Its strange how what I do is both incredibly freeing as well as confining. Freeing in the sense that I can take otherwise unrelated photos and, with a bit of Photoshop and a bit of writing, transform them into erotic mind control art. Feeling like I could take just about any decent photo (within reason) and turn it into an expression of my EMC fetish is the part that’s so freeing.
The bit that’s constricting is that, lately, I have ideas that I don’t have material to bring to life. I am limited by what I can find to turn into pictures and animations. Sometimes the inspiration goes places that I don’t know how to capitalize on. As empowering as the former scenario is, the latter is equally frustrating.
However, tonight’s new animation is, happily, an example of just how satisfying it can be when the idea is born from the material. I’ll prattle on all about it in a moment. For now, indulge yourself with my latest creation and find out some of the more erotic perils faced by a high-society burglar in Thief.
This animation was born out of a rare weekend of free-time and unbridled inspiration. I actually finished several new pieces that I’ll be unveiling in the coming weeks. This is one is rather interesting in that its one of the few pieces I’ve started where I had absolutely no ideas concerning the story.
Normally, I don’t start a new animation project without being inspired by some story idea. But with this one, I figured I’d create the animated spiral and then set it aside; maybe work up a story somewhere down the road.
However, when I finished I sort of challenged myself to come up with something. I stared at the picture for several long minutes just not feeling any sort of inspiration. I concocted a few scenarios that were, if I’m honest, pretty boring.
Then, I zeroed in on the pearl necklace (easy I know) and thought about what that might suggest. That and the scant bit of the room that can be seen in the photo were all that I had to establish that this might be an upscale vanity in a well-appointed bedroom. But why would a woman have a hypno-device on her vanity? Maybe someone put it there? Maybe it isn’t her vanity?
Ah, that’s interesting. Whose vanity is it? Someone who’s wealthy. Why is she seated in front of a wealthy person’s vanity? Maybe she isn’t wealthy herself; maybe she’s a thief; there to steal something valuable. Like a pearl necklace.
Hmmm. I was starting to feel things falling into place now. She’s a jewel thief burgling a pearl necklace from a wealthy woman’s vanity when she comes across a strange device that’s been left out. Curiosity being what it is she can’t help but take a moment to inspect it and we all know where that leads.
So, all of that story-craft took place just through a few leaps of logic. The thing that I found enjoyable were the bits that seemed to just leap into the story of their own account. The detail that all of this is taking place on a yacht, as opposed to a house somewhere, is emblematic of this. I don’t know where that came from, it just seemed more interesting; plus it presented a bit more peril and made departure more problematic for the protagonist.
The other bit that I can’t account for is the part about her wearing an imitation necklace so that anyone reviewing security tapes would think she’d arrived and left wearing the same necklace. In hindsight, I can say that it demonstrates she’s clever and therefore makes her enthrallment all the more hot. In the moment though, I just wrote it without really knowing why.
That’s the part I love. That creative spark where something unexpected happens in your own mind. Where your imagination wholly creates something that you weren’t consciously trying to achieve. That’s the part of my work that’s incredibly freeing.
Moving forward, I think this is a valuable lesson to remember. I started this manip without any inspiration whatsoever. But, by doing the graphic work and then taking the time to just meditate on it, I put myself in a position where I was open to be inspired. And, happily, it happened. I don’t think it will work every time or that the results will always be as satisfying for me. But this is a profound moment in my pseudo-career with this site.
As I said, I usually don’t work on a manip if I don’t feel inspired. I find the results are pretty poor and I don’t enjoy the process. In a sense, I’ve felt like a hostage of my inspiration; only able to work when my creativity is primed. This project taught me that perhaps I haven’t been doing enough to make myself available for inspiration to find me.
I’ve always thought that the difference between a creative professional and a talented amateur was that a professional can summon their talent at will. They can focus their creativity on a situation where they may not feel inspired. This was the first manip I’ve created that made me feel that way.
Make no mistake, its not the most technically challenging manip I’ve ever done, the story isn’t the most unique or imaginative yarn I’ve ever created. But, I will always remember this manip for the important lesson about artistic diligence and discipline that it taught me.
As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Thanks for reading.