[3/12/20] Mirror Communities - Resonancy WIP

And again, another WIP for my Post Apocalyptic project...

"Surround yourself with mirrors all the time!" - The last desperate message of the United Nations, spread in dozens of languages, drafted by the 58th and last successor of the General Secretary minutes before his death.

The background: Days into the chaotic end of our world, people discovered some could recognize a possible infection by small changes in their faces. As the normally unrecognisable infection lead to inevitable and immediate death after three days, some saw hope to save the dwindling survivors of the planet. From 'check your face in the mirror for changes' somehow became a panic induced 'Surround yourself with mirrors all the time!' Survivors, in their growing paranoia, put all their mirrors in front of the entrances to their safehouses or camps to prevent infected survivors to look for help, hoping they would recognize that they are doomed and leave. They knew they could not be helped. Still, some mirror-survivors left gifts for the Infected, with an apology and the plead to please leave, so others might live. Those doomed, often lonely, outcast people then went to the forests to their inevitable death, as they thought. The truth behind those visible changes in the faces that started all that was quite different from what people believed, but this is another story.

When it was all over, some pockets of survivors never stopped using mirrors for 'protection'. People who followed all the desperate last messages of the UN to help prevent the mysterious infection became obsessed with cleanliness and strength of body and soul. Over the generations, all those hygienic recommendations and practical tips turned into philosophies and religions. Mirrors became their symbol and source of protection, reflecting diseases and negative waves, their original purpose nearly forgotten. The communities are loosely connected and mostly sheltered by fences and walls that are decorated with mirrors.  The feral people of the forests, called 'Medusians' by the communities, are still afraid of mirrors of all kinds after hundreds of years. The communities' white clean clothing, also decorated with mirrors, often with covered faces, make the Medusians think that these people are some kinds of gods or interdimensional beings, living in the reflections. They leave each other alone, mostly.
The braver forest people sometimes find gifts near old mirrors.

The aesthetics and themes I want to present are inspired by Minimalism, Buddhism, sterile surroundings like hospitals, IKEA, quarantine compounds or spas, THX, New Age, bathrooms, cliche science facilities, Modern Art, SciFi-cleanliness and so on.

The base, a S16 and a s19. One in a white jumpsuit and one in long sleeve shirt and pants, both from 'Vickys secret toys'. Also, white bicycle gloves from eBay. The heads are probably place holders, as those are the ones I want to use bald heads with.


The white undershirts are what they wear indoors in their homes. Those homes have mirrors on walls and floors so they are protected here. Outside they have to wear vests with mirror plating.


I am experimenting with white rubber extile bands for the strapping. Still don't know how to get them together. Hooks, glue, velcro, magnets?


The vests are from a greyish white leather. I did not thin it out that much and soaked it in water to take on the bodies form.


Little experiment with mirror paper. I think I will use smaller plates and another material. Don't know yet what kind, some kind of mirror foil?


The back. Still looking very messy.


This one is taller. She is older and has more authority than the smaller s16. So the vest is cut in another way representing that. They are mostly using non lethal weapons when outside.


They do #yogaeveryday and eat very healthy. First experiment with a mirror. There are many possibilities, but more of that when the figures are finished.


I think those figures are great to recreate a lot of yoga poses.


Also, Kung Fu everyday. Honestly, always be nice and polite towards the Mirror people and everything is fine.


Of course there will be a guy, I ordered a Jake Gyllenhaal (Soldier story) head, which is bald. Still haven't found the right clothing. I also think of using those white padding undersuits.

Of course, I knew Jake G will strike again. He will look good as a Q-Ball in this outfit. Which reminds me a bit of the Guilty Remnant in The Leftovers. Which were, however, quite infuriating; these seem pretty benign to me. Have you considered using shiny silverish sequins (there are different sizes) for various clothing mirror elements?

Love the story and how a simple tip evolved into a religion and philosophy in the long run. Looking forward to seeing them finished.

Nice posing and story. Should be interesting once you figure out the outfits a bit better. The evolution of the shell people was fascinating to view.

Very cool. Loving the back story and how they fit into the world you created. The diversity of all the factions is really interesting. And I really like the starkness of the all white body suits. It's striking, but has an almost classic sci-fi kinda vibe to it. Do you know the make and name of the blond head you're using here? I know I remember seeing it when it went up but can't remember who made it at all.

GubernatorFan wrote:Of course, I knew Jake G will strike again. He will look good as a Q-Ball in this outfit. Which reminds me a bit of the Guilty Remnant in The Leftovers. Which were, however, quite infuriating; these seem pretty benign to me. Have you considered using shiny silverish sequins (there are different sizes) for various clothing mirror elements?

