First off, a few clarifications and misunderstandings do need to be cleared up though.
The Art book that Whisper/Alie is creating is to feature HER artwork. She's gotten a few notes of people submitting their own, so hopefully we can clear that up now. The reason she asked for suggestions is so that she makes sure everyone's favorite pieces get in! After all, Whisp might look at a piece she did a while back and say 'eh, not good enough for the book' but then it might happen to be a piece that really means a lot to some of her watchers. This way we all have a chance to make sure those pieces won't get skipped and left out just because Whisp is picky about her stuff 
Fanart isn't really allowed! Publishing and copyright issues make it far too difficult to even bother with, so we have to be really careful about any fanart chosen. For example, a picture of Luna Lovegood in her Hogwarts uniform wouldn't be acceptable, since it's got the uniform and is clearly of a character that doesn't belong to Alie and is thus copyrighted. However, a random picture of Luna wearing a giant sweater could be slid past. As long as nowhere in the description of the piece is it mentioned that it's Luna, then no one will know anything except that it's a picture of a blond in a giant sweater! Sneaky, yes? So if there is any fanart you think should be in the book, make sure that there's no obvious way to link it to any fan art whatsoever so no one gets in trouble 
Alright, now onto the blurbs! Now blurbs can come in a few different shapes and sizes, so I'm going to write up a few examples of them. Hopefully this will get the gears whirling a bit smoother! As a note, if you've sent a blurb and want to change it, just send in the new one, Alie will take care of it
The purpose of the blurb:
---To talk about an art piece
---To talk about Alie/Whisper
The length of the blurb:
---A few sentences
---A paragraph
---Two paragraphs! (we're trying to avoid walls of text )
)Example 1:
"Adorable, sweet, and different, I have always adored this piece! It's simpler compared to some of Alie's work, but I think that's one of the reasons I love it so much. She came up with this on a whim and tried something different, and it paid off! This little guy is just so cheerful, how can you not love him? He just makes you smile no matter what!" -misslissymouse
It's not long, but it doesn't have to be Sometimes that's all it takes.
Sometimes that's all it takes.Example 2:
"This piece is one of my all-time favorites of Alie's gallery, and for so many reasons! For starters, the characters. I love Percy and Annabeth, and I really feel like this piece matches their characters. The casual relaxed pose, the easy going kiss... It's a really great kiss! Alie managed to capture the sweetness and the newness of their relationship, but at the same time, you can see the passion that's been building up between the two for so long at this point in the story. It's not an easy balance to find even with a ton of practice, but I always felt that Alie has a gift with doing just that when drawing couples.
Beyond the subject of the piece, I really think that it's one of her better ones art-wise. The perspective is fantastic, the contrast between the sharp angles of the house and swing versus the soft pillows cuddling the two in the middle... They ft perfectly together in a totally natural way. And the details in the shading and reflections in the window prove how much Alie enjoyed working on this piece, because she always ends up taking her time on her favorites! Which is probably why it so easily slipped it's way up my list of favorites and why I had to make sure that this piece would be picked for this book. I wanted to make sure that it was printed properly on paper for everyone to see forever more!" Felicity Westmarsh, 16, New York City.
This one is a little longer, discussing more about the picture. If you enjoy doing longer reviews and comments and discussions, perhaps a longer blurb is for you! It really depends on how much you enjoy talking But try not to let your blurb get too long, the art is still supposed to be the focus of the pages! (Also, no, this piece cannot be picked for the book, since it's very clearly fanart. But it worked for the example XD )
But try not to let your blurb get too long, the art is still supposed to be the focus of the pages! (Also, no, this piece cannot be picked for the book, since it's very clearly fanart. But it worked for the example XD )Example 3:
"This simple little piece holds a lot of meaning for me, and there is a very good reason for me wanting it to appear in this book. Of course there's the art itself, the simple lineless style is really pretty and I think it sets off the whole thing very nicely. The softness and lack of detail actually strikes me harder than it may have done if it had had more details.
But the reason I love this piece is because it's something special between Alie and I. She didn't know about a certain bad date i'd had a few nights before, and she had no idea that I'd been stood up a couple of evenings after. She had no way of knowing what I was going through, but then this picture popped up in my inbox and just hit right home. I nearly started crying then and there, though Alie couldn't have known! She felt awful, but the first thing she did was tell me was that if I needed to talk, she was there. Through this picture, I really got to get to know her, and we got really close. Simply because of the random timing of a picture where Alie decided to paint a girl frowning rather than smiling. It's always been such a great memory with Alie, and it was great to be able to get to know her better through it all. but that's why this picture is so near and dear to me. Not because of the sad evening I went through, but because this image is one of the reasons we're as close as we are and I wouldn't give that up for the world " Lissy Westmarsh
" Lissy WestmarshIn this example, I focused a little more on discussing Alie than the art piece chosen. This is totally acceptable! Since the memory is linked to this particular piece, it works perfectly, and adds a nice deeper meaning to a picture that was just random for Alie. So rather than a boring little blurb from her about this, we get a much sweeter story
Example 4:
I'm not going to write this one out, because I don't believe it's necessary. But the last kind of blurb you can really write is one about Alie as a person and an artist, not focusing on a particular art piece. These random blurbs will be used in random places to fill up space where some text might be needed, but it also gives closer friends a chance to maybe leave a little something for Alie. Please keep in mind, random people sending random beautiful things is appreciated, but they won't be accepted for the book. This is really designed for people who consider Alie a friend, and a closer one. It's for people who can pull some deeper meaning up from the pages if they really want to show how much they care. If you're not certain you fit in this category, it's alright. You can always try! But really...if you and Alie are close, you'll know you're in there and you'll know Alie will love getting something like this from you.
And that's a wrap! I hope that maybe this has cleared a few things up for people when it comes to the blurbs, I know they can be a little intimidating and possibly confusing if you're unsure where to start. So now...you have a start I wish you all the best of luck, have fun!
I wish you all the best of luck, have fun!-Lissy
(((Yeah yeah, writing as Lissy was cheating, but it was so gosh darn weird to make up reviews for my own artwork, I had to try >.<)))
