COSMICFUGITIVE'S BLOG

CosmicFugitive

Developing my original story idea
Thursday, July 31, 2008



^^^ This is a rendering of my original character, Tasha, using photo manipulation. (For the uninitiated, I’m writing a story with paranormal undertones. This is something that goes back to my college years, around nine years ago now. I grew up with shows like The X-Files and Buffy, and wanted to have my own set of characters, that share a unique chemistry.)

I found a great site called Morphthing.com. I’ve been looking for an outlet like this for absolutely ages. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, and highly recommended!

As a rule, I like to draw all of my fictional characters. However, I’ve been struggling to render them in pencil for years. I’ve always had this notion of a Kate Beckinsale-like woman, with reddish brown hair and green eyes for Tasha. That’s essentially what she looks like.

With Becki (Tasha’s sister), it’s a frizzy, strawberry blonde Sheryl Crow type. There’s a Travis Fimmel (Tarzan) thing going on with Christian. Finally, I’ve always thought that Buddy looked like Mikai Phifer.

However, with all the characters, the artwork has never been 100% accurate. It’s hard to capture their essence on paper.

Anywho.. I’ve found that photo manipulation is a really handy tool for character development. It’s allowed me to see these characters in the flesh. Or, as close to a photo realistic form as possible.

The trick was to create something that looked like the average person. Someone that you might bump into on the street. However, their face is made up of famous people.

Never taking the easy route, ;) I wanted to incorporate features from THREE of my favourite actresses. Basically, Hayden Panettiere, Evangeline Lilly and Kate Beckinsale. The morphing sequence had to go a certain way, or it wouldn't look right. Overall, I think that it turned out better than I’d imagined.

How did it work out? Here comes the technical bit. My character is a Leo. Hayden, Evangeline and Kate all share the same sign. There’s a belief in astrology that all signs have distinct, physical traits. For this character, my influences would need to be derived from the same source. It was a deliberate creative decision.

The next bit was tricky, but far more creative. I like to use a blend of different medias when it comes to art. I didn't want to leave the morphed image in its original form. It wasn't 'quintessential' Tasha.

(I never like to make things easy for myself when it comes to art. Things need to be multi layered.)

I mean.. Here's the original morph:



^ In my head, leaving it in that state is cheating.. xD

Anywho.. I still needed to recolour the features. The eyes, lips, hair, eyebrows and complexion were altered. I used the smart recolouring tool from fotoflexer.com, which took a fair bit of time to complete.

HP Photosmart Premier was used to add extra colour tone and atmospheric lighting. All of these wee enhancements helped to refine the look. (There isn't a guide book for this stuff. I was kinda winging it.)

This is the MOST accurate visualisation which has been floating around in my noggin for nine years. I feel that this IS the character, or as close as I’m ever going to get. :)

The morphthing site is great fun in general, if you’re ever bored online or at work. It’s kinda addictive. Heheheheh.

So, yeah.. I just wanted to share my latest creative ideas concerning this story and set of characters. I'm currently working on other morphs of the remaining characters.

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