RPG Illustration

Yellow and Blue

*Yellow and Blue*
Canon 7D
Model: Vanessa

I don’t rely on professional models for my shoots, but rather a group of friends and acquaintances who like to participate in what is quite often a fun shared moment. For the Unknown Armies shoots however I had to warn them that I would likely distort and transform their looks, so that they might not come out looking amazing. A variant of this shot made it into Unknown Armies Book 3 p. 57. I used a filter from Analog Efex 2 to achieve this consistently golden skin.

Just a Sip

*Just a Sip*
Fuji XPro-2
Model: Anaïs

A few years ago, I was hired as one of the illustrators for the Unknown Armies 3rd Edition Role-Playing Games. Unknown Armies is a weird and disturbing game inspired by the works of Tim Powers and Clive Barker, so naturally the imagery was to be disturbing and weird as well. With my wonderful models we came up with a number of scenarios to shoot, including this woman with a stitched mouth sipping something that could look a little like blood. The frame that I ended up submitting for the game was a different one (and I’m not sure it was used in the end) but the mix of glamour and creepy in this one I really like.

Drilling

Drilling
Fuji X-Pro2, 50mm, f/5.6, 1/60s, ISO 640
Models: Michel, Anaïs

This shot was probably the most fun to shoot during the Unknown Armies session. Anaïs was so much into it that the drill bit actually hurt Michel a bit, so his frightened expression is not entirely fake.

Spiky Lady

Spiky Lady
Fuji X-Pro2, 85mm, f/2, 1/160s, ISO 200
Model: Cassandre

Another weird Unknown Armies outtakes shot, going for a kind of Clive Barker vibe but always with this disturbing contrast between the softness of the light and the harshness of the subject.

Too Many Eyes

Too Many Eyes
Canon 7D, 80mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 100
Model: Vanessa / Post: Analog Efex Pro 2

There’s a cover of an issue of Sandman by Dave McKean which represents a flower made of eyes. It’s one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen, and I guess it gave me an idea for this shot, as probably did the weird look of Eddie Campbell’s Eyeball Kid in Bacchus. I used Analog Efex Pro 2 for this, it has a nifty double exposure tool. Of course, you can do that in Photoshop too, and with more precision, but it’s a lot more time consuming…

Red Kimono

Red Kimono
Canon 7D, 80mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 100
Model: Emilie

Yes, I know, this one is not creepy. Yet. I have some ideas on how to make it creepy, but my photoshop skills aren’t up for it yet. Still, I really like this shot, so I thought I’d share it.

Not Smiling

Not Smiling
Canon 7D, 80mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 100
Model: Vanessa / Post: Analog Efex Pro 2 and Photoshop CC

The liquify tool in Photoshop has a bad rep for helping to retouch the shape of people in photography (particularly women) thus promoting an unreal image of the female body. I used it in completely the opposite way here, to pull features in a somewhat  horrible way. It’s a very powerful tool as you can see! The color cast was applied in Analog Efex Pro 2. It’s a good thing my beautiful models don’t mind me ruining their lovely features!

Gagged Fox

Gagged Fox
Canon 7D, 80mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 100
Model: Fox / Post: Analog Efex Pro 2

I had this idea of doing a new series of « three monkeys » reminiscent of the ones I did in my 1930s ghost set. This time I wanted to go for postmodern creepy with gags and duct tape and all. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise that in the studio with no backdrop the point of doing a cloning approach was non-existent, so I used the photos differently. This is one that I particularly like. Fox is a great model with fiery ginger hair, and even with the heavy desaturation it still comes through.

Creepy Smile

Creepy Smile
Canon EOS 7D, 32mm, f/4, 1/4s, ISO 1000
Modèle: Aurélie

 In yesterday’s shot, Anaïs expressed fright perfectly, in today’s shot Aurélie does frightening perfectly. This one has gone through a number of iterations, but I keep coming back to a relatively simple black & white that I find particularly powerful.

Fright

Fright
Canon 7D, 32mm, f/4, 0,3s, ISO 1000
Model: Anaïs

 Continuing on my revisitation of the 1930s session I did for Dreamhounds, here is a portrait of Anaïs that I reworked (again) using old processes emulations. I asked Anaïs to express fright, and I believe she managed to do that wonderfully.