28 - The interview ends by MollyFootman
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
With the interview ended on something of an upbeat note, the siblings left, visibly relieved. "Feeling is good, no, Gregor?" Lena ventured.
"Not knowing, little one. You did well 'though you seemed a bit nervous and kept looking aside. That didn't seem to bother Professor Van Humbeek but her sister, my friend Dorotea, seemed to notice that. She watched you very closely, I think. Am looking forward to speaking with her soon. Why did you not mention Pyotor's appearance to you?"
"Gregor," she sighed. "That seems crazy even to me." She paused and then asked cautiously, "No one present but Professor, sister and you, correct?"
Puzzled, Gregor affirmed. "This isn't Russia. No overseers. Not to worry so much, little sister. Am thinking things will go better now."
While the sibling chatted, walking away, the Professor spoke to her sister. "She seemed very, very nervous and distracted. I guess I'd chalk that up to the circumstances. If they are to be believed, she didn't know that some of her student Visa papers were being forged. She trusted her brother and he did what he thought he needed to get her out of a bad situation. It sounds like she was running some online sites that would not have amused the Kremlin. What do you think?"
"You know I'm not so cerebral as you, Lizzie. Heart over head with me. I just love her brother and she's made a strong positive impression on me. There's one other thing about her that you should know..."
Unseen by any but the Professor, the ghostly Grace hovered near the siblings and considered. The ghost thought, "I will need to speak to Elizabeth about this the moment she is ready to speak to me!"
Molly's art notes: Set up and rendered in Poser 12.0.1029 then composited for ghostly transparency and tweaked in Photoshop. Professor Elizabeth Van Humbeek, Ghostly Grace and Dorotea are all based upon the La Femme mesh. Gregor is based on L'Homme. Vladlena is based on the Bela 1.2 mesh. The Professor's study is by RPublishing.
#VladlenaB
Comments (10)
Interesting scene.
Thank you, Mazzam.
Molly
Very nice I do love the ghost nice work
I wish I could figure out a way to produce the Ghost without rendering the picture twice! XD I love the character of Grace, too.
Molly
A most intriguing chapter! Makes me want to find out what happens next! Marvelous work on this one, Molly!
Thank you, Rad! Such a comment is music to a tale teller's ears. =)
Molly
I'm glad Lena and Gregor are feeling optimistic about the conversation, but I'm kinda curious why the Professor didn't pick up on the fact that Lena seemed to sense Grace? Or is she so used to seeing Grace herself that she forgot that no one else should be able to see her (since Lena was apparently looking directly at her a few times). I'm guessing Dorotea will tell her sister about the apparition in the bathroom, which might help Elizabeth connect the dots, particularly once Grace also speaks to her.
As for rendering the ghost, do you really have to render the entire scene twice? Why not just render Grace separately (by herself) and composite her onto the scene? Or at the very least, just do an area render around her and mask out the edges (along with what you're doing to make her semi-transparent)? She looks fabulous, but I can understand why you'd want to make the process a bit faster!
The area render is a good idea... certainly I have to quit rendering the entire scene twice. It works very well for compositing but is so time consuming.
Now as to the story, my thought about the Professor is that she so firmly believes (due to a lot of experience) that only she can see Grace unless the ghost really exerts herself to be seen it never occurs to her that it's Grace that's distracting Lena. Good pick up, I didn't want to say it right out but I figured anyone who's really reading the story would pick up on that. It's very pleasing to know you are reading me that closely. =D
Molly
Great story! Is Lena a sensitive? Can Gregor see the ghost?
Gregor definitely cannot see the ghost unless the ghost expends energy to appear to him (same with Dorotea). I'm delighted that you are picking up on the idea that Lena can see ghosts whether they want to be seen or not! =)
Molly
Another excellent instalment which shows off the setting to great advantage (I'd hate to be the one polishing those floors to such a high sheen!).
As far as rendering the ghost, I can't think of any better way to be able to control her transparency and not cast shadows than rendering her separately as a transparent PNG then compositing, as you have done... and what I do for holograms etc in skytown.
Heh. Those floors are VERY shiny, yes. XD
Thanks for taking a moment to consider my compositing issues, Joe. It wouldn't bother me at all if rendering was instantaneous but as we all know... not so much! >.<
Molly
A great addition to the story, Molly! And the artwork is great as well. I think that ghost need to go whisper into someone's ear in Moscow..
As far as the ghost, compositing is probably the best way to go. But you should be able to place her in the scene, then go to the material room, and set the transparency there. Of course, with the figure, you have almost 30 things to set the transparency on, plus whatever she's wearing. That would be more of a pain than doing a separate render, and compositing!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Rod. I'd send Grace to Moscow in a minute if I thought it would help. XD
Thanks to taking a moment to consider my compositing question. If I ever come up with a better solution (as you say messing with transparency during rendering would be a TERRIFIC pain) I'll be sure to share it.
Molly
Great story and image!
Thank you so much for the encouragement, my dear! <3
Molly
Like the pacing - keeping the reader asking questions while receiving answers is always a good plan!
Thanks, JD. I worry over my writing as much as I do over my art and positive feedback is always appreciated (negative feedback, too, although I don't smile as much XD).
Molly
You hit the transparency of the ghostly Grace very well! I hope nothing will happen to Vladlena, the arm of the Kremlin is long ...
Thank you for your comment, Anne. I always love hearing from you. I agree that Vladlena is not safely out of the reach of Kremlin operatives. I am delighted that you are reading closely and thinking about all the story possibilities. <3
Molly