ARTpost: SPN_J2_BigBang 2016

[beelikej]

On spn_j2_bigbang claimday, back in May, I was all jetlaggy after a trip on the nightbus from London and I messed up the time, so I figured I missed out this year:( I'm so glad I signed up as a pinchhitter because I got lucky after all! It was a match made in heaven even, with a story about the guys going on a roadtrip along Route 66, JUST LIKE I DID LAST SUMMER:) And the author is one of the fangirls I met up with in the USA back then; how cool is that for a fandom collaboration?
I happily present:



Title: Begin To Begin Again
Author: dugindeep
Artist: beelikej
Medium: Black marker, Photoshop & Image Ready (for animation)
Pairing: Jensen/Jared (background Jensen/Danneel, Jared/Genevieve)
Genre: RPS futurefic | Wordcount: ~26K
Story Rating: NC17 | ART Rating: G!
Summary: Years after Supernatural ends, Jensen realizes that his job isn’t the only thing missing. He’s divorced, a lame-duck father, and living alone. He wakes often from long-ago memories of the boots and leather jacket he filled out back when he had purpose, dreams of the connection he had with the one who stood beside him through it all. When Jensen finds a spark of himself while reconnecting with his daughter, he is determined to make this new feeling stick with a cross-country trek in the driver's seat of the Impala.

Even as he’s weighted down by his own growing pains post-Supernatural, Jared meets Jensen in middle of Michigan, and they both dive into the same luxurious dream of seeing the country with nothing but time and pavement ahead of them. As Jensen and Jared rediscover themselves and their friendship, they uncover more between them that awakens buried feelings and lights a fire between them.


STORYBANNER
A still version of the animated banner above. Click for a closer look (that goes for all images below)

Happy memories in the semi black and white background (Sam & Dean OR Jensen & Jared? Read the story!)
Notice the -too(?) subtle- extra gray in their hair in the coloured photo? (In the sources section below I reveal how I did that;)

BABY
I had originally planned to create the Impala out of paper, but when I had sketched an outline version for cutting, I liked it as it was, so I decided to go with the drawing for a change!


I traced my pencil version of the Impala with black marker on white paper and then inverted it with the magic of Photoshop into a black car:) I made it slightly transparent in the banner for a more dynamic look (full black would look rather massive and take away attention from the photos in the background.


I drew separate versions of Jared and Jensen (see sketches below) and put them in the car digitally, moving them around depending on the direction they were driving:) I also made versions of Jensen driving on his own. (Why? READ THE STORY!)

DIVIDERS
I made 13 (THIRTEEN!) dividers in total, divided in three themes, all with the red line and dots as a graphic element (symbolizing a road on a map;)

Full size is 600 pixels, the dividers down below are reduced to save space: click to see original sizes!

First theme: Homelife, with teenage JJ texting on the couch and shopping with dad Jensen:


Second theme: Baby, a transparent set of the Impala

Driving to the East; solo Jensen and J2 together


Driving to the West; solo Jensen and J2 together

Third theme: On the road, views from Route 66

Sleeping in motels: Jensen on his own (I also made one with both of them) + a Classic American Diner


Route 66 roadside attraction (do you spot the whale?) and corndogs & fries at the Cozy Dog.


Route 66 sign \o/

EXTRA ARTWORK

A J2 "ussie" in front of the Blue Whale of Catoosa, OK *grins*



SKETCHES

I had to take the backwheel off the Impala for alignment, haha: it kept dipping its nose. I also made drawings of a postcard and textmessages on a phone that didn't end up in the final dividers. (Seriously: READ THE STORY)


Close up of my first effort and the final drawing of Jensen and Jared :-D

SOURCES

Jensen photographed by Karen Cooke at JIB2015 (link to TUMMY Jensen, especially for dugindeep;)

Jared at Saturn Awards presswalk, June 2016; I combined images found on Tumblr and GettyImages

I added gray hair from Tim Omundson, photographed by bflyw at JIB2016

The linedrawing from J2 driving the Impala was made from a screenshot from Supernatural S11Ep4: Baby

I used references from Getty Images for "couple sitting on the hood of a car" :-)

JJ texting on the couch from Mind Waves and Teenager JJ shopping from MyHealthNews Greece with a smirking Jensen in the background from the Supernatural Parody video by the Hillywood Show®

The J2 selfie originally had salt_and_sprite@Twitter in the middle, lucky girl! (June 21st, 2016)

Fonts: Hobo & Christopherhand

All roadtrip photos were made by me in August 2015 on Route 66 \o/

The sunset below is also my own photo, taken two weeks ago from my back balcony:)

THE END

Aaaaahw. *chinhands*


THANK YOUS
First of all: thank you, wendy for being on top of things and for pairing me up with a fic when I didn't expect to play in this classic fandom challenge anymore *throws confetti*
Thank you, dugindeep for writing this intense postSupernatural story and for taking the guys down my memory lane of the Route 66, I wish I could have added more photos :-p

As always also a thank you to all visitors of my journal for stopping by. I'd love for you to leave a comment, however short or long. Concrit is always welcome as well!

