| » Forum Index » The Friday Challenge » Topic: Contest 219: Out of body experience |
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Posted on 14/10/08 8:43:25 PM |
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james
Surreal Spoofer Posts: 1194 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Scott, Marion, Neal. Thank you. Michael. Not your usual forte but very funny.  |
Posted on 16/10/08 1:59:26 PM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Really great entries as usual. Have run out of time as usual!  |
Posted on 16/10/08 8:10:43 PM |
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josephine harvatt
Gag Gadgeteer Posts: 2603 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
I used a garbled and time consuming way too if its any consolation ! _________________ I'm not really bad - I just draw that way |
Posted on 17/10/08 08:54:07 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7025 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
We've all seen this kind of 'out of body' image before, but as with so many techniques, it's not until you actually have a go at it that you discover how difficult it really is. First up was Gerard, with an excellent placement - great lighting, good shading on the body, and a great job removing the hands and head. Couple of issues here: the inside of the neck should be darker, not lighter, than the surrounding shirt. And you've made a common error with the reflection: by lowering the transparency on the reflected sleeve, you've allowed us to see the reflected curtain through it. This should, of course, be hidden by the sleeve. Love the carpet motif! A great idea from vibeke, and I love the old telephone. But do I get the idea you didn't get time to finish this one? Inside the neck and sleeves, for example - and he could do with a reflection! So gaoxiguo blames the translation for his lack of understanding of the idea - but I think he is playing games with us. This is a fun, clever image, and I especially like the feet seen through the radiator grille. Good work! The figure in mguyer's entry appears to be kneeling at the end of a mattress. Is this right? Good work remembering that label inside the shirt - but don't forget the shading, and the inside of the cuffs! Some great detail from Nick Curtain - the complex reflections, the shadow of the phone on and in the shirt, the subtle shading inside the sleeves and neck. The banana is a great touch - but lucky he hasn't started eating it, or I'd be looking for traces of chewed banana in the invisible oesophagus... Clever morphing from tooquilos, as our guy attempts to conceal his invisibility. It's only at the end that we see the work that's gone into building the inside of the neck and sleeves. I like the shirt colour, and the fact that you've added a tie! A fantastic view of the sky falling in from brewell - I always wondered what that would look like! There's a great sense of three-dimensionality here that must have been tricky to achieve. Beautiful shading inside the neck and sleeves, a great image altogether. Some excellent detailing from Meltonian: the new watch, the pile of papers, the dock for the cordless phone, the subtle reflections, the window light, the wooden UN plaque, the detail inside the neck, the new tie. My only issue here is that there are strong shadows cast by the chair on the wall, but none from the arm on the suit. Otherwise, this is a great piece of work. So Ben Mills has erstwhile bankers Bradford and Bingley having made a break to sunny Spain. Good luck to them! (For visitors from outside the UK, B and B are two towns which formed the recently defunct Bradford and Bingley building society, and which used to be advertised by two fictional bankers in bowler hats.) Great interiors to the necks! Some fantastic details from maiden: the rubber stamp, the watch, the cigar, the undone tie, the excellent neck interior. This is a really appealing image. My only issues are with the perspective of the chest in the background, and the nitpicking fact that the phone cable should be hanging down under its own weight. Love the added glasses in the second entry. A great top-down view from The Mad Lep - and it looks as if the sleeves and neck interior work well (although one sleeve seems to be rather brown). My only issue here is with the title, which needs to be distorted rather than simply rotated: it doesn't match the perspective of the book. Otherwise - stop agonising! It's a good job! A good close-up from dave.cox, who has obviously studied shirt construction carefully - that panel behind the label is a great addition that didn't occur to me. A great angle on the phone, too, although a touch more shading on the jacket behind would have helped. And perhaps a shadow from the man onto the wall, to tie the two together? There's something deeply affecting about michael sinclair's entry, with the bodyless Ban Ki Moon addressing an empty United Nations. My only small problem here is with the body - wouldn't something that's gesturing more be appropriate? Love the animation in the second entry! Very neat work from Neil O, and I do like the added touch of the guy's legs beneath the desk. They should be rather more in shadow, though, since they're under the desk. Good neck interior, but don't forget the thickness of the sleeve material itself. Great detail from srowden: the tie, the neck interior, the watch, the glasses, the bluetooth headset. (I won't quibble about the tiny cup.) What I like particularly here is the low viewing angle, with the subtlety of the figure seen through the floating glass top to the desk. It's a well composed, enjoyable piece that's well deserving of a much overdue title for you. I think Detail Devil sums up this week's entry. Great work, Scott! Beautiful work from Neal - I especially like the subtlety of the diffuse reflections. And is that smoke we can see being drawn down into the neck? Fantastic stuff - good to see you back, Neal. A great idea from GKB - excellent UN logo on the front of the desk, and it's good to see you've started your own TV station (as, apparently, have I). What's the right hand doing, though? And that's a remarkably slim phone system! Another wonderful animation from james - I love the idea that this guy can change the view with his remove control, and being revealed as a monkey at the end is priceless. Is that a stack of Photoshop books on the desk in front of him? There's some kind of interesting metaphor from mariong - he appears to be juggling pens, his wig still has part of a scalp attached, and that's one very menacing eagle. Overall this is a very accomplished piece of work, but you do have to watch those reflections: we can see his suit through the reflected cup and paperweight. The trick is to put all the reflections into a new group, and lower the transparency of the entire group, rather than lowering each one individually. Good work from Josephine Harvatt, with a well altered suit (although there's something a little odd with the right sleeve) and good reflections on the desk. I like the angle of the phone here, and that's good shading inside the neck - but don't forget the collar is a separate piece of fabric! A very upright pose from katew: the new shirt certainly has a high neck! A very consistent scene, and I like the desk. A shadow beneath the arm, though, would have helped here, I think. Good work inside the neck and sleeves. Great work from Deborah Morley - the reflections, the old phone, the UN flag, all work perfectly. I'd say the interiors of the cuffs might be a little too dark, but well done getting the thickness of the sleeves! Excellent work all round. Some of the best work we've seen here. |
Posted on 17/10/08 09:09:07 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4002 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
[What's the right hand doing, though?] Thanks Steve. You really don't want to know what he is doing - thank heavens for invisibility! Gordon _________________ Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. |
Posted on 17/10/08 09:13:33 AM |
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srowden
Detail Devil Posts: 114 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Like I said, I had a blast making the stock image you gave us invisible, but the hardest part was finding a desk I liked. Detail Devil sums me up perfectly thank you Steve. |
Posted on 17/10/08 09:14:06 AM |
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The Mad Lep
Four-Leafed Fantasist Posts: 323 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thanks for the comments Steve! Text issue duly noted. 
