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I'll admit it: I am a fan, have been a fan almost as long as I can remember. I started as just a comic fan, then discovered SF, later on-line fandom for various media...
If you think it's weird to be this interested in comics, tv shows, or SF, all I can say is that I've realized a long time ago that it is (almost) always pointless to explain fandom, or the appeal of a fannish approach towards some media source material to people who are not either fans already, or about to become fans (though sometimes they might not know it yet). It's just one of those things which you either get or you don't. So you won't find any explanations for fandom on this page -- if you need one, there's a whole subsection of academics you can consult.
If you're just unfamiliar with some media fandom terms and concepts, try this glossary or this wiki.
Recommendations
- Through the Looking Glass - Alternate Universe Recs
First, I like AUs, because, when done well, they offer unique ways to explore the source, and second, there should be more special interest rec pages for fanfic anyway, so I started this one for AUs. It has recs in several fandoms, for gen, het, and slash fic of all ratings, so don't go there if you're underage.
(Last updated: September 5, 2015) - Crossover Recs
I like crossovers almost as much as AUs, so I've started a second recs page. Like the AU recs page it has recs in several fandoms, for gen, het, and slash fic of all ratings, so don't go there if you're underage.
(Last updated: September 6, 2015)
Thematic lists
A thematic list tries to compile a list of all the fanfic stories fitting with a certain topic rather than reccing only favorites. I'll link gen stories as well as all kinds of pairings, but without help from others it will be biased towards what I've read myself, so please, if you want a story added, your own or others, please send me the title, author, pairings (if any), summary, a public link (i.e. no f-locked or community member locked LJ entries and the like), whether it's a WIP, and under which topic it'll fit, so that I can list it.
- SGA thematic list: alien cultures and new non-human aliens
This one is for SGA stories featuring (human) alien Pegasus cultures prominently, i.e. showing the aliens as having a culture in their own right. This excludes the "aliens made them do it" genre (for which specialized thematic lists already exist anyway) unless the focus is very much the culture and its reasons to require visitors to engage in sexual relations, rather than a "there was a random, irrational fertility ritual *hand-wave*, so John and Rodney have sex" kind. Also not listed are stories in which Pegasus aliens only make a token appearance. In a second part it lists stories with new non-human aliens, i.e. not stories featuring canonical non-humans like the Asgard, Ancients, or the Wraith, which I feel is a different theme.
(Last updated: June 3, 2012) - SGA thematic list: Wraith/Iratus bug transformations
This one is for SGA stories in which a human character is transformed into a Wraith or Iratus bug hybrid, or in reverse a Wraith is made human. It lists both temporary and permanent transformations, physical as well as mental changes, and canon compliant episode tags as well as AUs.
(Last updated: November 15, 2012) - SGA thematic list: John Sheppard as Ancient, Ori or Ascended
This one is for SGA stories in which John Sheppard is an Ancient, Ori or Ascended. John being an Ancient/Ori means that he's reincarnated, descended with amnesia, or hiding intentionally as human etc., but it does not include possession by an Ancient or Ori, or sharing consciousness or body with one, it has to be actually John who is the alien.
(Last updated: September 1, 2012) - SGA thematic list: Atlantis is cut off from Earth or secedes
This list is for SGA stories in which Atlantis is cut off from Earth or secedes, so that the expedition, either by necessity or by choice, has to fend for itself in the Pegasus galaxy. For a story to be included in the list the Atlantis expedition has to loose contact with Earth permanently, or at least for a significantly longer time than in canon, declare independence from Earth, or be stranded as a colony in Pegasus after Atlantis is lost.
(Last updated: September 1, 2012) - SGA thematic list: Werewolves and other wereanimals
This one is for SGA stories in which a character becomes or already is a wereanimal. 'Wereanimal' here is not all that strict, but refers to any supernatural animal-shapeshifting as long as is not another kind of magical animal category, such as centaur!fic or dragon!fic.
(Last updated: June 18, 2012) - SGA thematic list: Wingfic
This one is for stories in which an SGA character has or obtains wings. Stories in which characters are transformed into flying creatures (normal or magical animals such as birds, bats, or dragons), don't count as wingfic for this list. In case of borderline scenarios, e.g. transformation into human-like but winged creatures such as fairies, demons or gargoyles, the list is inclusive rather than exclusive, just not anything that would better fit on the various animal transformation lists.
(Last updated: November 15, 2012) - Star Trek thematic list: Ancient/Non-Reform Vulcan
This one is for stories about Ancient/Non-Reform Vulcan, i.e. stories featuring a Vulcan society without their emotional control. This can be either real Vulcan in the past at any point before Surak's Reforms (whether set then, or with time travel from the canon time period), some kind of alternate universe in which Vulcan devolped differently (mirror universes, parallel universes etc.) or a society of Vulcanoid people who are living on another planet (e.g. were seeded by the Preservers or a faction of Vulcans who colonized the planet in the past, with the exception of the Romulans, who are not counted for this trope). Not included are stories that focus on individual Vulcans loosing emotional control, or just feature some tradition or rituals that date back to ancient Vulcan.
