1864 - Aiken’s Landing Girl, Colorized Wiggle
December 20, 2010 in Wiggle Animations
1864 - Aiken's Landing, Virginia (vicinity). Young girl at Aiken house
I fell in love with this image when I found it about 6 months ago. Since then, I’ve struggled to imagine what to do with it. She’s too stern to smile, her hands are fixed and her dress is too complex. Then I noticed a bit of a wind blur where the ribbon on her dress is, and it occurred to me - the movement can be made primarily in the environment. I focus too much on the subject when, sometimes, manipulating the environment can give it more of a real feeling.
Some details struck me when working with the full sized image. She was married, and she was a very hard worker. She’s young, yet her hands are scarred. One nail appears to be just growing back in. Her face shows a hard life, yet her hair and dress are immaculate, despite the windy day. So I guess because of all these details, it was important to me to get her right. Seeing things like that make the person more real to me and, hopefully, more real to you as well.
UPDATE - You can now save this TIFF file and open it up in Photoshop (or comparable product), if you would like to pick it apart to see how it works! Click here to download.
Check out the original here. Find out how these are created here. Get page updates on Facebook here.
Love this, she is very interesting…great animation!
Something about the animation really brings out some serious character here. You’re right, there’s more than initially meets the eye. I’m struck by a great sense of both strength and sadness in this woman. It’s late in the war. She is married, so there’s a good chance her husband is a soldier or sailor (assuming he’s still alive). Either way,I’d wager she’s been through a lot; Aiken’s Landing was a site where a lot of prisoners were exchanged back and forth so she’s likely seen the ravages of war up close.
This is a fascinating photograph, after looking it, I almost feel as if I know her. The subtle animation on the ribbon and eyes is great. This inspired me to try the technique myself.
Awesome, David! So glad you tried it out. I’d love to see more people putting their touch on this technique. There are so many pictures and so few limits - beyond our own patience and drive to try something different. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see your next work very soon!
I just uploaded the TIFF file with all layers and frames, and added a link above. I hope it helps answer the question of how this can be done, and encourages others to give it a go!