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Bobnearled = Bobinder
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Good examples of what happens when you foreshorten everything except the arms. Note how Waterhouse's figure also shows foreshortening in the left forearm.
Seditio Sicarii 9
I have to confess that when I first saw the arresting image of Katrina crucified on the ground, I had no idea of the identity of this crux star and was unaware of the existence of the full photo series from which it came. However, the picture made such an impression on me that I decided the cross with its human burden was just crying out to be raised. Thus were the seeds sown for the drawing which became number 9 of the Seditio Sicarii series.
In retrospect I think the pose is more natural in the original horizontal plane. Nevertheless, I copied it fairly accurately, only deviating from the model's resigned expression, to provide more anguish, considering that I had replaced the ropes with nails in the appropriate stigmatic locations.
The cross was enlarged into my trademark forked stake with a split log patibulum, and I moved her out of the garden and into a more atmospherically oppressive, barren landscape. On this occasion no titulus has been provided, and only the picture's title hints at the nature of the capital crime. Whilst my Sicaria's face is not intended to portray Katrina, the body is indisputably hers, so I readily acknowledge the source. Thank you Katrina.
I have to confess that when I first saw the arresting image of Katrina crucified on the ground, I had no idea of the identity of this crux star and was unaware of the existence of the full photo series from which it came. However, the picture made such an impression on me that I decided the cross with its human burden was just crying out to be raised. Thus were the seeds sown for the drawing which became number 9 of the Seditio Sicarii series.
In retrospect I think the pose is more natural in the original horizontal plane. Nevertheless, I copied it fairly accurately, only deviating from the model's resigned expression, to provide more anguish, considering that I had replaced the ropes with nails in the appropriate stigmatic locations.
The cross was enlarged into my trademark forked stake with a split log patibulum, and I moved her out of the garden and into a more atmospherically oppressive, barren landscape. On this occasion no titulus has been provided, and only the picture's title hints at the nature of the capital crime. Whilst my Sicaria's face is not intended to portray Katrina, the body is indisputably hers, so I readily acknowledge the source. Thank you Katrina.
Hondoboot2
QUAESTOR PULCHRITUDINIS
Your artwork represents Katrina accurately, you definitely did full justice to her beauty Bobinder. Well done
I also loved this image of her, it has become one of my favorites. I was enthralled with the image at first sight.
Your artwork represents Katrina accurately, you definitely did full justice to her beauty Bobinder. Well done
I also loved this image of her, it has become one of my favorites. I was enthralled with the image at first sight.
View attachment 426816
Thanks, the picture is a remarkable portrayal of doomed youth and vulnerability. It is hauntingly beautiful, although the Orchid Studio photographer appears to have been indecisive...
Precursor - Via Appia 1a
10 October 2016 marks the second anniversary of the launch of the Via Appia series on DeviantArt, inaugurated by my first full crux manipulation, 'Via Appia 1a'. I had been awed by the work of renowned crux artists, and had produced a quantity of drawings and paintings in the genre, although these were submitted to the gallery much later. In those early days I had no Photoshop or similar software, and my manipulations were all produced in Windows Paint and Openoffice Draw.
'Via Appia 1a' would be my debut in a niche genre in which I was completely unknown. I had no illusions about competing with the realism of the most talented established crux artists, but I was determined to make a good first impression. From the outset, this was my exploration of the tension between beauty and decay, and I wanted to be provocative. If the casual viewer reacted with, "Oh yes, a crucifix - OMG it's a girl!" that would be quite satisfactory.
Keeping it simple is usually a dependable rule, notwithstanding the fact that I get ambitious in my art and sometimes get stuck (or come unstuck!) I knew I could avoid all the problems of the background by reducing it to a full sky view. This also provided the opportunity for a dramatic low level viewpoint, making the viewer feel a virtual craning of the neck to look upwards (this image just had to be convincing.)
