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MarahScott — old chest

Published: 2010-12-01 04:33:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 1376; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 31
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Description this is my entry to 's Old Chest Contest [link] to create a manipulation based on the poem The light bounces off an old chest in the corner,  A thick film of dust adorns it, sparkling in the sun,  Outlines of the once beautiful craving dot the top,  And all but one of the handles remains on the side.  Years of neglect has turned this treasure trove so,  But today this would reveal its contents,  As this hand shall dust off the years from this chest.  The cloth quickly turns brown from white,  Nothing that a flick of the hand can't cure,  Slowly but steadily the grime dirt starts to come off,  Thus showing the intricate cuts beneath.  Inside it are the remains of the world that by

edit:
I won honorable mention in the contest 's Old Chest Contest advanced catagory.

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gorgeous little black cat is from
model
chest
model in painting
painting frame
cameo
journal
books
pages
necklace
tree
room
background outside window
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Comments: 28

Nataly-Stock [2010-12-23 16:31:14 +0000 UTC]

beautiful. thanks for using my stock

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MarahScott In reply to Nataly-Stock [2010-12-31 21:59:28 +0000 UTC]

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kitiekat4U [2010-12-12 19:35:30 +0000 UTC]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! you have won honorable mention in the contest advanced. you are given this wonderful award that you can put in the description area of you wonderful piece with what place you won. You are also given the right to join and place your wonderful work at this very exclusive group this is for you dear

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Gagilend [2010-12-11 19:36:17 +0000 UTC]

interesting idea

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MarahScott In reply to Gagilend [2010-12-14 01:17:03 +0000 UTC]

thank you, the idea actually is inspired by a short story.

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kitiekat4U [2010-12-08 03:00:11 +0000 UTC]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! on your first entry. wow this is so fantastic. it really looks like an old attic. oooh i love the paper falling out of the book. great idea. because this is a learning group we always critique the work presented and i hope you don't feel like we are hurting your feelings. we do this because we want you to be the best at what you do and in turn we learn also. i think the choice of stock is wonderful. ok lets see. hmm. great job on the lighting. you used the light coming from the window as your source. hmm possibly the light on the book the model is holding is a little to bright. if you look at the papers falling out and the book you will see the difference. ooooh what a wonderful picture of a lady hmm she could be a mother or possibly an aunt. oh wow that poor old attic it has a tree growing in it hahaha fantastic. wow i can just sit here looking at this and keep finding something else. wonderful wonderful.

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Cynnalia [2010-12-06 18:58:14 +0000 UTC]

What a wonderful collection of stock to tell the story! The only thing that really sticks out for me is the photograph in the frame - it is so crisp and bright...a very slight desaturation and a subtle vintage texture overlay might help incorporate that more into the scene, but regardless - well done!

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AnOtherSunrise [2010-12-06 17:06:51 +0000 UTC]

Good job!
I think the old space and the tree in the corner are very well done. The rest is also good, but the books look a bit unreal, cause they seem to be too small.
I like the effect, that the girl in the mirrow has the same necklace like the girl in the foreground, even the necklet is a bit too big^^
All in all the picture is a piece of wonderful work! *thumbs up*

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Capoodra [2010-12-06 04:48:38 +0000 UTC]

Very nice job
It is very gently and calm. I like that about it.
The cutting out is a bit rough and the is a lack of shadows that is very crucial to make a manip look real.
But good manip and good luck

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svoja-i-nicija [2010-12-05 22:36:15 +0000 UTC]

Lovely! It’s wonderful chaos!
I’m not used to critiquing, but here is my best try:
Color combination is nice. I like red and gold details, book is perfect, but that portrait in the background is a little bit to saturated, its distracting. Adding more shadow in entire picture would make it brilliant!
What I absolutely adore is effect you made by adding that misty view through window!
Falling papers are nice touch.

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MaureenOlder [2010-12-05 21:35:46 +0000 UTC]

this is very beautiful!!!

to me the tree is wonderfully place but should be darker as the light is coming from be hind, and the picture to needs darkening. Shadows need to be placed under table and a little around the books.

but well done, beatiful work

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streamline69 [2010-12-05 14:58:35 +0000 UTC]

The picture got my attention with an unusual colour scheme. Red and blue elements, combined with white lighting - that's doing the job! You made good work with picking the right stock images and composing them in a way, which tell the story really well.

