The RIS files

kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
edited December 1969 in Art Studio

...OK wandered over here to see a lot of nice stuff happening.

So as many know I have been cooking a story for a bit that revolves around a young girl with a phenomenal talent for the keyboard who was thrust into war.

RIS is the acronym for the story's working title Rhapsody in Shadow" which grew out of an RPG scenario I was involved with some years ago. It centres around a young child like woman named Leela Groznek and follows her life from being a child soldier in the Croatian resistance to her adoption by a kindly British noble who sets her back on the track to the concert stage where she becomes an inspiration to her downtrodden people as well as a target for Serbian intelligence. It takes place in the early 2060s and is loosely set in the dark dystopic world of the RPG. It is also somewhat of a fairytale, albeit a dark one, as it involves mystical forces, fey, and other folk of "legend" which have returned to the world.

To start things off, a few of my personal faves from the past.


...and there will be more to come.

Comments

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited December 1969

    ...Leela as the child soldier. Only fourteen and already a seasoned veteran. Yet still a child who should be enjoying going shopping or to the cinema with friends instead of hiding in wait for a patrol to pass so she could set charges on a comm tower.

    Some would say she is brave, but down deep she is scared, for she knows at any given moment, she could "go away" like many of her comrades have.

    ...Child of War

    (originally created for a challenge on the theme of war)..

    leela_child_of_war_toon.jpg
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  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited April 2013

    ...sixteen year old Leela quietly celebrating the holiday in her "home" (a former office) in the older part of Zagreb with her "Princess Annika". Annika is an animatronic doll loaded with sensors and programmed to not only respond to Leela, but to keep an eye on her and warn her of any potential danger.

    It is brief a time of peace as both sides cease hostility in observance.

    ...The Greatest Gift of All

    a_greater_gift.jpg
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  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited December 1969

    ...a very early work (and still my all time favourite), but one that again focuses on the dangers which face the musical prodigy turned child soldier. Not every mission goes as planned, and the decision to cut and run or stand and fight is a very thin line.


    ...I won't Let Them Hurt You

    I_wont_let_them_hurt_you.jpg
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  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited April 2013

    ...having been extracted from occupied Croatia and taken to Seattle by a private military team, Leela is now finally far away from the terrors of war. Here the child like teen is "entertaining" a trio of security floaters (assigned by the team's leader to watch after her) with a story.

    (This was the first full scene I ever created and is my second best favourite)


    ...A Captive Audience

    A_Captive_Audience_II_rp.jpg
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  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited April 2013

    ...Leela during a much happier time in her new home, Now eighteen going on nineteen, she has since overcome the difficulty she had with performing while other people are present with the help of her adoptive Mother, Lady Meggan Grande. "Lady Meg" and her late husband "Lord Reg" heard the gifted child perform when she was only eight while on holiday. Two years later, Croatia, which had emerged from the previous Euro war to become a centre for art, education, and culture, was plunged into a darkness deeper than it ever faced before.


    ...A Private Recital.

    leela_and_momma_4-5.jpg
    800 x 800 - 453K
    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited December 1969

    ..the reason behind the singular posts is due to the fact the new site software does not allow text to be entered between image attachments.


    ...and there will be more (new) ones to come.

  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165
    edited April 2013

    wow Kyoto a fantastic set of renders. I like the way your story unfolds , :)

    Post edited by Ivy on
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited April 2013

    ...thank you.

    This story means a lot to me and is partially responsible for me getting into this thing called 3D CG.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    So nice to see them all and in the proper context. Great work KK. I'll lurk around.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited December 1969

    ...thank you. Love your thread as well especially the prehistoric series.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited April 2013

    ...currently listening to an impressive performance of List's Fantasy & Fuge for organ that I used to have on LP but lost many years ago ( a small private label no longer in print). During Leela's time studying at the Paris Conservatiore (after the storyline) she performs this at Notre Dame De Paris with the same passion and intensity. There is a lot of material I have written and outlined that will never be in the main story but for me is important to the overall setting.


    Music is a driving force behind this all. I can no longer play like I used to, so in a way, my "little one" carries the dream on for me through her story..

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited May 2013

    ...haven't forgotten, just been busy trying out new things.

    After settling in with her adoptive mother Lady Meggan Grande, Leela met a couple girls who quickly became her two best friends.

    The girl on the right is Jade Chen, who is the niece of a man known as "Uncle Chen" who owns London's most successful import house and is a close associate of Ms Grande. Jade is a year older than Leela and rather savvy about business (a trait she picked up from working for her uncle after school and during academic breaks). Her true love though is photography, both holo stills and trivid (the 2060's version of video and cinema) and she has plans to attend the Royal College of Arts.

    The frail fair haired one on the right is Tracey Kyle, daughter of Emma Kyle who has been a close friend of Lady Grande's since the two were young girls themselves. She is a few months younger than Leela. Unlike most elves who tend to be rather tall, Tracey's demure stature is attributed to her having being sickly as a young child (at least that is what is said - no spoilers for now). This made Tracey a bit self conscious as she never thought of herself as being pretty compared to other elven girls and tended to be somewhat of a loner. Meeting the child like Leela soon changed all that.

    In fact, during the course of the story, Leela and Tracey develop a very strong "sister like" bond. The young elf is instrumental in the Croatian teen's overcoming of her inability to perform in front of an audience (due to the trauma experienced the day Zagreb fell to Serbian forces). In spite of her very delicate stature, Tracey is gifted with a beautiful and surprisingly resonant voice and would have Leela accompany her first when practising, then at small private recitals which took place at various nobles' estates.


    Here the three "teenage terrors" are goofing off in front of Buckingham Palace during a weekend shopping trip in London.

    the_girls_take_London.jpg
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  • SteveM17SteveM17 Posts: 973
    edited December 1969

    Kyoto Kid said:
    ...Leela as the child soldier. Only fourteen and already a seasoned veteran. Yet still a child who should be enjoying going shopping or to the cinema with friends instead of hiding in wait for a patrol to pass so she could set charges on a comm tower.

    Some would say she is brave, but down deep she is scared, for she knows at any given moment, she could "go away" like many of her comrades have.

    ...Child of War

    (originally created for a challenge on the theme of war)..

    This really is a great picture, and would look good as a book cover in my opnion.

  • IndigoJansonIndigoJanson Posts: 1,100
    edited December 1969

    The story-telling in your compositions is fantastic. Not just as a series, but as stand-alone renders too. Real sense of motion and tension (as in between bodies, not psychological) in that last one which is something that seems to me hard to achieve with these 3D people. Great expressions and poses in all of them. The child soldier one is especially evocative.

    Thanks for sharing your work, it's inspiring to us newbies to see what more experienced artist can accomplish.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited June 2013

    ...Jindi, thank you.

    I've been a bit remiss in keeping this up due to a few hardware and other issues which I let get into the way. My apologies.

    I've been working on the storyline (which has been keeping me awake at night as of late) and it took an unsuspected turn, but one which I feel even more solidifies Leela's character. Again, no spoilers for now, except for the scene below which takes place near the end of the tale.


    Here Leela, her lovemate Tracey, and daughter Annika are spending a lovely afternoon respite while motoring in the English countryside. Annika, seeing swarm of "flutterbys" which descended on their picnic site (and her mother Leela) tries to "fly" with the delicate winged creatures.

    Learning How To Fly

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  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    WoW KK.. they are all beautiful.. and leaves a HUGE impact. The ones of Leela as a child soldier was really, really strong. Great work KK! *send hugs*

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