BB reclist #4

[beelikej]

Aaaaaaaaaahw, the BigBang is over :( This is however not my last reclist yet. Just like last year, I took a look at all the artwork, regardless of pairing or story and was overwhelmed by the overall level of involvement. It's impossible to compare all the different kinds of art, as well as the amount of work or experience that artists offered. But I did pick out my favorites;) I hereby present the fourth reclist for this year's spn_j2_bigbang!* (A lot of art, but I also included five stories:)

BB 2012 reclist part four
ARTRECS
Videotrailer and digital designs for Instinct & Taste by artist secretlytodream: This really is a perfect trailer, it not only captured the theme of food and love but has amazingly fitting scenes of young chef Jensen and college senior Jared. It's all seamless and so in synch with the story. (Heehee, salt!;)
Great accompanying artwork too. I love the lettering and colours in the storybanners. Excellent job.

Digital artwork for Stranger in Love by artist davincis_girl: I absolutely love the digital painting of Sam & Dean and how it's incorporated in the banner design. Good composition and I like the limited use of colours. Very ominous:)

Pencil drawings for You've Ruined Me by artist sammycolt24: Great drawings, so much depth with just black and white. The papertexture is a great finishing touch:)

Digital drawings for Inevitable Homoeroticism in Spanish Heroes by artist myfriendfredric: I adore the lettering in the storybanner. I love the clean comic style. The limited use of colour in the scene art works wonderfully; it makes the orange really pop:)

Graphite Pencil, Watercolor, Pen&Ink and Photoshop Paint over were used by artist culper355 for Soul's Weight and From Himself Can Fly : All illustrations are so very intense, I love them all. Check out the unique point of view in the first set and the texture of the wings, feathers and Sam's hair in the second (Rent Apart).

Digital drawings for I Think Therefore I Am by artist slinkymilinky: Oooh, I already thought the muted banner-image was amazing and then I saw the other version with the hard colours and I was blown away by the use of light. Really beautiful drawing of the original character too.
Also check out the art for Don't Ever Look Back That has even more of a manga-look. Awesome artwork!

Massive Manga for Magical Girl Sam Winchester, Guardian of the Heart by artist mythicbeast: Another¹ main-banner in the community that doesn't look inviting. But the actual art is absolutely delightful! The big story banner actually SPARKLES! \o/ I love the expression on Sam and Dean's faces. I adore the additional art with all of Sam's outfits (pink undies FTW) and the crack comic. I don't read Sam/Dean nor crossdressing, but these images are making me itch to give the story a try:) [¹Artist was also recommended in reclist 3!]

The digital composition for More Than Us by friend and artist bflyw shows the extend to which you can push a concept. I love the trick with the reflection; I immediately felt what it represented. (Also awesome that she shot those photos of Jensen herself!) Great work with light and shadows, difference in distance plus the interior/exterior contrast in the image.
Completely different art was made for On These Ashen Wings I love it when artists challenged themself and it really paid off here. The dragons look AMAZING, the texture and depth is awesome. I also like the paint-overs and the contrast created between Jensen and Jared.

Handdrawn watercolours for As Through a Glass and Darkly by artist crimson_adder: Ooooh, pretty colours! Such marvelous details and I like the shapes in which the drawings are captured. The letters are beautiful too:) Those patterns must have been so much work!

Digital art for Inclusions by artist ladytiferet: I absolutely adore the lettering on the top title card. Out of the two styles, I think the one that ended up being used to promote the story in the community is the best. I also love the effect with the DNA-helix in the banner and the divider:) Beautiful.

FICRECS
Even a Man Who is Pure in Heart - bunnymaccool
Artist: keyweegirlie
Pairing: Jared/Jensen [NC-17 / 25,500]
Quick description: "Jensen gets bitten and gets help from WereWolf!Jared with the transition"
Best werewolf story EVER! The way Jensen's physical experience and his state of mind are described was so overwhelming I found myself tensing up just like he was during all the changes. I also loved how the story focuses on the various pack scents. IT WAS AWESOME \o/

Dignity of Dragons - etrix
Artist: sophiap
Pairing: none: it's GEN! [PG-13 / 51,000]
Quick description: "Jared finds a wounded lizard which is actually dragon!Jensen..."
This was lovely! I don't usually read Gen or pet-stories, but I'm so glad I gave this a try. The writing is superb; all the history of the dragons, the 3-dimensional characters and most of all Jared's internal voice were an absolute treat to read. Fantastic story! Also adorable artwork including a dragon-alphabet!

Beginner's Luck - bertee
Artist: amindaya (see reclist #3;)
Pairing: Jared/Jensen [NC-17 / 50,000]
Quick description: "Medieval-esque fantasy AU with dashing-adventurer!Jared and male-equivalent-of-a-damsel-in-distress!Jensen"
This was a fun read: I loved Jared's internal voice and he was such a dorky dashing hero (even if some of his wins were more luck than skill :-) I can't pick a favorite scene, because there are too many cool fights and monsters to mention! Excellent adventure!

New York Eyes, Texas Thighs - wutendeskind
Artist: fromcainwthlove
Pairing: Jared/Jensen [NC-17 / 24,000]
Quick description: "Famous Quarterback!Jensen goes back home and runs into longlost BFF/BF Jared"
Good story. Loved the epilogue about their history. I liked that they are real guys and avoid a lot of difficult conversations. All the other characters sounded like real people too. I really enjoyed this:)

Change The Fates' Design - _mournthewicked
Artist: waterofthemoon
Pairing: Jared/Jensen [NC-17 / 50,000]
Quick description: "Magical!Jensen has been kept away from people in a cabin in the forest. One day Jared stumbles along."
This was wonderful. I must admit I'm always a little weary when Jeff gets the part of the bad guy, but this time the author is forgiven :-p I loved this slightly naive Jensen and how he was in awe of the world and Jared. Also featuring an awesome Misha.

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*This list is not complete; I've been impressed by most of the artwork that was created, but I tried to offer an eclectic selection and I made an effort to focus on pieces you may have missed due them being from an unknown artist / portraying a rare pairing / lack of promotion in the community ;)

If you have any recommendations, let me know! I like to hear about your favorites in art and fiction. (I'm trying all the J2/J3 stories before anything else. Unlike art, I do have a preference for certain pairings when reading;)

There will be a final (fifth!) reclist after my trip to London.

Last but not least: I participated too!
I'd love for you to check out the artwork I made for:
A Crazy Little Thing by dontknowmyname.
Biker!Jensen/Student!Jared
&
To See The World In A Grain Of Sand by belledewinter.
A steampunk J2 version of Around The World In 80 Days!

Now it's time to get ready for the Reverse Bang, woohoo! (I'm still planning to write a rant-post about the darker side of being an artist in fandom, but for now let's focus on the fun;)