Again?^^ I haven't seen him on this forum yet.  I also haven't watched the Leftovers, but yes that white clothing is just great for an unstained, absolutely innocent new beginning after the Apocalypse...
And yah, sequins...I am not sure, it might rather fit the Cargofolks. Too fancy!

Theboo-bomb wrote:Love the story and how a simple tip evolved into a religion and philosophy in the long run. Looking forward to seeing them finished.

Thank you, and glad you like the story. Also looking forward!

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice posing and story. Should be interesting once you figure out the outfits a bit better. The evolution of the shell people was fascinating to view.

Thank you. And yes that's what motivates me, watching them grow up together with you all.  

ReverendSpooky wrote:Very cool.  Loving the back story and how they fit into the world you created.  The diversity of all the factions is really interesting.  And I really like the starkness of the all white body suits.  It's striking, but has an almost classic sci-fi kinda vibe to it.  Do you know the make and name of the blond head you're using here?  I know I remember seeing it when it went up but can't remember who made it at all.

Thanks a lot, that coming from you, a Post Apocalyptic Conisseur! I created the Cargonites to have the possibility to make more 'classic' Post Apocalyptic figures, but the rest, well you know them.
And about that SciFi vibe...there are many conspiracies in the Cargo States about the Mirror Communities. That they are time travelers, or astronauts from a space station in orbit, with outposts on earth. Or from giant hight tech cities under the earth. Maybe aliens, abducting humans? Many mysteries.

E: I forgot to post the link! And it's strange. looked into my history. No idea what brand, or what MagiDeal means. The head was 24€ when I bought it.
https://www.ebay.de/itm/MagiDeal-1-6-Lady-Body-Head-Sculpt-fuer-12-quot-Weibliche-Figur-Phicen-Body-Toy-/123703976187?txnId=2135196999002url=https://postimg.cc/Xrv0LGKh]
There were multiple of those heads, I looked at other traders back then to get them in less packages as I also bought two other sculpts. There was a keyword I typed in to find them on eBay.de, but they changed, like the price.

Just one little update, unpainted hairless Emilia head has arrived. I think it will fit.

Yes, sequins -- even the small ones are probably far too large for 1/6-scale sequins (and I had in mind the larger ones, which are probably about one inch or so in diameter), and they will work great as mirrors that attach to clothing (and you can crop/cut them into whatever shapes you want).

Looking at that unpainted Emilia head, I wonder if you could get away with painting "only" the eyes, eyebrows, and lips? Which ought to simplify matters.

OOh, that sculpt is gonna look suitably unsettling... love it!

GubernatorFan wrote:Yes, sequins -- even the small ones are probably far too large for 1/6-scale sequins (and I had in mind the larger ones, which are probably about one inch or so in diameter), and they will work great as mirrors that attach to clothing (and you can crop/cut them into whatever shapes you want).

Looking at that unpainted Emilia head, I wonder if you could get away with painting "only" the eyes, eyebrows, and lips? Which ought to simplify matters.

I tried out some materials, cardboard with mirror texture and mirror foil, but was not that pleased. Finally found a 1mm polystyrene sheet with very great looking mirror effect, more of that in another post.

skywalkersaga wrote:OOh, that sculpt is gonna look suitably unsettling... love it!

 The Emilia head is on ice now,  I am not that pleased with the bald head, I mean it looks okay but next to the Jake Gyllenhaal headsculpt it looks wrong/unrealistic. Got another head for now and might settle with short hair.

Anyway, some time has passed since the last update. Which was long before Corona. After all the colorful and chaotic art of the rainbow people, I needed some calm, clear work. 

I like soundtracks to get in the mood. For the Mirror Communities, I think of Synthwave and electronic music, something that sounds retro, although it is actually new music. It makes nostalgic for a time you never experienced and which was never really there, a feeling many mirrorpeople have for the pre apocalyptic world.

The character presented is called Refleksandra, with a sovietwave soundtrack.



Minor updates, as I did not touch them for some time. Her mirror mask is a spoon I cut in the most manly way - with a hand saw. Because I was afraid to use a power tool.


The other small update, but an important one - her sock sneakers or how you would call them. Didn't find good white shoes on eBay, so I made some from my old wife beater shirt which I did not need as I don't beat wives. I might add an additional sole. It's an indoor looking shoe which will get dirty fast outside. Might add some grey leather or foam.


The white wrapping is of course from my late grandma's unending supply of tights. 


