Cally

[Wragg]

Wow...

Where on earth do I start?

There is no doubt that Courtney Anastasia was, to me, a perfect depiction of Cally. Here's the moment that Charlie first laid eyes upon her:

A figure, shrouded at first by the steam, coalesced into the single most beautiful human being Charlie had ever seen in his life. She was in her early 20’s, her satin-black hair cascading over her shoulders, a pale blue dress above darker blue shoes, and she gazed up at him through deep hazel-brown eyes. Charlie thought his legs might buckle beneath him.

Say what you like....



...she's a leg-buckling girl!



Bob's been modest about his original image of Cally / Anastasia, but I loved it!

But I was surprised and delighted to find that Bob had returned to a story which I had almost forgotten about. Not only that, but he has carefully selected an authentic looking Edwardian blue dress for Cally to wear.



Here's the moment that he has illustrated:

She wasn’t listening. “Wow! Look at all these levers! How do you know which one to pull?”

“If it moves, you can pull it,” he quipped.

We see Cally as Charlie saw her!

Convincingly dressing a model in Photoshop is not easy. Believe me - I've tried it.

Thank you, Bob, for bringing Cally back to my mind!

I think we may need to consider the mysterious Cally a little further...

 

[bobinder]

Thank you, Bob, for bringing Cally back to my mind!

I think we may need to consider the mysterious Cally a little further...

Thanks very much for your kind words, Wragg. I'm very glad you like the picture - and the prospect of meeting Cally again sounds exciting indeed!

I wanted to get as close as possible to your description of Cally operating the levers. One of her pictures by Henry Choi shows her standing, smiling, with her right hand raised to approximately lever height. I was then restricted to backgrounds which showed a signal box interior with a lever in the correct position, but Cally still needed a blue dress for this scene.

I found a beige, period costume, modelled with one arm raised, which was a reasonably close match to Courtney's pose. The dress was manipulated onto the new figure in four sections, with the necessary distortions applied to make it fit. I painted out the watermarks from the fabric before changing the colour. The dress model also supplied Courtney's hair extensions and her missing left hand.

​

Admittedly, it seemed a pity to cover up so much of an attractive figure, but it was necessary in the interests of accuracy, and I'm rather pleased with the effect.

 

[Wragg]

Thanks very much for your kind words, Wragg. I'm very glad you like the picture - and the prospect of meeting Cally again sounds exciting indeed!

I wanted to get as close as possible to your description of Cally operating the levers. One of her pictures by Henry Choi shows her standing, smiling, with her right hand raised to approximately lever height. I was then restricted to backgrounds which showed a signal box interior with a lever in the correct position, but Cally still needed a blue dress for this scene.

I found a beige, period costume, modelled with one arm raised, which was a reasonably close match to Courtney's pose. The dress was manipulated onto the new figure in four sections, with the necessary distortions applied to make it fit. I painted out the watermarks from the fabric before changing the colour. The dress model also supplied Courtney's hair extensions and her missing left hand.

View attachment 985912​

Admittedly, it seemed a pity to cover up so much of an attractive figure, but it was necessary in the interests of accuracy, and I'm rather pleased with the effect.

She'll be pleased to have had a hairdo during lockdown!

 

[bobinder]

The bell from the Bures box had a much more civilised ‘ding’, but Charlie muffled it nevertheless, and soon enough he had the token in his hand to give to the driver for the next section.

Cally at Chappel Station

(Image hosted on DeviantArt Sta.sh. Full size picture - https://sta.sh/02ck2d42xfmm )​

'The bell from the Bures box had a much more civilised ‘ding’, but Charlie muffled it nevertheless, and soon enough he had the token in his hand to give to the driver for the next section... A figure, shrouded at first by the steam, coalesced into the single most beautiful human being Charlie had ever seen in his life. She was in her early 20’s, her satin-black hair cascading over her shoulders, a pale blue dress above darker blue shoes, and she gazed up at him through deep hazel-brown eyes.'