(Last updated: June 8, 2011)
Essays and Opinions
I enjoy talking about fanfic (and fandom), and sometimes I write longer pieces, which deserve a more permanent publication than just a mailing list or blog post, or at least I like to think so, YMMV of course.
- A
Sentinel Is Not a Television Set. A rant
about "dials" and other annoying sensory
shortcuts in Sentinel fanfiction.
(November 2000) - How to construct
Alternate Universes that work as fanfic.
Why I think some AUs work and others don't, and why I
think the simple model of AUs which claims that the
more you differ from canon, the less recognizable the
story will be as fanfic, is faulty.
(January 2001)
I also have a blog where you can find more fannish thoughts, recs, and opinions in a less organized fashion.
Fan Art
[ Avatar the Last Airbender / Stargate Atlantis ] [ Calvin & Hobbes / Marvel new] [ DC Comics ] [ DC / Marvel ] [ DC / Muppets ] [ DC / Star Wars ] [ Dresden Files ] [ Harry Potter ] [ Harry Potter/X-Men ] [ Highlander/X-Men ] [ His Dark Materials / Stargate Atlantis ] [ The Magnus Archives ] [ Marvel ] [ Merlin ] [ Merlin / Numb3rs / Stargate Atlantis ] [ Pinky and the Brain ] [ Rivers of London ] [ Stargate Atlantis ] [ Stargate Atlantis / Watership Down ] [ Star Trek ] [ Temeraire ]
Avatar the Last Airbender / Stargate Atlantis
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis / Avatar the Last Airbender Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Teyla as Waterbender
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint
Notes: I did this for the prompt "SGA/Avatar the Last Airbender crossover" for the SGA fanart fest Painted Spires, as additional fanart for the Amnesty Week. This is more a fusion than a crossover, but I think it's still within the prompt's parameters. Originally this was supposed to be a series of portraits with each of the team matched with an element from Avatar (I thought after Teyla I'd do Rodney as Earthbender, Ronon as Firebender, and John as Airbender), but I only managed to finish Teyla in time to still post (just barely) during Amnesty Week. The image is ca. 212k.
Added: May 25, 2008
Calvin & Hobbes / Marvel
Fandom: Captain America / Calvin & Hobbes Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers, Bucky (Bear)
Media: pencil sketch
Notes: An MCU Captain America/Calvin & Hobbes fusion. I decided Steve would have a normal teddy bear rather than a Bucky Bear, but in his fantasy he would be Captain America, and Bucky would be a bear, who is wearing Bucky's blue coat, rather than any Winter Soldier design. The image is ca. 165k.
Added: January 12, 2022
Fandom: X-Men / Calvin & Hobbes Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Raven, Hank McCoy, Erik Lehnsherr
Media: pencils, ink, then colored in GIMP
Notes: Another illustration for the awesome X-Men/Calvin & Hobbes fusion, The best things in life are blue by oddegg. The image is ca. 100k.
Added: August 19, 2011
Fandom: X-Men / Calvin & Hobbes Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Raven, Hank McCoy, Erik Lehnsherr
Media: pencils, ink, then colored in GIMP
Notes: Another illustration for the awesome X-Men/Calvin & Hobbes fusion, The best things in life are blue by oddegg. The image is ca. 92k.
Added: August 19, 2011
Fandom: X-Men / Calvin & Hobbes Fusion
Characters/Pairings: Raven, Hank McCoy
Media: pencils, ink, then colored in GIMP
Notes: I've read the most adorable X-Men/Calvin & Hobbes fusion today, The best things in life are blue by oddegg which has Raven as Calvin and Hank as Hobbes, and just couldn't resist to give drawing this a try. The image is ca. 52k.
Added: July 22, 2011
DC Comics
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Nightwing (Dick Grayson)
Media: acrylic paint
Notes: I tried the scratching thing again, and unlike in my previous try with Robin I used this time only acrylics rather than supposedly water resistant ink. It was slightly harder to scratch (it sometimes sort of chipped?), but at least it didn't dissolve when I painted over it. Additionally this time I remembered to scan the lineart and b/w scratched only inbetween stage in case something went wrong again after all. But I had no mishaps this time. The finished image is ca. 268k.
Added: May 25, 2009
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake (Robin III)
Media: mixed media (ink, acrylic paint, chalk pastels, razor blade)
Notes: This turned out rather more mixed media than planned, due to me trying to salvage the image from the completely blotched state that was the result of a supposedly water-resistant ink being quite soluble in specific circumstances after all. So it looks rather different from what I imaged, and not nearly as nice as a promising pre-blotch inbetween state did (which I unfortunately didn't scan), that had more texture and scratched gradients, but the black ink dissolved when I tried adding the color highlights and thus the ink ran into them. Also as usual the scanner didn't actually scan the colors as they are on the paper, though I tried to correct it as best as I could to compensate for that piece of color blind crap. The finished image is ca. 204k.