Do we get to see your finished image for the magazine? Pretty please.  |
Posted on 17/10/08 09:21:42 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thanks Steve Good point Celia - your image Steve? You did promise. Nick |
Posted on 17/10/08 09:27:21 AM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thanks Steve. Yes the cable doesn't quite hang quite right, in my defence though I patched the cable together from a small section from the original photo and it sort of found it's own direction  As for the Chest I did think about either leaving this out or trying to change the perspective on the open door as I had already tried to change the perspective from the orginal to fit the scene and the door warped out of shape - But in the end I thought too many alterations to my post(s) would annoy the members. Perhaps I should wait to post until I'm completely finished lol
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Posted on 17/10/08 09:59:20 AM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Many thanks Steve, a difficult Challenge, but as ever have learnt from it. And yes, what was your image like? |
Posted on 17/10/08 10:10:12 AM |
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josephine harvatt
Gag Gadgeteer Posts: 2603 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thank you - I did try and put a collar seam in and a tag but they jumped out too much - also yes, that sleeve was wrong but I couldn't quite work out why 
Better work next time ! _________________ I'm not really bad - I just draw that way |
Posted on 17/10/08 10:45:29 AM |
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katew
Virtual Virtuoso Posts: 681 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thanks Steve. I did a shadow, but I agree that it should have been darker under the sleeve that's resting on the table. The shirt was actually still folded - it was the only one I had time to find (hence the high neck!) |
Posted on 17/10/08 10:55:17 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7025 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Oh, all right - I wasn't going to post it. The magazine editor changed his mind about the cover, so it never made it past the rough stage. Embarrassed to be posting unfinished work, but here it is...  |
Posted on 17/10/08 11:17:33 AM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Very good Steve but if I was nitpicking I'd say where is the shadow under the elbow and do you normally answer the phone with the ear piece facing the wrong way? hehe little minx that I am |
Posted on 17/10/08 11:19:57 AM |
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The Mad Lep
Four-Leafed Fantasist Posts: 323 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
 !!!
That's a rough stage?! I think I'll run away and take up gardening. I couldn't even hope to match that. I love the way you've kept it simple, you've included what they asked for without the desk and phone distracting the eye from the main focus point, that's fab. Love the desk plaque.
Seriously cool Steve, thanks for posting it for us. (Even if it makes me envy you even more now.  ) |
Posted on 17/10/08 11:55:34 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2898 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thank you Steve. Rough stage?  Steve that is brilliant!  |
Posted on 17/10/08 12:19:49 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7025 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
That's exactly what I mean, Becky - it's unfinished. If they'd decided to go for this one I'd have photographed a new phone from a different angle, fixed the shadows, added some texture inside the neck... |
Posted on 17/10/08 2:36:10 PM |
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Neal
Master Manipulator Posts: 322 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Wow, that's fantastic Steve! Is that how your projects go, you submit a detailed, but unfinished, montage? And if the editors like the idea, you do finished version? Is the rough done in hi-res (300ppi) or low-res? |
Posted on 17/10/08 3:50:05 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7025 Reply |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Good questions, Neal. If there's time, editors will sometimes want to see a rough first. In the case of a regular illustrator this will generally be a pencil sketch, but it doesn't work that way for photomontage: anything less than nearly-finished artwork will look terrible. So what I always tell people is that I'll go ahead and do the image, and then they can make changes once they've seen it. I always work at full resolution, otherwise I'd only have to redo the artwork later if they say they like it. |
Posted on 17/10/08 6:45:33 PM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Contest 219: Out of body experience
Thanks Steve, The shading to create the panels was kind of fiddley, but having the stylus really helps. Also, as you noticed, finding a phone at the correct angle isn't easy, and that's not an easy angle to photograph either. I ended up creating it as a model in 3DS Max. Hmmm, I see what you mean about the shading on the jacket, and the shadow on the wall.
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I found it really difficult and time consuming, and I know there has to be an easier method than the garbled way I used.