Target acquisition is complete as Cally identifies the signalman, Charlie Wragg, as the instrument of her supernatural intervention in the impending train crash at Chappel Station. The illustration allows us to experience the direct eye contact which makes such a beguiling impression on Charlie. The signalman can be seen on the balcony, offering the right of way token to the crew of the approaching train, which has slowed to receive it.

​

The principal sources for this early scene in the story include a view of Sheringham West signal box on the North Norfolk Railway heritage line, with the beautifully preserved Y14 locomotive #564 of the Great Eastern Railway, in charge of a passenger train. I could have used a photograph of the nearly identical Chappel signal box instead, but this picture contains lots of authentic detail for the story, requiring only a name change on the box, and the substitution for the red coach by an older, teak vehicle, suitable for the 1912 period. Ultimately the teak coach was flipped in mirror image, and all of its visible numbering had to be reversed.

​

Cally's enigmatic expression and hypnotic gaze are derived from a portrait of Courtney by Jodie Schaefer. The 'Cherry Blossom Pixie' session was a body paint shoot, preceded by a lengthy session with makeup artist, Rachel Jones. Having decided on this facial expression, the face paint and makeup details had to be deleted by digital overpainting, and Courtney's left hand was removed to reveal her distinctive jaw line. To achieve this, two 'Cherry Blossom' portraits were blended together, before adding the long, dark hair which helps to return Courtney to her natural appearance.

At the time of the story's publication, I observed that Cally's blue dress reflected the Great Eastern locomotive livery, and this visual association is now reinforced by the subtle inclusion of red piping on the collar of the dress. The finished picture contains 35 visible layers, including 17 masks and 7 blending filters.

 

[Wragg]

Cally at Chappel Station

(Image hosted on DeviantArt Sta.sh. Full size picture - https://sta.sh/02ck2d42xfmm )​

'The bell from the Bures box had a much more civilised ‘ding’, but Charlie muffled it nevertheless, and soon enough he had the token in his hand to give to the driver for the next section... A figure, shrouded at first by the steam, coalesced into the single most beautiful human being Charlie had ever seen in his life. She was in her early 20’s, her satin-black hair cascading over her shoulders, a pale blue dress above darker blue shoes, and she gazed up at him through deep hazel-brown eyes.'

Target acquisition is complete as Cally identifies the signalman, Charlie Wragg, as the instrument of her supernatural intervention in the impending train crash at Chappel Station. The illustration allows us to experience the direct eye contact which makes such a beguiling impression on Charlie. The signalman can be seen on the balcony, offering the right of way token to the crew of the approaching train, which has slowed to receive it.

View attachment 1315173​

The principal sources for this early scene in the story include a view of Sheringham West signal box on the North Norfolk Railway heritage line, with the beautifully preserved Y14 locomotive #564 of the Great Eastern Railway, in charge of a passenger train. I could have used a photograph of the nearly identical Chappel signal box instead, but this picture contains lots of authentic detail for the story, requiring only a name change on the box, and the substitution for the red coach by an older, teak vehicle, suitable for the 1912 period. Ultimately the teak coach was flipped in mirror image, and all of its visible numbering had to be reversed.

View attachment 1315174​

Cally's enigmatic expression and hypnotic gaze are derived from a portrait of Courtney by Jodie Schaefer. The 'Cherry Blossom Pixie' session was a body paint shoot, preceded by a lengthy session with makeup artist, Rachel Jones. Having decided on this facial expression, the face paint and makeup details had to be deleted by digital overpainting, and Courtney's left hand was removed to reveal her distinctive jaw line. To achieve this, two 'Cherry Blossom' portraits were blended together, before adding the long, dark hair which helps to return Courtney to her natural appearance.

At the time of the story's publication, I observed that Cally's blue dress reflected the Great Eastern locomotive livery, and this visual association is now reinforced by the subtle inclusion of red piping on the collar of the dress. The finished picture contains 35 visible layers, including 17 masks and 7 blending filters.

What a huge amount of labour, Bob. But what an impressive result! 'Thank you ' doesn't really cover it!