Hi
@cypher , many thanks for submitting your new Alice manipulation.
This new Alice picture is very much in the style of the earlier 'Escape' series by Cypher, which also features Alice and was reviewed in two previous posts -
A old manip Thanks, Madi. Previously reviewed on page one of this thread - http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/alice-kiss-crux-legend.6168/post-321274 The 'mountain trip' picture features five Makar models. Koshka takes centre stage and Alice thrusts out on the far right. Kira hangs in the...
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A old manip Thanks, Madi. Previously reviewed on page one of this thread - http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/alice-kiss-crux-legend.6168/post-321274 The 'mountain trip' picture features five Makar models. Koshka takes centre stage and Alice thrusts out on the far right. Kira hangs in the...
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Again, the theme is a Roman one and I recognise the female figure reading from the scroll, since she has made appearances in several crux manipulations, notably by
@morten sigurdson . In Cypher's latest picture, she and the Centurion on the left are actually reunited with Alice, since all three characters featured jointly in an early Via Appia-themed crux manip by Julie and
@melissa , subsequently modified by
@Madiosi (Madi will confirm - I think I've got that right?) -
The 'Escape' series presented Alice via source images from the Crimean coastal sessions by Valery Anzilov for Femjoy, and the new picture is entirely consistent in terms of the original source, which is from 'Droplets On My Skin', photographed near Simeiz on 21 May 2007.
In the original picture, Alice has just emerged from a cooling splash in the Black Sea, her hair is wet and a fine, glistening, aquatic highlight describes the sinuous route down her right thigh from the hip to the knee. Even by 8.30 in the morning, the sun is hot enough to begin reddening the skin on her arms and shoulders. The damp skin on the back of her shoulders, buttocks and calves reflects the dazzling sunlight which casts a sharply defined shadow on the rock beneath her.
Cypher has flipped the figure for his new composition, and he has provided a new, dense shadow for the sunlit earth of the foreground. Increasing the gamma ratio has darkened the figure whilst preserving the aforementioned areas of highlighting, and the wet skin now suggests the effects of perspiration. The skin texture has been carefully reworked to reveal the red stripes from a recent whipping across the lower back, and abrasion wounds from bindings on the wrists and ankles. The fine attention to detail extends to a subtle tear track on the face and numerous dirt stains all over the body.
The main focus is on Alice whilst the subsidiary figures blend appropriately into the progressively de-focused background. The second reclining nude, also chained around the neck in the manner of the main figure, presents identical lighting effects, and provides a convincing transition between the foreground and the distant figures. The shadow of the chain on the outstretched right arm is a neat touch.
Interestingly, this second nude figure bears a remarkable resemblance to Alice - at least if we compare another portrait from the same Femjoy 'Droplets On My Skin' series. The body proportions are correct, although the aureolae are too dark to be authentic features of Alice. It may be coincidental, of course, but I would be interested to learn if this is a composite figure, using Alice's head as a subtle 'double take' in the manipulation?
Alice's pose on all fours, and her slightly breathless facial expression make an appealing subject for manipulators. This particular source image is proving to be quite popular, having appeared in the slavegirl manipulation, 'Captured' by
@CamCrux (Kamerijk on DeviantArt) and 'She is Yours Now' by
@Fossy . The face was also used previously in my crux manip, 'Ivdaea Capta 13', as well as in 'Nailed to the Mast' by Fossy.
'Captured' by Arkady Sviatchennik Arkady Sviatchennik's latest picture, submitted to his DeviantArt gallery yesterday, is entitled 'Captured' (#1.) https://kamerijk.deviantart.com/art/Captured-717849368 For this, his fourteenth manipulation, he has provided the following explanatory text:- 'A...
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Cypher speculates upon the event he is depicting. Having examined the details, a broader look at his new manip reveals that a proclamation is being announced. The Centurion's presence lends some formality to the proceedings, and the three gladiatorial types on the right await their cue to deal with the exhausted, naked girls. The ascendant eagle above Alice's head symbolises the impending triumph of Pax Romana, and all the signs indicate a visit to the circus...
Nice work, Cypher!