Wrist rings were harvested from ballpoint pens. I think it's fitting jewelry for the minimalistic mirror woman.


It's the Charlize Theron Furiosa head Stryker recommended.  It was hard to get, the first one was lost somewhere in transit and was the only one in stock, some months later another one appeared and I bought it again. I think she looks like a badass nun or something.





Some experimenting with the wrapping. Might be used to cover the mirrors, once they are attached.


The mirror communites lead a reclusive life, but their knowledge might surpass that of the other Europeans. The are empathic, intelligent and keep cool, just the heroes you might need in a crisis.

Ovy wrote:Didn't find good white shoes on eBay, so I made some from my old wife beater shirt which I did not need as I don't beat wives.

Relieved to hear it...

Seriously though, I'm loving your 'badass nun', both the mirror-face and the Charlize head looks perfect, imo! And Grandma's tights continue to make impressive 1/6 scale garments. :'D

LOL @ the Corona cap... XD

I share your fear of power tools...

I found this in my local art shop the chrome silver is the brightest silver I've ever seen in fact it is a mirror so i thought it might be appropriate for your mirror clothing.

https://www.cassart.co.uk/painting/spray-paints/molotow/molotow-liquid-chrome-marker.htm

She looks very cool. The use of the spoon is inspired. I chuckled at the Corona cap; poor Corona beer is actually taking a hit because of the overall stupidity of most humans.


(While it should be taken seriously, like any virus, everyone is really blowing this Corona thing WAY out of proportion — according to the CDC, back in 2009, the Swine Flu affected 60.8 million people in the US alone, with 12,469 deaths, yet the reporting on it wasn’t as over-hyped as it is with Corona. And so far, at least here in the US, where last reporting was 647 infected, with 25 deaths [this information gets updated daily] — most of those being people over 60 with marginal health to begin with — or people like me, with auto-immune conditions. In other words, stay vigilante, wash your hands frequently, and stay home if you don’t feel good (aside from going to the doctor) — but these are things everyone should be doing anyway, pandemic or not — the quicky rinse at a public restroom isn’t going to cut it — nor should it.)

I like how this is coming along so far, but curious to see what you do with the mirrors besides the spoon mask.

Oh I love this! I might join the fun if you don't mind, cause I did pick up a bit of white clothing for photos: white clothes can easily be colored in digitally. That was the initial intention anyway.

In fact I have a set of those white clothes your S19 is wearing. Love them, though that turtle neck is a little excessive.

White boots:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/VSTOYS-1-6-Zipper-Boots-19XG43C-Leather-Boots-Soldier-Hollow-White-Models-Toys/173968714228
https://giantoy.com/collections/shoes/products/in-stock-1-6-scale-nrtoys-nr017-male-boots-2-use-shoes-footwear

And funnily enough I just bought a pair of these mirror tights: https://www.etsy.com/listing/605874636/metallic-check-doll-stockings-for-16?ref=shop_home_active_3
Sadly they are mirror tiles on black, not white.

Here are some white tights:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/400958293/white-doll-stockings-for-16-scale-dolls?ga_search_query=phicen&ref=shop_items_search_10

Silver tights!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/605874976/metallic-doll-stockings-for-16-scale?ga_search_query=phicen&ref=shop_items_search_16

I also recently bought a white synthetic fiber table cloth for the purpose of cutting it up into clothes.

skywalkersaga wrote:

Ovy wrote:Didn't find good white shoes on eBay, so I made some from my old wife beater shirt which I did not need as I don't beat wives.

Relieved to hear it...

Seriously though, I'm loving your 'badass nun', both the mirror-face and the Charlize head looks perfect, imo! And Grandma's tights continue to make impressive 1/6 scale garments. :'D

LOL @ the Corona cap... XD

I share your fear of power tools...

Thanks!

And yes you have to support these poor guys, not their fault.

And I am not afraid of drills, but of the buzzsaw attachment that exploded one time when I cut wood.

Delanie wrote:
I found this in my local art shop the chrome silver is the brightest silver I've ever seen in fact it is a mirror so i thought it might be appropriate for your mirror clothing.

https://www.cassart.co.uk/painting/spray-paints/molotow/molotow-liquid-chrome-marker.htm

Thanks, I am using that pen too sometimes, it's great for details. But larger surfaces get too much visible texture and inconsistency. And it shouldn't be touched afterwards.

Stryker2011 wrote:She looks very cool. The use of the spoon is inspired. I chuckled at the Corona cap; poor Corona beer is actually taking a hit because of the overall stupidity of most humans.