J.

P.S. My previous artpost has a Dress Up Jared Doll! --> The Roommate
P.P.S. If you're in the mood for more, check out My Art Masterpost (with all my artsy fiddlings starting from my first BigBang in 2010!)

Comments

[red-b-rackham.livejournal.com]

Oh wow!! AMAZING work! I love the sketches. You did so much! <3 Great job!

[emmatheslayer.livejournal.com]

Such awesome work love it so much and the moveable impala wow loving it

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

<3 Thank you! (The Impala driving through is my favorite bit too;)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*beams* Thank you very much:)

[jennygeee.livejournal.com]

Lovely artwork!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[deanshot1]

Just amazing, I really loved seeing your art as it appeared in the story I just finished reading just a few moments ago.

Each piece is amazing and the fact that your sketched 'baby' is absolutely wonderful. You have an incredible talent.

Thanks for sharing.

*hugs*

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-) I'm happy to hear the art complemented the story for you, that's what I aimed for. Thank you for your lovely comment! *hugs*

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i love the animated banner! and not just because it's got the car. :D i also love the tiny sketches of jared and jensen, and the last pic is so sweet. the sunset's pretty gorgeous.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! When I was building the banner I was playing around with the car and then figured it would be fun to make an animation:) That sunset was a happy catch <3

[sillie]

Omg, that animated banner is so awesome! :D :D I can't stop looking at it, it's so fun. <3<3 Also really love the rest of the pieces you've done. That selfie in front of the whale. XD <3

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

And to think I didn't even have that idea from the start, it just organically happened while I was playing with the lay-out in Photoshop:)

Thank you! I'm rather fond of the whale selfie. <3

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I almost love the thought processes and effort more than the art itself - like the details behind the dots and lines... But nope, that gif is too awesome to take second place to anything, the car is great, and I love the choice of pics in the background, the framing works really well.
I'm definitely going to read the story now, after checking out all this lovely art.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Heehee, and I didn't even include a making of this time! I'm so pleased with how the Impala turned out. I love fiddling digitally, but drawing that car was fun:)

Thank you! Enjoy the story!

[crimsonepitaph.livejournal.com]

The art makes me both nostalgic and warm and fuzzy inside...which is a way of saying, I am so impressed by your talent and your skill of creating pieces perfectly fitted to a story.

Love it! :)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-) Thank you very much. There is no better compliment than hearing the art fits the story. That's always my goal for fandom collaborations and I choose my media accordingly, so I'm happy this worked!

[lav123.livejournal.com]

Love it!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:) Thanks!

[jimbobjoe.livejournal.com]

I LOVE all this, as always!

I did not notice at first that the car is see-through in the banner, but I really dig that idea.

Great work!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Yay, I hoped I had made the transparency of the Impala subtle enough, so when the car is moving it appears more like reflection and adds to the movement. Good to know that worked ;-)

[violateraindrop]

The Impala looks great and I love the banner with the animation :D

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much:)

[bflyw.livejournal.com]

awesome! So cool that you ended up with this story - it was meant to be! I totally recognized some of your route66 pictures!
Love the animation!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

I couldn't believe it when I received the information for the pinch-hit; so fitting! (Wendy clearly knows what she's doing;) It was fun to go through my photos again and imagine J2 on that road *grins*

Thank you!

[sinfulslasher]

Another amazing art post! The banner is fantastic! Baby looks brilliant! The last pic of the boys on the hood is made of awesomesauce! I cannot wait to read that story.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all that enthusiasm *beams*
I hope you enjoy the story just as much;)

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Aw, this banner is wonderful! It ALL is!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! <3

[masja-17.livejournal.com]

Just finished the story and enjoyed the awesome art all the way through! Love the moving banner!

Well done you!

♡

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love hearing that the art works within the story:)

[souslelys.livejournal.com]

This is amazing ;u; beautifully pieced together with the fic settings, and awesome sketches of Baby!!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! It was fun putting Baby on Route 66:)

[sophiap.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is neat! I love how you worked the different elements together, and as always, I'm in awe of anything animated.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thanks:) Happy the mixed media and the animated banner work together \o/

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! OMG how can I not love this! How awesome that you were a pinch hitter for this! I love the fact that you got to use some of your Route 66 photos. (I can't believe that it's almost been a year since our trip!)

The story banner is awesome. I love how you layer things in your work. One can never just take a casual look at your art. One most take time to appreciate everything, all the details, you put into each piece.

I love the Impala and how you drew it and guys in it. And the chapter headers!

So amazing. Both you and the art!! ♥

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:-) Almost used our roadtrip icon for my reply to you *smishes* I had such fun placing the guys on the road we drove on. I out loud squeed when I found out Amy made them stop at Catoosa, because I can just imagine them being as giddy as us about that Blue Whale <3<3

Thanks for noticing the details (well, you would, wouldn't you, *hums meeeeeeemories*) Impala FTW! (But I loved your car too;)

[dugindeep.livejournal.com]

Darrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrling! Just WOW! Now that I read all the notes and sources, I'm even more enamored with you and this art.

*and now that I'm over the stress/exhaustion of writing and posting, and my stomach problems ...*

I LOVE that you were able to connect so heartily with the road trip because of your own last year. It definitely felt like kismet or something once I got you as my pinch hit artist <3 Your photography was wonderful, along with the cropping and text choices. I am also now very endeared to you, to see that you took the sunset pic out your balcony! Just so so so lovely <333

Thank you again for all of your hard work! And especially for your patience while I went through the last few weeks from hell. I so hope we get another chance to work together and really build both the story and art together. Thank you, thank you, thank you:-****

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*smishes* I'm glad I could offer a bit of comfort during your last weeks of writing. Hopefully our next collaboration won't be because of other artists disappearing;) Feel free to approach me for a collab any time, okay?

Last year's roadtrip was clearly all set up in preparation for this, haha. Thank YOU for taking the guys on the road (and for not giving them easy solutions, I like it when they have to work for it;) I'm glad the art turned out to your liking! (Especially happy I could work that sunset into the set:)

*smishes some more*

[somersault-j.livejournal.com]

I LOVE IT ALL!!!! BUT I THINK THE BANNER IS MY FAVORITE! Love them sitting smiling in the Impala versus them being distraught. AND BABY RIGHT THERE!

But I also love the themes with JJ and Route 66!

I think this really fits the story. GORGEOUS! LOVE IT :D

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I LOVE ALL-CAPS COMMENTS *smishes* I love that you noticed and mentioned the contrast between their moods. But best bit is to hear that the art fits the story, that's what I always aim for, yay! <3

[moonlessnightz.livejournal.com]

Love the pictures you've picked for the main banner and the way you've put them together! The font matches so well and the animation just makes it look even more fantastic :)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Well, when reading the story I immediately thought of their happy times in the 'Baby' episode, so obviously that scene had to be central! Finding the more serious expressions was harder (and I did have to subtly age them a bit to fit the fic;) I'm glad to hear it all works together, thank you!

[cherie-morte.livejournal.com]

J, this art is so fantastic and so you and you have truly outdone your fabulous self!!

The banner, for starters, I mean. You managed to find a pictures that both seemed to age the boys (OK I JUST READ THAT YOU USED TIM O'S HAIR TO MAKE JARED GRAYER AND I AM SDOFHSOIJFOIFSDOIFJ PERFECT HAIR BROS) to where they are in the story and also captured their sadness but then them being goofy in Baby as the background as a total contrast to that, a perfect embodiment of the journey the story takes you on. PLUS I'M FUCKING TICKLED THE LITTLE IMPALA DRIVES THROUGH IT. I'M JUST SO TICKLED.

Basically the only thing all my artist friends agree on is that DRAWING THE IMPALA IS THE HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD. So I am super impressed by what a great job you did with that, and then it was SO SMART to just invert colors to make it black. And then the tiny J2s you added (and the one with just Jensen ;____;) are so weeee and preciouuusssss. I want to eat them, but I digress.

It was so smart to use that for dividers and to superimpose that on the RT 66 images and tie the art together with it, ESPECIALLY snice it then gets the big pay off in that final piece where they're on that Impala as the sun is setting and the boys are sitting on the hood and it feels so idyllic and perfect.

AND THEN THE STUPID BOYS AT THE STUPID WHALE TOURIST TRAP IS SO PERFECT I MEAN WOULD THIS STORY HAVE BEEN COMPLETE WITHOUT AN IMAGE LIKE THIS I DON'T THINK SO IT IS SO MUCH THE ESSENCE OF THE FIC THAT STUPID FUCKING WHALE I AM SO FOND OF ALL THE IDIOTS INVOLVED IN THIS *______*

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Oh you. *blushes fiercely* Can I keep you?

HOW COULD I NOT USE TIM'S DIVINE GRAY LOCKS TO AGE OUR BOYS? HIS HAIR IS PERFECTION <3.
I love that they were on their own for that scene in Baby; I can't tell where J2 ends and Sam&Dean begin (or vice versa) and I felt it fit Jensen's memories in Amy's story so well.

I didn't even mean to draw the Impala, it was just a set up for papercutting, but while I was sketching I got drawn in (haha) and added too many details for knifework;) Reverting the colours digitally felt a bit like cheating, so I'm thrilled that you think it's smart *grins* Tiny J2 made me giggle, especially the grumpy first draft, heehee.

When Amy mentioned the sunset scene I wasn't sure if I could visualize that, it was hard figuring out how those boys would sit on the hood, so THANKS for mentioning that.

THAT BLUE WHALE WAS MY FAVORITE STOP ON ROUTE 66 LAST YEAR; J2 WOULD TOTALLY BE SILLY THERE. (I photographed that whale from EVERY ANGLE:)

<3<3<3