The intro (most commonly known as "not-another-one")
The idea for this challenge popped into my head while I was reading SakuraDust's first post on her Artists Catwalk world (go visit it!). And, well, while I was supposed to be writing a ten-page essay, but let's not go there.

In essence, this challenge refers not to you, but to others. I bet you all have a TheO artist whose work you admire*. What I want you to do is open up Photoshop, Paint.net, GIMP or whatever graphics program you have (but please avoid MS Paint like the plague unless you're a god at it), and make an e-card. The catch? It has to be done in the style of the artist you chose.
* I'm picking TheO artists only to ease the selection of artists, since picking a painter, for example, is too complex. And, well, everyone can use a bit of publicity :D

The bone-crushing rules
Now I'm not asking you to make a carbon copy of their stuff, but try to imitate what they do. Some tips on what to look for:
- how they (ab)use brushes/textures/stocks;
- how they position the text and what effects they add;
- what types of images they typically use (cute girls, BL etc.);
- the message of the card;
- what you feel when looking at the card (it can even differ from what the artist had in mind!).
Remember, these are just general guidelines. I'm not chopping your head off if you chose not to use a certain color scheme.

You must pick ONE card from your preferred artist and try to imitate the style. However, I will NOT accept cards that look like this one (made it to show as an example). Don't take it personally, but it's a challenge, and there's nothing even remotely interesting or unique in the image I just posted (other than that perfect hue of eye-popping pink).

You must provide a good description of your work process. Compare your card to the inspiration source, say what you learned, enjoyed, hated etc. Basically prove to me that you like what you did. To quote myself (and lazily c/p the rule from my other challenge): I want to hear something about the process of making your creation. The no-no’s: abuse of emoticons (TheO or text ones; I want to see at most four in the entire description), abuse of punctuation marks (entire lines of dots…), useless letter multiplying in words ("greeeeaaaat"), abuse of chatspeak, very poor grammar (you might not speak English fluently, but at least make an effort). You MUST link to the card you used as inspiration in your description!

You are allowed to enter only ONE card, so make it count.

There are no category limitations, you can submit to whichever you want, whether it be anime or non-anime.

The Faaabulous Prizes
1st place: a wallpaper request, a maximum of 10 icon requests, one medal, one gift
2nd place: an e-card request, a maximum of 7 icon requests, one medal, one gift
3rd place: a maximum of 4 icon requests, one medal, one gift

You have one month to impress me. Do your best, and good luck to everyone!

EDIT: The challenge is over, and here is the judging!