Damn Sea that is the most amazing thing I have seen from you so far : D (not that your other stuff wasn't amazing, I love your other stuff but this tops the charts) I love this, you did a great job : D (lol sorry about that hidden comment too typoed and it was super awkward : /)

lol, nonononono no no no, no. I, am afraid, did *Not* make this. A photomanipulator by the name/handle of WhiteflameK Made it for me, using my face as sample stock. No, the only way this is "by me" is that this is me transforming in the image, aka, what was used as the human element in the photomanipulation.
Sorry for the misunderstanding!

*grins* and don't worry about the hidden comment. mistakes happen after all?;)

Haha well no worries : D still looks great! anyone ever mistake you for a chocobo? cause that is what I thought at first : / totally embarised to admit that. Thanks for understanding though : D

Yep, folks have indeed mistaken me for a chocobo at times. They probably wouldn't if they could see the entire body though;)

yeah maybe, though your fursona looks adorable either way : D

*spins a double-sided drum toy*

*perks up his lengthening ears and chirps, blushing at the reflex... then staggers over nearby and falls in a growing heap of feathers and fur, letting out a long, drawn out breath, mixed with a soft sounding trill... and watching you and the drum with larger, iridescent eyes, ears twitching occasionally to the drumbeat, as the changes work towards completion*

*smiles* the drum is pretty much *the* most ideal tf trigger for this creature, to be sure. ;

Of course, what better way to draw out a Flammie from within someone? *giggles and snuggles* I remember playing that game and trying hard to get a good look at him, such an adorable creature... ^_^

same here;)

I actually summoned him, then popped loose the cartridge from the SNES, causing the game to freeze right at the moment where he swoops down closest to pick up the party... then left it frozen as I drew it. I'm probably one of the few kids who managed to entertain himself with a "broken" video game;)
And of course I was heartbroken when I had to kill the poor thing at the end of the game. Not sure what happened tho: did he go berserk by some sort of "sleeper cell" style subliminal command? was he possessed? Or did the creature you were fighting just look like him? Unfortunately I never figured that lil' mystery out.

This was when I was quite a bit younger; I've loved this critter since I first laid eyes on him as a kid... and oddly my interest never went away... so yep, I figured that, even if it was a recently created fictional creature, there must have been *some* sort of deeper connection there. I can actually use it as a meditation factor: If I was stressed, pained, exhausted, etc. Focusing on the critter seemed to let me assume a state of serenity: not perfect of course, but still useful.

...heh. I rambled again.

I never thought to pull that trick, to be honest. Kinda wish I had. ^_^;;

As for the ending, from what I understand, the tainted mana from the fortress made it go berzerk. I chose to believe that once you subdued him, and destroyed the Mana Fortress and restored the balance of mana, that he was able to recover and go back to normal.

Created or not, if it serves as a meditation anchor for you, then that's good. *snuggles tight* I've gone through a few forms, moving to one that felt "closer" as time went on. I don't know if I'll change again, but I wouldn't rule it out. ^_^

I your dazed look in the pic - so stoned!

It's a great picture but I have to say I don't see much of a photomanip there other than the neck and shoulders; your face looks completely withdrawn. (I suspect your eyes don't look like that in RL, and for me keeping the human eyes is what makes a photomanip a photomanip. (Windows to the soul 'n all that)

I forgot to add that you may not have drawn the picture, but your description underneath is [/i]so[/i] evocative. It's a big part of the reason I faved the pic - it really communicates the sensations and mentality of one undergoing a TF!

*smiles* thank you kindly again on the compliment for my description... I love the concept of transformation, and coupled with a creature I feel quite a connection to, I found it easy to express my feelings on what it would most ideally be like.

*ponders*...I have been considering doing some tf writing, because there are some things that wordplay can convey better than images alone... you can guess how someone feels, watching them transform, but subtleties are lost... unless you *know* what they are feeling... and text can convey that through first or second person narrative pretty well.

Well, maybe I'll catch your eye on something like that in the future... odds are I will add a detailed narrative to the following photomanipulations I do... and hell, I'll even try to run narratives on my hand drawn work as well, though I can't guarentee the same level of... intensity? that I would feel on transformation that I lack a personal connection to. we shall see...

I am glad you like it, both the manipulation, and my description for it:)... for me, the more I stare at it, the more detail and consideration he put into it, which is quite impressive, given exactly what it is, and what its intention is.

I can probably help put your mind at ease on a couple of issues that it had. First off, this is actually just a study/sample picture, with relatively little effort put into its creation: It's main goal was to convince me that a flammie photomanipulation was indeed possible/feasible.

Next, and probably most importantly? the original photo that this was based on was... rather low in quality. created by a 7-year old, 4 megapixel, middle quality digital camera, that had undergone a little trauma during our move here 4 months ago. Oh, done by an ametuer photographer (my friend kit) and amatuer modeler (me)

Long story short, the photo was grainy, blurry, and poorly lit. I can understand that. in order to make the image look good, WhiteflameK probably had to do a salvage job, and exact the few things that were clear, such as skin tone, the neck line, etc.

Oh, and in regards to the eyes... indeed, they are probably the most shocking part of this manipulation. I had mentioned to whiteflame that one of the anatomical features of a flammie were larger eyes, usually deep blue, or indigo, in color. I was expecting my own eyes to be enlargened (with the skull/sockets reshaped to compensate), and a typical photoshop eye-color setting tweak, rather than full, custom built eyes. but again, poor photo quality probably meant this was the better option.

Things should be much better in the actual full, final manipulation. since I am scrounging together better equipment.

For starters, I will be using a 3 year old, 14 megapixel, high-quality digital camera (not cutting edge, but still significantly better).

Next, a friend of mine named Christine, AKA Taco, has experience as a photo model, and a cosmetic makeup artist. One thing I will be sure to have is makeup that will absorb and soften less than perfect lighting sources, which means I will be less likely to look greasy, pale, etc.... but true color blended makeup to match the flammie's skin or fur tones may be applied as well.

lastly, Taco has a friend of her's on call who is a professional photographer who is just getting his start in the business, and is fascinated by "unusual projects" lol... so I may have an even better camera, as well as custom lighting, and professional posing advice.

...All so I can give Whiteflame the best possible photo stock, so he can make a transformation that looks as real, and soulful, as possible!

Well, I am indeed hopeful at least. Feel free to go to his gallery at http://www.furaffinity.net/user/whiteflamek/ and tell him what you do and don't like about this study image! He's quite intelligent, and loves critique... I am certain he would love to hear from you:D