Artpost: Reversebang 2015-2016

[beelikej]

After taking a break from last year's edition, I'm back to joining the spn_reversebang! As before my main goal was to lure a fellow JDM lover into writing a story to go with my art. (In a Reverse Bang artists make fan-art which is posted anonymously for authors to choose as inspiration for fanfiction.)
That mission is almost accomplished, because there will be a Jeff/Jensen fic soon. It's taking a little more time than planned, but I simply couldn't wait any longer to show you what I made.
Mission accomplished!! May I present to you:



Fic Title: Within My Reach
Author: sasha_dragon
Artist: beelikej
Medium: Paper & Photoshop!
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural/RPS AU
Pairing(s): Jensen Ackles/Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Rating: PG-13 (Art & Story;)
Word Count: 18500
Summary: For Jeff life as an Evolutionary Enhanced isn't easy. For a start there's the prejudice he faces daily, along with a constant struggle to find clothes that will fit over his tentacles. But these difficulties pale into insignificance when Jeff is faced with trying to woo the man of his dreams.


Chapterheaders
Disclaimer: I don't know yet how many chapters there will be;
I just couldn't stop tangling these numbers in the tentacle;)








Dividers
These are all the same width, but shared smaller for space.














Icons


Extra artwork
The team from Firetruck 67
Taking a picture with a tentacled Jeff is a challenge!




Making of the tentacles [or skip to end-credit & bonus]
SKETCHES

It all started because I wanted to play with Jeff. Certain people on the internet got me thinking about tentacles...


When I found that photo of Jensen's "done" face, I knew what I wanted Jeff to do with those tentacles *grins*
On the right are sketches of the dividers-ideas.

PAPERCUTTING

The idea was to make a photocollage in which to use my papercut tentacles, so I used the photos as a base to determine the size, then drew a mirrored image on coloured paper.


I cut simultaneously through orange and pink paper, then made puzzle pieces to create the curly tentacles. The suction cups where cut from the left over orange pieces and glued on top.


When I worked on the other side I thought of a slightly faster way to create the suction cups. Still a lot of detailed cutting though!


A close up look of the suction cups:)


I then took lots of photos of the final versions and made the rest of the design with Photoshop. I framed the originals to keep them safe:)

PHOTOSHOPPING

This was the set up I send in and my first sketches of the additional artwork where in same style (font: Good Times)


Digital sketch of first chapterheader; the font I used for the number is called Phoenix, which I edited to fit in the tentacle:)

Of course I couldn't resist more fiddling with the banner. These are the layers I ended up with:

I made the rest of the artwork with the same colours and font Thirsty Rough.

Making of the dividers [or skip to end-credit & bonus]

First sketch and quick papercut set up.


Digital sketch to show the author what I had in mind.


In the overview you can see the tiny chilipepper cut out:) The first set up of the helmet was used as a template for the final cut (mirrored!) The paper is darkblue in the front.


The helmet has three layers; I once again used the template for the red details.


The syringe has three layers too; the black is actually at the bottom as I cut a hole in the blue layer for a better depth. I didn't take progress pictures of cutting the trauma shears.


Sources & Credit
Fonts: Thirsty Rough / Phoenix / Good Times
(The last two are free:)

Reference pictures:
Jeff: screenshots from The Accidental Husband / Jensen: tophalf = Dallascon2012, headerphoto by Elsiecat; endbanner by Wolfpup2000 & bottomhalf = VanCon2014, also by Wolfpup2000<
Octopus/Tentacles: various examples, one that's shown in sketches is from Animalstown
Firetruck: FDNY Squad 288/ Hospital: GVMH, Clinton Missouri
Team 67: University of California Davis Fire Department
Jared/Chad /Jim/Rob/Richard/Matt: collected from various famous people fansites, see my sources tag for links
Trauma Shears / Syringe / Fireman's Helmet / Pompoms / Endbanner room

BONUS
Last but not least an extra piece I made to cheer on my author;)

The guys and I will keep waving these pompoms for the final bit of writing!

Update: it's done! So I made a final banner:

:)


Thank you, sasha_dragon for taking a step into the JDM side of our fandom and offering a very interesting take on the tentacle-trope.

Also thanks to my fellow artists sillie82 and bflyw for the handholding behind the scenes. And as always a big thank you to everyone stopping by to take a look:)

J.

