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Posted on 18/03/11 7:00:22 PM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply  |
Horses for Courses
Well, after telling a friend who has a Design company that I was changing my Degree to Graphic Design, he set me my first challenge. This is the original image he sent me: 
The two things that need changing are the front horse must be white and the fence at the front must be black. |
Posted on 18/03/11 7:01:37 PM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
I took out the original front horse and replaced it with a white one (that should be grey for any horsey types here  ), which he said is fine as part of the brief.
I am fairly happy with it and it seems to my eyes to fit naturally but any comments on this change would be gratefully received. Eta: just noticed the white horse was a little high from shadow, which I have corrected. 
The main problem I have now is how to change the fence to black naturally, with the grass staying as it is. Any idea, folks? |
Posted on 18/03/11 7:40:40 PM |
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Jota120
Ingenious Inventor Posts: 2615 Reply  |
Re: Horses for Courses
James, Welcome to the Forum! For the fence, not sure if this is what you want.... One very quick way is using Layer Style - Blending mode. Duplicate the background. Below that create a black filled layer. On the new duplicated layer, double click to bring up Layer Style - Blending. On the top Blend if white slider shift it down until black starts to replace the white fence. Alt click on the slider to break into two independent sliders and shift the two halves to get a nice smooth effect. The white horse will start to get contaminated and the other fence, don't worry. Go to the black layer, create mask (reveal all) and just paint black 100% on the mask to remove. Add a bit of Gaussian Blur to black layer to make it look more photographic and change the opacity to say 85% You can tune it from there to remove some artefacts maybe and maybe with very soft brush low percentage, paint on the mask to bring a more natural effect. Using Channels with mask, will give you more precise control, but will be longer process. Above is very quick solution. Trevor 
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Posted on 18/03/11 7:43:18 PM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply  |
Re: Horses for Courses
Hello James, The grey pony looks a bit too high up for its size, either increase its size or bring it lower down in the picture. Welcome to the Forum! |
Posted on 18/03/11 9:21:53 PM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Brilliant Trevor. It looks exactly like what was described. I'll print out your instructions and try it on the full size image. Deborah, thanks for the tip. Thank you both for the kind welcomes. |
Posted on 19/03/11 02:41:17 AM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Well, I had a go tonight and it seems to have gone okay: 
The problem is the front fence even in white in the original image looks fake. I added some highlights to the front fence and shadows to the back to give them some definition. Now to wait and see if it's what my friend and his client wanted. |
Posted on 19/03/11 09:19:50 AM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Hello James, I might be an idea if the grey horses hooves were slightly obscured by grass. Make a layer mask, load up the horse, inverse the selection and fill with black. Then using a very small smudge brush; on the mask bring some bits of grass back in around the hooves. The grass in front of the fence: it is well worth taking the time to photograph a few clumps of grass, and then very boringly cutting them out. You will use them many times and they will cover a multitude of sins. |
Posted on 19/03/11 10:01:43 AM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Great ideas! I intend to keep taking photographs, even once I start my new course, to build up a stock library of images to use in the future. I love the idea of using grass to "cover a multitude of sins". Very much like my black T-shirts and my belly. 
My friend got back to me and barring a couple of slight things he'd like changed he seems very happy. Well, he said I had managed to create that image (with the kind help of Trevor & Deborah) in one day, when he had been trying to get it done for about two weeks. I think the could be the beginning of a beautiful working relationship. |
Posted on 19/03/11 4:51:34 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Horses for Courses
James 1) Agree with Deborah. The smudged mask will make the hooves settle into the grass. 2) Look at the shadow of the original horse and that of the horse to the right, they are much more defined than that for the replacement horse. I've found a good way to create shadow is to create a new Hue and Sat adjustment layer and adjust the lightness and hue to match the existing shadows. Fill the mask with black and define the shadow with a semi hard white brush. Any mistakes can be rectified by painting black again. Hope this helps. Nick |
Posted on 19/03/11 8:09:21 PM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Cheers Nick. Thanks for the tips. |
Posted on 20/03/11 3:15:06 PM |
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zombie67
** Posts: 75 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Well, had a go at sorting out the hooves and the shadow and also added some grass stalks in front of the fence to add depth. I realised I had left out the bottom of the front fence post which made the fence look like it was floating, so I added that in with some extra grass to "hide" it a bit. My friend seems happy and hopefully so will his clients. Thanks again to Trevor, Deborah and Nick for the tips.  |
Posted on 20/03/11 9:22:28 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Looks pretty good to me James - well done. Nick |
Posted on 20/03/11 11:59:22 PM |
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Jota120
Ingenious Inventor Posts: 2615 Reply |
Re: Horses for Courses
Looks good James and I like the refinements. Here we go ...
Trevor |