Time Warp: The Metamorphosis & The Descendant

Nah, this isn't a Rocky Horror Picture Show post - but it does have some horror...and weird stuff going on.

This started off as just an expansion and mix-up of my backdrops, then escalated into experimenting with different lighting and eventually my imagination got the best of me and it became a whole thing. So with all this talk of 'multiverses' and such in pop culture media lately, I jumped on the bandwagon.

And well, we'll start with that Dark Knight quote because it's somewhat relevant.

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become..."









Prolonged use of the Demigod Mask corrupted Gheizt, even causing the artifact to slowly break away and become one with his physical body on a biological level. He embraced the power and distanced himself from everyone else to focus on it; though more of an anti-hero now and not a full-blown villain, he would soon come to a shocking revelation about his true origins which may or may not push him over the edge entirely. Regardless, The Metamorphosis was already in effect...




GHEIZT: Show me, Mask...show me The Truth.


CAPT. STINGER: Years ago, your mother showed you one side of the coin, when you were young...

CAPT. STINGER: Now that you're older, I think you're finally ready for me to show you the other side...



For every fallen hero, a new one must rise. Soon after, The Descendant would arrive.





Cadeus Skupezhovsky, offspring of Scoops and Ashora. He wears some of his predecessors' gear to honor them, as well as war paint reminiscent of his father's clown makeup to hide his alter-ego secret identity. Cadeus knows some magic, as he begins casting a spell on the ground nearby to summon a weapon, as he suddenly senses danger nearby.








CAPT. STINGER: Good job, you found my secret hideout.



CADE: I'm here for Gheizt. I know you kidnapped and brainwashed him, you evil bastard!
CAPT. STINGER: My son become the vessel for Lord Kallius willingly. Why you come here looking for a fight? Why not just chill out...here, have a snowcone.


CADE: What the f...
CAPT. STINGER: Oh NoOo, noT mY LiTtLe SnOwCoNe. That's what your dad used to say, right?



CAPT. STINGER: Relax, it's just a bit of optical sorcery. Not real...


CAPT. STINGER: But it will become a reality if you don't stay away from my family. Now get off my damn property, boy.

Cool new look and twist (or twists), ample imagination, and cool and well-used filters -- though I do hope your fine Gheizt head(s) have not been destroyed in the process and will reappear intact in other installments. You had me at Skupezhovsky (apparently the Ellis island version of Skupeszowski )... so now Gheizt is the son of Captain Stinger? As they say, the plot thickens...

Beautiful sir, it just feels so endtimesy, like the Apocalypse had another Apocalypse.

Possessive evil masks can be a very cool and interesting concept.

I thought this might be one of your coolest and dynamic shots yet:


But then I saw this, briliant. The Bokehsparkling in the front and the lighting really with the magical super dragons.


The revelation of Skoop's/Cade's face surprised me a lot, I like the slightly washed off color.

The head cone thing shocked me and I was actually really relieved when it turned out to be an optical illusion of a sick mind (no offense:P ).

Also great:

The cape, the skullterfly, that skeletal boy, the greenery merging wit hthe background.

Wow, agree with Ovy.... that's a great description 'like the Apocalypse had an Apocalypse'.

This might be your most ambitious photoshoot yet, and I really feel like the character designs, poses, background, colours, lighting, and special effects have all come together very seamlessly here. Excellent work!

Beautiful work on those figures, keep on rocking that creativity and all that amazing talent for putting these guys together.

Whoah. That was intense. Seeing the snow cone was certainly a shock, but luckily the twist turned it around. Wild experience, as always.

GubernatorFan wrote:Cool new look and twist (or twists), ample imagination, and cool and well-used filters -- though I do hope your fine Gheizt head(s) have not been destroyed in the process and will reappear intact in other installments. You had me at Skupezhovsky (apparently the Ellis island version of Skupeszowski )... so now Gheizt is the son of Captain Stinger? As they say, the plot thickens...

Thank you Ian. I keep finding new ways to combine the effects and filters to get different results, and it's always a fun experiment. The head sculpts are still OK, some are just stand-ins for the time being. I was actually considering Skupeszowski, I did not know that, I honestly kept going back and forth being indecisive.

Ovy wrote:Beautiful sir, it just feels so endtimesy, like the Apocalypse had another Apocalypse.

Possessive evil masks can be a very cool and interesting concept.

I thought this might be one of your coolest and dynamic shots yet:


But then I saw this, briliant. The Bokehsparkling in the front and the lighting really with the magical super dragons.


The revelation of Skoop's/Cade's face surprised me a lot, I like the slightly washed off color.

The head cone thing shocked me and I was actually really relieved when it turned out to be an optical illusion of a sick mind (no offense:P ).

Also great:

The cape, the skullterfly, that skeletal boy, the greenery merging wit hthe background.

Haha yes, I guess one could say there are literal layers to my apocalypse. The contrast of destruction with vibrant life is a strange idea of beauty I always find myself drawn to and attempting to emulate. This is why I am so looking forward to the new Horizon: Forbidden West video game, visually it is my ideal fully explorable open world, and could also juggle some new inspiration.

And well, an illusionist with a dark, twisted past like Stinger's is bound to have no filter when it comes to psychological warfare against his opponents. Even if it's just to intimidate them, he wants to get his point across as quickly as possible.

The Skullterfly Effect is a phrase I have you to thank for now. It sounds so cool!

skywalkersaga wrote:Wow, agree with Ovy.... that's a great description 'like the Apocalypse had an Apocalypse'.

This might be your most ambitious photoshoot yet, and I really feel like the character designs, poses, background, colours, lighting, and special effects have all come together very seamlessly here. Excellent work!

You really think so? Thanks! I know the whole process of putting these worlds together and photographing them can be mind-bogglingly time consuming for most in general, but I get so OCD I often feel like I take even LONGER in the final steps taking hundreds of photos adjusting angles and lighting just to get the right ones.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Beautiful work on those figures, keep on rocking that creativity and all that amazing talent for putting these guys together.

Much appreciated praise boo-bomb. I will keep on rocking it for sure.

Stryker2011 wrote:Whoah. That was intense. Seeing the snow cone was certainly a shock, but luckily the twist turned it around. Wild experience, as always.

Hehe, I sometimes feel I may be overplaying the whole shock factor with random stuff like that. But it almost feels as though it's become a trademark trope of my own style at this point, I mean you guys know something like that is gonna pop up out of nowhere...you just don't know when.

Ha, we can all be indecisive at times... either way, you create a beautifully gritty post-apocalyptic, mysterious world. So Stinger may be lying after all... which is good, I suppose.

Another amazing creation! Fantastic photos too.