Added: May 17, 2009
Fandom: DC Comics (Sandman)
Characters/Pairings: Morpheus, Matthew the raven
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint
Notes: This was my Yuletart gift for Rasetsunyo. Besides Morpheus and Matthew, Rasetsunyo mentioned in the requests (for another, non-Sandman fandom) the Egyptian pantheon, and also liking crossovers. This isn't really a crossover with the other fandom, but I thought it would still work to mix Morpheus into in one of the classic scenes of the Egyptian afterlife, i.e. the Weighing of the Heart. So there's Anubis weighing the heart against the feather of truth, Thoth keeping the records, and Ammit (the crocodile/lion/hippo mix demon) waiting to eat the unworthy hearts. I decided to show the waiting soul as Ba with a bird body and human head. I'm not sure why Morpheus is there, but I figured that the Egyptians connected their afterlife underworld to the night and to the journey of the sun might be good enough for this Endless to show up there. The finished image is ca. 372k. Please do not reuse this image as this was gift art for Rasetsunyo.
Added: January 5, 2009
Fandom: DC Comics (Sandman)
Characters/Pairings: Matthew the raven
Media: Pencil
Notes: Even though I thought of Matthew while drawing this, it could be just as well some random raven -- I mean, I didn't include anything Dreaming specific. Unfortunately it also isn't a very good sketch: something about the proportions isn't right between the body and the head, I think, but it is the first time I've tried drawing a raven that I recall, so taking that into account it did turn out that bad. I also tried to figure out flying ones, so there are a couple smaller odd birds that may or may not look like ravens too. Anyway, I have very little shame when it comes to posting slightly misshapen results. (No drawer-art here... *g*) The finished image is ca. 64k.
Added: November 3, 2008
Fandom: DC Comics (Green Arrow)
Characters/Pairings: Roy Harper (back when he was Speedy)
Media: Wacom tablet in GIMP
Notes: This took me a really long time, and I don't just mean that I first had the idea for this in 2006. I have no idea what I am doing wrong that digital coloring takes me so long, isn't it supposed to be efficient? I suppose it's one of the pitfalls of being self-taught. Anyway, it's Roy during the famous heroin addict story line. The finished image is ca. 116k.
Added: April 25, 2008
Fandom: DC Comics (Green Arrow)
Characters/Pairings: Connor Hawke (Green Arrow II)
Media: Pencil, inked and colored with a Wacom tablet in GIMP
Notes: It was kind of hard to decide how to draw him, because there doesn't seem to be any real consensus on how "non-European" he looks. The finished image is ca. 40k, the initial pencils ca. 60k.
Added: August 26, 2007
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake (Robin III)/Stephanie Brown (Spoiler)
Media: Wacom tablet and GIMP
Notes: Just a doodle I've drawn for a DCU kissing meme, thus it's smaller/of a lower resolution than my regular fanart. The finished image is ca. 44k.
Added: July 11, 2007
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake (Robin III)/Kon-El (Superboy), vaguely during their Young Justice era
Media: Wacom tablet and GIMP
Notes: I tried drawing completely with a tablet for the first time, which turned out to be much harder than expected, so for practice I started drawing with a photo as guide for posture and then added costumes, changing hair and faces a bit and such, rather than sketching directly without tracing anything. The underlying photo base I started from was this gay wallpaper. The finished image is ca. 76k.
Added: March 9, 2007
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Buddy Baker (as Animal Man) & Tofurky
Media: Pencil, inked, colored and combined with bits from an image of Tofurky packaging in GIMP
Notes: I intended to post this for Christmas, but I didn't finish in time. Before the holidays I was frustrated by the lack of convenient, pre-made veggie roasts in the stores here, which made me think of Tofurky and that Buddy Baker might earn some money from advertising in the DCU, what with him having worked in show biz, and that Tofurky as a brand certainly fits with his image. Which led me to combining the two. The finished image is ca. 157k, you can also look at the initial pencils (ca. 150k).
Added: December 28, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics (Batverse)
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake (as Robin III)
Media: Pencil, inked and colored in GIMP
Notes: Te asked for "creaky, leathery, heavily-armored Robins" similar to Bermejo's art in the LJ community Illustrate Me. Unfortunately I can't draw well enough to emulate the style, but I did my best to make Robin's costume look heavy and armored rather than spray-painted on. If you are interested in the unfinished stages, you can also look at the initial pencils (ca. 73k), and the finished, but uncolored lineart (ca. 108k).
Added: September 7, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics (Batverse)
Characters/Pairings: Jim Gordon
Media: Pencil, inked and colored in GIMP
Notes: This is an illustration for Petra's story Squandered my resistance. It was done for the Comica Obscura exchange 2006. The recipient was Voleuse. It's kind of for the final scene. That scene didn't describe a setting, but I imagined the introspection happening when Jim Gordon is back in his office after meeting yet another Robin for the first time. The finished image is ca. 98k, the initial pencils ca. 83k.
