Spectacular 2D Entry: S. C. Versillee

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Earlier I was undecided whether to go with a post-apocalyptic theme or a scientific theme...science has won out in this case. My subject is the scientific Chimera.

Premise:
Traditionally, a Chimera is a mythical Greek beast, an amalgamation of several different animals: lion, goat and serpent. Chimeras exist among us today, but only in Petri dishes as scientists around the world splice the genes of mice, cows, pigs and even humans together to form unnatural embryos that are destroyed before they are allowed to reach adulthood. It’s only a matter of time before this ethical line is crossed and one of these strange beasts is allowed to mature.

Background:
Lily, whose name is an acronym for the four scientists who participated in her creation, is a character from a short story I began earlier this year. Like Dolly the sheep, she is a scientific benchmark, being the first Chimera allowed to grow into an adult.

Reference:
Information about scientific Chimeras: http://www.nochimera.com/chimera_ethics.html

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Simply a quick color test on a neutral background. Lily has a coat similar to a leopard seal.

[walrus]

Nice design... I like the "hands" and "feet," and the subtle colors on the chest and face. Interesting concept... look forward to seeing how you incorporate it into a finished layout. Good luck!


-mike

[Segvoia]

Hey, my entry finally got some love :D I was getting tired of the tumble weeds blowing around in here lol.

Thank you for your well wishes. I'm not quite certain how the final layout will present itself yet, which is half the fun if you ask me.

Good luck on your entry as well :thumbsup:

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Forgive my ugly scientists, I promise they'll have more personality later...faces even :)

In the final image, the scientists who created Lily will be posing with her for a publicity shot, something you would find in Time magazine or some other photo journal. They are very proud of their accomplishment so I am figuring out some ways to convey this both obviously and subtly.

Another purpose of this quick sketch is to determine Lily’s scale. I imagine her being roughly 5 feet when stretched out and about 200 lbs. Considering her weight I have to ask myself would the scientist actually be willing to hold her?

No: Lily is a science project and may even be destroyed after they are done studying her. The scientists are proud of her but there is no great emotional attachment because they know they will make another like her, perhaps even better. For convenience, they wheel her out on a gurney, so afterwards she may be quickly returned to her enclosure.

Yes: They have been working on this creature for years and feel a sort of paternal/maternal bond with her. I think that if 2 or three of them were willing to hold her, they could manage her weight for the short duration of the photograph. Plus, having the scientist actually lay hands on her demonstrates their sense of ownership and pride in their creation.

[MattGyver]

Hey. This is pretty cool. I think I'd go with a combination of the two. Kind of a happy medium with the creature lying on a table and 3 of the scientists looking at the camera, but one of them looking down at her with his hand on her back or neck. Kind of like saying there's one who sees her as more than just an experiment. Can't wait to see more on this one. :thumbsup:

[Segvoia]

Thanks for the feedback :)
I was actually considering something along those lines...maybe have one of the scientist be really cold, have two of them be neutral and then have the one who just dotes on Lily as if she were a child. I'm still mulling over whether to have her on a table or being held...I think there might be more opportunity to show some interesting interaction between herself and the group if she's being held. I'll see, I won't have a chance to post a new update until next week so I have some time to play around.

[MoonVisionStudio]

Good concept. Maybe a little more dramatic angle or staging of the image.

[decipleofX]

Cherry that sealman is soo cute. It has a face like tawny. I cant wait to see it finished.

[Segvoia]

LOL....it's a seal "woman" :D

Thanks ;)

[decipleofX]

ok I see the boobies now! my bad

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Quick Note: Two months later, here I am. I need to offer an apology for the delayed post, other work and assignments have compromised my available time. I'm still not sure if I will be able to finish this in time, but I will make a game effort

I decided to change the composition from a "formal portrait" to something I feel will be more dynamic. I would like to work with water and translucency because this an area where I feel I need to grow, so setting Lily in an aquarium provides this opportunity. I also felt that by making Lily more seal than human I was diminishing the opportunity for the viewer to sympathize with her plight. I lengthened Lily's torso and gave her more humanistic limbs and a head full of hair. I also plan on reducing the amount of spotted fur on her so that it's more along her lower legs/flippers than her arms and upper body.

Because of the little bit of time I have remaining I'm going to jump right in with the color as opposed to doing a complete grey scale under painting first.

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Blocking in base colors in Photoshop.

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Building up Lily's colors.
After laying base colors in Photoshop I take the image into Painter to lay down chunks of opaque shades. After blending, I go back into Photoshop to add "glazes" of transparent shades over the Painter brush strokes to further smooth out the rough texture and to continue the blending process.

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Coloring Lily continued...

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Coloring Lily continued (close up).

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New additions: spotted coat, genital area (for realism) refined her face and shortened her mouth, added more stray strands of hair floating around her head, and worked up the tendons in her hands.

At this point I am satisfied enough with Lily to consider her nearly complete. I still need to go in and finish refining her hands/flippers and her raised arm, but I will take a break from her for the moment to go ahead and begin coloring the scientists.

[rawwad]

Great working! I like character, great idea too. :thumbsup:

[Segvoia]

Thanks Rawwad :)
I have some definate hustling to do to get this done by deadline.

[SquishMe]

Hi there. Great picture. I can't believe I haven't seen this before. It is just the kind of thing I am interested in. I can't wait to see the final image.

One suggestion:
The image of the chimera can be seen through the corner of the tank. As light enters a different medium it gets bent depending on the angles and other stuff. The way you have painted it would be as if the tank was filled with air and light would not really be bent. Try making a discontinuity at the corner of the tank, to make it look more like a real case of water. I suggest trying to find a reference. Sorry if I am not being clear (excuse the pun).

Anyway, great work, keep it up :)

[Segvoia]

Hi SquishMe -
On the refraction and what not, believe me I know :D
See, I'm saving this for last because I'm going to have to butcher the picture a bit to get it right. Right now I'm just getting the characters finished up as a way of encouraging myself for the harder task ahead. I'm also going to attempt to have convincing reflections on the front pane of the aquarium... we'll see if I'm successful, I'm sure folks will tell me if I'm not ;)

Thanks for your feedback.

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Beginning to block in the scientists. Figuring out the placment of ambient light. I'm still undesided about the left side light source (door, window, electronics...)

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