So, I'm grappling with a load of free time, and what to do with my layout, aside from playing with it [duhĀ 
]
Well, I had a little brainwave, inspired by my recent foray into Photoshop editing and my recently aquired MA in Creative Writing [and the need for a portfolio of work to apply for PhD studies
], that being to create comic/storybooks with photos staged and taken on my layout - Not nessecarily anything to be officially published, but if I create anything, I'll stick it onto BPT for you to peruse at your leisureĀ 
I also admit that this is partly my response to the whole AEG disaster befalling Thomas at the moment where the realism that the Rev. Awdry used to insist on seems to have taken a back seat, because I think stories about trains can be both fun and realistic, for kids and adults.
Anyway, here's a WIP concept I created using a stock photo of the Plarail HST Virgin Train - Obviously I would be able to make it look a lot better if I took and edited my own photos, but if nothing else, this proves the concept I had worked
![[Image: unknown.png?width=948&height=533]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/774387426046902373/936364494110752768/unknown.png?width=948&height=533)
The idea is to kind of borrow from the Thomas concept [trains with faces], but given Plarail is a Japanese system, use anime eyes [plus I like the anime/manga style], and fitting the face into the design of the train where practical, which is suprisingly easy if you use the windscreen as a position for eyes, and the headlights/just above the buffer beam as the position for the mouth...
I already kind of have an idea how the HST would fit into a theoretical story, and what their 'character' so to speak would be, being perhaps an older mentor character of some kind because the HST is now the UK's oldest InterCity train, and to me, the positioning of the headlights/front horn grill looks a bit like a mustacheĀ
Ā
So, we'll see where this goes, not a serious project so much as a proof of concept for a bit of fun lol
]Well, I had a little brainwave, inspired by my recent foray into Photoshop editing and my recently aquired MA in Creative Writing [and the need for a portfolio of work to apply for PhD studies
], that being to create comic/storybooks with photos staged and taken on my layout - Not nessecarily anything to be officially published, but if I create anything, I'll stick it onto BPT for you to peruse at your leisureĀ I also admit that this is partly my response to the whole AEG disaster befalling Thomas at the moment where the realism that the Rev. Awdry used to insist on seems to have taken a back seat, because I think stories about trains can be both fun and realistic, for kids and adults.
Anyway, here's a WIP concept I created using a stock photo of the Plarail HST Virgin Train - Obviously I would be able to make it look a lot better if I took and edited my own photos, but if nothing else, this proves the concept I had worked
The idea is to kind of borrow from the Thomas concept [trains with faces], but given Plarail is a Japanese system, use anime eyes [plus I like the anime/manga style], and fitting the face into the design of the train where practical, which is suprisingly easy if you use the windscreen as a position for eyes, and the headlights/just above the buffer beam as the position for the mouth...
I already kind of have an idea how the HST would fit into a theoretical story, and what their 'character' so to speak would be, being perhaps an older mentor character of some kind because the HST is now the UK's oldest InterCity train, and to me, the positioning of the headlights/front horn grill looks a bit like a mustacheĀ
Ā So, we'll see where this goes, not a serious project so much as a proof of concept for a bit of fun lol
Been building Plarail worlds since 2001; Building when I can in 2023