Makar's models have provided reliable material for many a manipulator, and I decided on a composite figure based on Kira and Jenia (aka Jane) although my pose would be original and not a simple copy and paste of a Makar figure. I relocated and reversed Kira's legs to give the slumped body a twist at the hips as well as overlapped feet, reworked her arms into a full stretch and added Jenia's face with distressed hair. This combination of pose and viewpoint conceals the genital region, providing a disturbingly pointless preservation of modesty, since the victim is exposed from other angles and is ultimately past caring.
Forced perspective would provide the visual drama with diagonal emphases on the arms, cross, clouds, loose rope ends and lettering on the titulus. I made some experimental rotations of the individual picture components in Openoffice Draw to achieve a consistent and cohesive arrangement of diagonals, including the subtle optical curve of the patibulum, seen from below (a mildly horrific artefact, bearing the bloody marks of previous executions.) All components were united by free-form cutting and pasting in Paint (I had to get these right first time or start over again) and the residual outline edges were blended in manually using the mouse as a paint brush. Bloodstains, nail heads and strands of hair were similarly 'painted' freehand.
As one of 6000 crucified Spartacus rebels, I gave her cross number 2014 to reflect the year of my first digital crux picture (I had already decided this would be the precursor to a Via Appia series) and the resulting 'Via Appia 1' appears as the penultimate image below. The monochrome version, produced in Openoffice Draw, provided a tonality control for the colour picture. It was working out well but I wanted it to look more disturbing, to imply the length of time the victim had been hanging. If the sky was darker, later in the day, the atmosphere might appear more oppressive. Openoffice Draw can only change the colour and tone of the entire picture, but by increasing the overall red balance it suggested the early evening light effect I sought for 'Via Appia 1a'.
Despite the appearance of nearly five hundred crux images in my gallery over the last two years, in terms of the number of members' collections on DeviantArt which now include it, 'Via Appia 1a' has proved to be my most popular picture to date. It remains a personal favourite as well as a landmark in my artistic journey of exploration. I was delighted to be warmly welcomed into the crux fraternity and feel proud to be a part of it. Thanks to all those by whom the picture was so well received, to Ramon for Cruxinart membership and to Phlebas for publicity on this forum, I had arrived.
10 October 2016 marks the second anniversary of the launch of the Via Appia series on DeviantArt, inaugurated by my first full crux manipulation, 'Via Appia 1a'. I had been awed by the work of renowned crux artists, and had produced a quantity of drawings and paintings in the genre, although these were submitted to the gallery much later. In those early days I had no Photoshop or similar software, and my manipulations were all produced in Windows Paint and Openoffice Draw.
'Via Appia 1a' would be my debut in a niche genre in which I was completely unknown. I had no illusions about competing with the realism of the most talented established crux artists, but I was determined to make a good first impression. From the outset, this was my exploration of the tension between beauty and decay, and I wanted to be provocative. If the casual viewer reacted with, "Oh yes, a crucifix - OMG it's a girl!" that would be quite satisfactory.
Keeping it simple is usually a dependable rule, notwithstanding the fact that I get ambitious in my art and sometimes get stuck (or come unstuck!) I knew I could avoid all the problems of the background by reducing it to a full sky view. This also provided the opportunity for a dramatic low level viewpoint, making the viewer feel a virtual craning of the neck to look upwards (this image just had to be convincing.)
Makar's models have provided reliable material for many a manipulator, and I decided on a composite figure based on Kira and Jenia (aka Jane) although my pose would be original and not a simple copy and paste of a Makar figure. I relocated and reversed Kira's legs to give the slumped body a twist at the hips as well as overlapped feet, reworked her arms into a full stretch and added Jenia's face with distressed hair. This combination of pose and viewpoint conceals the genital region, providing a disturbingly pointless preservation of modesty, since the victim is exposed from other angles and is ultimately past caring.
