SGA Big Bang!

[sholio]

SGA Big Bang is LIVE!

I just want to stay home and read all the stories! Sadly, I have to get my ass in gear and go to class. Woe! But it looks wonderful; there are 43 stories, including a handful of gen and a wide variety of pairings. Many thanks to gblvr and svmadelyn for making it happen one last time.

I was fortunate enough to do artwork for These Proverbs We Made in the Winter Must End, by siriaeve. I picked the story based on the description because I thought it sounded visually interesting, but you shoulda seen the grin on my face when I saw who I was writing for (we picked them without knowing). I adore siriaeve's lyrical prose and her luscious world-building, and I knew I was in for a treat. And how!

Summary: The planet of Posturr is on the brink of civil war and Ronon's team is missing. Amid chaos and betrayal, Ronon must work closely with Jennifer to find them, facing the ghosts of his past as he rethinks his present.

It's PG13, Ronon/Jennifer with a very minor side pairing of John/Rodney/Teyla. I highly recommend giving this story a chance even if these aren't your pairings; there's no graphic content at all and the world-building is awesome -- I can't remember the last time I read a "team captured by offworld hostiles" story that did such a wonderful job of making the society convincing and sympathetic, with a believable political situation and descriptions so vivid that you can practically feel the mud on your boots. Even the OCs are marvelous. And the story is told in a really wonderful Ronon POV that fleshes out his backstory marvelously.

Comments

[siria]

Oh, thank you so much for your kind words! ♥ I'm so pleased you enjoyed the story, and so glad to have such beautiful art to accompany my story!

[sholio]

Thank you for giving me such a wonderful story to illustrate! I really was thrilled when I opened up the email and saw that my assignment was going to be yours, because your stories are always fantastically vivid and I knew I'd be in for something good. :)

[astridv.livejournal.com]

I'm SO looking forward to reading this one. And your watercolor art is gorgeous. (I took a sneak peek at the illustrations. :)

Did you manage the last one, with the clouded woods and mountain, at first try? Terrific watercolor effect!

[sholio]

I can't wait to get to all the stories! I never got more than a fraction of last year's stories read, either; I guess I ought to try to get caught up a little bit.

And thank you so much -- your watercolors are gorgeous, so that really makes me blush and bounce. :) Yeah, it's the first try, although I did a number of experimental pages of washes and splatters during the course of working on the whole project, trying to get a feel for it again. It's been a long time since I worked in watercolor and I think I need to do more of it, because I really enjoy it.

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, watercolor is such an interesting and versatile medium, I need to do more of it, too. The last year or two I got tempted by acrylics washes because they're just easier to control, but you just don't get the same kind of brilliance of color. And you don't get effects like these here. Now I've gone back to watercolor and just use the acrylics to complement them.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I had no idea you were such a fantastic artist. *admires* Each is so lovely. I wish I had even a teensy bit of artistic ability, but alas. LOL

Did you paint with actual watercolors or with a graphics program on the computer? *is curious*

[sholio]

Awww, thank you! :) Art's actually what I do -- I've worked as a graphic designer for the last 12 years and I'm currently finishing up a BA in art. But it's been quite a while since I've done watercolor at all, so I'm feeling pretty rusty and that's very nice to hear. :) This was watercolor on paper; I used the computer to clean it up a little and sharpen some details -- and the Ronon and Jennifer cover was composited from separate pieces of art -- but it's mostly by hand.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Very impressive. :)