The Sideshow - Character - Erilaz

[Clanger]

This really makes me cringe, the thought of your spine being that exposed, get caught on a door handle and snap.

Just thought, tea's on you mind again. Your modeling a tea pot!

[pigwater]

eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww:eek: ... that's cccooooooooollll:)

[erilaz]

Well spotted Clanger! :D

The plan is to make her appear extremely vulnerable. I'm kind of going for a very disturbing angle here (if it wasn't already). You'll see what I mean later on when I begin modelling.

[LyonHaert]

ewwwww, good idea for a deformity. as long as it's still got skin and such around it (otherwise it would have dried up and she'd be paralyzed), but outside her main anatomy, like a siamese twin. you'll have to have her ribs attached to it as well, unless that's part of the deformity that the ribs are still within the main part of the body. either way, you'll have to think through how she can and can't move because of such structural corruption when you go to pose her.

[erilaz]

Here's part of the head in progress.

http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~erilaz/cgchallenge/2003Aug/spine002.jpg

More history on this poor lass:
______________________________________________
Madeleine Northvick - The Spine Girl

Madeleine was born in the country town of Hamprishire, a sad case of freakish nature. The babe was hunched in a ball, with her spine hanging a third from her back. The soft newborn skin wrapped around the protrusion like a fifth limb, the ribbed vertebrae taut like a that of a dried corpse.
Her birth that day was almost her last, as the midwife screamed and almost dropped the infant when she mistook the bloody mass as the limp umbilical cord.
Madeleine saw hardship from that day onward. Her mother refused to give up her deformed child, and was therefore shunned. There were whispers of how the babe came to be mishapen. Perhaps the mother had been kicked in the belly by wild horse, perhaps it was witchcraft. Although civilisation was at it's peak, such speculation and suspicion was still ripe in the smaller towns of the country.
At the age of eight, Madeleine had grown used to her deformity. Growing up in a small farm away from frequent human contact had let her feel normal. Hunched over permanently, she wore a large shawl made by her mother when visitors called, but took it as a matter of course. Her mother had said people simply wouldn't understand.
Years passed, and on her 14th Birthday Madeleine was allowed to go with her mother to the town to buy food. Her visits to the population had been very rare, so the outing was somewhat of an event.
She bought fresh buns from a street vendor, and as she straightened what little of her body she could, a horse jolted her from behind. The pain was excruciating. Madeleine fell to the ground, her shawl pulling down to reveal the bumped mishapen form on her back.
The gasps of horror and shock filled the street, and the girl's mother pulled her to her feet and rushed her home. All the years of hiding had been to no avail. The following night, a mob of roughnecks burned their farm to the ground.
Madeleine remembers very little of the following few years. She vaguely remembers being beaten and run across the countryside like a wounded animal. She cannot remember how she got her permanent limp, or the scaring on her face.

But she remembers the wagon.

It pulled up beside her lumbering, staggering form. She remembers the lurid colours. She remembers the stench of old sweat and horse manure. She remembers the rough hands and the vicious tying of coarse rope.
She remembers being force-fed sour wine and being paraded like a freak from village town to village town, too drunk to move or think straight. She can still feel the bruises on her spine... where she has been pulled along like a leashed dog.

She remembers... and cries.
______________________________________________

Kinda severe, I know. :hmm: I want to create something with emotion to it. Tell me what you think.

[azazel]

Sad, sad story:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Prs-Phil]

now thats a good idea :) but mine is sicker :D (gameart) ... :d

[the Rev.]

Ooo the pain...

Oooo the horror...


Oooo. .... I like it!:applause:

-g

[Rye]

WOW ERILAZ, that hurt to read. I ahve a very small pain threshold and you went way above it with that one. My favorite part is "but she remembers the wagon" :) good job bud!

[erilaz]

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm glad I'm getting this reaction, it means the idea is working.
As for the model... well, time will tell!:D

[ZrO-1]

Erilaz:
Great concept, and awesome back-story. I think this one's going to rock big time.

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Poor girl...her spine out of her body like this...Discusting!!!:scream: ...

Good luck man!!!

[JamesMK]

Ouch! Really sick, man... I love it. :)

[erilaz]

Thanks for the support guys!:D

Quick spine test during my lunch break today... I'm experimenting with getting that skin wrapped all the way around (I don't have my trusty anatomy book to check out actual spines today!)

[pigwater]

hey erilaz .. yah, sure .... looks spiney like ... i haven't had time to read your back story , but it looks like a real tear jerker from the reviews your getting ... but i am gonna, i gotta find out about the wagon

anyways ... lookin :thumbsup:

[KotsVlok]

She can still feel the bruises on her spine... where she has been pulled along like a leashed dog.

She remembers... and cries.
Woow...Erilaz, i'm looking forward of how you're final render will look like, really :)

Freaky backstory...so so sad :( ..Poor Madeleine :surprised

[erilaz]

Thanks guys... I'm working on her torso at the moment. I'm trying to work out how much body i'm going to model as opposed to dress. Obviously her back is going to be exposed, but her arms, legs and front will be in a standard, if not soiled, 1840s dress. Updates soon...:D

[erilaz]

Bit of a dressy update.... craploads to do yet obviously, but I just like showing you the progress.:D

[JamesMK]

Yes, that's the start of a dress, no doubt. Will it have sort of a custom hole in the back for the spine protrusion?

Did you find any good reference sites for clothes of the era, btw? I'm kind of looking for a swimsuit, you know that geeky kind of thing they used on the beach around the turn of the century...

[Milho]

I don't have references on the web but is saw some photos in a magazine. You wouldn't believe it but about 1900 they had no beachwear. They went full clothed to the beach. The ugly beachwear starten in the 20s/30s, this "body" like clothes similar to the stuff in my animation challenge. Looks like shorts and a tshird but it consits of one part....know what I mean? Try to get some movies. Only one I know is the documentary about Charlie Chaplin. I bet you won't find "beachwear" before that period.

I try to get the pic in the magazine....

[MunCHeR]

Nice work erilaz, damn that is a sad story, guess it will help you model if there is some emotion involved(think that makes sense. You work in CG in Melbourne dude?

Keep up the good work

MunCHeR

[Peter Reynolds]

Great progress for a very interesting concept.

Nice to see some real thought put into the characters background.

Good start to some serious "character engineering" (tm)*

Erilaz, I think you deserve a tea break for your efforts so far.





*Term used without permission (ie stolen from Bay Raitt)

[erilaz]

Heh... thanks guys. Unfortunately, I've been on holiday for 4 weeks, so this challenge ain't gonna get finished!:D

I'm really glad to see people enjoy the back story. It restores my confidence in my writing ability. I'm hoping to get some more dedicated time to personal work, so hopefully by the next challenge I'll have some free time to get down to it more seriously.

Thanks again.:beer:

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.