The Island of Awakening

The concept I had for this photoshoot could only be accomplished with a large backdrop, as I myself don't live near many exotic locations - but I probably wouldn't take my figures there even if I did. I wanted it to be on a grand scale, and with this being my first purchased official backdrop (made of cloth, and damn is it BIG), let's just say...it was a learning experience. Especially attempting to get all the creases out with an iron. But whatever hiccups I made along the way I managed to edit out to make my vision presentable. Anyway, we will see what you all think.

After being submerged beneath the ocean in a magical healing bubble for several weeks, Cade now found himself washed up on the shore of a mysterious island.







CADE: Fancy ruins...hard to believe a place like this still exists in the world. But I can't still be dreaming.



MYSTERIOUS CREATURE: Halt, stranger! You walk upon sacred lands!! Touch one more thing and I'll put you down myself!

CADE: Whoa, umm, take it easy little dude! I'm...uh, sorry?

MYSTERIOUS CREATURE: Little dude?! How dare you! My name is SIR Ravkor, and as a high guardian of this island, I will not tolerate disrespect from some...foreigner punk!!!

VERLAUNI: Oh Cade, you've only been back in the waking world for just five minutes and you're already making new friends.

CADE: Verlauni?!!

VERLAUNI: My apologies, Sir Ravkor. My friend Cade here has been in a coma for the past seven weeks, and his head isn't quite straight yet.
RAVKOR: Hmph, very well Verlauni. Just make sure he doesn't bother the other inhabitants while he's here. Now then, back to my patrols...


CADE: Right then, nice to meet you. Guess I'll...see you later, alligator!!

RAVKOR: ...


VERLAUNI: Good one, Cade. Now that you're finally back, come sit with me. We have a lot to talk about.

Nice sequence, and I for one enjoyed it not being dark. Pretty good job with the huge backdrop. Something I myself sometimes forget is to watch out for the horizon being horizontal. I loved the little dude Sir Ravkor...

Well done with the huge backdrop - which can be quiet a hassle to work with. I think you covered it well and it works for me. The cloud effects help. 

Ravkor was funny and you shot the scenes pretty well - cool variation. Lets see how this story unfolds

Wow, an outdoor photo shooting with a giant backdrop. Nice concept!
Maybe you should not place the figures so close to the backdrop. When you focus your photos on them the background can be a little bit blurry to hide the crinkles of the vinyl.

Very cool. I’ve gotten a few of those big cloth backdrops as well. Like you, I don’t really have the right local for outdoor shots for what I want to do. I like where this is going.

Oh how cute!

I adore Ravkor.

The backdrop works beautifully! And I was half expecting that statue to turn into a real person. Nice to see Verlauni "in the flesh"!

And that wide angle shot with the palm leaves in the foreground is stunning!

Ah Adventurer, finally you are awake. Even if it still looks and feels very dreamlike.

On the first pic of Sir Ravkor I felt very intelligent and thought: Ha! Guess he is only half the size of Cade!
To see him being much tinier in the next picture was amusing. Also nice how supportive Verlauni is with Cade's bad pun.

I think on some images there is a good illusion letting us think he walked up a slope from the beach.

GubernatorFan wrote:Nice sequence, and I for one enjoyed it not being dark. Pretty good job with the huge backdrop. Something I myself sometimes forget is to watch out for the horizon being horizontal. I loved the little dude Sir Ravkor...

Thanks man, yeah it's been nice doing scenes that are more lighthearted and focused on the beauty and wonders of my fantasy world. I also don't normally obtain small figurines like that, but I loved the design. I only wish Ravkor was more poseable, which tempts me to want to try recreating a more articulated version for future appearances. I'm thinking one of those small child/dwarf bodies would be ideal, but also a full sized TBLeague dyed body with prosthetic mods for Ravkor's 'juiced up' form would be fun to attempt (like what Ephiane did with her troll character). Perhaps keeping him small retains the comical effect, though.

Valiarde wrote:Well done with the huge backdrop - which can be quiet a hassle to work with. I think you covered it well and it works for me. The cloud effects help. 

Ravkor was funny and you shot the scenes pretty well - cool variation. Lets see how this story unfolds

Thank you, it definitely was more work than I bargained for just to get it set up properly. I'm thankful for simple editing programs at my disposal, otherwise I would not have felt comfortable or satisfied with it enough to share.

Ahh yes, there is much more of the island and activities I want to capture the characters engaging in. The next part is going to be a lot of fun now that we're past the intro scene. It will be like a summer vacation for my characters.

ElBundy wrote:Wow, an outdoor photo shooting with a giant backdrop. Nice concept!
Maybe you should not place the figures so close to the backdrop. When you focus your photos on them the background can be a little bit blurry to hide the crinkles of the vinyl.

Thanks much ElBundy! Yes you are right, I am going to try and do some far off shots for the next scene, I just didn't want the backdrop to be too blurred for this first intro part, especially the wide angle shots.

Stryker2011 wrote:Very cool. I’ve gotten a few of those big cloth backdrops as well. Like you, I don’t really have the right local for outdoor shots for what I want to do. I like where this is going.