Forced perspective would provide the visual drama with diagonal emphases on the arms, cross, clouds, loose rope ends and lettering on the titulus. I made some experimental rotations of the individual picture components in Openoffice Draw to achieve a consistent and cohesive arrangement of diagonals, including the subtle optical curve of the patibulum, seen from below (a mildly horrific artefact, bearing the bloody marks of previous executions.) All components were united by free-form cutting and pasting in Paint (I had to get these right first time or start over again) and the residual outline edges were blended in manually using the mouse as a paint brush. Bloodstains, nail heads and strands of hair were similarly 'painted' freehand.
As one of 6000 crucified Spartacus rebels, I gave her cross number 2014 to reflect the year of my first digital crux picture (I had already decided this would be the precursor to a Via Appia series) and the resulting 'Via Appia 1' appears as the penultimate image below. The monochrome version, produced in Openoffice Draw, provided a tonality control for the colour picture. It was working out well but I wanted it to look more disturbing, to imply the length of time the victim had been hanging. If the sky was darker, later in the day, the atmosphere might appear more oppressive. Openoffice Draw can only change the colour and tone of the entire picture, but by increasing the overall red balance it suggested the early evening light effect I sought for 'Via Appia 1a'.
Despite the appearance of nearly five hundred crux images in my gallery over the last two years, in terms of the number of members' collections on DeviantArt which now include it, 'Via Appia 1a' has proved to be my most popular picture to date. It remains a personal favourite as well as a landmark in my artistic journey of exploration. I was delighted to be warmly welcomed into the crux fraternity and feel proud to be a part of it. Thanks to all those by whom the picture was so well received, to Ramon for Cruxinart membership and to Phlebas for publicity on this forum, I had arrived.
I feel you developed a real affection for that girl while you were 'crucifying' her, Bobinder
Thank you for your very profound and accurate observation. The most successful pictures often convey the artist's love of the subject, and I wanted to evoke the atmosphere of overwhelming sadness I felt in identifying with her. If such emotional engagement is a measure of success then I am very pleased by your response.
Hondoboot2
QUAESTOR PULCHRITUDINIS
Bobinder, have you ever used my favorite Makar model as an inspiration for your art?
Her name is Julia.
Bobinder, have you ever used my favorite Makar model as an inspiration for your art?
Her name is Julia.
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Hi Hondo, Julia is certainly very attractive and most worthy of manipulation. I think Damian may have used her, and other crux artists also. She has not appeared in any of my manips so far, but I would happily consider her for the future.
I rarely cut and paste complete, recognisable Makar figures, preferring to create original ones which have not been seen before. The extensive modifications described for 'Via Appia 1a' were intended to produce a figure unrecognisable from Makar's pictures. All my manips of Alice were created using photos of her which were not taken by Makar, so they are all authentic new images (except for one Makar-Alice manip which uses somebody else's face.)
Ideally if I could find photos of Julia taken by other photographers, I would prefer using these to create new crux images, thereby complimenting the existing ones by Makar. That way, I'm not just copying the wonderful pictures we already have. Anyway, the long winter nights are looming, so we shall see how productive I can be. Thanks for your enquiry - I'm always happy to receive suggestions - B
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Bobinder, have you ever used my favorite Makar model as an inspiration for your art?
Her name is Julia.
View attachment 427953 View attachment 427954 View attachment 427955
Hondo, further to my last message, my curiosity sent me to the Imagefap face filter, but I cannot find an exact match with Julia. If anybody knows of any studios or photographers she has worked with or other names she has used in modelling, they may be useful in tracking down further pictures. I imagine she will be Russian. Meanwhile, I could always attempt a 'new' composite figure from the Makar material we have here (I like a challenge!) Regards, B
Hondoboot2
QUAESTOR PULCHRITUDINIS
Thank you for your reply Bobinder. That is what I was wondering, if you could, or have you in the past, used her as an inspiration for one of your composite figures, a new crux image. I didn't mean just a manipulation of her. I have tried, and tried to find out if she has anymore modeling work besides the crux work with Makar. I have been unable to come up with anything
. Maybe you will have better luck
Tricia
Governor
I love the drawing. It's wonderful!!! In regards to your statement...
