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[Windrider]

Anyone interested in discussing possible themes for 2011?  I usually announce the theme and post the new Guidelines May 1st, but with the calendar posting at elfquest.com less than satisfactory I've not been too keen on getting all you folks to do this fabulous artwork that is then buried and un-findable.  But Foxeye thinks we can have our own wonderful calendar pages here - so I think we should get thing started.

In keeping with tradition, the potential themes for the FanArt Calendar should have broad fan appeal and be canon compatible.

Past Themes:
Celebrations
Then and Now
Beloved Dead
Elfquest Through the Ages (Elf-ified art history)
Home and Family
Favorite Moments
The Magic of Elfquest
Finding One's Place

Suggested Themes that have not been used (so far):

Contrasts: Day & Night, Young & Old, Good & Evil, Warriors & Healers - the Elfquest saga offers many studies in contrasts.

Teachers and Leaders: A tribute to those who provide(d) guidance.

Comedy: The EQ characters at play, practical jokes the characters could have played on each other, visual gags, etc.

Firsts and Lasts: Births and deaths, new ideas and discoveries, goodbyes and hellos, destruction and creation - there is much drama to be found in Beginnings and Endings.

Courage: Courage expresses itself in many ways, from flashy heroics to quiet acts of selflessness. At one time or another, almost every EQ character has had to reach deep inside tap into that well

Elfquest Goes to the Movies:  Very much like Elfquest through the Ages, except our favorite elves do Hollywood.  (This would be an awesome theme to have if and when an EQ movie comes out)

Feel free to suggest other broad-appeal themes that you feel should go up for a vote!

[Foxeye]

Elfquest Goes to the Movies:  Very much like Elfquest through the Ages, except our favorite elves do Hollywood.  (This would be an awesome theme to have if and when an EQ movie comes out)

Remind me...was this specifically iconic movie posters and iconic scenes, or was it even more broad that that? 

(I'm sort of giggling inside at the notion of drawing Winnowill getting papped, or Pike being arrested for DUI. But alas, I'm guessing "elves as celebutards" is not the theme here... )

[Melissa]

I really like the themes Teachers and Leaders and first and last.
There is just so much you can do with those themes

[Deathwing]

Contrasts is always very interesting - Only by reading I have dizens of ideas in mind ^^'

But Courage interests me, too.

[Afke]

Of the mentioned themes I like Contrasts and Firsts and Lasts best! I think they both have been in the suggestions box for quite some time as well. ;]

[bukittyan]

I was wondering when we'd get around to discussing this! ^_^ I was hoping that the Fanart calendar was going to continue.

Personally, I like both Contrasts and the Elfquest at the movies themes.

[elfeneyes]

I'm really pushing for a tribute to the "evil" characters of Elfquest, because without the dark how do you recognize the light?

So instead of good vs evil, a tribute to the fallen characters and if we know the backstory perhaps a comparison between their younger selves and older?

Also, I think so of the "ambiguous" characters should be allowed in, such as Kahvi, Two-Edge, Tyldak, etc.  They aren't 100% in one camp or the other, but some of their actions has resulted in much pain and suffering.

[Saree]

I also awaited this thread longingly. 

I guess the most atmospheric pictures will come out in "Contrasts" and "Courage".

I cannot completely grasp the theme "First and Last" yet. First ideas of possible settings do not come so easily compared to the two other themes. But well, this could be exactly THE challenge for 2011.

[Joyrider1978]

Huzzah!  I'm in with "Contrasts"... think I've been voting for that one for a couple years now... though I also really like elfeneyes' "Evildoers".... or maybe "Rogues and Wildcards", as Wendy put it

Thanks Windrider for stepping up again; and thanks Foxeye for offering this site as the home base -- I agree, the new EQ forum is far too clustered for me to deal with: here we are a happy little family (and far easier to navigate!)

[Windrider]

I'm really pushing for a tribute to the "evil" characters of Elfquest, because without the dark how do you recognize the light?

Hmmm.... I'm thinking that an "evildoers" theme is fairly anti-Elfquest.  To me, one of the things that made EQ different (at least in the Original Quest) was that there were no characters who were evil just because they were evil, something all too typical in fantasy.  And there is no "light" (superhero goodness) either, just shades of grey.  In fact for me, EQ lost some of its elfquestiness when Winnowill became the "source of all evil" in way too many plot lines.  And then the Djunn came on the scene as a typical fantasy two-dimensional villian.

"Rogues and Wildcards" might be better, but still fairly limited unless artists REALLY push the envelope.  I suppose even Cutter could be considered a wild card from Strongbow's perspective.  But I think only a limited number of EQ fans are going to want pictures of evildoers on their walls all year.

Themes should be broad enough to allow artists to portray what appeals to them, so we get lots of variety.  Some complained that Home and Family was narrow due to being too cuddly, but Nienna did that creepy pic of Two-Edge and Winnowill, and Afke went for comedy, and Joyrider and I for a different type of family all together.

Remind me...was this specifically iconic movie posters and iconic scenes, or was it even more broad that that? 