If you can't get enough of my silly fiddling, check out my updated Masterlist of artsy creations;)

Comments

[sillie]

Eeeheeeheeee! *delighted clapping* These are so fun! :D :D But also a lot of work. I take my hat off to you lady. The tentacles look amazing (and I bet they were fun to play with. :P) The banner looks great and I really like the extra piece as well.
Thanks for the look into your process, I always find it facinating. All in all an awesome set! :D

[sillie]

Oh, oh! Also still cracking up over the guys waving pompoms. So awesome. XD

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*beams* Thank you very much! These guys are always fun to play with, the tentacles gave it an extra dimension;) I so enjoyed doing mixed media again. Fiddling in Photoshop was a change of pace from papercutting, but surprisingly just as much work (I tend to forget;)

Oh and I wasn't sure if I should share the pompoms, but I'm glad I did :-D

[sillie]

The pompoms graphic is awesome. :D

Woaaaah, that endbanner is great! Love those pictures of Jensen and JDM. <3

[bflyw.livejournal.com]

Awesome art!
I love how the paperclippig brings out another dimention in your art - and how all over awesome it is. Seems like (to me).that being all hands on with the art like this brings out a whole level of confidence in you as well that we didn't see as much when your art was all digital - or if it was, it didnt shine through like this. I love of you really excel in this.
I don't know where you got the idea of tentacles or why anywant want to include that in a fic - and mustn't that be very inconvinient when putting out fires (pictures of very crisp tentacles in my head) - but it sure must be fun to play with in art - and looks really good in your piece!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *smishes* So many compliments, wow. It's true that I found part of myself again when I started playing with paper, but I was also really happy to go back to digital fiddling for this challenge. Doing a combination of techniques makes me the happiest:)

The idea for the tentacles came from various sources, they are intriguing appendices. My author actually came up with some clever uses in a crisis, even in the middle of a fire! You'll have to wait to find out :-p

[cherie-morte.livejournal.com]

omg, you adorable dork, that last piece has me lolling.

I LOVE HOW YOU DID THE TENTACLES HERE (what, I'm predictable, sue me). Such pretty colors, especially together. And the loveliest squiggles, plus doing the suckers as the top layer so they kinda look 3D was such a smart move, they really pop! I just love how unique your style is, so it's really wonderful to see you lay out the steps you took to get to the finished project. :D

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*giggles* I almost didn't include the pompoms piece, now I'm glad I did;)

You may be one of the people who inspired the tentacles with all that talk on Twitter! Happy to hear the suckers work (heehee, your unedited comment made me wonder if I had understood what they were actually for :-p)

Thank you for your wonderful comment, bb.

[emmatheslayer.livejournal.com]

this is amazing I am looking forward to this one so much I love the art so much jeff/ Jensen is my love well one of them

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I never get tired of playing with Jeff and Jensen, the tentacles were a fun bonus;)

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

OMG, lady! My fingers hurt just from WATCHING your procedure! (Those suction-cups, good lord, how long did those teeny things take you?) I'm also fascinated by your Photoshoppery in which you changed Jensen's con clothes to scrubs. Most impressive!

But you know what I like most of all? The bright and cheery pinks and oranges of Jeff's tentacles -- those colors lend a sense of whimsy that "realistic" green tentacles definitely would not. Great color choice and fantastic artwork! ♥

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Yeah, once I started cutting I realized those suction cups were not my brightest idea *grins* Yay for having a tiny knife!
It was such fun to go back to Photoshopping again; Jensen is actually made from two different convention photos. After I had put him together, all I really had to do was dye his outfit the right tone of blue and cut a V-neck (why does he never wear those out in public, they look so good on him!!)

Oooh, good point about the colour! I was inspired by some toy-tentacles I bought a long time ago; they are on the fingers of that life size model in my livingroom. What? *innocent face*

[trishabooms.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! I love Jensen's expression and the idea itself is wonderful.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you:) I started with Jeff's photo with the tentacle idea and as soon as I found that Jensen face I knew how their relationship would be;)

[somersault-j.livejournal.com]

TEEENTAAAACLEEES!!!! Unf! ALSO?? JEFF and Jensen. I adore this pairing so much! <3 And when I see the work you put into this I AM IN AWE!!! :D This is perfect :)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-D The minute tentacles showed up in this fandom, I was intrigued. So thrilled I finally got to play with them myself:) Jeff/Jensen is my OTP <3<3

THAAAAAANK YOU!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Hee! Awesome set! I love the original and what you did to enhance it, and your dividers are wonderful!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Great to hear my changes to the original prompt were indeed enhancements;)

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

Hey you!!!! I haven't forgotten you, I promise. Life, ugh, it's been a huge bitch lately, but things are finally reverting back to calm.