"I jumped to the conclusion that one of them had (not for the first time) obtained the starring role and was, furthermore, performing topless! In hindsight, I think the photograph shows a male actor, although my drawing indicates a female".
I was in the same boat with you! I thought it was a female in the photo also. Still not sure???
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Tricia
Governor
I just love your art Bobbinder!
Thank you for your reply Bobinder. That is what I was wondering, if you could, or have you in the past, used her as an inspiration for one of your composite figures, a new crux image. I didn't mean just a manipulation of her. I have tried, and tried to find out if she has anymore modeling work besides the crux work with Makar. I have been unable to come up with anything
Well Hondo, the mystery certainly makes her alluring. Somewhere on this site, Makar explained how he engaged his models, and I get the impression that some of them were not professional models, but accepted the challenge as a one-off. The fact that they don't always use their real names makes them hard to find, but I will keep my eyes open and see what inspiration comes along.
Regardless of motivation I think it takes considerable courage for a model to submit to being crucified naked and photographed for the whole world to see. For this and the wonderful results obtained, these girls have my undying respect. It would be understandable if they wish to remain anonymous, and I would be inclined to respect their privacy. That doesn't conflict with my indulging manipulations as pure fantasy, but I am conscious that for Makar's models the experience was a reality and it could be very hard, physically and emotionally.
Some of the most haunting images of Oxana are entitled, 'Induction' and 'Too Late'. They might be posed, but Makar took a lot of pictures behind the scenes. If they are as candid as they appear, Makar had the honesty to publish the fact that his models genuinely suffered during the experience. Oxy performed excellent crux sequences both indoors and outdoors, but for me these pictures are the most authentically painful.
Please don't feel demoralised - if there are more pictures of Julia out there, somebody will find them. If there are no more pictures, we will have to make the best of the wonderful ones we have. I just feel that as a manip artist I owe my subject a personal acknowledgement of gratitude and we must always respect the model. Meanwhile, keep your hopes up, Bob
Thank you very much Tricia. I really must make time to do some more. Regards, B
Oh yes, I like 'behind the scenes' shots and out-takes from the sessions, in some ways even more than the posed shots, how the girls prepare themselves physically and mentally, how the experience affects them, how they cope with it all, that's the 'reality'.
RedOrc
Magistrate
Definitely a favourite of mine and the different lighting makes it look like a new picture each time. I find it interesting that the breasts come from a girl on her back as you would think they would hang differently.
I think she looks too peaceful to be dead. She has fainted from hyperventilating and is dreaming of waking up in her own bed. Sadly she is going to be disappointed!
Thanks RedOrc, I get what you mean by 'too peaceful to be dead' - there is a sense of calm in her face and the pose is completely relaxed without any post mortem discolouration. I'm glad you like this pioneering image and its variations.
You also make a good point about anatomy for the artist. Breasts obviously vary widely in size and shape, and as you observe, their form is affected by the position of the body. I tend to rely on the theory that this positional variation is less noticeable in smaller breasts, and much more obvious in larger ones.
We also have to consider the effect of muscular movement in the shoulders through the connecting tissues into the breasts. One of the delightful effects of raising the arms out to the sides and above the shoulders is the resulting lifting, tautening and separation of the breasts, which in modest examples makes them appear firmer and flatter, not entirely unlike their flatter appearance when the subject is lying on her back with her arms rather less extended.
It is a subjective area since everybody is different, and my theory does not apply in the same general way to large breasts, which are much more under the influence of gravity. In my demonstration of creating Iohanna for 'Ivdaea Capta 3' we see a pair of generous spherical breasts which are almost touching with the arms lowered at the sides, but move apart when the arms and shoulders are raised, albeit retaining their shape and pendulous attitude due to their size.
