This and That

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  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    Thank you :) the wedding photo is actually a render I did to a weekly a while ago. Only turned it into greyscale and did a little frame of sort in Paint Shop Pro 7 :)

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    Another render made for the PC item / anniversy contest :) Had to play with M5 a little

    Story:

    He walked slowly towards the bridge, there the nobleman and his soon to be wife stood. A glance across the bridge showed that the noble couple had decided to keep their guards further away to be able to have a few moments for themselves. He felt more than saw the haughty look of the woman and the arrogant frown from the nobleman as they laid their eyes on him. He didn't expected anything else, he had after all chosen to dress and carry himself as worn traveller. He muttered a few soft excuses as he passed by the noble couple, giving another quick glance at the guards he noticed they were still relaxed and would need a few seconds to react. He smirked and turned quickly, fast as a viper his blade found the heart of the noble man. Just as fast as the strike towards the heart were, were also the removal of said blade. The noble fell on the bridge, his woman screaming in shock and fear, the guards finally starting to run towards him with their weapons drawn. He vaulted over the bridge and into the water, knowing from his earlier scouting of the area that it would be shallow enough for him to run through. He heard the cursing of the guards as he landed in the water but he paid them no mind, running through the water and up on land. He kept running knowing that the guards would soon have to turn back, as they could not leave the woman completely unguarded in case another assassin were around. He reached the forest he had aimed for and turned a look back, seeing the guards return to the woman he smirked again and slowed to a jog.

    Later that evening a man slowly made his way towards a small, but cosy cottage near a village. He opened the door and were met with the happy laughter of his daughter who ran into his arms. His wife turned from the stove to give him a warm smile, her eyes asking the unspoken question. His smile back at her were calm and loving, he gave her a small nod and she smiled once again. Putting down his daughter he than walked to the bedroom, removing his still damp clothes to change into something more comfortable. Before he returned to the kitchen he carefully cleaned the dagger and put it away, his clothes would need to be cleaned and dried but that would have to wait until after dinner and his daughter were asleep. His feet carried him into the warm kitchen, sitting down at the table to share a lovely stew with his family. An assassin he was, but above that he was a man caring for his wife and child, doing what he did, so they had food on the table and for the occassional gift to both the girls in loved more than life, his wife and his daughter.

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  • TeofaTeofa Posts: 823
    edited October 2013

    I almost missed this, Carola. It's so hard to portray so much action, but you pulled it off :). I love the story.

    A lot of my characters are based on Assassins, rogues, Brigands.. in the Game they originated in. I get these scenes in my head, but can't make them work.

    I hope you don't mind me pasting a little short story from a book I found in Everquest 2. The page link doesnt work :(. Nothing to do with your image, I just thing you will like it.

    "The Haunting" -- by Serina Melosine, bard of QeynosHarbor. Being a tale that crosses time and knows no boundaries. For know that ghosts are merely those that once lived and that they, too, can love.

    She had always been drawn to that house. The whitewash of its crumbling stone walls had worn away with the rain to streak the ground around it with a dull grey film. No one lived there or had for generations, yet in her mind's eye, Maida could see the walls rebuilt, a basket of flowers -- no, of ivy -- beside the circular window that faced the street. Her mother chided her, "That is a place of haunting, Maida, and you would do well to stay away." But Maida could not.

    And so when her betrothed demanded she name the palace in which they would live, she said simply, "I would live there." And he laughed, pushing open the remains of a heavy wooden door that still hung by crumbling leather straps. "In this? You would be queen of the dead in this forsaken tomb," he said mockingly. "We will live in my summer palace. Make ready, for the wedding is within the year."

    Now, Maida's heart grieved, for this tumble-down cottage of her youthful fancy was leagues from the king's summer palace. And so to ease her homesickness for a home that was not her own, she began to work the tapestry which would hang in her new house, once she was married to the king. "You are mad," said her mother angrily, "The king does you great honor and you stitch a hovel to decorate his palace." Maida shook her head and continued to work.

    Sometimes she would sit within the cottage's humble walls, ignoring the jumble of broken crockery left through years of neglect. She imagined the fireplace cleared of the fallen chimney stones, its hearth bathed red and gold by firelight. Upon the hearth would lie a cat -- no, a dog. As she stitched in her chair before this imaginary fire, another chair would slowly appear in the darkness across from her. And he read to her.

