Quicky_bang art for Carousel of Broken Dreams

[amberdreams]

Artpost: Carousel of Broken Dreams
Artwork by: me!
Warning/Enticement: Half nekkid Dean, 17 year-old floppy haired Sam
Made for: quicky_bang and yohkobennington's Carousel of Broken Dreams.
Summary: They say revenge is a plate best served cold. Sam and Dean can't wait to have their feast.

I made a thing and it goes like this:


 Here it is large


Here it is without the text


Here's a close up of Dean's face

And Sam's

Thanks to beelikej for setting up the quicky_bang, it's a fun idea! And to yohkobennington for writing psycho knife throwing Sam!

Process:
Ironically, even though the idea of the quicky_bang is to hey, guess what, get things done quick, I thought when I read yohko's story that this was the ideal opportunity to stop fudging and try to work through a photoshop tutorial. There are so many great tutorials on Youtube, and coincidentally, I'd just seen this one by Blue Lightning TV about making a circus poster. So yay! Perfect timing.

Following the instructions he shows how to create those radiating stripes in the background, how to curve text, how to use the stroke tool to do the fancy outlines... so many tricks and treats that I've had to start a little notebook for all the shortcuts and stuff because there's no way I can remember them all! Pity Marty didn't also teach me to double check I typed the title right - in my first version I called it Carnival instead of Carousel! LOL

I saved a few screenshots of my Dean drawing. I didn't save the main poster steps because if you are interested you can just let Marty from Blue Lightning walk you through it!



This is the photo I used for reference for Dean's pose

Comments

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Very nice. There should definitely be more pictures of Dean dressed like this...

Love the banner. You've definitely got that old world circus vibe happening! Great font and colour choices. :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Mmm I think Season 12 should have a circus episode when both Winchesters have to dress the part. And I don't mean clown suits! LOL

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

It's great that you found the perfect tutorial for this project, and it looks stunning! I love the curve of the text, and all the colours too. It's fascinating to see the stages of your Dean sketch, and I love the profiles of both boys. Great work!!!

As always thanks for sharing :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

And as always, thank YOU for the nice comment!

[sammycolt24.livejournal.com]

I love the circus banner. Kinda makes me want to visit the circus again, especially with yours truly in it :) Again, you complete such lovely work. And I love the screen shots of your progress.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks me dear!
I admit, I got put off circuses when I was a kid - we went to Billy Smart's Circus and took a colony of fleas home with us! It was awful. We had to have the house fumigated twice...

[manzanita-crow.livejournal.com]

I love Marty! He is so clear and goes step by step

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

yes! And he shows you which things he's clicking on instead of expecting you to know what the little symbols mean! I should have been doing these tutorials from the start...

[kalliel]

Love this! I have a huge soft spot for vintage circus aesthetic, and you work so well with that here. I love how much texture there is to this piece--both to the background and Sam and Dean!--without feeling over-busy. And all the borders really make this feel whole!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was trying to include the story elements without overcrowding so I'm glad you think that works ok - the template I was working from in the tutorial has a lot less content!

[yohkobennington.livejournal.com]

JAHGSIDUWBDEFRGHBEIHBWFOIHFROHBWUEHQIQH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG THIS IS GORGEOUS. I LOVE THE BLOOD PATTERN IN THE BACKGROUND. THE CIRCUS TENT, THE KNIVES, DEAN IN THOSE TIGHTS HOLYFUCKINGSHIT. SAMMY LOOKS SO CUTE AND MURDEROUS!!!! why am i yelling?????!!!!

Okay okay. The whole thing is absolutely awesome. I love seeing/reading your process. Thank you so much for this ♥♥♥♥♥!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Phew I'm glad YOU like it as it is your fic after all! :D

Feel free to help yourself to whatever size you want/need if you'd like to add it to the story post. You should be able to use the HTML code from Flickr if you want.

[blythechild.livejournal.com]

HOLYFUCKINGDOODLE! HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS??!??!?

*ahem* decorum, Blythe...

This is simply exquisite ♥ The color palette, the style, the drawing, the font, the era-appropriate design, how you chose to break the frame and where...

*sigh*

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Eee thank you very much! :D Though of course, really this is someone else's design I just adapted it.

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

LOVE this! Love the whole circus look, you really nailed it. The boys look so fantastic! Fabulous work, bb!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thankee kindly!

[somersault-j.livejournal.com]

Oohhhhhh, wow!!! This looks fantastic! HALF NEKKID DEAN \o/ This looks really great. Love it :) ALL OF IT!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm happy you like it!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

I LOVE IT! So colourful and circussy;) Yay for finding a fun and marvelous tutorial with new tricks \o/ - that lesson really paid off. The text fits perfectly (and I really like how you're playing with the depth perception by putting it underneath the frame).
Your Sam and Dean are great too. Thanks for sharing the step-by-step drawings (Did I mention how fond I am of sketches?) Their hair is so fluffy, I want to put my fingers through it. I think Dean wears those tights better than your reference guy (BUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSS)
Yep, seriously cool banner *applauds*

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

You have to imagine the butts, but I'm sure you can bounce a nickel off both! LOL
Glad you liked this as it's all your fault!

[runedgirl.livejournal.com]

Lovely!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, super cool! First-off, the colors are smashing! And the design, AND the half-dressed cuties...let's just call it fabulous all-round, 'kay? :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Aw thank you! It's always good to hear an endorsement from you!

[synn.livejournal.com]

That's lovely! I really like the color scheme you chose for it.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I cycled through a bunch of colours before fixing on the green. :D

[sillie]

Oooh, awesome!! I love the design of the poster, and I really like how you drew Dean. <3<3

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank yooooooo!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

shirtless dean is always a good option. :D you did a great job with the circus-y background, too, and i love the blood.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Though to be honest, the tutorial was so clear it would have been hard to mess that background up! LOL

[celtic-forest.livejournal.com]

Really gorgeous, and great job with the (bloody) circus theme! Thanks for the tip re: the photoshop tutorial.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's the first of those tutorials I've worked through and I was really impressed - they've done tons on Blue Lightning TV so I reckon if there's something specific you've got in mind they'll have something covering it.

Edition 4,022

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User waterofthemoon referenced to your post from Edition 4,022 (http://spnnewsletter.livejournal.com/992588.html) saying: [...] at Fanart Carousel of Broken Dreams [...]

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Very very nice! There should be WAY more pictures of Dean dressed like this ;)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

There should. I'm sure he has a very nice package...

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

Amazing artwork here m'dear! I love the circus background and Sam & Dean are stunning! I really like the line drawing of Dean, too, so beautiful. Another fic to add to my list! Thanks again for showing how you did it all :)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

thank you! It's only a short fic so it won't take long to read - especially if you like deranged, psycho Winchesters.

[hugemind.livejournal.com]

Awesome stuff!! Love the circus vibes and the colors! And half-naked!Dean and naked-enough!Sam look so good. :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Doing the circus thing was such fun! Glad you approve of the naked-enough boys.. :D

[equally-dour.livejournal.com]

ooh, very nice!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Cheers me dear!

[meus_venator]

This was great! You really captured the feel of the old hand drawn circus banners and wonderful use of type.
Love the looks on each of the boys faces too! BRAVO!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'd forgotten about this one. :D One of the first times I tried a Youtube tutorial.