Added: May 27, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics (Outsiders)
Characters/Pairings: Shift, Puppet!Nightwing, Puppet!Arsenal
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This is an illustration for Sister Wolf's Nightwing/Arsenal ficlet Show, inspired by this: "[...] Shift forms his hands into little puppet versions of Arsenal and Nightwing and mimes them beating up on each other like Punch and Judy."
The finished image is ca. 63K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 100K.
Added: March 27, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake (as Avatar), Oracle (Barbara Gordon)
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This is an illustration of Tim Drake as Avatar for Te's Intimates series, a Batverse AU. The finished image is ca. 70K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 52K.
Added: January 5, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Nightwing/Arsenal (Dick Grayson/Roy Harper)
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This picture is Nightwing/Arsenal slash, it has some nudity but no graphic sex, just kissing, you don't see more of the characters than you might in the comics, and it's rather a lot fluffier than what you see between Roy and Grace for example. The finished image is ca. 52K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 32K.
Added: November 29, 2005
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Batman/Nightwing (Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson)
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This is an illustration for Lucy's fabulous Hanging Work AU (it's Bruce/Dick slash, my illustration is not explicit though). The finished image is ca. 48K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 56K.
Added: November 23, 2005
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Batman (Bruce Wayne), Nightwing (Dick Grayson) -- open to a slashy reading
Media: Pencil, Ink, GIMP
Notes: A rooftop scene with Batman and Nightwing. This is the first time I've tried computer coloring, also the first time I've inked with a brush in a very long time. The image is ca. 104K, the pencil drawing that preceeded the finished inked and colored version ca. 100K.
Added: April 11, 2003
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Batman/Nightwing (Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson)
Media: Pencil
Notes: While working on a more difficult drawing, I really needed a break and amused myself with a quick close-up sketch of a Batman/Nightwing kiss. It's not great, and it lacks expression somewhat, but it took only a little bit more than a half hour to draw with a tangible result. And as I mentioned above, my standards for publishing stuff on this website aren't that high. The drawing is ca. 20K.
Added: February 4, 2003
Fandom: DC Comics
Characters/Pairings: Nightwing/Superman (Dick Grayson/Clark Kent)
Media: Pencil
Notes: This is an illustration for Lucy's Nightwing/Superman story Secrets. The image file is ca. 74K.
Added: January 20, 2003
DC / Marvel
Fandom: DC / Marvel Comics
Characters/Pairings: Nightwing/Daredevil (Dick Grayson/Matt Murdock)
Media: Pencil, Ink, GIMP
Notes: Yet another rooftop scene, and 'rith wrote a drabble based on this picture. *squee!* The finished image is ca. 76K, the pencil drawing ca. 48K.
Added: November 1, 2003
DC / Muppets
Fandom: DC Comics / Muppets
Characters/Pairings: Gonzo (as Nightwing)
Media: Pencil sketch, some quick and sloppy coloring in GIMP
Notes: This is the fourth and last (so far) of my Muppets/DCU fusion doodles. In case you're wondering why I cast Gonzo as Dick Grayson/Nightwing, there are several ways they resonate with each other (at least in my strange brain): Gonzo's history as a daredevil performance artist (granted his colors aren't the same as the Flying Graysons', but still) and as stuntman, Gonzo's romance life, and that in a world withouth Kermit Gonzo would have been become "a depressed street performer that plays the guitar for a dancing brick", and considering I cast Kermit as Superman, I find the parallels fitting. (I don't know if Dick would have become a depressed circus artist instead of staying a superhero without Clark exactly, but he wouldn't have been Nightwing as we know him.)
Added: September 13, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics / Muppets
Characters/Pairings: Fozzie Bear (as Jimmy Olson)
Media: Pencil sketch, some quick and sloppy coloring in GIMP
Notes: This is the third of my Muppets/DCU fusion doodles. Again, it was inspired by Betty and Te.
Added: September 12, 2006
Fandom: DC Comics / Muppets
Characters/Pairings: Kermit the Frog (as Superman) and Miss Piggy (as Lois Lane)
Media: Pencil sketch, some quick and sloppy coloring in GIMP
Notes: Betty discussed a story that somehow featured Clark identifying with Kermit the Frog, and I read that post (not the story though) and chatted a bit with Te about DC/Muppets fusion possibilities in the comments, and as a result I had the image of Superman!Kermit and Lois!Piggy stuck in my head.
Added: September 12, 2006
DC / Star Wars
Fandom: DC Comics / Star Wars
Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: An illustration for Mary's Batverse/Star Wars fusion story Flamebird. The finished image is ca. ca. 86K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 48K.
