PB Memeage (Or, I can post here with this account now!!)

[bitten_notshy]

Borrowed from a meme posted last year by the lovely trickster_twin:

So for those of you who have never had to choose a PB, I envy you because it can be very very hard. For those who have, who do you use? Why did you choose them? Or do you have any future journals you want to talk about how you searched high and low to find that one perfect face for your character, or complain how you haven't?

(No, I didn't just ask to redo this just so I can use my Ed Speleers icons a lot, shut up.)

Comments

[endsthegame]

I... only have two characters who ever needed a PB. And both of them were very easy. Ender, I'd had in my head since before I even realised I did. I actually spent weeks looking through icons because I had this one face in mind and couldn't find it.

It turned out I had the face in mind because I'd watched Lemony Snicket a few months previous and thought he stoic-faced just like Ender. So, that's fairly simple. Also, an important bit was where he looked young - that's half the point of him in the books, that he's so wee, so I wanted to have a young-looking PB until he grew up.

As for Kerrigan, 3D reconstructions of what she looked like pre-Zerg (we only have bad pixel images IG for her, otherwise) made it clear her facial features were really close to Milla Jovovich's; fans everywhere remarked upon it. So, again, easy.

Of course, I'm trying to decide whether I want to replace Ender's PB with an older one once he turns 16 this year, or if I'm going to wait until Liam does more movies, right now. So that will be interesting.

[chasingangela]

I've been trying to make myself swap out the icons on this account for older Claire Danes ones for about two years now, since Claire was 15 when she shot MSCL and Angela is 20 now. I've even found decent source material; it's just HARD to give these icons up.

I think I'm just too attached to the red hair.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack had several faces as I tried to find him, because Elizabeth Bear is pretty specific with the physical details and it's an odd combination. (Hardest parts: Jack's supposed to be slight, and most actors are more muscular. And he had to have a fair number of images that could pass as vaguely Victorian, or at least timeless, since he's coming from 1899. I also needed someone who looked young, but not so young that I'd feel like a perv using him in sexyfuntiems scenes. And he had to look both intelligent AND innocent, because Jack is so much more than he seems at first glance.)

He started out as Lucas Grabeel; Lucas got bumped because it was too hard to find hatless images of him, and he's too linked to his High School Musical character. Then he was William Moseley for about a week until I decided there weren't enough decent pictures of him once_a_king hadn't used. I thought Ryan Phillipe was IT for a while, but, really, he never quite gelled, and I was on about my 18th trawl through hollow_art when I found this fellow.

I asked people to give me names of others, but I kept coming back to Ed. I've never seen Eragon or his TV series, so he doesn't have any particular canon weight to me -- he just looks perfect.

</tl;dr>

[allyofthevarden.livejournal.com]

Ed is lovely.

And speaking of Eragon, boy is Arya going to be confused. ;)

[swerval_zero]

I was looking for something entirely different on Hollow Art when I stumbled across Katie B. and shrieked, "THAT'S ZERO!" Pure serendipity. Very Zeroesque, really.

Steve I was picky picky picky about forever, because no one really looks like Steve to me except for this guy I keep hoping will actually get cast as Thor, but the lighting in his current series is crap and he's been dead for half of it, so comics icons are thin on the ground, and then not_ironmaiden linked me to some icons of Mark Valley and I basically went, "No. Wait. I mean yes," because I'd gotten so used to people being not quite right that I couldn't accept at first that this guy worked. I think it was this icon that put him over the top; he looks more like Steve right there than any other person I've seen.

For Samuel, I had a vague image in mind, but it wasn't fully formed, so I was like, "Okay, dark hair, blue eyes, long nose, go," and I just searched off and on for several days for someone who'd click. At one point I had like five semifinalists, and then it was down to two and, uh. Jake Gyllenhaal's hotter than the other guy and occasionally I'm shallow.

Oh, also, JP never got a PB, but at one point I'd decided that I was going to find a Vulcan to be him, because the pointy ears were what was hanging me up. It just never panned out.

