quack quack

[forsometimenow]

Who: The crew of the Wonderduck and any visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: SS Wonderduck
When: The latter half of May

[IT'S A MINGLE, SWEET DUCKS. What're you all up to?]

Comments

[thezerothlaw]

[Daneel is sketching. He's seated in the common area with a sketchbook on the table in front of him and a collection of pencils. He is practising very seriously, and his art tends to be strictly photorealistic, excessively detailed, and is generally of people, because this is the sort of thing a robot focuses on.

He might ask to draw your portrait, if you show signs of hanging around.]

[forsometimenow]

[When Jennifer spotted Daneel, she just stopped to quietly watch him work for a while before she finally made a soft comment-]

That's impressive.

[thezerothlaw]

Thank you. I have been working on portraying depth. The technique is difficult to master.

[Because it must be right. It must be accurate.]

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer nodded.]

Well, I can do stick figures and not much else, so I say you're still ahead of me. But then again, no matter what I do, I know there's always got to be room to be better at it somehow. So I can understand the desire to improve, too.

[thezerothlaw]

Stick figures are representative. They don't need to be accurate to fulfil their purpose. That does not mean they are not an artform in themselves.

[He looks at Jennifer for a moment, considering.]

Would you permit to attempt your portrait?

[forsometimenow]

Hmmm- I suppose that's true! And every great artist had to begin with the basics. [Her eyes then widened with surprise, and she smiled shyly.] Oh! Sure- I'd like that.

[thezerothlaw]

[Oh. Good. He's hesitant to practice on his shipmates, for fear of offending them, but this is good. Daneel flips to a fresh page.]

Thank you. I find I quite enjoy portraiture.

[forsometimenow]

I've never had my portrait done before, so I hope I'll be an enjoyable subject. [She laughed.] Want me to pose?

[thezerothlaw]

[He shakes his head.]

A pose is a degree of artificiality. I would prefer to depict you as you are, rather than how you might choose to be seen. Just relax, as you are now.

[forsometimenow]

[And that made her go a little red, but she did as he asked.]

I like that... being seen as I am. Maybe next time you'll catch me at work. That's when I feel the most like myself.

[thezerothlaw]

Then perhaps I will attempt such a portrait, another time.

[He works quickly, with precise little lines.]

Let me clarify. You enjoy having a clear purpose?

[forsometimenow]

I do. It's hard to find one here sometimes, since my workload can be inconsistent. It's not like home, where I always had patients to work on.