    Maida felt she would always know that voice, though she knew it not in her waking. She could never remember what stories she heard. She only knew that she felt as though the walls of her world closed in upon her at the thought of never hearing that voice again. For she knew, even as she worked her tapestry in the still of her room, that once she was married she should never hear it again.

    On the week before her wedding, Maida had nearly completed her work. Her mother berated her: "That is not what that haunted house looks like!" For Maida had carefully crafted from her dreams the thatching of the cottage roof, a tiny pane of glass centered in the front window and a line of herbs drying along the eaves. And yet, anyone who saw it knew instantly which of all the ruined houses along the lane this was.

    "We marry tomorrow, the omens are better," said the king, striding into her bower and disturbing her at her work. "Tomorrow? That is impossible!" she cried, tracing the barest of curtseys before her betrothed. "It is a week tomorrow you mean." He laughed and pulled her roughly toward him saying, "Nothing is impossible for someone in love."

    Maida felt a great weight lifted from her at his words. Nothing was impossible? Then she would do what she must, for she was in love. In love with the voice that came from the darkened chair, beside the fireplace in the cottage of her dreams. "I must finish this tonight," she murmured, "if we are to wed tomorrow." And the king laughed again and left her to her work.

    Through the night, Maida worked, pausing only to close her eyes and see with her heart. At last as the sun slowly rose in the east, she ran a soft hand across her completed work. Her eyelids drifted slowly shut. Then she heard him say, "I am glad you are staying, beloved." He rose from the chair beside the fire and taking her hands into his, led her out the open door into her new world.
    And so, when the king's entourage arrived to escort Maida to the altar, they found her not. All that remained in her room was her tapestry of the cozy white cottage. Through its window, one might glimpse the shadowy form of a man and a maid seated before the fire while a dog drowsed on the hearth at their feet.

    Post edited by Teofa on
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited October 2013

    I didn't mind this at all, a lovely and wonderful story. Never played everquest, but I have many guildfriends that has and they cna't stop talking about how great the game is.. I am personalyl waiting for Elder scrolls online, but migt try out Everquest Next when it comes as it is said to be free :)

    My current game, that I actually rp in.. is Guild Wars 2 (used to play Rift too, but drifting further and further away from it). My main in gw2 is a bounty hunter/mercenary and occassionally a asassin, if it is a job she feel is worthy to take :)

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • TeofaTeofa Posts: 823
    edited December 1969

    Carola O said:
    I didn't mind this at all, a lovely and wonderful story. Never played everquest, but I have many guildfriends that has and they cna't stop talking about how great the game is.. I am personalyl waiting for Elder scrolls online, but migt try out Everquest Next when it comes as it is said to be free :)

    My current game, that I actually rp in.. is Guild Wars 2 (used to play Rift too, but drifting further and further away from it). My main in gw2 is a bounty hunter/mercenary and occassionally a asassin, if it is a job she feel is worthy to take :)

    Current Everquest 2 has Free to Play option too. I love my Norn in GW2, but grew to hate the game. I miss them. I was on Ft Aspenwood, you are probably Euro servers :). I have.. uh.. 3 Norn Rangers.. and a few other things :) GW chars are so pretty. Making a Norn in DAZ is one of my projects :).

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    I have 5 characters.. all level 80 now.. and all are being rp'ed with.. some more some less naturally :) though, I admit all of mine are humans *laughs* 1 ranger, 1 guardian, 1 elementalist, 1 engineer and 1 necromancer :) Out of them all only the engineer is a male.. I have a hard time actually rp a male :)

    I am on Piken Square, and yes.. its' a EU server :)

  • TeofaTeofa Posts: 823
    edited December 1969

    Yes. I have tried to RP on Tarnished Coast.. but sadly, its more ERP there. I have 9 Level 80s all Norn but 3. No males, it feels odd to play one.

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    Had no idea about that, there is some erp on Piken as well.. though it seems that most people keep that somewhat more private (either party chat or in the home instances). Either that or I have been lucky, I do know it Do happen.. and some of my guildies had the "luck" to overhear the emotes of a charr and his.. human girl ^^ and than some other more questionable things as well. But all in all, it seems to be mostly in private thankfully :)

  • TeofaTeofa Posts: 823
    edited October 2013

    This is my Norn project, Lise. Lise is my War main in GW2. I despair of ever finding anything close to t2 Norn cultural, my favorite.