(While it should be taken seriously, like any virus, everyone is really blowing this Corona thing WAY out of proportion — according to the CDC, back in 2009, the Swine Flu affected 60.8 million people in the US alone, with 12,469 deaths, yet the reporting on it wasn’t as over-hyped as it is with Corona. And so far, at least here in the US, where last reporting was 647 infected, with 25 deaths [this information gets updated daily] — most of those being people over 60 with marginal health to begin with — or people like me, with auto-immune conditions. In other words, stay vigilante, wash your hands frequently, and stay home if you don’t feel good (aside from going to the doctor) — but these are things everyone should be doing anyway, pandemic or not — the quicky rinse at a public restroom isn’t going to cut it — nor should it.)

Thanks, saw a pic from Burning Man with someone wearing a mirror mask looking like that. And Epihane used a spoon for a breastplate on Rowan Atkinson.

And I am no great beer guy and never was very interested in Corona beer, but I think one has support those guys as it's absolutely not their fault a virus shares their name. We celebrated the first day of our exhibition this way, because so many people came despite Corona. A month later and it might not have happened, as many gatherings and events are cancelled now. Or sport events are held without spectators...
Also, many streets in Italy are empty because of quarantine.
And my favourite satire event, scheduled today, was cancelled too!

I think the next great disease should be called Cola virus. Or the apple plague. Amazon flu? They can afford it.

GubernatorFan wrote:I like how this is coming along so far, but curious to see what you do with the mirrors besides the spoon mask.

Thanks, I think I will start with the mirrors when all three characters have their basic suits finished.

AerynDiana wrote:Oh I love this! I might join the fun if you don't mind, cause I did pick up a bit of white clothing for photos: white clothes can easily be colored in digitally. That was the initial intention anyway.

In fact I have a set of those white clothes your S19 is wearing. Love them, though that turtle neck is a little excessive.

White boots:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/VSTOYS-1-6-Zipper-Boots-19XG43C-Leather-Boots-Soldier-Hollow-White-Models-Toys/173968714228
https://giantoy.com/collections/shoes/products/in-stock-1-6-scale-nrtoys-nr017-male-boots-2-use-shoes-footwear

And funnily enough I just bought a pair of these mirror tights: https://www.etsy.com/listing/605874636/metallic-check-doll-stockings-for-16?ref=shop_home_active_3
Sadly they are mirror tiles on black, not white.

Here are some white tights:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/400958293/white-doll-stockings-for-16-scale-dolls?ga_search_query=phicen&ref=shop_items_search_10

Silver tights!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/605874976/metallic-doll-stockings-for-16-scale?ga_search_query=phicen&ref=shop_items_search_16

I also recently bought a white synthetic fiber table cloth for the purpose of cutting it up into clothes.

Thanks a lot! 

Yeah that turtle neck has to be cut down a bit, I think it's to be used as a kind of mask, a photo of the black version is suggesting that on eBay.

Those mirror pants look cool, wonder where one can get a fabric like that.

And I guess that synthetic fiber is rather elastic?

I received a new head for the S16. The Emilia Clarke head looked like a depressed dragon queen, I think this Watson head has more optimism in it.

This character is called Resonancy, she is one of Refleksandra's pupils/apprentices. She has a nostalgic synth soundtrack too, rather popular.




The red under her eyes makes her look a bit like a teenage vampire, first thought I might conceal it but now I think it looks cool. Maybe she does not get enough sleep because she reads at night. I think they don't wear makeup anyway and if, very minimalistic. The red lips still have to go.


She was actually the first to get those sock sneakers.


The head is a bit larger, but still in proportion, making her look a bit smaller/younger.


The wrappings around the ankles are actually those elastic joint hiders from M33 I think. Or Jiaou dude?


Not sure about the mask yet, but I think of leaving the mouth uncovered by mirror, with a cloth mask option.

I really love the Mirror Community already. These outfits have style and the mirror mask looks badass Who would have thought a spoon can be that cool?

They look a bit like Jedis but without the dirt style.

Do you know that Movie: vidocq?

Very nice work on Resonancy.

They look really cool, I like the spoon used as a visor. They sort of look like guardians with the staffs.

Creepy clan, but I like it. Why did you use a spoon and not a Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen?

I love the look of the spoon/mirror mask!  It's so perfect.  And I dig the retro synthwave soundtrack for these guys.  Very fitting, along with the nostalgia thematic tie in.  So cool.

Also Valiarde, love that someone else made the Vidocq connection. Love that movie, and so under appreciated.

The spoon mask is so cool! I love that whole ensemble and the worldbuilding behind the mirror community is inspired!