Breath or Abyss

Save me/Devour me On Halloween night the city smelled of rain and rotten pumpkin flesh. Beyond the windows, lanterns grinned, their faces slicing light into the dark. There, in a hidden spot, decay met living breath: an undead with brittle skin and eyes burning red, a girl with an innocent blue gaze. Only a hand’s breadth of air and the hush of pumpkin light pulsing like an old spell stretched between them. “You hear it too, don’t you?” the girl whispered. The undead smiled crookedly, her teeth an archive of lost days. Her fingers, bloody and careful, rested on the living girl’s cheek. A twitch of a spark jumped across—hardly visible—yet the air tingled like before a storm. Warm pumpkin light drifted from the alley. In its orange pulse their eyes locked—innocent blue and consuming red, wave and counterwave. Images rose: a front door that would never open again; a child’s room where someone waited too long. The swelling pumpkin seemed to breathe. With every breath the world traded quiet, darker thoughts. “Maybe I can bring you back,” said the girl. “Maybe I can send you where I refuse to go,” hissed the undead, her split tongue tasting the air. Both lines remained true. The next flash of light tipped something over. A red rim glowed in the blue eyes; in the red, a drop of summer sky. Protection or betrayal, healing or hunger—the scale trembled. The universe stretched to breaking. So close now. One breath. A kiss. Or a bite. From the pumpkin came one last thump toward the pair, as if it gave its blessing. Then the light collapsed for a single heartbeat. When it flared again, someone stood upright and breathed calmly. The other… Which one, no one dared to ask. And the pumpkin smiled, as if it knew some answers only belong in the dark—and should stay there. For safety, only for safety… -Samara Blue/Kerstin Ellinghoven Making Of: The brief was horror. I tried to deliver it with material experiments and clean visual direction, using the assets I have on hand. The zombie skin came from mixed textures/shaders/shapes (cracks, moisture, SSS), deliberately repurposed to feel “uncomfortably real.” The core question that interested me: rescue or ruin? Hence the closeness, the hand on the face, the moment right before the decision. Built in DAZ (G9, Iray). The anchors are the clearly defined eyes of both characters. The motion blur/distortion in the background is meant to show the torn state of this “in-between moment,” when everything can tip. Post in Photoshop. FX elements used sparingly, with selective contrast/curves and subtle overlays for a grunge-vintage look. Targeted glow and a few effect accents for tension—without overloading the faces. In short: the technique supports the story—ambivalence over splatter, intimacy over noise. That way the fear stays believable, and the eye contact does the rest. Made with Daz 3D I No Ki I Krefeld, 10.10.2025

Hours Spent: 21
Software Used: DAZ Studio 4 With IRAY, Photoshop