Thank you Stryker, and yes very much agreed. I would like to obtain more of them in the future, but at least now I know what's in store for me. Glad you dig the vibes of this setup, I have some fun stuff planned for the continuation.

Diana wrote:Oh how cute!

I adore Ravkor.

The backdrop works beautifully! And I was half expecting that statue to turn into a real person. Nice to see Verlauni "in the flesh"!

And that wide angle shot with the palm leaves in the foreground is stunning!

Thank you kindly Diana, glad Ravkor is getting so much love despite his limited articulation. Just the idea of a little pocket monster side character has always been something I wanted to add to my character lineup.

The idea of the statue turning into the real Verlauni was an idea I toyed with, but also that it's a memorial statue of her mother, the Goddess Kaelauni.

I agree, that picture was one of my favorites out of them all. Such beautiful scenery!!

Ovy wrote:Ah Adventurer, finally you are awake. Even if it still looks and feels very dreamlike.

On the first pic of Sir Ravkor I felt very intelligent and thought: Ha! Guess he is only half the size of Cade!
To see him being much tinier in the next picture was amusing. Also nice how supportive Verlauni is with Cade's bad pun.

I think on some images there is a good illusion letting us think he walked up a slope from the beach.

I have to agree, even in the waking worlds my work usually has a dreamlike atmosphere, it is just my aesthetic style I guess.

LOL! I kind of wanted that figure to be a bit bigger, but being so small also worked out in my favor to shock you all with Ravkor's true size reveal. I still want him to be a little badass, though.

Bad puns will always have a random place in my verse. It was either that or, "...maybe not for a while, crocodile." Since Ravkor is technically a crocodile, somehow it's more amusing Cade got his species wrong though. He kinda dumb.

Glad I achieved some level of illusion in the depth of the setting, especially considering how much intense sun glare there was outside during most of this shoot, not to mention the intense heat/humidity and relentless mosquitoes (they only attacked my hands, as that's the only place I didn't spray repellent because I didn't want it all over my figures and stuff, too!!)

another nice story from your astraverse. I really like your characters and style.
Love how he is stranded on the piece of driftwood - and of course Sir Ravkor just steals the show. Adorable creature and very nicely set and „posed“.

Great idea to use a backdrop outside (at least I think that is what you have done). Has not occured to me yet.
I am no fan of these backdrops. I bought some too (smaller ones) because I had expected them to come „on a roll“ instead of folded in an envelope (years back I had received some rolled up ones). It is an absolute nightmare to iron them and regardless how long I am at it, I never get them good enough to meet my expectations.
It‘s also tricky not to see slight „waves“, but I mind those more on my own pics than on those of others.

Okay, the humor in this episode caught me totally by surprise! Sir Ravkor's expression in response to the "see you later... alligator" line is brilliant! You really coaxed a believable sense of exasperation out of that little croc fig!

The level of detail in the Cade fig never ceases to astonish me. I mean, there are wear creases in his gloves!

Spending several weeks submerged in a magical healing bubble beneath the sea sounds really, really good to me about now. How do I apply for that program?

Illusion wrote:another nice story from your astraverse. I really like your characters and style.
Love how he is stranded on the piece of driftwood - and of course Sir Ravkor just steals the show. Adorable creature and very nicely set and „posed“.

Great idea to use a backdrop outside (at least I think that is what you have done). Has not occured to me yet.
I am no fan of these backdrops. I bought some too (smaller ones) because I had expected them to come „on a roll“ instead of folded in an envelope (years back I had received some rolled up ones). It is an absolute nightmare to iron them and regardless how long I am at it, I never get them good enough to meet my expectations.
It‘s also tricky not to see slight „waves“, but I mind those more on my own pics than on those of others.

Thank you! Seeing your awesome natural landscape photography has been an inspiration recently, but of course I have to improvise to get similar results for now, haha!

Yes it is indeed outdoors, I knew to get the natural lighting results I was hoping for it would have to be - and also for that foreground cover-up of real dirt. Agreed, some type of integrated stretch roller would make these things a lot less stressful to prepare for a shoot, I wouldn't even mind paying extra to avoid the hassle altogether.

davidd wrote:Okay, the humor in this episode caught me totally by surprise! Sir Ravkor's expression in response to the "see you later... alligator" line is brilliant! You really coaxed a believable sense of exasperation out of that little croc fig!

The level of detail in the Cade fig never ceases to astonish me. I mean, there are wear creases in his gloves!

Spending several weeks submerged in a magical healing bubble beneath the sea sounds really, really good to me about now. How do I apply for that program?

Hehehe, that's exactly the reaction I was going for with Ravvy's introduction and happy to know it amused you, sir. Look forward to seeing more of him.

Thank you for your praise of Cade's design, he is my holy grail at the moment and I try to outfit him as such. Ahh yes, the 'Wolverine' glove, it's one of my faves.

As for the ESAB (Enchanted Sub-Aquatic Bubbly) Program, I hear they are generally accepting all applicants who can successfully grow a 7-inch mowhawk. You may want to start there.

Very nice update, AlKelAstra! Your figures look great in front of the large backdrop.

Great work and amazing shots too. That beach scene is just perfect.