Yet, I have a few suggestions. First of all, the red elements (portrait in the corner, necklace, books next to the chest, book in the hand of the model) - as someone pointed out previously - are drawing the attention at first glance. Human mind is constructed this way, and there's no way to avoid it . The book itself seems to be an important part and actually should draw the glances, but all the other objects would use more blending (I would advise experimenting with curves and hue/saturation filters).

The blueish/white fringe at the tree outline makes it stand out and not blend well with the surroundings (in PS, Layers=>Matting=>Defringe should help, at least a bit). Also, a bit of a tree branch seems to be hidden behind the window frame, I'm not sure whether it's intetional or not. If it is - well - the part of the branch outside the window should be much brighter, mathcing the colour with the other branches visible there.

The draped cloth in the corner could use some more shading, especially in next to the wall, which is almost black. The same goes for the girl right hand.

I'm also not sure about the blurred pages falling out of the book. The blur suggest motion, which is good. But it makes all the other elements of the scene too static - the model looks more like a frozen in time statue than a real human being.

I know, it looks like a whole list of complaints on my side, but these are only details, easy to fix and even easier to be avoided in the future

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kitiekat4U In reply to streamline69 [2010-12-08 02:46:14 +0000 UTC]

wow that is a great idea using layers-matting-defring. i think i'm going to have to try that one.

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streamline69 In reply to kitiekat4U [2010-12-08 03:01:21 +0000 UTC]


I've discovered that some time ago and now using it extensively, saves a lot of work.

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kitiekat4U In reply to streamline69 [2010-12-08 14:49:01 +0000 UTC]

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Kuoma-stock [2010-12-02 15:17:50 +0000 UTC]

So beautiful!

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MarahScott In reply to Kuoma-stock [2010-12-03 07:02:14 +0000 UTC]

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SiNg0d [2010-12-01 13:17:51 +0000 UTC]

Great job! The extra detailing is wonderful! Loved it!

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MarahScott In reply to SiNg0d [2010-12-03 07:02:23 +0000 UTC]

thank you so much!

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da-joint-stock [2010-12-01 12:46:43 +0000 UTC]

Nice work! Great how you've adjusted the lighting to match the scene!

I do have a few suggestions though...

-There are a few things that jumped out at me immediately, which is good, but you don't want them to hold your attention for too long. The woman's necklace, the emblem on the diary, the books beside the chest, and the picture and frame on the left draw a lot of attention. For this sort of scene, I'd suggest making those objects sort of like 'extras' - things that you can see if you continue looking at the scene.

-For the picture on the left and the books on the right, try reducingthe Saturation a bit and perhaps the Contrast slightly. You want to make them look older and untouched and draw less attetion.

-As for her necklace and the emblem on the diary, lowering the Saturation a bit should work. If not, try also darkening them a bit.

-My only other suggestion is to try to clean up the edges of the tree - the edges have a lot of residue from the original background and it takes away from the surreality of the scene.

Otherwise, excellent work!
Good luck for the Contest!

Dan

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MarahScott In reply to da-joint-stock [2010-12-03 07:01:55 +0000 UTC]

thank you dear!

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da-joint-stock In reply to MarahScott [2010-12-03 11:44:32 +0000 UTC]

Not a problem

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CindysArt [2010-12-01 09:42:06 +0000 UTC]

wow! Amazing work!

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MarahScott In reply to CindysArt [2010-12-03 07:02:00 +0000 UTC]

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JoeDiamondD [2010-12-01 06:16:25 +0000 UTC]

Nice work my dear

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MarahScott In reply to JoeDiamondD [2010-12-01 07:50:48 +0000 UTC]

thank you all your support really makes my day

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CathleenTarawhiti [2010-12-01 04:46:32 +0000 UTC]

That's beautiful! Good luck

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MarahScott In reply to CathleenTarawhiti [2010-12-01 05:29:46 +0000 UTC]

thank you so much!

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