    This is very much a work in progress. She is a short, slim Norn lol.

    There is almost no RP in Everquest2 except one server, and not a lot there. American gamers hate RP. Mostly it is all private.

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    Post edited by Teofa on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,896
    edited December 1969

    Happy birthday Sweetie! :)
    Cathie

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

    Oh wow.. it's been a long time since I last did anything with this thread, five years... heh, going through all the lovely comments and tips made me smile and remember a lot of fun times that has happened. I have improved since my last post in here, or so I wish to believe atleast ;P Time to post a few new ones, think I will simply post some of my 2019 renders before coming down to the latest :) Prepare for a longish first post ^^

    @Novica ...a very belated Thank you for your well wishes *laughs*

    Let's start with heating it up a bit...

    ...Oups?

    It was supposed to be a easy photo job, he had done similar ones often enough to know the routine. Though this time something went wrong and as the water sprayed, showering him, he looked at his photographer and with a loopsided half smile he merely said "...oups?"

     

    Hunted

    She was hunted, but what was the reason? Is she a heroine or a villain? Or perhaps a survivor trying to survive, a rebel or merely a freelancer hitting the wrong target.

    I don't have an actual story for this image, so I leave it up to the viewers this time. The above was just some of the thoughts going through my mind when working on this one :)

     

    Treasures of the Comfy Kind

    ...All dragons enjoy their treasures, but some prefer comforts over glittering gold. You ever tried sleeping on a cold and uneven cave floor, it's far from comfortable...

     

    Business Talk

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

    The Final Winter...

    ...will come to us all. Such is the nature of the eternal circle.

     

    Who we are...

    ...depends on the situation. We are who we choose to be, or who we need to be.

     

    Young Warden

    A young woman walks the forest with a bear at her side, the two in tune with eachother and with the nature around them.

    She was given to the Circle of Wardens as a child when her gift of nature magic awoke, to be trained as one of them.

    The bear was found as an injured cub by the young woman and her mentor some years ago, she nurtured the animal back to health and offered him freedom. But he choose to stay with her and their bond has since than only grown stronger.

    Having finished her training she is now a full member of the Circle, a full Warden instead of just a trainee. One of the duties of the Wardens is to care and protect the wild and the nature, which is why we find the young woman and her companion patrolling deep in the forest.

     

    Evening Walk

    Sometimes a walk in the evening is needed to clear the mind after a stressfilled day.

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

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    The Search

    The silence was eerie as she continued deeper into the abandoned ship, searching for an artifact that was supposed to be hidden there.

     

    Old Friends

    Grandmother Zhir had known Demon since he was only a few weeks old and her son brought him home, despite the size of the dog and the name that fit him perfectly, she had never felt any fear for him. And while Demon had loved his master, he had truly adored this old woman. The one who never feared him,
    cuddled him whenever he came near and offered him soft warm words and the occassional treat of steak.

    The young man took a last look of the photo with a sad smile on his lips, it was the last photo that had been taken of his grandmother. She had died only a few short days later, with Demon staying at her side until the very end, proving without a doubt how close the two of them had been.

     

    Halo Madness

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

    I Fight for You

     

    At the desk

    late at night when she should be sleeping, yet something or another keeps here from getting her much needed sleep.

     

    The Owner

     

    Mars and Venus

    The God of War and his Godess of Love in their private little rendezvous

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

    Beggar

     

    Akeela - Hoth Job followed by a close up portrait of Akeela, she's one of my RP characters in SWTOR :)

    It was supposed to be an easy and quick job, it was anything but that. The team had found the goods, had fought for it too as there were others that wanted it, the fight were short but brutal and resulted in their main pilot injured but thankfully not lethally so. To make things more complicated a snow storm had started to build during the fighting, which made it impossible for the team to take off and instead forced them to stay on the planet until the storm subsided.

    The team had found themselves in a old building that could give them shelter from the storm, it even had old but workable heating and a functional generator. They also found a few crystals and other goods that had been left in the building, neither of them knowing or caring if it had been left behind or had been left there for safe keeping.

    They spent the night huddling under several blankets with the storm raging outside, it didn't subside until closer to dawn.

