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without-uprising In reply to Dawnfad [2011-10-29 15:03:00 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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without-uprising In reply to RubyTheTigress [2011-02-20 02:30:10 +0000 UTC]

That's actually really nice!
I've been considering making a photomanip guide for some time, but my method is so stylistic it'd be difficult to make a generic one. That, and I'm not the best person to ask.
But I'd be glad to help you if you want!


That's good for one of your first tries!
Although, to be honest, I'd recommend only using two pictures when you're starting off since things get complicated and it's hard to integrate- but you did great anyways!




Most important thing is finding good STOCK. Large, high-quality images that are stock images specifically work best, and if you don't find the pose or bg you want, either keep looking, or combine pictures.


First thing I do is to use the lasso tool and take out a chunk of whatever animal it is and plop it onto the bg. I then erase the bg that's around the animal until you get a chunky form.

Now's one of the tricky parts. I usually go to Image>Adjustments and play with curves, levels, color balance, & brightness and contrast. However, until you really get a grasp on that, try one or two or do Auto Levels/Color/Contrast, or just do Brightness and contrast. Do this for both the background and the subject until they appear to have the same lighting and such. You can add shadows and highlights later with Dodge, Burn, and painting it on.

After that, I smudge the edges of it, using 3px & 1px brushes at varying strength for what you want.
When that's done, I duplicate the layer, go to Filter>Artistic>Dry Brush and use that, and put the dry brush layer on top of the original, and set it to whatever opacity looks right. Then, I flatten those two layers and do Filer>Sharpen>Sharpen.
Do the same dry brush duplicate effect on the bg, flatten, and then I usually blur around the edges of the image, with the subject and its immediate vicinity not blurred so your focus is there. Make it gradual and how your eye or a camera would capture it, not like 100% blue everywhere but an inch from the subject - that doesn't look real.

When I'm done with that, I go to color balance and play with both the subject and background to make the colors match ( it's easier to do this step now instead of when you do lighting in my opinion, because colors are much more eye-catching than the lighting, so you want your piece close to the finish so you can tell. ). A tip for this is to go to shadows, and make the shadows a bit more blue, and the highlights a bit more orange for both, or use contrasting colors. Or, to be honest, do whatever you want, but keep the color wheel in mind.

At this point, make the subject blend intot he background by adding shadows & effects on the feet or wherever it touches.
After the image looks basically finished, I tweak curves a bit more, play with positioning, and then add effects. For effects, I usually just do different layers, and add gradients of black ( like in this image. ) or with gradient colors like in [link] Play with layer settings like overlay, and just scroll through the list to find things you want.

When you're finished with this, sometimes I add brush effects ( lightly, it looks terrible if you add to much stuff - usually I pick abstract or grunge brushes with no definite shape and just pick colors I want to add shadows and highlights. ) and if you really want, add a texture on top ( except I usually erase away where my subject is so that the focus is on the subject, not the texture. ).
I always add a border, but that's your choice. xD





Hope that helped a bit. You did really well with integrating the subjects into the background, although maybe experimenting with colors & filters might be good. The bear's butt is also semi-opaque, which looks cool, but IDK if it's intentional or not. xD
Keep practicing though!

Also, Ruby, IDK why I don't have you added on msn. Withy.ink@gmail.com and I can help you more if you'd like?

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RubyTheTigress In reply to without-uprising [2011-02-20 03:01:09 +0000 UTC]

Woah. O.O /tl;dr

x3 Kidding. Thanks for the advice! Woo!! I actually did do a lot of what you mentioned, though not the "dry brush" thing or as in-depth of the color adjustments. I'm unfortunately stuck with PS Elements, so my specific editing features are limited. -.-'

I shall try again in the near future using your tips C: I'm sure if you got your lazybutt up and made a tutorial, a lot of people would find it helpful! HURR.

Hah, idk either! D: Not usually online [too busy, yayz] so DA might be a better resource. But surewhynot. rubythetigress@hotmail.com :3

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without-uprising In reply to RubyTheTigress [2011-02-20 08:03:37 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I saw.
But just work a bit more with integration, which to be honest is the hardest part. And IDK about elements since I'm using CS2. D: But you should have the smudge tool, blur tool, sharpen, etc. if not the dry brush filter. Play around with other filters and opacity to see if that helps, too.
YEAH YOU SHOULD MANIP MORE. SRS.
It's more fun than drawing in my opinion.
AND LOL.

K. Well, you can note me if you want and we're not on msn at the same time. D8

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RubyTheTigress In reply to without-uprising [2011-02-20 18:41:52 +0000 UTC]

Sounds good :3 I'll letcha know when I do another. <3

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