Added: November 20, 2005
Dresden Files
Fandom: Dresden Files bookverse
Characters/Pairings: Harry Dresden
Media: GIMP
Notes: I wanted to try digital inking via letting the program draw paths you define, rather than direct inking by tablet, but wow, that is one tedious inking method. Maybe the most tedious inking method. Perhaps I've been doing it wrong. It took hours to ink this measly doodle when by hand it wouldn't have taken thirty minutes. Even direct tablet inking (at which I'm slower than on paper) wouldn't have taken this long. It didn't help that I did the sketch digitally too, at which I'm much slower than on paper. Granted, the lines look very clean, suffering none of the wobbly suck my digital tablet inking has, but still. The finished image is ca. 80k.
Added: December 12, 2010
Fandom: Dresden Files bookverse
Characters/Pairings: Bob
Media: pencil drawing, then inked, colored and various digital effects/textures added with Wacom tablet and GIMP
Notes: I based it on a description from chapter six of Proven Guilty: "Other books, notebooks, envelopes, paper bags, pencils, and apparently random objects of many kinds crowd each other for space on the shelves--all except for one plain, homemade wooden shelf, which held only candles at either end, four romance novels, a Victoria's Secret catalog, and a bleached human skull." I used an actual Victoria's Secret catalog cover to base my drawing of that catalog on and referenced bits from a couple of other photos via a google image search but only the catalog cover is directly traced as a whole, though the skull is close to this skull image. Oh and the Harlequin romance titles are real too, though I can't actually remember whether I matched the right authors with their titles as I created the book spines. The finished image is ca. 168k, and you can also look at it in the original size I created it, a very large high resolution picture, i.e. 300dpi at DIN A4 size version, 1325kb. I've also written some commentary on drawing this picture.
Added: April 30, 2007
Harry Potter
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a gnome & horklumps
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, GIMP
Notes: This is the fifth in my magical creatures series, a gnome & horklumps encyclopedia plate this time. The canon description in Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (p. 21) is "The Horklump [...] resembles a fleshy, pinkish mushroom covered in sparse, wiry black bristles. [...] It spreads sinewy tentacles rather than roots into the ground to search for its preferred food of earthworms. The Horklump is a favourite delicacy of Gnomes but otherwise has no discernible use." The finished image is ca. 356k.
Added: August 29, 2011
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a graphorn
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, GIMP
Notes: This is the fourth in my magical creatures series, a graphorn encyclopedia plate this time. It looks rather weird because of the odd feet where you'd expect hooves, but the canon description in Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (p. 19) is "The Graphorn is found in mountainous European regions. Large and greyish purple with a humped back, the Graphorn has two very long, sharp horns, walks on large, four-thumbed feet, and has an extremely aggressive nature." The finished image is ca. 292k.
Added: November 6, 2010
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a diricawl
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Notes: This is the third in my magical creatures series, a diricawl encyclopedia plate this time, showcasing their escape method. The crosshatching in this took me forever. Okay, a couple of hours, but it felt like forever. Also, after I had already drawn that predator cat, it occurred to me that HP canon says they come from Mauritius, so there wouldn't have been any cats. Oops. OTOH maybe some magical cat preyed on them, I mean, why would they have developed the vanishing thing otherwise? Without enemies they would really been like the dodo I think. Anyway: *handwave* The finished image is ca. 300k.
Added: March 6, 2009
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a red cap
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Notes: Some time ago I drew a bowtruckle supposed to look like an excerpt from an old book about magical creatures from the HP universe. I wanted to do more in this style and did a poll which creature I ought to draw next. The red cap got two votes, all others either zero or one (it wasn't a popular poll, heh), so here it is. Admittedly my turn around time isn't exactly fast. I also have to give credit to Amelia Eve for suggesting a title for this imaginary work, because I couldn't come up with anything, and she commented with several options in the bowtruckle post. The finished image is ca. 260k.
Added: November 23, 2008
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a bowtruckle
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Notes: The drawing is finished, however I hope there'll be better text eventually that would make it seem more like an excerpt from an old book about magical creatures from the HP universe. For now I've just added some text labeling it like a plate in an encyclopedia would be, so you have to imagine the suitable text going with it. Its style is supposed to reminiscent of early encyclopedias, like Diderot's from the 18th century with copperplate engravings of observed plants and animals. My attempt at this isn't very convincing because this is the first time I've done a b/w picture in ink with crosshatching since I think 9th? grade when we learned the technique in school, but considering that it is not so bad. I may do more HP beasts in this style eventually as part of this imaginary book too, but I haven't decided which yet. The finished image is ca. 272k.
Added: May 20, 2008
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Severus Snape/Kingsley Shacklebolt
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint, a tiny bit of white conté chalk
Notes: This is an illustration of Beth's Snape/Kingsley story In From the Cold. I've already illustrated the epilogue of this story a while back, but always wanted to draw this Snape/Shacklebolt scene in the alley. Now, with barely two years delay, I got around to it. The finished image is ca. 320k, the initial pencil drawing ca. 308k.
