Orfeo ed Euridice (English translation: Orpheus and Eurydice) is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. This opera was released in 1762. Orpheus was a figure from Thracian mythology born in the Rhodope Mountains of Thrace, king of the Thracian tribe of Cicones.

The story

While fleeing from Aristaeus (son of Apollo), Eurydice ran into a nest of snakes which bit her fatally on her heel. In grief for his wife, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and Gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to the upper world, under one condition: he must always walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. In his anxiety. Orpheus forgot that both needed to be in the upper world, and he turned to look at her when he was in the upper world, but she was not yet. Eurydice vanished for the second time, but this time forever.

The image

The images were done in Cinema 4D and with its Sketch 'n Toon module. A lot of post-processing and compositing work was done in Photoshop. Given the topic and theme of the booklet, I made the images look like a sketch with textures and color grading specific to an old worn-out paper.

I chose a theatrical position for the two characters to emphasize the dramatic moment of the separation. Their arms are spread, and they both look and point to each other. Orpheus holds a lyre, to suggest he was a legendary musician and poet in the ancient Greek myths. Eurydice was an oak nymph, this is why I added a tree in the composition. The temple in the background, far away in the landscape, is specific to the Ancient Greece. This element helps to define the temporal and cultural context for the depicted subject.

I made this booklet cover for a friend, Tom St. Denis.

Note: The original 3D characters, "Meg" and "Otto" are copyright Bunk Timmer, posed and rigged by myself. The image was not made for commercial purposes.