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

I know *I* appreciate having Jake on my flist :D

[weetuskenraider]

This is the only character I've ever had to find a PB for. And I didn't even do the work, because -- I'm forever blaming trickster_twin for the fact that I play Tahiri at all, but really I blame with love because I've certainly never regretted the app. Anyway, part of her way of enabling me to do this was to find me a PB, and she gave me a whole freaking list of them.

Note of amusement: one of the other options was Anna Sophia Robb, who is of course flowering_mind's PB, and I didn't go with her because for some reason I feel a little uncomfortable using PBs of younger actors. I'm not sure why, as at the time I certainly didn't think she was going to be hooking up with anybody; it's just a thing. Anyway, going down the list and weighing who I thought fit my idea of Tahiri as well as -- okay, a lot of it came down to "Who can I use who has a good number of ready-made icons?" Because I'm lazy when it comes to making graphics. So I ended up using Emilie de Ravin.

This is actually a bit of a challenge, because she does a lot of really girly photoshoots that don't fit Tahiri very well, but hey, it's been a good PB choice. I have to admit I'd never seen anything she was in until that trainwreck of a Lifetime movie a few weeks ago and let us never speak of it again, but that pretty much cemented it for me that it was a good choice. (Especially if I go by the Japanese book art for The Final Prophecy.)

I could PB Katchoo if I really wanted to, but I have so many great comic art icons that I have no room for a PB anyway. And let's be honest, if I did, I would use Renee O'Connor -- not as Gabrielle, because she's too young and cute there, but older Renee? Those of you guys who saw my Twitter ramblings the weekend of the Xena con back in January may remember that I was spazzing over the short film that Renee made and screened for us; older Renee, in this role, can definitely pull off the rougher edges and simmering rage that defines Katchoo. Back in the day, people in Xena fandom used to go on about how they'd want Renee to play Katchoo in a film/TV version of Strangers in Paradise, and I was always "Nah, I don't see it." Now I do. But I still don't have the icon space.

. . . that con was where the official announcement came out, come to think of it, that Terry Moore and Steve Sears are working on a TV adaptation of SiP. Hee. *tangents and is done*

[intraspective]

That's interesting, that you don't like using younger actors--I liked AnnaSophia because she is, about, the same age as Ino ought to be.

(And her facial expressions just shriek 'Ino!' at me too, of course.)

[talks2objects.livejournal.com]

I don't remember the process of picking out Dor's PB. Mainly because I had the icons done a loooong time before I even apped him.

Anyhow his PB is Ethan Embry and most of his icons are either from "Can't Hardly Wait" or his quickly cancelled Fox show "FreakyLinks". (And yes there was an online petition to bring the show back. Funny how that didn't work.)

Anyhow, my main reason for selecting Ethan was that he had this naïve/dorky expression on his face during a good portion of his scenes in CHW that really just made me think of Dor. In fact I'm pretty sure watching CHW is what triggered me choosing him.

[weetuskenraider]

Fun with FH fandom-linkage meta: Ethan's brother Aaron played one of the Angry Inch band members in the L.A. stage production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with Miriam Shor who of course played Yitzhak in the movie. ;)

[cutsthestrings.livejournal.com]

Liir was a challenge because I had played an older version of him for a couple of years and desperately wanted to get someone who fit that look. It took near ages to find someone who looked young enough but had the right qualities and I bounced for days when I found Louis Garrel through an icon journal. So I went from a German model to a French actor. Now, I almost think Garrel works better in general, not that I'll ever entirely give up Hermann.

Abigail Irene got her casting through a comment from Elizabeth Bear saying that pretty much, she was a slightly younger Helen Mirren and I ran with it. Yay Hollowart. I do worry that people think she's really really OLD when Abby Irene is really more in her 40s, but the casting IS dead on and hey, Word of God.

Geoffrey Tennant practically IS Paul Gross and hey, TV. I didn't need to look.