Added: February 21, 2008
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Ginny Weasley
Media: Pencil drawing, colored in GIMP
Notes: When I asked for character/emotion prompts to practice expressions, Dragovianknight asked for "Ginny Weasley, shocked." The irises aren't quite equal in size, which obviously looks weird, but by the time I actually noticed that, I was at a stage in the coloring already where I would have had to redo a lot of stuff *headdesk*, so considering that this is more a sketch than an elaborate drawing I decided to be lazy and just live with it. Also, I've never drawn Ginny, but I still hope it looks both like her and shocked. You can also look at the initial pencils (ca. 40k).
Added: June 6, 2006
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Severus Snape
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This is an illustration for the epilogue of Beth's Snape/Kingsley story In From the Cold. Belatedly I noticed that I actually misread the sentence and it was Kingsley wearing that parrot shirt... *facepalm* Well, I really like the idea of Snape in that outfit anyway. Also I'm aware both shadows and perspective don't hold up if you check them for their proper technical construction, I just hope it's not too cringeworthy for the casual viewer. The finished image is ca. 175k, the initial pencil drawing ca. 144k.
Added: February 8, 2006
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Harry (in platypus form), Voldemort
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: Another one for Nimori's Animagus Challenge, this time Platypus!Harry fighting Voldemort. The scenario I imagined for this one was something along the lines that Harry got captured, lost his wand and now makes a desperate attempt to escape by surprising Voldie with his animagus form and tries to incapacitate him with the venom to get away, that's why he's trying to kick him... The finished image is ca. 77K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 106K.
Added: January 18, 2006
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Harry (in platypus form)
Media: Pencil, GIMP
Notes: This is art for Nimori's Animagus Challenge, for which I claimed Harry as a platypus animagus. The finished image is ca. 116K, the initial pencil drawing ca. 84K.
Added: January 18, 2006
Harry Potter/X-Men
Fandom: Harry Potter/X-Men: First Class
Characters/Pairings: Werewolf!Erik, Rat-Animagus!Charles
Media: indian ink and acrylics on paper (original is ca. 24x32cm)
Notes: This is the gift I made for Etirabys for the 2011 Secret Mutant exchange on LJ. The prompt I filled was "Harry Potter AU. Erik is a werewolf and Charles becomes an Animagus to help him out." The finished image is ca. 300k.
Added: January 8, 2012
Highlander/X-Men
Fandom: Highlander/X-Men
Characters/Pairings: Methos, mutant baby
Media: acrylics on paper, original ca. 35x45cm
Notes: This is an illustration for Basingstoke's awesome Highlander/X-Men crossover WIP Unalienable. Among many other things happening, Methos takes care of a mutant baby, carrying her around in a sling. The finished image is ca. 350K.
Added: October 11, 2011
His Dark Materials / Stargate Atlantis
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis / His Dark Materials Fusion
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, the team's dæmons Nioke, Keho, Tykallita, and Imara
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint, a little bit colored pencils
Notes: This is an illustration for Trinityofone's SGA/HDM story Dæmonology. The faint, yet still annoying line in the middle where the colors don't quite match is there because the paper of the original is of a larger format than my scanner, so I had to scan it in two parts, and didn't manage to make them fit perfectly. Astrid helped me fix some perspective and relative size and positioning problems in an earlier pencils sketch of this. The illustration is much better for it. Any remaining problems however are my fault. The finished image is ca. 256k.
Added: March 25, 2008
The Magnus Archives
Fandom: The Magnus Archives
Characters/Pairings: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims
Media: pencil on paper
Notes: Pilesofnonsense now has revealed creators. So here is the sketch I did for Jackjones. Christmas Tea Time
Added:December 29, 2019
Marvel
Fandom: Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Characters/Pairings: Maria Hill/Steve Rogers
Media: indian ink on paper
Notes: I made this for the Yuletart 2013 gift exchange for Tielan, originally posted here. For Captain America's AU outfit I referenced bits from Ryan Meinerding's First Avenger concept art and an American WWI uniform, rather than trying to come up with a Steampunk superhero costume for Steve or dressing him into something more Victorian. I couldn't quite see him as a gentleman adventurer or such. The finished image is ca. 316k.
Added: January 4, 2014
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Characters/Pairings: Charles Xavier, Raven
Media: indian ink and acrylics on paper, minor digital correction with GIMP (original is ca. 25x17cm)
Notes: This is the gift I made for Papercutperfect for the the Secret Mutant exchange. Papercutperfect requested a slice of Charles' and Raven's life as children, growing up together in Westchester. I imagined that Charles would introduce Raven to making Christmas cookies. The finished image is ca. 168k.
Added: December 26, 2012
Fandom: Avengers/Spider-Man
Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers, Peter Parker
Media: indian ink and acrylics on paper (original is ca. 16x18cm without the border)
Notes: I made this for the Yuletart 2012 gift exchange for PinkElephant42, originally posted here. My prompt was for Steve Rogers/Peter Parker, "Meeting in the night, comfort." Thanks to Goss and AstridV who offered artbeta advice to make my initial pencils better. The finished image is ca. 148k.
