Checkpoint 1: Kick-off

[nepenthee]

With slight delay, this DW community is now open!

As mentioned on the event site, the challenge will be accompanied by regular checkpoints where you can share your plans and progress, ask for help and discuss anything regarding site-making. These checkpoints will be posted in approximately biweekly intervals by me, your host, and sometimes by larissa. :)

Some questions to start with: What are you making and why, how long has the shrine been on your wishlist, and where are you starting from?

Feel free to chat about anything, no need to answer any of these questions!

Comments

[blaubeermars]

I'm currently working on a shrine to Fern from Frieren, as part of the Ghost of You event! I had originally planned to make just a fanlisting for her, but when I saw the challenge theme, I changed my mind. It felt like the perfect opportunity to explore her character more deeply.

I wasn’t quite sure at first whether to focus on Fern or Frieren, since both mean a lot to me, but in the end it was one of Fern’s fighting scenes that made the decision clear. There’s such quiet strength in how she moves and holds herself, and that moment really stayed with me.

I already had a layout made back when it was still just a fanlisting, and I’m currently in the process of coding it -_- but something about it feels off. I think the fonts are the issue; they make the whole thing feel a bit flat or too plain, and I’m not sure the atmosphere is right yet. Still, I’m working on it bit by bit, and hoping it’ll all fall into place soon!

[nepenthee]

I like the way you describe how you made your choice on the subject. If you're going to cover the moment that captured you in the shrine (even if only on the Site page or so), I'd love to read/see it.

I know some old video game shrines used to include descriptions on how characters move in battle (naturally so, since those are recurring animations in old school RPGs), if not analysis on how that relates to their characterization, but I haven't seen many observations of the kind outside of that (with the exception of things like Avatar benders). I once wrote one myself, and it was very fun.

How do you go about choosing fonts?

[blaubeermars]

I do notice how characters are presented and animated. Especially in scenes that carry emotional weight or subtle shifts in tone. The way someone moves, pauses, or even just how their eyes are drawn can say so much about who they are. I think that’s part of why I love characters like Fern. It’s not just what they say or do... it’s how they exist in the space around others, how they carry themselves. I find those little choices really compelling.

That said, I don’t actually choose fonts with much care, to be honest. It’s usually a mix of “this looks nice” and “does it fit the vibe?” rather than a carefully planned process. I just go with what feels right in the moment.

But you, on the other hand — your layouts always feel like a piece of art. Every detail seems so intentionally chosen, like each element has a specific purpose or quiet meaning behind it. It’s one of those things where you can instantly tell how much thought and care went into it. I really admire that!

[nepenthee]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Christina! <3 I do love typography, but choosing and matching fonts is such time-consuming labour to me... Usually I try to leave the font searching for days (or rather evenings) where I'm too spent to do anything that requires much thinking. I select a bunch from Google Fonts/Bunny Fonts/whatever, copy over the code, and then try them out one by one in the code editor's live preview to see what they look like in the layout (for lack of imagination lol)...

I once saw someone do that kind of testing directly in Photoshop, but it'd take me too long to go up and down the drop down list. And other fonts programs I know (e.g. FontBase) obviously wouldn't let me preview text in a layout.

(If anyone has a better way to do this, do please chime in.)