Fiona, on the other hand, drove me nuts for quite a few days. As I got more and more into playing her, I found someone I thought worked: Katie McGrath. There was still some issues there, one of them being that Fiona's well, a little sharper than that and not nearly as polished, but she was so close. Then I realized we'd have a Morgana and that was kind of weird. So that day, the DAY that I went looking, I saw this one girl, a model who had some icons up on pb_update. And she was absolutely PERFECT: beautiful but not easily pretty, thinner frame, a bit girlish, and she has moments of looking exceedingly plain (as Fiona does and was for many years); you can't really say that for Miss McGrath. So I switched! Then there was her brother, who also took ages, and her father just kind of happened. And her mother was totally chosen just because I needed SOMETHING for that one establishy post and well, strict and slightly terrifying brunette? ANGELICA HOUSTON.

[bitten_notshy]

I do worry that people think she's really really OLD when Abby Irene is really more in her 40s, but the casting IS dead on and hey, Word of God.

It is hard to argue with Helen Mirren for that role, for srs.

[a-demosthenes.livejournal.com]

The concept of Emily Browning as Valentine started, admittedly, entirely on the casting of Liam Aiken as Ender, in that a ton of Lemony Snickett icons could easily be interpreted as Ender with his big sister. Thankfully, it works really well. In Ender's Game, Valentine is not described physically. In fact, I think in the whole of the book, it's Graff and his FATTY FATNESS that's only really described. There is some discussion on what Val's hair colour might be (some say blonde, some red), but the details of the book and later books could be really interpreted as anything (THANKS CARD).

Besides, Emily Browning, pretty but in an unconventional way, is basically how I imagined Valentine anyway. So it worked out great. Especially since (unlike Liam, neener neener!), she's putting out new movies making it perfect for an aged, 17-year-old Val.

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

Emily Browning is on my short list for a character that I maaaay end up apping once Joan graduates. But I'm not in love with her for the character for a few reason.

And I have a thing about unintentional doubles, so I wouldn't use her anyway if Val is around when/if I do the app.

[justice-beat.livejournal.com]

My casting for Daisy Day was one of those things that was in the back of my mind, having a couple ideas (Zoe Saldana was a possible other choice), as I needed a petite actress who could convincingly manage Daisy's mix of ethnic backgrounds: part Ethiopian, part Chinese. I hadn't specifically wanted to play her right away, so it was one of those things I sat on for a little while.

And then a large set of absolutely gorgeous Thandie icons popped up and, right then and there, I knew.

It was right when the limit had been upped again, and, even though I swore I'd hold out to have another student, she just stuck and it was a powerful force and ta-da! I realize more and more, as I look into more stuff about Thandie, that even her personality matches up so perfectly with Daisy's: very serious and passionate about what she cares about, but also a total, total dork. I'd be pretty hard pressed really imagining anyone else as her now. Plus? SO BRITISH.

Plus, the meta if we ever get a Nick Angel is omg awesome. XD

And? When Daisy does her "bad American voice," it sounds, in my head, exactly like Thandie's Sarah Palin voice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRUvz8may8). That link? Is not very safe for life, just to warn youuuu, but it's hilarious.

[the_merriest]

Oh my gosh, that scene is amazing.

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

I tend to favor TV characters who come with ready made PBs, but when I apped Joan, I also sent in a backup app for a book character.

And she was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hard to find a PB for, because she was overweight and there aren't many overweight actresses/models who you can find any kind of decent iconage/source material for.

I ended up picking this girl (http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/79203178/16543564) from hollow_art who had about six icons that were usable.

Needless to say, I'm glad Joan got accepted ;)

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad doesn't really get much icon love, especially compared to some Bleach characters, but I never really felt that driving of a need to get a PB for him, especially since his look is very unique and would be sort of difficult to find.

But, in wanting to photoshop something dorky for the KKG calender last semester, I cam across Won-Bin, who sometimes doesn't resemble Chad at all, but other times...OH MAN. He was perfect, and so he's got a few icons being very Chad-like.

Mostly, it was just the haaaaair.

[fabulous-secret.livejournal.com]

OMM, did I search for PBs for Adora. People can tell you I looked at like, every blonde ever for at least 6 months before I decided for sure on Sarah Chalke. I'd even downloaded enough cartoon icons to use until I realized she literally had the same four expressions on repeat because the voice was doing all the acting in the 80s.