Added: December 26, 2012
Fandom: X-Men: First Class
Characters/Pairings: Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr, Raven, Wolverine
Media: pencil, digitally pasted into the template
Notes: Here's the link to the blank template. The finished meme is ca. 996k.
Added: August 2, 2011
Fandom: Marvel
Characters/Pairings: Peter Parker (Spider-Man)/Matt Murdock (Daredevil)
Media: Wacom tablet and GIMP
Notes: Just a doodle I've drawn for a Marvel universe kissing meme, thus it's smaller/of a lower resolution than my regular fanart. The finished image is ca. 20k.
Added: July 11, 2007
Fandom: Marvel (X-Men)
Characters/Pairings: Ororo Munroe (Storm)
Media: Pencil drawing, colored in GIMP
Notes: When I asked for prompts to practice drawing emotions, Catmoran suggested "Storm, happily surprised." This is the first time I tried drawing Storm, and I noticed that I have no clue what Ororo's natural eye color is when they're not all glowy white while she controls weather. Since it is much harder to convey emotions in eyes without pupils I wanted to draw her with regular eyes and decided on green without bothering with further research (I know, bad comic fan, no cookie), since I figured that those fit better with freaky witch-like superpowers than plain brown eyes. Anyway, I hope this nevertheless looks vaguely like Storm, and like happy surprise. You can also look at the initial pencils (ca. 56k).
Added: May 28, 2006
Merlin
Fandom: Merlin
Characters/Pairings: Arthur, Merlin, Gwen, Gaius, Elyan, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sir Leon, guards
Media: Acrylic paint on paper; original size is roughly 34 x 32cm; scanned in parts and assembled digitally with some minor corrections in GIMP (hopefully not too noticeable). For more detail, see the process post.
Notes: I made this for the Yuletart gift exchange for Chen_san, originally posted here. Art betas were Goss and Vito_excalibur. It is set in the future. After Arthur becomes king Merlin swears an oath of fealty in a commendation ceremony to him. The finished image is ca. 236k.
Added: January 5, 2011
Merlin / Numb3rs / Stargate Atlantis
Fandom: Merlin / Numb3rs / Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Merlin, Arthur Pendragon, Don Eppes, Charlie Eppes
Media: pencil
Notes: I felt like trying something cartoon-style that didn't involve big-nosed creatures, so I picked my currently favorite fandoms and forced the poor characters into a Christmas card... *G*
Added: December 23, 2008
Pinky and the Brain
Fandom: Pinky and the Brain
Characters/Pairings: Brain/Pinky
Media: fine liner pen with indian ink, digitally colored in GIMP
Notes: This an illustration for the Yuletide 2011 Pinky & Brain story Best Laid Plans by lies_d. I have to say that it is not at all easy logistically to draw these two kissing. First there's the height difference and then the muzzles get in the way too. Also, this is supposed to be the photo of them that ends up on Facebook in the story and originally wanted to format this to appear as if posted there, like a screenshot with the website logo and such, but I do not have an account and don't really know how the pages where photos are displayed look for the users. I tried finding screenshots of Facebook walls but they don't seem to show photos, just comments? So now you just have to imagine it there. The finished image is ca. 100k.
Added: January 1, 2012
Rivers of London
Fandom: Rivers of London
Characters/Pairings: Abigail Kamara & Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina
Media: pencil on paper
Notes: I made this for the chocolateboxcomm for reflectedeve. A Lesson in the Folly Library
Added:February 21, 2019
Stargate Atlantis
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex
Media: pencil drawing, inked with fine liner pens, acrylic paint
Notes: This was my Yuletart gift for Mashimero, originally posted during yuletart here. Mashimero asked for fluffy, happy team bonding scenes, and for gen or McShep, so this is a team scene, with very mild McShep cuddling. John, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon are making S'mores. The image is ca. 220k. Please do not reuse this image as this was gift art for Mashimero.
Added: January 4, 2010
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard
Media: pencil
Notes: I did this the Painted Spires Halloween challenge. Maybe I've just watched the Peanuts Halloween special too often, but I couldn't help but think that at some point John must have dressed up as WW I Flying Ace for Halloween just like Snoopy. So here's a pencil sketch of John Sheppard on Halloween 1975, as he's going trick-or-treating. The image is ca. 84k.
Added: November 1, 2008
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard & Steampunk!Puddlejumper
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint
Notes: I did this for the prompt "Victorian steampunk AU" for the SGA fanart fest Painted Spires. Admittedly mechanical pterodactyls aren't the most efficient way for a flying machine, Steampunk or otherwise, and not a very likely or even possible path technology would take from an SF standpoint, but this way was much cooler visually than merely changing the puddlejumpers with pipes or gauges or whatever. I mean, they more or less look like flying lunch boxes. Not really realistic technology, but this is Stargate after all, and I'm pretty sure John would think that mechanical, flying dinosaurs were cool. The original is 30x40cm, so unfortunately I had to scan it in two parts, and you can see a slight line where I merged, because I fail at digital manipulation and didn't know how to make the two parts fit completely seamless. The image is ca. 244k.
