Nip / Pluck: An Adventure in Explaining My Process

A recent challenge was made to have several captioners take a single source image and put an individual spin on it.  The idea is that by explainining the thought process behind the scenes that new captioners might benefit.  Since the request has come up recently on the blog as well, I'll open this post up to do my best to answer any questions on my captioning process.

Here was the source image everyone was given to work with:

 

The first thing I noticed with the image is that it's a lower resolution tumblr pic.  That doesn't leave much real estate for adding text without modifying the image to add some.  I chose to remove the blur of red in the top right corner and stretch the shadow on the right to make more space.

The image itself gave me the feel of Snow White and the witch's hand for some reason, so I ended up on a bit of a fariytale slant.  Somehow, I settled on a reverse Pinnochio theme...real boy becomes puppet girl.  I added a frame to the image to give the feel of the classic storybook illustration brought into real life.

That left the writing.  It's the most important part of the whole caption to me.  The words should mesh with the image just enough to tie them together while letting the image speak for itself.  The controlling shadow hand in this image is ideal for themes of control and loss of it.

Since D/s themes can sometimes become heavy, so I chose a lively and fun font to keep things light.  It may not be the most readable font, but it expresses the undertones of softness and femininty I want the hidden dominant to have.

I like to add a teaser title to captions when I can to give a quick taste of the full caption.  I will usually put that in some 'dead space' in the image where it won't interfere with the core focus of the caption.

Last, and hopefully least, I add a transparent watermark to the caption to help deter other people on the Internet from claiming credit for my words and artistic adds as their own.  If this hadn't been a problem in the past (see here), I wouldn't bother.  Sadly, there are schmucks out there who scrape and repost captions while claiming they did the work.

And here is the final result:

Have questions on something I didn't cover in my explaination?  Ask them in the comments, and I'll try my best to answer.

A Shameless Plug: The Library of Wonders

One of the many projects I have been working on during my captioning lull is closely related to TG captioning.  I got hooked on playing TG roleplays a while back.  It's been a nice creative outlet, but the site I cut my roleplaying teeth on has been drifting in a direction that makes letting go and just having fun in a game difficult.

The best way to foster the roleplay environment I want to play in was to build and moderate my own RP site.  Thus, the Library of Wonders (http://www.libraryofwonders.net) was born.  Several fellow refugees who value a good story with a plot over random, meaningless sex and violence have joined me.  Over the past year, we have laid the groundwork for the safe place where we all would like to play.

Until now, membership growth has been slow through private invitation and people who've followed the minimal breadcrumbs that I set out.  The time has come for me to set aside my dislike for self-promotion to encourage a new phase of growth for the site.

If you like writing creative and interactive stories while getting a chance to play out some of your fantasies in a safe environment, the Library of Wonders is for you.  We welcome a wide range of interests: gender change, mind control, light BDSM, and other physical changes.  The main goal of the site is to maintain a safe place for all involved.

Still not convinced?  Take a look at one of our active games (click here) to get a better idea of what we have to offer.

I hoped it wouldn't come to this...a rant

When I started making captions 2 years ago, I thought I'd be lucky to get a handful of followers on my blog.  I create and post caps that I enjoy, and I hope that some of you might as well.  Up until now, I've avoided adding a watermark to my captions because I didn't want to interfere with the look of the caption.

This morning, I found out that some of my captions were posted on DeviantArt by a user attempting to give the impression that my work is his own.  It seems that I have hit the level of easy pickings for immature people out there that feel the need to bump their own ego by claiming the work of others.

I've worked up a simple watermark that I hope I can easily work into my future captions.  I'll do my best to keep it unobtrusive, but it may be a bit of a work in progress.  I'm truly sorry that it has come to this.

If you'd like to copy and repost my captions, that's fine.  Please make sure you credit me and consider pointing back to my blog if you do.

To the ones who steal credit for the work of others... I keep all original copies of the captions I make, which are often multi-layered and higher resolution than what I post.  I will always have proof that my work is my own.

Don't Swim with Sharks and an Update

My caption output has stayed pretty low lately, mainly because I've been starting to help people by doing hypnosis over online chat.  Practicing hypnosis is getting the bulk of my free time at the moment, and it will likely stay that way for a while...at least until I work out a way to quickly get new partners into a state where they respond well.

I could still use a practice partner or two.  If you're interested, leave a comment and we can try to work something out.

Here's a new exclusive cap for you:

Hi again

I recently discovered Rachel's Haven and have already managed to work myself into a good bit of caption trade debt.  I do plan to continue with the caps that I do just for this blog, but I'll also be posting up the caps that I've made for others at the Haven.

I'll start by posting up the caps I've done the past few days.  Please note that these captions may have a different style or feel because they were made to fill requests.

Excuse the Mess

If you stopped by sometime tonight, you may have seen the blog in various states of readability.  Since I don't have tons of time to work on captions at the moment, I was working on the things that I can...namely, the blog layout and design.

I think that I've finally got the kinks (not the sexual ones, of course) worked out of it all and have something that better reflects my style and content.  If there is anything that doesn't look right, ie. text that is unreadable, please let me know.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled reading.

Fewer updates for a while...

Due to a change in my life that will result in me having less time (at least less private time) at the computer that I use to do my captions, I will not be able to keep updating as often as I have been.  Hopefully this is just a temporary situation until I can get used to the new arrangements.

I appreciate everyone who reads and comments.  Thank you.

Why don't I sign my captions?

You may wonder why I don't sign any of my recent captions. My reasons are both simple and complex.

1) I'm a hobby photographer, and I don't feel that what I do is worthy of staking an additional claim for credit. I tend to think of what I do as a spoof of the porn industry that just happens to be a turn-on for me and those who read the blog.

2) I use a lot of photo space for the caption text, and I don't want to use any more than I have to.

3) I post anonymously, so what would be the point anyway?