Although tentacle isn't my thing, I certainly will always check out anything you create (I know I'm way behind on stuff :( ). And I'm not disappointed with this. You are so clever and again I'm astounded at your attention to detail. How you are aware of color and placement of even the smallest detail (like the placement of Jeff's tentacles in the banner... hee!). You're just so damn amazing!

I love their faces on the final banner - Jeff's grin and Jensen's crossed arms and eyeing Jeff. Yeah, we know Jensen. We know. :P

I could look at your paper cutting works forever and ever. I just love how you layer things. Thank you so much for once again sharing your process.

And the pom poms. Ahhh, I love that so much, had me giggling for ages on that one.

It's a joy to get a chance to see your creations. I've missed that and you!!!!!! ♥

ETA: Ah! I knew I was going to forget something! I love the team 'photo' as well. I'll just bet it's difficult to get everyone in there along with Jeff's extra appendages. :P

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Hey YOU! I just started a mail to check up on you (you'll still get that tomorrow;)

I couldn't see the appeal of tentacles at first neither, but I read some awesome fics last year and you know how I like to fiddle with Jeff, so I just had to try and see how they looked on him;)

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed comment *smishes*

<3

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

The amount of work you do is STUNNING! These are so, so cute, J! And the finesse of the crafting is always a joy to behold. Well done, lady!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-) Thank you! Cute is exactly how I think about these two;)

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

tentacles! i love the tentacles. they're cute! i love jeff's chapter divider, with the tentacle looking like it's peeking over the edge of a table or a countertop.

also? the cheerleader pic is really adorable.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Tentacles for the win! Thank you:) They was fun to play with and it's even better to know I'm not the only one who thinks they're cute;) <3

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

Haaa this is terrific! So much detail went into the tentacles! And the helmet! You're always so dedicated and it really shows in the result. I also am quite impressed with the photoshop though, I didn't even realize how many things were composited until you gif-ed it! *applauds* Thanks for sharing this with meeee (and also, y'know, everyone!)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*grins* Well, I always aim for my photoshopping to not be noticable, so I guess that's another mission that I accomplished;) Thank you for coming over, bb!

[herminekurotowa.livejournal.com]

It's incredible what you achieve with a cutter and some sheets of paper O.O

This was a wonderful prompt, and the finished art is gorgeous! ♥

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*curtsies* Thank you for your lovely comment:)

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

Wow this is amazxing! I love the mix of techniques here and its great to read about your process. But best of all JEFF AND JENSEN AND SEXY TENTACLES!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-D Thank you! I'm happy to hear you like the mixed media, as it was the first time I combined my papercutting with photoshopping like this:) Yay, tentacles \o/

[sasha-dragon.livejournal.com]

Once again thank you for the amazing art, and I'm in awe of the work that went into it.

I've got one final favour to ask, would it be alright to post the fic with your art on AO3?

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you for turning it into a story:) Glad you enjoyed the behind the scenes look as well!

Sure, that's cool; let me know when the fic is up there, so I can add it to my AO3 collection.

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

This is amazing artwork! I love the photoshop pics, very realistic - they make such sexy firefighters - and doctor! Your paper art is beautiful, thanks so much for sharing your process.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was fun to combine my paper art with a bit of photoshopping, I love playing with these guys in any medium;)

[amypond45.livejournal.com]

Trying again because nothing is working today -- this is wonderful!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Ahw, that's okay, I did get a notification of your original comment;) Thanks for coming over and thanks for the love! <3

[amypond45.livejournal.com]

Oh good! I'm so glad that original comment worked! When it posted on my iPad it looked all wonky so I thought it had been posted someplace else and oh hell whatever! So glad to have found your work! I don't know what took me so long, but consider me a fan! *love so much love*

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:) Isn't it great to keep discovering new fangirls even after all these years of Supernatural? So many social media platforms to meet up in!