Layouts
This is where you can see previous versions of the site, along with some of my comments.
Version 1.0 -- Lady of the Golden Wood
This was an iframe that used a wallpaper made by Anya of Elvenhome. I didn't know how to take screen caps back then, so there's no pic. It was an OK layout as I remember it, but the whole iframe thing was pretty bad.
Version 2.0 -- The Leave Taking
I know this layout was pretty bad. I was just beginning to experiment with blending, and I really didn't know what I was doing. Plus the text on the image was quite bad indeed.
Version 2.2 -- The Leave Taking
Apparently my blending was so bad that my hostee, Tindómiel couldn't stand looking at it, so she made me a new header. Her header was quite beautiful, and I was happy to use it. I was grateful to her.
Version 3.0 -- Starry Mantle
This layout had its flaws, but overall it was a good one, I think. Of course, the artwork, a piece by Anke-Katrin Eissman, is gorgeous. The color scheme worked, but I think it may have been messed up on other browsers besides mine.
Version 4.0 -- Pippin in Gondor
I wanted to make a layout in honor of the release of The Return of the King, so I went with Pippin in Gondor. I think the blend itself was OK, but I laid it on a bit thick with the cursive header. I didn't know how to do text headers back then, so image ones were my only option.
Version 5.0 -- Ruin and the World's Ending
I made this one not long after ROTK came out. I loved (and still do love) the charge of the Rohirrim, so I made a layout for it. It was kind of a different style for me, but I don't think it worked too well. The images I used were pretty good though.
Version 6.0 -- Men of the West
Yet another blue layout. This one featured Aragorn, Théoden, Éomer, and Faramir. The layout was actually inspired by the phrase "men of the west", hence the name. I gues it was OK looking, but not my best effort.
Version 7.0 -- Before the Ring
This was a really different style for me, and I've never tried to do it again. I remember I wanted to have a cheerful layout becuase it was spring. I had some difficulty with that, though, because LOTR is pretty dark. I think it turned out pretty good, but I got sick of the side-scrolling.
Version 8.0 -- Théoden King
This layout wasn't too bad, but I was still using the cursive image headers. Plus I think I did too much of the windy look on the image. I really used this style of layout way too much. But, I'm too lazy to try to come up with new styles for every layout.
Version 9.0 -- dc talk
I was getting tired of making LOTR layouts, so I made one featuring my favorite band at the time, dc talk. I don't like them much anymore, though, partially because they haven't had a new song in something like six years. I don't think the image worked too good; the blurry edges around the guys and then the straight lines around the whole layout kind of clashed. The background color was good, though.
Version 10.0 -- Faramir and Éowyn
This layout was OK. The colors on the blend were kind of weird, especially the pinkish color over Faramir's face. Plus I was stuck in a rut when it comes to style.
Version 11.0 -- Greenleaf
Someone (I have no idea who) asked that I make a Legolas layout next, so I obliged them. I think it was the first and only Leggy layout I've made. I don't have anything against him, I just don't feel the need to make layouts featuring him. I had this up for a long time, even though I didn't like it much.
Version 12.0 -- The Captain and the White Lady
This layout was inspired by a layout at UnexpectedRealities.com and featured art from the very talented Anke-Katrin Eissman, this time with her permission. It was a pretty good layout, but the blend was a tad bit too blurry, and the song lyrics took away from it.
Version 13.0 -- McKay, Rodney McKay
I think this is one of the best layouts I've ever made. I really made an effort to get the blending right. I also tried not to overwhelm the image with color, and to get the color scheme to match the image well. I think it turned out quite nice indeed. I was sad to take it down. It may make a re-appearance on one of my other sites.
Version 14.0 -- Thiessen
I was getting really tired of making linear layouts; I wanted to make a main pic that had soft edges. This is more or less my first attempt at it. I think it came out pretty well, overall. The color scheme was a bit bright, but I liked it. It featured Matthew Thiessen the lead singer of my favorite band, Relient K.