RUSHVision vs. JWIN :: Flights of Fantasy

[RUSHVision]

Sapphire sunset sings twilight's breeze
an earthbound traveller sits quietly among the trees

His mind flies unfettered through the world of his dreams
to a place without limits where nothing is what it seems

Now get crackin', JWin!

[JWin]

I rushed this just a tiiiiiny bit to get things moving. If I missed one of the requirements just tell me and I'll do better for the next one.

[EVPohovich]

Actually this is one of the best images I've seen from you JWin. I really like the fontitude going on there.

I do have to say that the wings could have been placed on the horse with a little more care. Maybe make the horse's hair cross over a tad to make it look like it wasn't just cat and placed there. Other than that I really like this image.

Nice work.

[RUSHVision]

Cool stuff, JWin.

Don't be afraid to take your time, though. I'm eager to do this, but I'm really in no hurry. Other than some rather minor lighting discrepencies in regard to the difference in intensity between the horse and the city, I think the waterfall could have had a slightly more subtle transition between the rocks and the clouds. I really like the way the city and the bottom of the horse blends, though. That was quite nicely done.

Great job!

I'll get started on my return. Don't be surprised if it takes a bit longer than yours, though.

JWin, here's a quick question...how are you masking out the rocks and waterfall? Are you using Layer Masks or a different technique?

[RUSHVision]

If I missed one of the requirements just tell me and I'll do better for the next one.

Kind of, but I know this is a very nebulous concept that can be hard to wrap your head around so I'm not going to enforce strict adherence to guidelines that are probably only clear in my head. I will strive to further clarify them, though.

So the one thing that might be in conflict with the initial guidelines I set forth would be the fact that we can't see who is responsible for creating this little piece of altered reality.

By this I mean I would like to see some kind of being (doesn't necessarily have to be human) directly (or indirectly) responsible for said act.

So I would like to see someone or something responsible for what is happening, but it doesn't have to be human. This is all based on the fact that I would like to actually see the source of the imagination or creation. The whole idea of this battle is based on the potential of the willfully directed creative mind. I don't just want to see something happening, I also want to see who is making it happen.

Therein lies the 'conflict', if you will...unless the horse is responsible for creating this scene (which would be cool according to the rules since the source doesn't have to be human, but it's not terribly obvious that it is), then what your image lacks is that it does not show the source of the creation.

So like I said, it's all good, I just thought I would help clarify the concept for later rounds.

[Saint Benedetta]

JWin, I really like the clearness and concept behind the image.
Just some more work on blending together elements ie the wings on the horse or the waterfall scene on the bottom so that they are more seamless. I find something like erasing out some areas with low opacity (using a mask) helps.

[JWin]

I agree with everything, thanks guys. Them damn wings, thats what the whole image started from, I tried burning, opacity masking, bleh, maybe some healing brush action to blend the brown into the white more naturally?

Anyway, maybe I'll put 2 days into it next time . Actually I will try to slow myself down quite a bit more.

JWin, here's a quick question...how are you masking out the rocks and waterfall? Are you using Layer Masks or a different technique?

A lot (most) of the cloud stuff was done switching between a solid basic brush for coarse erasing, then to get the fluffy stuff I used one of the default PS watercolor brushes for the eraser and then the smudge tool with some random brushy thing to get the spindrals er swoopy things.

[DaVulf]

I agree with everything, thanks guys. Them damn wings, thats what the whole image started from, I tried burning, opacity masking, bleh, maybe some healing brush action to blend the brown into the white more naturally?

Another thing that you might want to take into consideration is the actual colour of the wings. Would a brown horse have white wings? Probably not. In that respect, maybe a white horse would have worked better. Most likely not, as then there would be too much white in the image. To combat this, adding a colour over the wings may have helped the blending. As for blending a little bit better, there are several ways. One is to grab a really thin brush (1-2px) at about 50% hardness and draw lines out over the wings. Then, you just smudge them into a more hairlike shape. This tends to work a little better if you have a tablet, but it is still fine without.

Now, the lighting in the image is coming from several different angles. The city, the horse, and the waterfall have different light sources. Luckily, the horse and the city look fine blended into the clouds, and the lighting matches fine between them.

As far as the waterfall is concerned, I think that the edge is too soft and blurry. I think using the wispy clouds like you did with the city would have had a better effect. Using a brush (eraser if not masking) at less than 100% opacity with low hardness should give a more 'cloudy' feeling around the edges. This can lend to a more blended feeling. It looks like you used that on the city, which is why it ended up blending so nicely.