(I'm sort of giggling inside at the notion of drawing Winnowill getting papped, or Pike being arrested for DUI. But alas, I'm guessing "elves as celebutards" is not the theme here... )

I think Joselle suggested this as iconic movie posters, but I think iconic scenes/characters would make it more broad.  Joselle already did a perfect entry for this theme in Strongbow as Indiana Jones.  I wish we could be certain we'd see an EQ movie someday so I could say "save this theme for then," but we might as well put it on the poll now.

You second suggestion is more a "Day in the Life" cartoon.  Which are hilarious, but maybe not calendar material?  Winnowill could certainly out-diva Barbara, but that is less "movie" than the characters put in our own world.

Anyways, are we ready to make a poll or does anyone have other themes to put on the list?

[Saree]

Poll, poll, poll!!!   

[Foxeye]

Hmm, one possible theme just occurred to me....Elves/Trolls vs Humans. I'm uncertain how broad it is, but it seems to get broader the more I think about it. The many many relationships there have been over the year, from hunter/prey, to god/worshipper, to friend, and many in between.  Not sure what a good title for that would be. 

[Jeb]

Just going to throw this in there:

Since a lot of the story is defined by choices made or taken away (as in the case of Recognition) how about the theme of "Choices"? That would allow people to explore the villainous characters and what makes them what they are while still giving lots of other options.

My other idea would be something like "A New Look" or "New Perspectives" where the challenge would be to show characters or situations in a way they haven't been portrayed before.

[Saree]

Since a lot of the story is defined by choices made or taken away (as in the case of Recognition) how about the theme of "Choices"? That would allow people to explore the villainous characters and what makes them what they are while still giving lots of other options.

That is a great idea! It opens a lot of possibilities.

[Windrider]

Hmm, one possible theme just occurred to me....Elves/Trolls vs Humans. I'm uncertain how broad it is, but it seems to get broader the more I think about it. The many many relationships there have been over the year, from hunter/prey, to god/worshipper, to friend, and many in between.  Not sure what a good title for that would be. 

The way you put it, it sounds like Humans vs the offworlders, but perhaps you mean how the elves relate to other species and how those species relate to the elves?

Title?  Huh..... Interspecies Relations?  Xenopolitics?    Or perhaps just something simple like "Otherness." This theme really is broader than you think because you would have to include Preservers in this, too, as well as the squidy Neverending in Jink, and likely the wolves and other bond beasts too.

Since a lot of the story is defined by choices made or taken away (as in the case of Recognition) how about the theme of "Choices"? That would allow people to explore the villainous characters and what makes them what they are while still giving lots of other options.

Jeb, this is an excellent theme, I think Wendy and Richard would approve!  Choice is a big thing with them.  They are always stressing that even when you think you have no choice, you still have the choice about how you are going to feel about it.  This is going to be tough on some of the artists, though.  You can't just do a portrait for this - there has to be something happening to portray the "choice making" part.  Making a choice is something internal so it may be a challenge to show it visually.  But this is also the challenge with the "Firsts and Lasts" theme.

The "New Look" would be great for one of our challenges here, but the Calendar is supposed to be canon only.

So... it is time to put the poll together.  Looks like no one liked the "Comedy" theme, so we'll drop it for now.  And we'll add "Choices" and "Otherness (for lack of a better title)."  Do enough of you think the "Rogues and Wildcards" theme is broad enough to be of interest?

[Elftanner]

If I had to choose from one of these I would choose -

Firsts and Lasts: Births and deaths, new ideas and discoveries, goodbyes and hellos, destruction and creation - there is much drama to be found in Beginnings and Endings.

I already have a great idea for it too. Otherwise I want to add another idea for the choosing if that's cool.

Hidden Moments - Scenes never seen

[Afke]

Here's another vote for Choices!!

[Saree]

Aaargh, I cannot decide.
"Hidden moments" is promising, too!!  Is it in the poll yet? Or not?

[Windrider]

"Hidden Moments" has been suggested before, but again, the Calendar is supposed to be canon.  Of course, there are many implied scenes that are not directly shown in canon, but this is a vague theme and it would be hard for the judges to say if something could have happened or not.  But artists often fit these ideas into other themes.  For example: Foxeye's Savah and Yurek entry (2009), and Bonita's Newstar and Lutei entry (2007).

I'll get a poll together and post it in its own thread later today.  Should we have voting until the end of the month and announce the Calendar theme June 1st?  We'll have to get folks over at the Scroll to come over here and vote, too, if there are any artists left over there.

[Elftanner]

As long as it's a canon character it should be fine right. Everyone knows the stories and in comics things get skipped. Like when Nightfall and Moonshade were pregnant, you never see Moonshade pregnant but she has a cub, and you only see Nightfall Pregnant in like one scene. So we can draw a picture of that elf pregnant or in an intimate moment while pregnant, or something like that...
Or other things, like ShenShen as a child. We know she was, but has she always been so stuck up and or protective? Maybe a scene of her playing with other children. Or we could simply take a moment from hidden years that we didn't get to see, Clearbrook growing out her hair again, Venka and Zahntee in a lovers embrace. We know it happened, we just never saw it...

[Elftanner]

Wow, firsts and lasts inspired me so much I already drew a picture and inked it in. I also drew one for the theme I suggested and now I have an idea for the Contrasts theme and the Choices theme. Yikes!