    When morning came the three made their breakfast, their pilot were still injured but was feeling better than the night before and they would be able to continue their original run instead of returning home, Akeela would still be the one to pilot their ship to their next destination though. When her other team mate went to check the perimeter Akeela made a call over her tablet to her cousin Kitarja, needing to know if the Elders wished for the crystals to be sold at the next stop or if she was to bring them home with her

     

    Black Horse

     

    Wasteland Survivor

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479

    I think reviving this thread was a good idea. I'm looking forward to see what goes into those reserved posts above.

    yes yes

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    L'Adair said:

    I think reviving this thread was a good idea. I'm looking forward to see what goes into those reserved posts above.

    yes yes

     

    I think the cheeky answer to that is.... This and That

    Thanks @L'Adair, glad to hear you like it :) Now to get the Keller serie up as well. Waited with those until I added some random ones from the past year :)

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    Keller - Prisoner Secured

    Robotic female voice - "Transferring call to Colonel Marsh."

    "Marsh here, report."

    "Prisoner secured sir, I've sent for Bell to pick us up."

    "Good job Keller, any problems?"

    Keller kept silent for a few beats as he glanced at the two soldiers he had put as guards for the prisoner, neither of them moving yet he could clearly read the concern and shame in their faces and their body language.

    "Nothing I couldn't handle sir." A brief smile played on his lips as a memory surfaced.

    The other line was silent before a chuckle came through, amusement clear in Marsh's voice as he spoke.

    "Those words sure bring back memories" another chuckle were heard before he countinued "Report to me when you are back at base, Marsh out."

    "I'll be there, Keller out." Keller half turned to look at the two soldiers, and when he spoke none of the earlier amusement were heard. "Eleven years ago two other soldiers were in a similar situation as you two, they worked it out and went on to make good progress in the unit and climbed the ranks. This is your one and only chance, don't let me down."

    The two soldiers looked at eachother for a moment, than back at their current squad leader, before one of them finally asked "Who were those soldiers, sir?"

    Keller smirked lightly as he turned around to watch as the pick up squad arrived, his voice deeply amused as he finally replied "Me and Marsh."

    Now for some item info :)

    The female is Aureska Hol by JoLab1985, the other guard is pure Christian by Darwins Mishaps, and Keller is a morph mix between Giovanni - 20%, Ishimoto - 50% (both by Darwins Mishaps) and Ravi 50% (by RedzStudio) with Ravi's textures

    I really like Darwin's guys, though his Christian is so far my favorite of those on his own, I do love mixing some of his boys into characters I morph myself, like with Keller here. Ravi is another one of my favorites, and one I also tend to use a lot :)

     

    Keller - Downtime

    Colonel Marsh and his second in command, Commander Keller, is having some food in the cafeteria when two unruly recruits approach them for a brawl. For a moment the two simply look at the recruits, than the eyes of Keller and Marsh meet and with a chuckle from Keller they accept the challenge.

    The two recruits have not yet realised whom exactly they have challenged, but they soon find out they are in way over their heads.


    Here we have another morph of mine, Marsh is a mix between Liam 65% (Darwins Mishaps), Kyle 20% (Darwins Mishaps), CC Foster 15% (ChangelingChick), Ryker 20% (RedzStudio). Using Liam's textures

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    And the last two renders in this serie so far, I do have more in mind but have not yet made the scenes, got some of the writing done though :) These two comes hand in hand as they are made to illustrate a really bad mission Keller was on, and it was simply too much to get all of that into one single image. I May have a third part for this sequence, but that remains to see :)

    Keller - FUBAR Mission part 1

    It wasn't the first time their squad had ran into problems on their missions, not even the first one they had lost members that have later needed to be replaced, and it was not the first time Keller wondered if this would be the one mission he did not return from alive. It was however the first time their mission had gone beyond FUBAR the moment they landed on the ground, somehow they have managed to get away from the ambush only to realise that they had a traitor in their midst. Now it was only him and Marsh left of the formerly 9 man strong squad, the dogtags of his fallen companions laid heavy in his pocket.

    Even now, despite the situation he was in, Keller couldn't help but growl lowly. A traitor in his own squad was something he could never forgive, not that he had done so either as the man had been throughly interrogated before eliminated.

    A groan from Marsh made Keller look over, concern glimpsing in his eyes for a moment before he expertly hid it. Marsh gave a weak grin before coughing and Keller kneeled next to him, offering some water and the last painkiller he had to his injured companion "Don't think we'll make it out this time" Marsh mumbled with an grimly amused tone, dark humor was something the two of them had in spades.

