring...


I took part in several of the many challenges this year
I did a couple of spn_j2_bigbangs and this was my fave part of those...can't think why. Pencil coloured in PaintTool Sai and PS6 for Burn the Land, Boil the Sea.

And the second one was Glittering Prizes
I also did a bunch of other stuff including
spn_reversebang I am especially fond of the art I did for de_nugis Close to the sun in lonely lands because it was fairly different from my usual style
but I liked all of my entries, I think. The other two were Honey I shrunk the Winchesters and Aetos Dios.

spn_meanttobe A Journey's Beginning and What Sam Found There
spn_bigpretzel fic/art exchange Not a Happy Bunny and Pride and Prejudice and Winchesters
samdean_otp minibang Snapshots and Sacrifices
spn_gen_bigbang Sanguis Sanctis which had a couple of pieces I was pleased with - first
I learned how to gif

second - though I wasn't too struck on his face, I really liked the colouring and the perspective of this one

I won't post many more, but I did like this sketch I did for deirdre_c - the cat's face isn't quite right but I was happy with tousled Sam!

Other things I did generally I'd like something about them - maybe the colouring worked, or I got a face right, or maybe a background worked well.
Like this one, where I loved the colours but in this instance, it doesn't look enough like Sam to work.

I'll shut up now, or I'll end up reposting everything! And besides, this post itself is typical procrastination - I should be writing my sammyBB, arting for someone else's sammyBB and doing my tax return!

     

Comments

[chomaisky.livejournal.com]

That's lots of words and tons of art! You had a very productive year! I'm going to do a sum up too after I'm done with Dean in the rain...yep procrastination...

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Mm well don't let me distract you from Dean in the rain! That is very important work. *nods*

[badbastion.livejournal.com]

You've been so amazingly busy! I love your arts, and I really need to get around to reading some of your fic! I've read so little fic last year, I was lazy. And S9 kind of dulled my love for SPN for a while, all the brotherly angst and deaths and stuff. But I love the way you write, and I need to take a day and treat myself.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I am SO behind with reading it's scary - but of course I'd love you to read some of my stories... :D

Thanks my dear, you are always so supportive!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Wow! That is incredibly impressive! What amazing creative output. I am awed and stunned by so much fic AND so much art!

(Now go do your tax before the tax man comes and confiscates your computer!)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

There are benefits to spending most of the year without gainful employment! LOL Thank you!

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

Wow - that's a lot of words and art! I really like the variety too; from different characters, to genres etc. It's great to see!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's nearly all SPN, apart from the Dark Angel one so maybe I should be looking to stretch my wings a bit more - but I like it here! Everyone is so nice.

Thank you very much for being so supportive of my work, I appreciate it!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Jesus! Thank you so much for this, this is an EPIC amount of art and fic. So impressed!