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as i see it....
the bird is pretty big and a central part of the image. I wouldnt have blurred something so central. Maybe you could have made him sharp, and a tad smaller.
Also, that shadow of his doesnt seem right and you could have probably just done without it.
Its a well done image though ;)
I get you depth of field but I think it hurts the image more than helps it. The bird should have been probably placed elsewhere or not at all. Also I think that the shadow is wrong because we aren't seeing the left side of a structure anymore, we are looking at the front of the structure. At least that is how my eyes are reading in. Therefore the bird should be much bigger, further to te right, and have more of a blur applied. Me tinks ;).
I like the typography in the middle. The kid looks like he has been skewed oddly but I think the concept is there.
Hey Rush - fantastic job with your last volley! The bird-fu guy is so well done it's scary. My nit pick: While I fully appreciate the use of clean and simple text, and what it can do for an image, I would have loved to see the text in this one a little more fancy schmancy, I don't think it commits its fair share of cool factor to an image that deserves to shine in every aspect. This is of course just my opinion. ;)
JWin ~
I like the selective use of color in that one, dude. That certainly does look like something you would want to fly away from. :) The wheels have begun turning for my next one. :cool:
pea ~
That extra light is being generated by the pure and potent forces of creation that Master Bird-Fu is harnessing. That's bright stuff, man! :p (place an invisible point of pure white light about six inches from the center of each of his palms and that's what I was thinking)
Yeah, the wings were an item of much mental debate on my part. I ultimately decided I wanted a more defined edge on the bottom of the wings while having the top of them blend more softly with the clouds to give them a more ethereal appearance. I probably could have lightened the edges just a touch more and still got away with the effect I was looking for. Thanks for giving me your perception on that. :)
ondraedan ~
Lol...bird-fu. :D Thanks, dude. I hear ya on the text. I played around with the idea of a more ornate treatment, but ended up ditching that plan in favor of letting the more subtle sparkles do the talkin'. You read my mind, though. Maybe my next one will lend itself to some more creative typography. Appreciate the crit! :thumbsup:
edit: Speaking of perception, I've gotta ask...did anyone happen to notice the two faces that are in the clouds in my first image? Just call me curious... :cap:
I saw one... right under your text. There's a second face?
It's in the upper right corner, bigger than the one you found. :)
Edit:
Here ya go. This is what it looks like if I increase the opacity a bit. The shot on the right is the exact same thing, but with that layer turned off. Weird that you can still kind of see her face in the clouds, isn't it? :)
http://home.comcast.net/~mudabir/fla...ce_compare.jpg
Alright JWin, I think I'm finally ready to let this one out of the gate. I decided to go in a different direction this time. I thought I would depict what happens when the power to create is used to perpetuate a state of inaction rather than action, leaving one in a stagnant and frozen prison of one's own making.
http://home.comcast.net/~mudabir/fla...in_Volley3.jpg
Personally i'm not a big fan of this image. There doesn't seem to be a focal point prodominent enough to pull my eyes and over all the image just doesn't pop. It looks like the contrast is bumped way up and there is a lack of midtones overall.
The ice cube is pretty cool although the forget text is a bit distracting. Also the copy up the tree branches is quite hard to read.
To each his own and on this one i'm just not feeling it.
Thanks for the crit, pea! :)
Rush, I'm not a big fan of this image either, but I can see where you were going, and the amount of effort put into it.
I'm still in awe of the amoung of conceptualization and thought you put into the message of your images. I think that fact, above most else, is what makes your images feel not just good, but great. The added cohesion between elements in your images just makes them look that much better.
That said, I don't think that this particular image is the best example of that. Although there is cohesion with the winter and the ice block, as well as the plethora of white, I don't think some elements lend well to the image.
The sign on the right hand side looks out of place, and adds colour to an otherwise monochrome-esque image. In my humble opinion, I think that the absence of colour was what was making this image what it was. Additionally, there seems to be a scene going on behind the background, yet I can't tell what it is. Although I'm probably just not intelligent enough to understand the meaning, I feel that it drags my attention away from the main focus of the image.
Another thing that I've heard from others on this board when they try to add unreadable text to images, is that you naturally try to read it. This is especially prevalent when people photomanip newspapers, or letters, or books. In this case, you have text on all of the branches (or most of them). I find myself trying to read what they say, instead of admiring the image as a whole. That said, I think that again, your use of words lends more cohesion to the image, and it just makes the image that much more deep.
What I do like about this image though, is the ice block with the girl inside, and the intimate oubliette text. I feel that you had a great concept going on, but this image may have benefitted more from a stark scenery. One thing that I was thinking after seeing this was to have the ice block and girl on a sort of ice/white canvas background.