I didn't even limit myself, looking at hundreds of icons of blondes and strawberry blondes. I had vaguely settled, mainly because Sarah Chalke had the right smile I wanted but kept looking on the side until I saw the shot that is her header (http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii290/fh_pard/adora/adoraheader700x350.jpg) and was sold in a keysmashy instant.

[fabulous-secret.livejournal.com]

Somehow, finding someone for She-Ra was way easy. I'd considered maybe two other PBs but was very meh-y, and I'd considered and forgotten about Tricia Helfer because her Six hair is so not what I was looking for. Then, when stupid_toasters shoved me at some shots of Tricia with the long blonde hair I was dooooone.

[stupid-toasters.livejournal.com]

TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICIA.

Still an excellent pick, IMO. SO PERFECT.

[berserkerminsc.livejournal.com]

Minsc is an interesting one as he's definitely switched PBs. As there are very few even in-game graphics that work for Minsc in an RP setting, I knew I definitely needed one and had gone with Michael Chiklis at first merely just to have something. But he didn't quite settle right. He was gruff and burly and bald, but he just didn't have the right skin tone and was no where near the fit musculature that Minsc should have.

Then I went to see a special showing of Iron Man at the really nice theatre here, and stared at the screen in awe, thinking, "Minsc, baby, why so serious?"

And, thus, Faran Tahir became the perfect Minsc PB, thanks to a little editing on of round purple tattoos (I'm nearly and expert). Seriously, just (http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/70412090/14687147) compare (http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/80655411/14687147). And now that he's in Star Trek....*keeps fingers crossed for more usable images!*

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Okay, I KNEW I knew that guy! Thank you!

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

And then there was Jamie. I've toyed with different PB's for Jamie for a long time. (Three years in fact) I went with Eric Dane for a while since he played the role of Madrox in the third X-men film but he wasn't on screen much and the screencaps available stunk. I ended up using more screencaps from Dane's episodes in Charmed. The ones from Grey's Anatomy never panned out because I hated his stupid beard on that show.

And when Messiah Complex came around I went back to the old comic icons. Mostly because of the tattoo portion of the plot and I thought I could get some good icons from the comics. And then that didn't pan out because they got a horrible artist for the book that made all the characters look like their faces were smooshed like they were made of silly putty. So I just photoshopped my old ones and added the "M".

And then NCIS started on the USA Network and I got hooked on the show. And that's when I started noticing how expressive Michael Weatherly's face was. And then when I did a comparison of his icons against my comic icons it was scary to see how closely they resembled each other.

So that was what sold me on the whole DiNozzo as Jamie. I just wished I had watched NCIS earlier!

And a final note:
Jamie's scene with Cable and Jan where he got his tatoo healed? It mostly came about because I was too lazy to even try and add an "M" to Michael's face.

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

Fandom Fun Fact: Michael Weatherly was also Logan Cale from Dark Angel who we had in the game for a while.

[gudspellr-claud.livejournal.com]

I'd thrown together a Claudia journal the last time we did a "show us your characters" meme, mostly as a joke. And Bai Ling, while not Japanese, dresses like she's blind and insane which is just perfect for Claudia.

I held off on apping Ben for a long time because I couldn't find a face I liked. He was going to be coming in at 14, so he had to look wee. Canon has him as a blond, then a redhead, then with "reddish" hair, but most of the actors with red hair tend to be, um, kind of scary looking. So I went with Max Thieriot because he played a young Hayden Christensen and it amused me.

With Biff, I needed someone Middle Eastern-y and kind of older than he really is (he's only around 38, but you died in your forties in the Time O' Christ). He's described in the book as a "skinny brown guy", and Alexander Siddig certainly fits that role. Also, hot, and I'm shallow.

[notrestingyet.livejournal.com]

Shallow people unite!

[cowboy-sailor.livejournal.com]

Hmm, wow I've got 4 characters that needed PB's. I'll start with the latest, Leda. She was probably the easiest as often when I read something I cast the parts in my head. Leda changed actresses a few times, Eliza Dushku and Rachel Leigh Cook were her in the past. But Keira just has the right body type for an Elf the way they're described in the book. Plus I can see her playing the punkish type.