No doubt we will provoke a correspondence on the subject here, but I am more than happy to learn from owners' personal experience. Regards, B
I Found a Picture of You
"I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh.
Those were the happiest days of my life.
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh,
In the wretched life of a lonely heart."
From 'Back On The Chain Gang' by The Pretenders 1984.
The inspiration for this picture comes from Barbaria's blockbuster 'Berlin Diary' (in collaboration with Windar - see BDSM Forum/Mainly Poems and Stories - and - Forum Archive/Stories and Poems.) Barb generously invited her readers to speculate about the details regarding the tragic finale of the story.
Briefly, the heroine, US citizen Barbara Moore, and her German lover, Klaus Erbe, share an epic whirlwind of passion, risk-taking and danger in Berlin during the 1936 Olympics, ultimately escaping certain death by fleeing to Prague, where Barbara disappears. Bereft of his lover and any explanation, Klaus eventually becomes a US citizen and OSS operative during World War 2.
I imagined that Klaus returned to a devastated Berlin in May 1945, for the first time in nearly a decade, to gather evidence for impending War Crimes trials. "If you get any dirt on the Reds, so much the better!" The instructions had been explicit, following references to the Red Army's meteoric drive through East Prussia and the vindictive atrocities inflicted on the civilian population. Klaus didn't have any problem with such duties as a US Intelligence Officer; after all, the Germans were his people too.
Like the scene evoked by Chrissie Hynde in the song, I loved the idea of Klaus finding a picture, by chance in a newspaper and recognising a Berlin street scene depicting a group of Russian women soldiers. Nothing remarkable in that, except that one of them looks uncannily like Barbara and his heart and mind go racing back to 1936. Now his dilemma is one of divided loyalty.
If Barbara really is with the Soviets in Berlin, Klaus is obliged to investigate such activity by an American citizen, potentially discovering evidence of treason. But if he doesn't pursue this opportunity, he will never find the answers to Barbara's disappearance. Whatever else 'Berlin Diary' is (and it is many things - no spoilers - you'll have to read it) it is a love story. Deciding that his allegiance is to Barbara, and knowing he must respect her need for anonymity, he makes no further enquiries, but earnestly desires to believe that this picture confirms that she is safe (if serving in the front line with the Red Army can ever be considered safe!)
The picture found by Klaus was intended to be a casual and unremarkable group of women soldiers, unconsciously posed and oblivious to the camera. It had to appear to be an incidental photograph without attracting attention to any individual (the close-up portrait takes care of that by implying a double take by Klaus!) The best photographs of WW2 Red Army women are consciously posed, but I identified one group which was suitable for accidental recognition by Klaus. More than this, in searching for a similar facial type to Barb's alter-ego, Caprice, the woman second from left was a remarkably close match.
My next task was to find a portrait of Caprice (Barbara) taken at the same angle and with lighting and expression consistent with the original photograph. All of this facilitates mapping Caprice's face onto the original in Photoshop. I reversed and re-scaled Caprice, cut out her face and manoeuvred it over the photo, using a small rotation to map perfectly onto the eyes and mouth of the original image. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Photoshop automatically converted the colour image to the grey-scale of the original base photograph. (I think you can override this by starting with a colour picture.)
The next challenge was to achieve a consistent tonal density with the other faces in the picture. There may be a way of doing this in Photoshop, but I do not know how. Instead, I did it by trial and error in Openoffice Draw. The result still showed a hard edge around the facial cut line, so I moved it into Windows Paint and softened and blended it manually. In Paint I was able to make the necessary lighting corrections to match the other faces, dulling the whites of the eyes, as well as adding the photographic coarse-grained texture in a variety of tones, working in dots all over the face using the fine soft pencil tool.
Eventually I got Caprice's face almost matching the tone and texture of the other three in the group. I put the picture back into Openoffice Draw to convert it to sepia tone, and copied out the enlargement as a separate portrait. It was an interesting challenge but an enjoyable one, and it reflects a Soviet obsession with fake photography! And so, Barb, I 'found' a picture of you...
