SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

It’s the dead of night, and your phone rings, waking you from a deep sleep. You don’t recognise the number. Usually, you ignore unknown numbers and send them to voicemail. But what if this mysterious phone call is different? What if answering it is your first step into the world of espionage and mystery? This is not a drill. Welcome to “Tracing a Mysterious Phone Call”, this week’s prompt for our Spies, Lies & Digital Skies art challenge.

For those unfamiliar with it, SLDS is a weekly prompt shared with artists of all skill levels (and non-artists like myself) to create a spy and romance-themed image. You can use various tools to make your artwork, such as Photoshop, ArtRage, Procreate, DALL-E, MidJourney, Microsoft Edge’s CoPilot, or any other software you prefer.

Celebrating Creativity: Crafting a False Identity

Last week, we shed our identities and stepped into our newly created ones. The responses to the Crafting a False Identity prompt were nothing short of breathtaking! Massive thanks to Jez, Kevin, and Marie for taking part again. And a huge welcome and thank you to our latest operative, Claire! You guys make this challenge so much fun to run. There’s nothing better than seeing the different takes on the prompts.

Check out my favourites from these creative adventurers…

Kevin’s Gorilla and Done

Check out Kevin’s post for more false IDs.

Faking it with Jez

Check out Jez’s post for more time blending fakery.

Marie’s Criminally Beautiful IDs

Check out Marie’s post for more cinematic identity creations.

Claire’s Masks of Deception

Check out Claire’s post for more spectacular fake identities.

This Week’s Challenge: Tracing a Mysterious Phone Call

Tracing a mysterious phone call sounds like a daunting task in real life, and portraying the task in a single frame sounds just as tricky. It’s a prompt that taps into the auditory realm (I’m going to pretend I added that as a deliberate pun ?).

It starts with static on the line and then a mysterious voice tasking you with a mission that could change the course of history. How would your inner spy trace the call?

Create With Me: Let’s Trace that Mysterious Phone Call!

The moment I saw this week’s prompt, I deflated a wee bittie. It’s another one of those “How on earth do you make an interesting still image of that?” moments.

A flash of inspiration hit me. What about a handheld device with a holographic projection for tracking? It’s not very original, but I’ll take any bit of inspiration when it hits. I’ve got my device. Now, what method would make it interesting?

Any kind of tracking in a city is full of visual promise. Let’s make it so that the device can only trace in real-time. Now, the city? That’s a no-brainer. I’ve researched the hell out of Marseilles for Running the Asset. I’ll narrow it down to the backstreets and alleyways of the La Panier area.

PROMPT: Please create a wide-format image of a woman walking through the back alleyways of Marseilles’ La Panier district. She has an earpiece in one ear, and in her hand is a smartphone-type device that she holds out in front of her like she’s following directions. The screen shows a radar that projects slightly above the phone (think: hologram). She is tracing a mysterious phone call–the one she’s currently on in her earpiece.

This looks pretty awesome—except I forgot to mention time, movement, etc., that would make the image spring to life.

Take Two

Right, let’s add in all the elements I forgot!

PROMPT: Please create a wide-format image of a woman rushing through the bustling alleyways of Marseilles’ La Panier district at night. She has an earpiece in one ear, and in her hand is a smartphone-type device that she holds out in front of her like she’s following directions. The screen shows a radar that projects slightly above the phone (think: hologram). She is tracing a mysterious phone call–the one she’s currently on in her earpiece.

Ooo! I love this. The motion creates a sense of urgency in this version of her tracing that mysterious phone call. It’s a weird feeling hitting the final image so fast. I’m still in image creation mode…

Let’s Have a Wee Bittie Fun!

I’m going to use the final image as a starting point to play with some of DALL-E’s pre-sets. Click through the carousel for a giggle.

Over to You

This is your moment. Unleash your inner spy, let your creativity flow unchecked, and join a community that thrives on imagination and fun.

So, how would you set the scene for “tracing a mysterious phone call”? Let us know in the comments below. Better yet, share your images with us! (See top of post for “How to join in”)

Keep an eye out for next week’s challenge – who knows where our creative mission will take us next? ?

Till next time, stay awesome,

Susan x