    "I'll get us out, somehow" Keller responded after a moment, refusing to give up despite knowing their situation was next to hopeless. A weak laugh came from Marsh before the man slowly slipped back into unconsciousness once more. Keller checked his companions injuries, using up the last of his first aid gear he leaned back against the wall and briefly closed his eyes, his own injuries were making themselves known but he ground his teeth and endured it before glancing out of the window to see the sun starting to set.

    He sat there for a moment and looked at the setting sun before making his decision, checking over his gear he discarded that which were not usable any longer or that he would be unable to carry with him. Than he checked Marsh's injuries one more time before waiting intil the sun had cast its last light on the land.

     

    Keller - FUBAR Mission part 2

    Once the night had fallen Keller took one last look at the gear he had chosen to leave behind, making sure that there was nothing on it that could give a hint of the identity of where it came from, than took a deep breath and pulled Marsh up in a better situation, causing the man to wake from his near uncouncious state "Wh' 'o oin'?" the man's voice was a tired, pained slur but Keller knew his companion well enough to understand the less than legit words "Getting us out of here," Keller murmured in response, before knocking Marsh out as the smallest of sounds could be detected and Keller could not risk having his companion wake up and try to talk. Without waiting any longer Keller heaved Marsh up onto his shoulders and in the cover of the night he carried Marsh towards the hidden base he knew were likely already abandoned, but he had hopes that there would still be a functional radio amongst the things left behind. And if he was real lucky it might even be some more medical aid that both of them were in need of. He moved as fast and silently as he could, barely avoiding an enemy patrol on the way, knowing that if they were detected neither of them would survive.

  • mori_mannmori_mann Posts: 1,152

    Yay, it's back :D

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,896

    WOW, just wow!  yesyesyesheartheartheart

  • Novica said:

    WOW, just wow!  yesyesyesheartheartheart

    What she said

  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479

    A lot of these images I've seen posted around the forums, but there were a few I hadn't seen before. It's really cool to see how far you've come since your "early days."

    Novica said it best:

    Novica said:

    WOW, just wow!  yesyesyesheartheartheart

     

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    Thank you, it was quite an eye opener looking back at my old images, and than look at the new ones :) Makes me want to go back and see if I can do a redo of some of them ^^

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,194

    Interesting to look through the old pages you did. You can see a lot of work you did on them.

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    This one caused me quite some trouble when I started it, somehow nothing wanted to go right until last night... made for the pc weekly contest that ends today (september 17)

    Romance in the Air

    "You remembered" her fingers gently caressed his cheek.

    "Always" his lips curving in a loving smile.

    Their drinks were left forgotten on their table as the couple danced.


    Rendered in layers than put together and postwork in Photoshop CS6 and Topaz Studio

  • xmasrosexmasrose Posts: 1,405

    Lovely image, sweet story! I always like the few sentences you write they really add to your renders.

    Would you mind sharing your postwork with Topaz? Thanks.

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited September 2019

    Thanks xmasrose :) and well.. I actually can't say for sure regarding the topaz postwork, not with this picture. I Think that I started in the Basic group, did a small % of basic correction (around10% or so), a Very small % of soft interiors. Than going to Portrait group, starting with Perfect Portrait at around 20-25% I think, after that Bright and Smoth at a low'ish % (around 10% probably), followed by High Contrast at a mid % (around 30% likely), a step up in the list to Arid Portrait at a low'ish %. After that it get even more jiffy, as I went to my Like group.... let's see... Bluesy Trees at Low % (5 at most), Black Hole also very low %, Earth Tone at a low'ish (around 15 I think) %, Soft Sepia Portrait also at low %.. I may have used another one as well, but I genuinly don't remember.

    One thing I always tend to do when working with Topaz is to use low, to mid % with the different effects. It's extremely rare that I use over 50% on anything. I also tend to mix in things that may not be what one imagine. One of the different HDR presents, or Block Aecade, or Oil Painting in very, very small % sometimes work wonders on images.

    Sorry I can't help out more with that Xmasrose, I don't tend to write the postwork down and in Topaz I often just experiment a lot until it looks nice to me :)

    Post edited by Carola O on
  • I think you have so far from when you first started here Carol!

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823

    Thank you, it's been a fun journey too! And one that will never truly stop as we always keep learning new things and such :)

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