"I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh.
Those were the happiest days of my life.
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh,
In the wretched life of a lonely heart."
From 'Back On The Chain Gang' by The Pretenders 1984.
The inspiration for this picture comes from Barbaria's blockbuster 'Berlin Diary' (in collaboration with Windar - see BDSM Forum/Mainly Poems and Stories - and - Forum Archive/Stories and Poems.) Barb generously invited her readers to speculate about the details regarding the tragic finale of the story.
Briefly, the heroine, US citizen Barbara Moore, and her German lover, Klaus Erbe, share an epic whirlwind of passion, risk-taking and danger in Berlin during the 1936 Olympics, ultimately escaping certain death by fleeing to Prague, where Barbara disappears. Bereft of his lover and any explanation, Klaus eventually becomes a US citizen and OSS operative during World War 2.
I imagined that Klaus returned to a devastated Berlin in May 1945, for the first time in nearly a decade, to gather evidence for impending War Crimes trials. "If you get any dirt on the Reds, so much the better!" The instructions had been explicit, following references to the Red Army's meteoric drive through East Prussia and the vindictive atrocities inflicted on the civilian population. Klaus didn't have any problem with such duties as a US Intelligence Officer; after all, the Germans were his people too.
Like the scene evoked by Chrissie Hynde in the song, I loved the idea of Klaus finding a picture, by chance in a newspaper and recognising a Berlin street scene depicting a group of Russian women soldiers. Nothing remarkable in that, except that one of them looks uncannily like Barbara and his heart and mind go racing back to 1936. Now his dilemma is one of divided loyalty.
If Barbara really is with the Soviets in Berlin, Klaus is obliged to investigate such activity by an American citizen, potentially discovering evidence of treason. But if he doesn't pursue this opportunity, he will never find the answers to Barbara's disappearance. Whatever else 'Berlin Diary' is (and it is many things - no spoilers - you'll have to read it) it is a love story. Deciding that his allegiance is to Barbara, and knowing he must respect her need for anonymity, he makes no further enquiries, but earnestly desires to believe that this picture confirms that she is safe (if serving in the front line with the Red Army can ever be considered safe!)
The picture found by Klaus was intended to be a casual and unremarkable group of women soldiers, unconsciously posed and oblivious to the camera. It had to appear to be an incidental photograph without attracting attention to any individual (the close-up portrait takes care of that by implying a double take by Klaus!) The best photographs of WW2 Red Army women are consciously posed, but I identified one group which was suitable for accidental recognition by Klaus. More than this, in searching for a similar facial type to Barb's alter-ego, Caprice, the woman second from left was a remarkably close match.
My next task was to find a portrait of Caprice (Barbara) taken at the same angle and with lighting and expression consistent with the original photograph. All of this facilitates mapping Caprice's face onto the original in Photoshop. I reversed and re-scaled Caprice, cut out her face and manoeuvred it over the photo, using a small rotation to map perfectly onto the eyes and mouth of the original image. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Photoshop automatically converted the colour image to the grey-scale of the original base photograph. (I think you can override this by starting with a colour picture.)
The next challenge was to achieve a consistent tonal density with the other faces in the picture. There may be a way of doing this in Photoshop, but I do not know how. Instead, I did it by trial and error in Openoffice Draw. The result still showed a hard edge around the facial cut line, so I moved it into Windows Paint and softened and blended it manually. In Paint I was able to make the necessary lighting corrections to match the other faces, dulling the whites of the eyes, as well as adding the photographic coarse-grained texture in a variety of tones, working in dots all over the face using the fine soft pencil tool.
Eventually I got Caprice's face almost matching the tone and texture of the other three in the group. I put the picture back into Openoffice Draw to convert it to sepia tone, and copied out the enlargement as a separate portrait. It was an interesting challenge but an enjoyable one, and it reflects a Soviet obsession with fake photography! And so, Barb, I 'found' a picture of you...