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[mare]

Here's a question for people who make banners with their female characters on them. When you write your female characters, do you tend to use a famous person in the banner and if you do, is that who you actually see when you write your character?

Are you afriad that someone will then only picture that person instead of your original character when placing them on the banner?

For instance when I see a picture of Cameron Diaz no matter what you tell me her name is or who she's supposed to be, to me she's going to be Cameron Diaz lol

[Carter-Orange]

When I make banners, I like use someone who is not so well known.  Actually, I've just looked at my stories and there is only one with a girl in it, and I picked someone who might be unknown unless you are a Doctor Who fan

I think the stories I've read seem to have someone I don't know in the banner, so I don't imagine any famous person when I'm reading.

[RokofAges75]

I try to choose someone who looks like what I picture in my head, but is also less recognizable.  Usually I use photos from modeling agency sites or no-name people that I've seen in ads or music videos.  In the original banner for Broken, the girl I used for Claire was a model I saw in a Sketchers ad in a magazine who had the look I wanted for Claire.  When I wanted to write a sequel and make more banners and couldn't find more pictures of the same girl, I made new ones using Bryce Dallas Howard, who I'd seen in The Village - she wasn't as well-known then.  I never pictured Claire as Bryce Dallas Howard when I wrote her, though.

The only other time I've used a celebrity for one of my own stories is Curtain Call - I used Zooey Deschanel for Cary on the banner that's on my site because I did base Cary's vintage look/style on her.  If it was a movie, I would have wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel, so it was okay if my readers pictured her when they read the story.

Otherwise, I try not to use recognizable faces for exactly the reason you mentioned, Mare - I don't want readers to think the story is about Nick and Cameron Diaz, or whoever.  I guess it's the same as casting directors who want to cast unknown actors for big roles because they don't want viewers to associate that face with some other role.

I don't know how many readers actually picture the face on the banner when they read, though.  There are very few stories on my favorites list with a random female in the banner, and I can't say that for any of them, I actually pictured that face in my head as I read.  I think we make up our own image of any character based on the description that's given, or lack thereof, more than what's on the cover/banner.
  
(Btw, as I was writing this, that hedgehog commercial came on, Mare - I hadn't seen it yet, but you were not just making it up. Cute!!  Too bad it wasn't an anti-depressant commercial; that's the only thing that could make it better LOL.)

[Sakabelle]

In the banners I made for In Pieces, My Happy Ending and Left and Leaving, I just went over to getty images and took random girls who fit the pictures of my female characters in my head.

I actually had a really, really hard time making the banner for Forever Like This for that reason. I don't have Brittany in the banner for the 1D story that she's in, and I couldn't find a good picture on getty images or anywhere for someone that I thought looked like her. I was complaining about it to my friend Kate and she just suggested I go look for a celebrity picture. And I was sort of against doing that for the reasons that you guys have already said, but she explained it to me that it's like picking out an actress to play a part in a movie. Then I found a good picture of Aimee Teegarden to use, and she's basically how I picture Brittany in my head anyway, so I figured why not. It's not like the banner is the most important part of the story anyway (well, not here lol)  and like you said, Julie, people probably picture characters in their head based on any description that's given anyway.

I mean, I still don't think I'd use a mega popular actress on my banner, but at least the way Kate explained it made me change my attitude towards it a little.

[mare]

Aww, I was hoping it was for an anti depressant as well. But it was for a drug of some kind though, right? I'm just glad I didn't hallucinate that! I haven't seen it since that first time lmao

[RokofAges75]

That makes sense, Steph, and that's how I see it too, like we're casting people to fit the roles of characters we've already created.  But like I said, I usually feel the same way that directors who only cast unknown actors do - the exception is if the one who fits best has a famous face, like with Brittany or Cary.  At least Aimee Teegarden isn't super well known.  I only know her from Friday Night Lights, so I bet a lot of people wouldn't recognize her.

[mare]

So you know I have to ask this then, right?  But if you don't think people are going to look at the girl and see her in their head when they read the story, then why bother with the banner in the first place? LOL

[RokofAges75]

Aww, I was hoping it was for an anti depressant as well. But it was for a drug of some kind though, right? I'm just glad I didn't hallucinate that! I haven't seen it since that first time lmao

Yeah, it was for the flu vaccine - now with smaller needles!

[mare]

And Steph, i'm glad you talked about Brittany because I always thought the Brittany you talked about when talking about your story was Spears lol

[mare]

That makes sense, Steph, and that's how I see it too, like we're casting people to fit the roles of characters we've already created.  But like I said, I usually feel the same way that directors who only cast unknown actors do - the exception is if the one who fits best has a famous face, like with Brittany or Cary.  At least Aimee Teegarden isn't super well known.  I only know her from Friday Night Lights, so I bet a lot of people wouldn't recognize her.

Yeah, I do have to say none of the girls I have seen on the banners on the most recent page are people I recognize at all. So, good job everyone lol

[RokofAges75]

So you know I have to ask this then, right?  But if you don't think people are going to look at the girl and see her in their head when they read the story, then why bother with the banner in the first place? LOL

To me, the point of a banner isn't to tell readers what to picture in their heads while they read.  If I wanted that, I would make a banner for every chapter, like a children's picture book LOL.  A banner serves the same purpose as a book cover - a visual that's meant to catch readers' eyes and attract them to clicking on my story or at least reading the summary instead of scrolling past it.  Also, I have fun making them.  I don't always include a picture of a girl, even if I have a female main character.  I just try to make the banner something that's going to represent the story.

[RokofAges75]

And Steph, i'm glad you talked about Brittany because I always thought the Brittany you talked about when talking about your story was Spears lol

She probably would have spelled it the white trash way if it was THAT Britney LOL.

[Sakabelle]

LOL the white trash way. Brittany was almost named Ashley when I first created her, but then I changed it at the last minute and it's a good thing I did because I already have a Nick/Ashleigh series (I mean, it's spelled differently, but it still would have bothered me)

I actually do have one chapter of a fic written where it was actually Nick who broke up Justin and Britney in an attempt by Nick to piss off Justin and ruin his career. But I never went anywhere with it and it's sitting in first chapter fic limbo.

And yeah, I only know Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights too, haha. (Which I am about to start watching on account of the twitter conversation from yesterday)

[RokofAges75]

Yes, you need to; it's a great show!!!

[mare]

lmao the white trash way.