[Art] Wandsuna - Packin' My Bag for Lolita City - Work in Progress.

[moonvoice]

The best part about establishing rules for the Wandsuna series
is going 'off book'
but keeping enough elements (fox, costume) that it still fits.
This is easily the darkest piece I've done in the Wandsuna series.
Lolita City was a hub for 1000s of pictures of child pornography.
Apologies for all the hand-smudges that you can see; being left-handed and sketching in pencil
is a messy fun endeavour.


Wandsuna - Packin' My Bag For Lolita City

Comments

[snellosaurus]

I'm really liking the look of this one, even with the dark themes running through it. On a lighter note though, I totally want a briefcase like that. The buckle looks awesome. :-)

[moonvoice]

FOX BUCKLE.

Also, you're commenting? DAS GASP!

[snellosaurus]

Yeah, and I'm working on posting too. :-P

If you sold bags like that, I would buy one! Or even buckles like that...

[moonvoice]

YOU'RE GOING TO POST SOMETHING?
But... but... Glen...

Aren't you like bankrupting your social network quota if you do that?

(also, post! I miss you posting)

[spider_fox]

Cthulhu's going on a trip?

[moonvoice]

More of a pedophilia reference than a Cthulhu reference (it's not actually a Lovecraft reference at all; but I figure those who lean that way in pop culture circles will probably take it in that direction.)

[spider_fox]

I saw the image first before reading anything, but then it made sense after reading stuff (duh moment there, I wasn't paying good enough attention to the post).

First time I recall you giving a straightforward meaning for a Wandsuna picture. For this one, knowing what it meant gave it a bigger impact, imo, than if I didn't have a clue.

[laughinglotus]

*chuckles* That's wonderful!

[moonvoice]

Thanks. :)

[goddess_incarnate]

Oh this looks awesome! I like it - maybe because you gave context for what this picture is supposed to be about which you haven't done in other Wandsuna images! :D So... I feel like I can appreciate it more knowing what the picture is supposed to be instead of like, "Ohh pretty!" And unsure about what's going on. :3

[moonvoice]

I was hesitant to give context, but I also wanted to make it clear that this wasn't a Cthulhu homage. The octopus has always been my personal symbol for 'child molester.' I featured tentacles in the illustration 'Risa,' and also squids on one of the earlier costumes (Foxes Don't Cry), and basically... I personally find all the wriggling, twisting tentacles a sort of overwhelming, invasive phallic symbol - especially as once attached, the tentacles can't always be easily removed and get 'stuck.' It reminds me of how children get 'stuck' in a pedophile's grasp and can't get free again (or at least not with ripping off some metaphorical skin the process).

The irony is...I really love and respect cephalopods as totem animals. But as personal symbols; as how they appear in my dreams and my symbol-play in therapy, they are the symbolic 'sub in' for a horrific theme and intention.

I also kind of wanted to start sharing some more of the symbolism meaning in Wandsuna. Not entire narratives, just... 'X means this.'

[outlineofash]

I love the composition of the tentacles and that single peering eye -- it creates a very ominous, threatening feeling for me.

[moonvoice]

That is awesome. It's one of the few Wandsuna series where I'm trying to achieve a specific 'feel' (though I think colouring and linework will really help with that too).

[silverjackal]

I'm not certain I grasp the subtleties of the reference (in re: the octopus part), but the eye and the tentacles are extremely well done. I actually flashed back onto on old nightmare of mine about a tapir/octopus-like creature... Brrr.

[moonvoice]

Eee, nightmares of octopuses are often so creepy. I've been lazy and copy and pasted what I wrote earlier about the octopus;

I was hesitant to give context, but I also wanted to make it clear that this wasn't a Cthulhu homage. The octopus has always been my personal symbol for 'child molester.' I featured tentacles in the illustration 'Risa,' and also squids on one of the earlier costumes (Foxes Don't Cry), and basically... I personally find all the wriggling, twisting tentacles a sort of overwhelming, invasive phallic symbol - especially as once attached, the tentacles can't always be easily removed and get 'stuck.' It reminds me of how children get 'stuck' in a pedophile's grasp and can't get free again (or at least not with ripping off some metaphorical skin the process). It also reminds me of the overwhelmingness of large adult hands on a small child's body. A large, predatory octopus for me is a multi-aspected symbol of the same topic.

The irony is...I really love and respect cephalopods as totem animals. But as personal symbols; as how they appear in my dreams and my symbol-play in therapy, they are the symbolic 'sub in' for a horrific theme and intention. Octopus especially, though cuttlefish and squid too.

I also kind of wanted to start sharing some more of the symbolism meaning in Wandsuna. Not entire narratives, just... 'X means this.' For example, knowing that cephalopods indicate - for me at least - the theme of child molestation, or someone affected by such, featuring tentacles and squid in Foxes Don't Cry give an additional layer of mourning to the illustration.

The symbolism is more personal than global. Kind of like how people develop personal dream symbolisms that can't be easily satisfied by dream dictionaries. The Wandsuna was always based on this; with the hopes that even if people didn't know that personal symbolism, they'd still feel something powerful simply from the presence of surreal, dreamlike colours and poses. The colouring in this one I'm hoping will express that darkness as well. It's going to be the first Wandsuna illustration with sections of solid black.

[silverjackal]

Ah, thank you, that explains it. I had wondered about the symbolism. Of course there is that horrific convention of "tentacle rape" in manga, which I thought this perhaps linked to as well. The victims there often appear to be children as well, or are presented as child-like. It's something I don't "get" personally -- to me octopus are remarkable, intelligent creatures, very... individual? They're the marine equivalent of a hedge-wizard or wise woman in their cottage in the forest. I understand that there are other associations, of course, but I was wondering what particularly about the octopus would lend itself to that. The enveloping nature of the tentacles and the all-encompassing grasp make tremendous sense now that it's pointed out to me. It's *my* benign perception that's unusual, and frankly a bit naive and unworldy.

That dream I had was an encounter straight out of the less dangerous stories of the Cthulhu mythos. I wrote it out here if you're interested, but please don't feel obligated to pursue it. The creature was this odd cephalopod/tapir appearing mix, and just remembering the dream makes me feel anxious. Heh. I never did track the precise associations, but obviously it came from a potent source of unease in the subconscious.

[ariestess]

Oh wow! Fucking wow! This is fascinating and creepy all at once. And I would TOTALLY have/use a bag like that...

[moonvoice]

Glen loved the bag. Heh. :D

[ariestess]

*g* That's a good thing, yes?

[hrafn]

D:

There's something kind of silly about this - I think it's the octopus head atop a more or less humanoid body, plus dropping the final "g" from Packing, plus the lollipop ZOMG the lollipop - but that just makes it more appalling.

[moonvoice]

*nods* It was originally 'Packing,' but then I decided I wanted that kind of flippant irreverence, that sort of... casual dialogue of a person who is really going on this trip all stocked up (lollipops) and ready to go.

[jensurvivor]

I had trouble making sense of the drawing at first, whether the girl-like figure was being attacked by an octopus or whether (and it seems more like this to me now) the figure has an octopus for a head. I also picked up on the "tentacle sex" reference from the drawing style which is a little bit reminiscent of anime style. Ok I took another look at the head and still can't sort out what is going on.