A Year Of Banners

[inkvoices]

For our December Banner Challenge thanks go to lycomingst for Banner One and allisnow for the winning Banner Two. Lovely work, and at the last minute too, THANK YOU :D

And that concludes 2013's Community Banner Challenge. We've seen some amazing graphics work that has brightened up our comm and made us all smile. It's been fantastic! Thank you very much to everyone who's taken part, be that by making banners (some of you for the first time even) or voting. Take a look behind the cut to see all of the banners that graced the top of our community this year, plus the runners-up adapted for our promptathons:

January: our first challenge was issued on January 10th for February, after a season of Clint and Natasha in Santa hats :)

February: love purely_distel




Our February runner-up entry by zenni was then made into our Valentine's Mini Promptathon banner:




March: bar jacedesbff




April: foolish endeni




May: geekery laughtersmelody




June: positive/negative space daxcat79




July: focus on either Clint OR Natasha allisnow




August: prompts allisnow



And our runner-up banner, also by allisnow, was adapted for Prompathon 2013:




September: peace/peaceful allisnow




October: Halloween allisnow




November: colour allisnow




December: something seasonal allisnow




Keep your eyes peeled later in the month for when we also take a look back at the banners that didn't make it to the top of the community and a chance to vote for one of the ones that got away to be our January 2014 banner!

In the meantime, we want to hear from you about the 2014 Banner Challenge. Like, for example, do you want there to be one? Would you like it to be monthly again, or bi-monthly, four times a year, another number of times? Suggestions for themes and challenges (because we could do with those!)? Banner makers, voters, everyone in this bar that has to look at the thing at the top of our comm everytime you arrive here; what do you think?

Comments

[franztastisch]

Clearly allisnow is the bomb at making banners. :P

OK my thoughts on the banners are the following, either:

1. we vote on which of the winning banners gets to be the banner for the comm forever and ever amen. Or at least until we fancy a overhaul.

or

2. it becomes a bi-annual thing - maybe spring/autumn as that way it wouldn't clash with summer big bangs and winter secret santas/big bangs.

But as I don't make these things, I feel I should defer to those who do. :)

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of changing banners, but with declining entries maybe every other month instead of every month would be enough? I've only ever produced one, though, so like Franzi I would defer to those who are so good at making them, and hear their views on how they feel about making them.

PS: AlliSnow, the Banner Queen, please rise and take the crown! :-)

[spyforaday.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the year in review. I joined in late July, so it's nice to check out the earlier banners.

As the graphics-challenged patron I am, I love having the change of scenery. But, I also understand that it's not fun to beg for entries. What if… when somebody had a banner idea they'd like to submit, they sent it to a mod for consideration. Then the mods could put it up for a vote against the current banner. If the bar votes it in, it changes; if we vote to keep the current banner, we keep it. I bet we'd get suggestions at least quarterly. Then again, I could be totally wrong. Just a thought.

Allisnow, I bow to your graphics prowess. And I beg you to keep up the great work! ;)

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[i-llbedammned.livejournal.com]

I love these banners! Monthly banner contests seem to be stable to me.

[nessataleweaver.livejournal.com]

on one hand, I like the changing scenery - it helps me remember what month I'm in. ;-)
On the other hand, I know it can be hard to get the minimum entries... makes me wish that I had a better hand on effects and stuff, so I could try making them myself. Maybe next year?
All I can suggest is maybe dropping it to every two months, or just rounding up some more people to participate regularly. Maybe adding some links to tutorials or graphics resources or something?
Also, does allisnow get some kind of prize for graphic awesomness?

[inkvoices]

Thanks for the thinking thoughts! Hmm, we could do some tutorial type stuff on graphics maybe...

Heh, apparently allisnow does - she's at the top of our comm again for January :D

[slytheringurrl.livejournal.com]

I really like having a new banner every month. But I think that there should be an official banner to put up if there aren't enough participants for a month.

I think that we should definitely change up the banners often!

[jacedesbff.livejournal.com]

I second this idea!

[slytheringurrl.livejournal.com]

Yay!!! someone agrees with me!

[bailey1ak.livejournal.com]

I tend to just be a lurker at this bar (although a faithful lurker). I love, love seeing all of the fresh art as well as the rest of the goings on around this joint. :) I keep thinking maybe I'll give it a try one of these months... *winces & smiles*

I hope ya'll continue to have the challenges... no matter what the intervals you settle on.

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

I really love the banners changing! It shows that we're an alive a vibrant community, despite the decline of lj relative to tumblr. (and I didn't see this post the first time around, oops!)

Every other month might work better, if you're worried about declining entries.

Is there some way we can incentivise banner-making? Maybe as a com we could have a banner-maker celebration with fanfic and shinies from the less graphics inclined members? IDK, that seems too complicated.

[inkvoices]

Personally I prefer LJ because I find it difficult to have conversations on tumblr - it's more reactory and hoping the person you're trying to converse with then sees your reblog :/ But tumblr has lots of pretty pictures!

We could do something like make a banner based on already posted fics type of thing? I think if you'rre looking at a celebration with fic and other shinies...that sounds like a big bang or a mini bang to me, where artists, writers, and creators team up, or a reverse big bang or mini bang where the art comes first rather than the fic. What's your thinking here?

[hufflepuffsneak.livejournal.com]

Ooh, like a bi-yearly banner festival where we get a lot of banners at once? So we decide on the next six months of banners- and you only have to beg for banners twice a year?

Changing it every second month would probably be less complicated though.

[whiskyinmind.livejournal.com]

Personally I like the frequent changes, but I know I was guilty last year of not entering often enough - something I wanna fix this year!