BLUE SUN ROOM IMAGES

ASARIAN

"A leap of faith"
Monday, November 6, 2006

Okay, my first Kaylee piece. :) For this theme I took the lyrics from Natasha Bedingfield's "I bruise easily." Kaylee, like River, is vulnerable. But unlike River, Kaylee's vulnerability is a conscious way of being (while maybe not an active choice, she sees no reason to change; and rightly so). Kaylee's heart is open; that's what makes her vulnerable, for good or for bad. As the song goes: "Anyone who can touch you, can hurt you or heal you." Kaylee chooses to risk the hurt. Because she has faith in people. I admire that in her, greatly. There's always the risk of being hurt. "But If I never take this leap of faith, I'll never know. So I'm learning to fall with no safety net to cushion the blow." Beautiful lyrics, really; very Kaylee. And very me. Sigh. I love my Mechanic. (Extended commentary below.)


CATEGORY: GRAPHICS    TIMES READ: 2973    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

COMMENTS

Monday, November 6, 2006 10:42 PM

ASARIAN


(Extended Commentary)

How does one express bruisability? Well, since Natasha Bedingfield's song mentioned underneath the surface, I'd figure I go with the base image of a single drop of water, hitting and breaking through a water surface, massively affecting top and underneath alike. Then I took three images, of Kaylee being bruised; all slightly different types of moments:

The top image is from Shindig, of course, where Kaylee opens up a bit to the guests, and that awful Banning girl really stomps on her. Kaylee is off her apropos. She's processing the data, unable in the moment to handle such an unexpected put-down. The Banning persona is so foreign to Kaylee, that she has no real way of retorting. That is her strength: she does not know of the way of nasty people. She wears that ignorance like a Jewel.

The bottom image is, naturally, from Safe, where Simon rudely tells her Serenity is basically "garbage". Kaylee is visibly wounded. But now Kaylee knows exactly what to say. Because Simon touched on the things that are dear to her in her heart: The Ship That Is Home, and its crew. And Kaylee is well 'versed in matters of heart and home. Still speaking with pain in her voice, she expresses herself well, and leaves Simon to bite the dust, politely.

The middle image, of course, is from The Message. Kaylee is also plenty hurt, here. And as she passes Simon, he gets an icy look. Kaylee tries to close off; but she can't, really: her hurt shows, too (even though what she WANTS to show is just the icy look). Her true emotion, the sadness, prevails in her eyes. Kaylee never really allows herself to become a stone. That, too, is her strength.

I tried to add a shadow-effect behind middle-Kaylee's hair (by blending progressively), to have her head and upper torso protrude a bit, so as to say she's not sucked in by the nearby eddy of emotion. But hair is notoriously hard to blend. No. Can't. Too much hair. :) There's a nebula-thingy in the top-right corner, with a kind of vortex, leading, yes, where? Unknown, of course. I meant to underline "A leap of faith" idea with it.

All my verbosity notwithstanding, it's actually still quite a simple composition. As for critique, keep in mind, Kaylee is difficult for me, being River boy and all (RB). And remember please the song: I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me. :)

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 12:28 PM

AGENTRUSCO


very nicely compiled, as usual.

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 1:06 PM

FOLLOWMAL


Third try in 12 hours! Hope the third time is a charm!

As usual, this piece is stunning in it's beauty and complexity and the thought that is in the details! Beautiful is the first word that comes to mind, just stunning.

I like that you tell us what is behind the quotes and your ideas and I agree with you about Kaylee. Her vulnerability is her strength. She knows what few of us know, that being yourself, whatever that is, is vital to experiencing life and love fully. Completely.

More please?

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 4:19 PM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER


Oh...this is completely gorgeous, asarian! Definitely love how you've integrated these three moments of Kaylee reaping less than shiny consequences of her faith in humanity;)

BEB


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