Overall, definately better than a lot of other things I have seen, but not your personal best. This is all just my opinion, so take it as you will. :)
Shazaam, dude...that was one hell of a nice crit. I greatly appreciate it. :D :thumbsup:
Yeah, I didn't want to bias anyone's perceptions by mentioning it when I first posted the image, but I wasn't 100% on the text in the tree branches myself. (kudos to the two out of fifty page views who had the stones to tell me what they really thought) I really wanted it to be there, but I had a heck of a time finding both the right font and the right treatment to make it work. In the end I settled for saving the image at a higher quality than usual to help retain legibility of the text. If you zoom it to 200% you should be able to read it if you really wanted to. I felt that what the text said was important enough to the overall concept that perfect or not, I left it in. Seriously appreciate the feedback, though.
Kind of the same thing going on with the sign. This was another element that I thought was fairly key to the concept...a subtle reminder that if not careful we can drown in our own self-imposed miasma of inner turmoil. I toyed with the notion of desaturating it completely, but obviously decided to leave a little bit of color in there. Perhaps you are right in thinking it could have been a less prominent part of the image.
What you can't quite make out behind the trees is an image of a window-lined room filled with rubble and a single door. The door stands directly behind the girl. That blue that is 'bleeding' into the top of the ice cube is from the door. The way this was done was meant to represent the fact that this state is completely self-imposed. Her means of escape from this personal prison lies just behind her and the sharing of color between the door and her cube subtly implies her ever-present connection with it. The water on the bottom is also part of this image.
Once again...superb crit, DaVulf. Thanks, man. :)
For the irrepressibly curious, here is a clear view at what the trees are saying. :)
broken mystery bound in shadow
frost falls in lonely static silence
fearful phantoms restless in quiet abeyance
neglected dreams wetly weeping
memories whisper dim yearnings of a forgotten past
wistful desires frozen in faceless repose
The sign is distracting to me as well but strangely enough the leaf shadows around the same area are really grabbing me. I'm not sure why but I think my eyes are picking them up as "Why are they there" seems like all the leaves that had fallen would have long ago been covered up by snow.
LOL no problem with the crit. I know it isn't as long and detailed as others but it is my thoughts.
Those leaves, oddly enough, started out as a dark vignette that I was going to do around the outer border of the image. I was initially going to darken up the outside of the image to bring the focus in on the girl, but after some playing around I ended up adding a layer mask to that layer then using a leaf-shaped brush on the mask to let the vignette show through in a more subtle fashion. I was really drawn to the symbolism behind the concept of having only the shadowy remnants of leaves, representing a lifeless memory of brighter days past. Remember, this isn't meant to be a 'real' scene, but rather a representation of a state of being. Your expectation of snow-covered leaves is a result of you trying to apply the rules which govern this universe to one where rules do not apply. :)
It helps me to have a reason for adding elements to an image and it is my intention for each individual piece to add to the overall impression I am trying to make. Everyone is going to see something different though, based on their own perception and experience. I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to tell me how my image has impacted them and what they perceive when they view it. So thanks again for giving me your thoughts. :D
Honestly, immediately I wasn't a particular fan of the image, not for any good reason but I think because the style is out of what my eyes like. It's similar to a lot of contemporary music, theres a lot of good interesting stuff going on there but it is harsh and some of the stuff takes a keen ear/eye to pick up. Anyway, I've begun brainstorming so we'll see what I come up with this week.
Lookin' forward to seeing what you come up with, JWin. :)
me think this pic would have been more interesting if the focus was actually on the ice cube. I know the cube is at the center but at the moment it looks a bit busy because the those tree branches. This makes my eyes to keep moving all over the place, and not actually concentrate on the cube.
I would have actually sharpen the details on the ice cube more and loosing up the opacity of the whole surrounding enviornment a bit, not too much but just enough so that my pic will have an ice cube as a focal point (maybe add some daylight FX to the cube just to make it more interesting....or something like that)
Also the placing of the texts on the branches just makes it looks even more 'lost', methink would have been better not to include them at all
...my boss is coming, id better get back to work;)
Good ideas, Juju. Thanks, man! :thumbsup:
lol There are right brained people, there are left brained people, and there are people that pull 50/50. I'm one of those 50/50 people. So it depends on how i'm feeling on a given day as to what i'm going to see first. Is it going to be the logical or the creative ;) I find that I tend to sway more to the logic end in most cases and then see symbology later. So it was nothing against your image by any means. Just the way I proceive things:D
I'm usually pretty 50/50 myself, though I tend to lean a little more to the right for first impressions. Then I'll wander back and forth just to get a good look at things. :D
Gah this week was the least creative I think I've ever felt but thank god for Fridays.
Here ya go!
http://www.jwinmedia.com/psstuff/jvrush3.jpg
I meant to ask you, were the ice cubes a 3d render or a photo? Either way I liked the way they turned out.
Cool stuff, JWin! Understated, but impactful. A nice finish to an entertaining battle. Thanks for taking me on, dude. :cool: :thumbsup:
That cube came from some sxu stock. It's the same one for both the girl and the bird. :)
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/jvrush3.jpg
This comment is so juvenile but... that just looks wrong.
*chuckle*
I wasn't going to say anything...but yeah, I noticed that too :p
its part of her shirt you freaks! Thanks Rush, this was good for me, learned a few new tricks in this battle.