Added: May 9, 2008
Stargate Atlantis / Watership Down
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis / Watership Down
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay (well kind of, they're rabbits...)
Media: Pencil, inked, colored and merged with a SGA background photo in GIMP
Notes: Jenn was talking about SGA as well as about her (apparently quite vicious) rabbits, and I commented that I was wondering when her interests would merge and there'd be a Watership Down/SGA fusion kind of fic with exploring rabbits, who are also appropriately (and realistically) vicious and rack up a huge body count... Somehow the image of the SGA guys as rabbits hasn't left me, besides I think the two would fit remarkably well together. The image is ca. 164K.
Added: April 11, 2006
Star Trek
Fandom: Star Trek Reboot
Characters/Pairings: James T. Kirk, Spock, Nyota Uhura, Leonard McCoy, T'Pau; the accompanying story is Kirk/Spock
Media: pencil, acrylic paint
Notes: This was done for the Trek Reverse Bang challenge and Tinocka wrote a story, In Marsh and Desert, for this painting that you all should check out. Astrid gave some helpful input on the perspective at the pencil stage, however any remaining problems are my fault. This is the first time I tried to just do a painting based on my pencils, rather than do inked lineart first, so it is somewhat of a deviation from my usual style. I hope it still works. The original painting is A3. The finished painting is ca. 340k.
Added: May 17, 2010
Fandom: Star Trek Reboot
Characters/Pairings: Spock, James T. Kirk, Uhura, Keenser, Enterprise, Borg, Kirk/Spock/Uhura, Kirk/Keenser
Media: pencil, digitally pasted into the template
Notes: Everyone and their pet tribble did this, so of course I filled out the Star Trek Reboot Meme too. Here's the link to the blank template. The finished meme is ca. 970k.
Added: June 22, 2009
Temeraire
Fandom: Temeraire Series (sort of)
Characters/Pairings: Santa Claus, dragon
Media: pencil sketch, GIMP
Notes: It occurred to me that in the Temeraire universe Santa Claus wouldn't get equipped with weirdly flying, magical reindeer, but he'd just be believed to use a dragon to fly around and deliver presents. This made me feel a distinct lack of Santa Claus pictures with dragons in them. (Everything is better with dragons.) So I drew one. First I wanted to do a complete flying dragon, but then Santa was so tiny that you couldn't really see him anymore, so I settled for showing just part of the dragon in favor of a larger Santa. Though he probably still ought to be smaller, if it was a huge dragon to carry all the presents, but in any case it works better than the reindeer logistics... The finished image is ca. 124k.
Added: December 23, 2010
Fandom: Temeraire Series
Characters/Pairings: Iskierka
Media: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint, a bit of white conté chalk
Notes: This illustrates Iskierka's hatching. I hope she looks enough like a baby while still fitting the description that they look just like smaller versions of the big ones. But making the head long and lean like I normally do for dragons to make them look ferocious didn't work for me for a baby dragon. The coloring didn't turn out quite like I intended, and for some reason my scanner not only produced a weird stripe artifact that I couldn't get rid of (it is not that intrusive, but still), it also reproduced the colors less bright than in the actual picture. The finished image is ca. 172k. I've also written some commentary on drawing this picture with scans and photos of the inbetween stages.
Added: February 8, 2008
Fandom: Temeraire Series
Characters/Pairings: Temeraire
Media: pencil drawing, inked and colored with a Wacom tablet in GIMP
Notes: This was done for the Yuletart gift exchange for Tylercat. I'd also like to thank Brown Betty for helping me to come up with a motif, when my initial idea didn't work out, and for taking a look at the half-finished stages, spotting problems with the rocks and such. The finished image is ca. 140k. Please do not reuse this image as this was gift art for Tylercat.
Added: February 4, 2008
Disclaimer: Superman, Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Oracle, Spoiler, Jim Gordon, Superboy, Shift, Green Arrow, Arsenal and Sandman are owned by DC Comics. Daredevil, Spider-Man and Storm are owned by Marvel. The Jedi and Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm Ltd., Stargate Atlantis, its characters and universe to MGM Television Entertainment, Star Trek, its characters and universe to Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. and AOL/Time Warner, Inc., The Dresden Files to Jim Butcher, Temeraire to Naomi Novik, Watership Down to Richard Adams, the Muppets to The Jim Henson Company. These drawings are not in any way connected to or endorsed by DC Comics, Marvel, Lucasfilm Ltd, MGM, Richard Adams, Jim Butcher, the Jim Henson Company, Naomi Novik, or J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended, no profit is made with this.