Tully wasn't hard either, though I just kept seeing David Carradine in my head. The guy who reads the audio version of "A Salty Piece of Land" sounds just like him. But that just didn't seem to fit, so I thought, older, attractive, can do action but can seem like an everyman type too...oh, Hugh Jackman. (Props to Hollow Art which I was browsing when the realization came.)

Billy was kind of tough. Someone suggested Ashton Kutcher just from the appearance, but I just could not see writing Billy (who at that time was stoic, serious, paranoid, violent and had no sense of humor) with Kelso in mind. I decided on Christian Slater because he had the looks, had done action and had the right attitude, and he was an 80's icon. (As a side not that amuses me, when it came time to casting PB's for Billy's AU/Future kids I was stumped on the son. So I put out a call for help and Aziraphale's mun suggested Liam Aiken, without knowing that I'd already cast Emily Browning as the daughter.)

Tim was the hardest. This is because whenever I read his canon, I cast myself in that role. I needed someone skinny, with nice, but average looks, who could do the snarky part of him. I credit my sister with the idea of using Michael Maronna. I think the revelation came when I said he had to look Irish. The difficulty for him was the lack of images for to make icons out of.

[ecirpnellehada.livejournal.com]

For the life of me, I can't remember what series of events lead to Zooey Deschanel being Adah, but I can't imagine it any other way now, even with the discrepancy in eye colour. I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with icons like this one (http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/63164603/13222866). I love it, especially since Zooey's look and personality is maturing at a pace in line with Adah's, and I've even got an idea of what Adah's singing voice would be like, since Zooey's She & Him is very reminiscent of how I'd imagine Adah would sing, if she ever chose to sing (AHAHAHAHA).

The fact that Zooey's look tends to be very vintage-y '50s/'60s, which is Adah's time period, has been such an incredible advantage, too, oh my Lord.

Also, an interesting note that definitely makes me think the PB choice was perfect: the banner on Adah's userinfo page was one I found and choose way back when, because the line (I didn't realize at the time it was a lyric) seemed very appropriate for her relationship with her father. About a year later, I finally pick up Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, and discovered that the lyric is from a song on that album....a song that has become one of my major Adah/Lee themes. Whoooooa.

[decoder-rings.livejournal.com]

Man, I love She & Him. Volume One can make me feel better even if I'm having the crappiest day. RELEASE ANOTHER ALBUUUUUUUM, NOW.

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

For Gavin, I needed someone sort of young looking but still having the ability to look older when he needed to. Originally, I was going to use Jamie Bell because he fit some descriptions in the Rogue books. He was young, messy haired, scruffy at times and slight.

It was during an IM conversation with trickster_twin where I randomly sent her a link of James McAvoy and went 'what about him?' And she sort of went OMG YES and thus, Gavin became James McAvoy. He really worked for the role and I got lucky because James was just hitting it REALLY big so icons were always being made.

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

The key to finding a good PB for Cal was being able to ensure that he would have made a convincingly attractive female.

Oh, hey thar, Kitten (http://media.photobucket.com/image/cillian%20murphy%20kitten/Dobermom29/Kitten1.jpg).

So Cillian Murphy got the job (although, again, an eye colour discrepancy, and, whoa, hey, there, Jacksper did it better (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rgk1LCaY7_Y/Sd4nHhSXwXI/AAAAAAAAIWw/SFAM9_GbpWw/s400/mail-2.jpeg)). He's got the tall, lanky frame necessary for Cal, too, enough that I can ignore that he is so very much Irish and not at all Greek. Cal's mom is described as not looking very Greek, either, so we can just say he grew into her looks.

[mauledbyabear.livejournal.com]

Girl!Jacksper freaks me out because HE LOOKS SO GOOD AND IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE.

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Oh hell.

