Sorry for the lack of updates.
A couple of situations with construction and a gas leak out in the street have kept our studio doors regrettably closed.
Starting shortly, we’ll be bringing you videos from A Count Named SlickBrass at various events, with pinups to resume in the late Spring or early Summer, as our space becomes available as a studio once more.
Our first set of videos will be with some of the Women from Authors After Dark, all strong, kickass ladies!
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Room With A View Background  Detail of Window  Space Auto-Generated  Starscape  Starscape Detail  Planet Detail       
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For Rachel’s space window, we had to create two backgrounds, the window itself, and the starscape behind it. For the windows we sifted through hundreds of photographs of metalwork, from fireplace grilles to fences to earrings, anything that captured the filigree look we wanted. We leveled all the bits and pieces to keep all the metal in the gold/bronze/copper range and composited them together.
The hard part was the starscape. Most starscapes start their life as a big field of black and white noise (see Space Auto Generated above). And after equal parts erasing and painting that it eventually becomes something resembling stars. Add a few layers of glow and blur, and then, you’re onto space.
Howard Hollem was a photographer working for the U. S. Office of War Information (OWI) from 1941-1943. His assignments included military bases, aircraft manufacturers, and even documenting Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. While we use some of his architectural and landscape photos for creating our backgrounds, we especially love his photographs of young men and women at work.
We kick off our launch with his photographs of Dorothy Cole. An entrepreneur and artist, she was doing well as a sculptor and tile designer when she began to focus her energy on the war effort. She reconfigured her basement into a workshop for tin plating and began producing valves and needles for blood transfusion bottles.
We managed to grab up a few minutes with our gorgeous launch model, Rachel Lapidus, and ask her a bit about her life, goals, words to live by and what it means to be a New York Girl. Continue reading
This background is based on a photograph of the Capitol Building in Colonial Williamsburg taken by Howard Hollem on assignment in 1943 for the U. S. Office of War Information.
I altered it digitally through a mixture of color balance and painting techniques, taking it from day to night, adding lights, fog, and even touching the people in the background to make their attire a bit more steampunk. Fun fact: Each one of those tiny lights on the trees is hand painted.
The original photograph is part of a collection at the Library of Congress. As photographers in military service do not retain the rights to their photos, there are no known restrictions on publication and the image is public domain. The digital file (Reproduction Number: LC- DIG-FSAC 1a34987) from the original transparency (Call Number: LC-USW36-755) can be viewed here.
This is only a small gallery from our first model. We promise a longer, saucier set later this month.
As we said a few weeks back, our rollout is going to be a bit slower than we planned, so, for right now, you’re looking at about a thing a week from us over here. It’s a great time to subscribe via RSS!
September’s model is Rachel Lapidus. She’s been a fabulous friend for letting us dress her up! Thanks, Rachel!
This background is based on a public domain photograph by Howard Hollem taken for the United States Office of War Information in the 1940′s. We’ll spend some time focusing on him this month too.
Leaked two new header images in celebration for tomorrow….I told you we couldn’t contain ourselves…