Shuuuuure J ;)
Nice return Jwin. I love the blending on the girl and the wings. I really think you hit it off with the slight shadow from the girl showing on her wings behind her. That really adds some depth. One very slight nitpick about that is that she has a shadow on the ground going at about a 45 degree angle to the NE. If you look at the shadow coming off of her arms and body onto the wings, its at a straight on, or N angle.
Again, that is a really small nitpick, and overall this image is a nice one :thumbsup:.
Hey Rush, if you guys are done this battle, I'd be happy to take you on if you're up for it. :D
Just having a little fun with you, JWin! :p
DaVulf ~
Sure, dude. I'd be willing to commit to three volleys. I'll leave the decision of who you want to start up to you. It doesn't matter to me, but whoever does gets to set the theme (if any) and the rules. Sound good?
Rush, works for me. You want to go ahead and give a start since I know you're much better at coming up with a theme and such. :)
I have to work on my Ct volley now ;).
Alright, give me a few days and I'll see what I can come up with.
Sounds good Rush, I'm looking forward to this :D.
JWin... mind if I step in and critique?
You're pulling out some pretty damn good images dude against Rush... he's bringing out your best. But that's to be expected, he's also very talented.
Now... that last image, I'd suggest a couple of things slightly different. I'm a fan of the layout - it follows the typical "Z" layout where your eyes start in one corner (for us left to right reading cultures, it'll be in the upper left corner for the start, lower right for the finish) - and the text while bold and contrasting against the image doesn't destroy it, nor outweigh it. But it could still be laid out a bit in a more elegant fashion. And you could have actually slipped it to the clearing in the middle and dropped the spacing and ended up with a three line text block instead of a two line block. But... the slight glow adds to the ephemeral look of the image as well.
The "She will guide you" could have been handled a bit better, imho. Just a different font choice, even Humanist521 or PT Bliss would have been a good choice due to their weighted nature and would emulate her thigh to ankle proportions... mmm, sexay legs.
The dead/winter forest looks great, but with the darkened corners, it looks more like a Lomo Holga photo where the corners invariably got dark to the nature of the lenses and creates a focus in the middle... but it looks more like a slight tunnel vision effect here. The tops of the trees have a lot of detail, but it's almost ignored. Heck, the more I think about it, keep the text where you have it... and hide it in the trees a bit perhaps.
There's a bit of fringe pixels on the lower left on the butterfly wings too... very slight, but it keeps drawing my attention to it.
Your masking/composition skills have grown a ton dude. Your text placement needs to be slightly refined - look at Rush's first image to see where text couldn't be placed any better... seriously, it hits the right spot, style, and just fits in where it needs to fit in.
Cool imnage, needs to be refined just a bit - I'm nitpicking - in a few places before it just takes a life of it's own. If anything, I like the image a ton dude. Good work!
thanks gerbs I was hopin you would poke in. Another thing which has been brought up before is perfect shading is still somewhat eluding me. I also think I need to break out and do more abstract images.
As an aside what do you mean about having the text hide in the trees? Like have it actually behind some trees in the depth field? These are the kinds of things I need to start conceptualizing and execute now that I'm starting to be less hindered by my PS skills.
Yep... mask out a tree or two, place the text behind it but not obscure the text... add a bit of a homegrown shadow - forget layer styles dude, go hand-built layers all the way for the control - and your text in that image would have been a bit more "worked in"...
I can show a copy if need be... but I tend to do things with text like hide it or something as such to make it look more integrated. Not a big fan of having the text overpower the image and that boldness in your text almost did just that.
Super impressive image JWin! I really like it :)
Thanks O!
Awesome image Jwin -
I'm new here but would you mind running through it as in , Did you make the Buttlerfly wings or did you take them from a pic? The source pic, how does it look? What tools did you use to cut out the wings and put it on the chick etc?
That would rock man, nothing deep just briefly plz
This is really quick and dirty, if you got any questions feel free to ask. All work is done in photoshop.
http://www.straightaheadmedia.com/Storage/GirlTut1.jpg
You got your image on a background so create a new layer mask so we can mask out the background. This example is easy since it's on a white background but its not much harder taking objects out of complex backgrounds.
http://www.straightaheadmedia.com/Storage/GirlTut2.jpg
Then use the paint brush to paint on the mask using black to 'erase' everything you don't want. This is good cause if you screw something up you can flip the brush color to white and paint everything back in.
http://www.straightaheadmedia.com/Storage/GirlTut3.jpg
And you can see I just dropped the butterfly on the background, positioned the girl on top of it and added a slight shadow for depth.
Glad you liked it and I hope this helps.
Not to steal your thunder but if you are ****e with the mouse and/or don't feel like tracing the entire contour, you can duplicate the butterfly, drop it to grayscale, up the contrast to get a completely white bg, completely black butterfly. Then inverse the image to get a white butterfly on a black bg. Copy entire image to a new alpha channel. Ctrl-click alpha channel to get a masked selection, go back to the original butterfly, add a new layer mask with the selection still intact and there you go. More steps but considerably much less time. To each his own.
Shweet little tut, JWin. :thumbsup: