Step-by-Step Hooker Creation

Part 1 – The Original

After I searched on iStockPhoto.com for “hooker”, “lady of the night” or some other equivalent term I had to concede that the first image in this series was the best I could find. The pose was close to what I wanted, I reasoned.

Part 2 – First Pass

The look of this piece is ostensibly a “Frank Miller’s Sin City” treatment, hence the black and white. Fortuitously enough the high contrast curves I put on her effectively hid the fact that she wasn’t exactly wearing underwear. Obviously I had to clean up her nose and jawline a little. I removed some sag near the chin and toned down the witchy bend. The most obvious alteration (and that which made me feel the most shallow) might be the augmentation of the breasts. The ground is just a transform-perspective-altered hunk of concrete from CG Textures, which I use almost exclusively now that Mayang Textures is dead.

Part 3 – Feedback 1

The third image in this series comes after I finished the first pass and received feedback from the project director. I was told the hooker was too ugly and the great plastic surgery session was underway. The nose was moved out from the face a little to give the eyes a bit more room and this lead to a slight reshaping of the brow/forehead. I also reshaped the nose a bit. The jaw line was entirely reworked to make it stronger and not as weak as it is in the original. Silly me, though, I didn’t adjust her cheekbone shadow.

This version of the piece was sent to the client.

Part 4 – Feedback 2

The client said her face was too Eva Braun and suggested that she look less schoolmarm-ish. Obscure references and descriptors but I decided that meant her face was too “German” (since I have no gentler way to phrase it) and her outfit was frumpy. I did some research ( read as: I just Googled “jaw line”) and then restructed the jaw a second time. I made her brow more defined and altered the nose one last time so that it would appear less droopy. At last, I corrected the cheekbone.

The next hurtle was the outfit. Easy first step: tone done the wrinkles. Easy second step: create fisnet pattern and just slap it on her legs. Easy third step: apply red accent to stockings and oh hey why not throw some on the back too. Her butt was a little lumpy under her left hand and had to be flattened out. I blacked out the ribbon-knot thing on her back and added a small light accent in preparation for the midriff. The left side of her back was reshaped too.

For the midriff itself I create an almost-white layer based on the highlighted section of the right arm, cutting off a lot of pudge or what could very well be naturally occurring body shape in the front. I went through with the burn tool and tried to add in the effect and shape of ribs and the lateral muscles. Some of the textural features of the right arm were slightly incorporated. After all was said and done the effect was believeable enough – though this method could never ever be used in anything other than high contrast black and white.

I put a detailed view of the two faces up close there at the bottom.

Later…

I’ve had this entry in draft since yesterday, mulling it over I suppose. Though, I am leaving the country and that’s keeping me busy. Anway, new feedback from project director resigned hooker to this:

Hooker from Final Comp

She ended up being scaled down by 50%, face fully obscured by a questionable street light.

C’est la vie.