I forget how I came up with Mila Kunis as the PB for Savannah, but I believe it was blackmagic_eve who gave me the idea long ago, and then when I ran her by other people familiar with the books, it was agreed that Mila fit Savannah almost perfectly. The PB that I will be using for an older Savannah at a time of plottiness is one that looks like she definitely could be an older Mila.

Annja was by far the more difficult to find a PB for. There aren't many red or chestnut haired PBs (and alas, none holdoing swords which I really, really need). I wanted to use a PB that hadn't been used before and I happened to come across Alison Sudol (of the group A Fine Frenzy) when browsing people by hair color on Hollow Art. I loved some of her expressions and since she wasn't someone that I had seen used a lot -- and especially not here -- I decided to use her for Annja.

The character that I am planning to app next session was even harder to find a PB for -- if you can believe that. No, really, she was. I was fighting with my brain and going through icons sites for awhile to find a PB that fit her. When joan_notjane realized I wanted to app said character, she reminded me that we had been at the movies last year and saw a preview for another movie and she had said that was the character. She was right and that PB fits the character almost perfectly in age and look.

Phoebe and Gwynn were easy because they came from TV and a movie so they had built in PBs. Which I am so grateful for. Then, likes_chicken found images of another actress that could definitely be an older version of Gwynn.

What? I like icons a lot. :)

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine is the first character I've played who isn't from a live-action canon. With Eliza I could have gone with Julie Andrews or another stage version, but come on. Aside from photo availability, it's Audrey. Likewise with Door, I could have gotten away with picking a PB to represent her comics version or the novel version who's a redhead for some reason, but the BBC miniseries came first, dammit. It's the first one I saw, and Laura Fraser will always be Door for me.

I didn't have a PB in mind for Francine when I apped her; Terry Moore's art is so much a part of Strangers in Paradise and so great at conveying emotions and so damn pretty that I'll never stop using comic icons. But when I finally watched Popular -- mostly to see Aly's PB in action at first -- and came across Sara Rue as Carmen...

Well. Just saying.

I would offer body parts up to various elder gods for Sara Rue to play Francine in the discussed-but-elusive tv series.

FWIW, my choice for Katchoo would totes be Evan Rachel Wood.

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

I can totally see Evan Rachel Wood as Katchoo based solely on the artwork.

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, Turtle. After playing her with Jena Malone for so long, I can't imagine anyone else filling in those shoes. When I picked her out, I have three qualifications: one, she had to be incredibly average, and she had to look fairly young and she had to be able to look, in most of her icons, that her hair was pulled back and braided. Kristen Stewart was a possibility for a long time, especially since her work at the time included a lot of scenes with her hair in a braid, but Jena, for the most part, thanks to a lot of Life as a House images, won out. What made this especially nice was that, once the plot to chop off the braid occurred, I had plenty of short hair icons, too, even if I kind of failed at bothering to keep consistent with long hair/short hair, just because the expressions were perfect for so many.

And now, I've even got some icons with a hint of maturation, since Turtle has grown up a lot. It's nice having a PB that's growing up with the character (although Jena is older, she still has a very young look to her). There are even some of Jena with her hair in a short bob, which would be more in keeping with Turtle's canon hairstyle at this point, but I haven't decided if I'm ready to make that big of a jump in her look yet, especially since it would require a big change in icons. So, mostly, she has generally long hair still.

[likethegun]

I've been so very lucky in that all my characters so far have come from TV and movies. I have some book characters on the dock that I still can't find good PBs for (Will Stanton, especially) but I've got a lot of PB comms on IJ friended to keep up the search, since those folks tend to make 743 icons of each person (approximately).

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

Dude... have you seen Wikicon (http://wikicon.insanejournal.com/profile)???

The only thing that pisses me off is how many of those comms lock their stuff.

[civilwarsongs.livejournal.com]

The casting directors of Twilight picked out Jasper. I kind of love them a lot, because Jackson Rathbone is such a cutie. And, as Sam says, has just about the coolest name ever, too. His hair is mesmerizing.

[perfectmissyork.livejournal.com]

And Charlotte would be my other non-PB-needing character, who I bring in just so she won't feel left out. Kristin Davis, though, is also adorable.