I think that the typography is really well done, and if the horse/waterfall were not in the image, that it would have been very well composed. Those little things detract from the image overall, and make it a good image instead of an excellent image.

Keep up the good work Jwin, you will be back in the swing of things soon enough.

[RUSHVision]

JWin ~
Instead of erasing...pretty much anything...I would recommend using Layer Masks.

To begin just go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Make sure you have clicked on the thumb of the mask in the layer palette rather than the thumb of the image (though this will be active by default when you first create the mask), then 'erasing' is done by painting with pure black using a brush on the layer mask. Pure white will allow the full transparency of the image to show through (this is the default state of the 'reveal all' mask...a pure white layer...while a 'hide all' mask would be completely black), and varying shades of grey represent various levels of transparency.

So think about all the cool things you can do with this technique that you can't if you use the eraser. The entire image is always there for you to work with if you ever want to put any part of it back, and there are plenty of times when you do. This would have made blending the rocks into the clouds by the waterfall a much easier task because you could have simply brightened up the mask around the edges to let more of the rocks show through the clouds. The blending that you managed to get with the city where it meets the clouds is more along the lines of the quality one would expect from the use of a layer mask. I was kind of surprised that you got that with erasing, so you did a great job on that.

Keep in mind also that you can use all kinds of tools on the mask, even filters. One thing I like to do once I have done the basic masking with the Brush Tool is to use the Dodge and Burn Tools on the mask to lighten or darken it (letting more or less of the image show through). This will often allow for far more subtle manipulation of the mask than you can get by using the brush.

Seriously...everyone...give Layer Masks a shot if you haven't already.

[JWin]

ooooo, new things frighten me.

I usually just dupe everything I'm afraid I might screw up. I think what happened with the waterfall is I said oh, its far away it doesn't need to be as fluffy and clear, merged the cloud with the rocks and just used the smudge

That said, thanks for the explanation, I always kinda knew how it worked but never really considered how useful it could actually be. I will be sure to use some hip masking action in the next one, I hear all the cool kids are doin it!

[DaVulf]

ooooo, new things frighten me.

I usually just dupe everything I'm afraid I might screw up. I think what happened with the waterfall is I said oh, its far away it doesn't need to be as fluffy and clear, merged the cloud with the rocks and just used the smudge

That said, thanks for the explanation, I always kinda knew how it worked but never really considered how useful it could actually be. I will be sure to use some hip masking action in the next one, I hear all the cool kids are doin it!

You can also use a clipping mask on soft light to dodge/burn non-destructively. Use a lower opacity brush and paint.

For the waterfall, it actually looks in the very forefront of the image to me. Maybe that is why I have the issue.

[RUSHVision]

I hear ya, I used to use the duplicate and erase technique myself, and I have to say that erasing has got nothin' on layer masks. Erasing still has it's place, but I can guarantee that your work will improve once you start using and recognize the power of layer masks. One of the greatest things about them is that they are so easy to use! You're basically just painting transparency by using various methods to adjust a greyscale. And instead of an eraser, you use a brush that can either take things away or put them back on. It's nothing short of digital magic, I'm tellin' ya.

<looks around furtively> pssssst...wanna know a secret? One of the (many) keys to gerbick's success with his images and his type treatment is his use of layer masks.

[RUSHVision]

*thwap!* Back at ya, JWin.

[JWin]

ooooo, tasty. Maybe could dropped the saturation on the blues in the dude a little but I like it. After I get home and take a nap I'll start brainstorming.

./edit
Kick arse name change. There will almost definately be a reference to it in my next image.

[pea3698]

Very nice image. love your use of white in this one. I do have to aggree with JWin and one other thing that catches my eye is the sharpness of the wings, the rest of the image has a nice soft edge the wings are crisp edged... Also the lighting on the guys arms seems alot harsher than the rest of the image. That is being nitpicky though.

[JWin]

double name change? I guess no more beatles reference

[RUSHVision]

The new title is far more indicative of the true theme as originally put forth. If you can make the Beatles a part of that, then feel free.

[JWin]

somehow managed to tie this into both titles. Anyway, it's a little more subtle but for me its the kid imagining himself as the Blue Jay to fly a way from his substandard life.

[Dricciotti]

I think the text in the center is well done and goes good with the background. The kid and the blue jay dont seem to fit in very well though. The bird looks a little blurry.

[JWin]

The bird looks a little blurry.

The wall to the right of the bird is blurry and I figure the bird is about as far away as that wall. So with that said, I figured it was best to keep the depth of field as accurate as possible so I put a 1 pixel blur on him. Was that no good?