Redux: Pulled Strings
What you see above is the original version of my artwork concept originally titled “Pulling My Strings”. I’m not sure what inspired this concept but it certainly is an interesting one. The first version of this concept was created in 2010 but then I created the first redux in 2012 and retitled it “Pulled Strings”. I then kept the title for the final redux but slightly changed the piece’s meaning. The core concept was of a woman not being in control of herself but I later changed it to where she will soon free herself.
Read on to see exactly how this artwork has evolved over the years as I tried to perfect it. To see the most recent and/or final redux of this artwork, see here: Pulled Strings
Here is what I wrote about the original “Pulling My Strings” back on September 01, 2010:
I had this idea in my head for a while but it wasn’t until a convenient contest popped up that I finally made my idea reality. I didn’t place in the contest but I’m glad I finally created this artwork.
Below you can see my first try at this concept and the first redux from 2012. I was still using grunge overlays a lot in 2010 when I created the original and that’s why it looks the way it does. I used a much lighter overlay for the redux. I also used a more dynamic camera angle rather than straight-on and changed the lighting. Besides postworking it in a different manner, I didn’t change much else from the original to the first redux.
I liked the 2012 redux enough that I had it printed as a poster which still hangs on my office wall. I always wanted to give it another try though, once I was sure I would be able to do better. In late 2019, I decided to give the concept that additional try to see what I could come up with.
Below you can see a comparison of the 2012 redux and the final redux from 2019. I used the 2012 redux scene as a base for the new redux in 2019. I updated most if not all of the materials and changed a few of the models including changing the hair model back to what I used for the 2010 original. I aged the hands of the puppet-master and repositioned them so they were no longer controlling the same stick of the marionette. I added a volumetric spot light from within Poser which I then enhanced the shape of in postwork. I altered the concept of the piece by giving her a pair of scissors with which to cut her strings as she points to the puppet-master. I finally postworked the new redux in a completely different way than before.
On the stage of life, we are not always in control. There are others who pull all the strings. Perhaps they have been pulling them for far too long.
I love this new and final redux! It’s everything I wish I could have been able to create back in 2010. I believe this redux will stand for quite some time to come as I can’t see how I could improve it. Now I’ll have to get some new posters printed for my office walls!
To see the artwork page for “Pulled Strings”, click here. You can also purchase prints from that page.
