Banners #8 - Buffy Summers

[lostboy]

Here's my first attempt at a Buffy-centric banner for "Clocks of the Long Now."



A few notes under the cut.

Banner #8:
Buffy Summers

Notes:
For the heroine herself, I wanted to go with a treatment that was iconic but not too arch.  I chose the dragon and the phoenix to drive the storytelling here, both for the components of that myth itself and for the motifs of death and rebirth I associate with these beings.  The dragon appears in various forms in "Clocks", some of them metaphorical and others scaly and fire-breathing.  Along with the phoenix - the bird that rises anew from the ashes - I couldn't think of a more appropriate visual for the way I view the character.  The font is a layered mash-up of a few handwritten forms, as blood red as the ink on the worst sort of contracts.  It's the seal on a very old, bad bargain.

The biggest pain was getting sarah's wispy hair properly matted, but I think I did an okay job.  I experimented a lot with color temperatures here, but I think this one is my favorite because I like the earthiness of the tones, and I think it feels more like the common-man sort of hero that Buffy represents.

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I like it. :) Especially the phoenix symbol - so appropriate for someone who's come back from the dead/dead twice, and the emotionally dead at least once. :)

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sms. Yes, she is rather phoenix-y, isn't she?

The Chinese myth of the phoenix and the dragon also springs to mind - the idea of two warriors standing back-to-back, fighting off the world.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

the idea of two warriors standing back-to-back, fighting off the world.
Ooo, I love that image!

[norwie2010.livejournal.com]

You really enrich the "Clocks Experience" with these banners. :)

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

Thanks

The "Clocks Experience"? BLUSH!

[norwie2010.livejournal.com]

Don't pretend. :-P

"Clocks" is certainly an experience all on it's own. A bold walk on the wild side, imaginative, inventive and beautifully written. :)

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

You are very kind, thanks. :)

[aerintine.livejournal.com]

I love the background. The color scheme overall is beautiful. She's so pretty!

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

Thanks Aerintine!