staring at challenge 16....

JAG

for a week now...this is what I have. I am getting blurried eyed. Let me know the flaws PLEASE! 5 photographs were used in the making of this image.


EDITED..
Ok...last play of it...tried some changes mentioned here but I am still likeing the second one posted here. What do you think?

FINAL FINAL EDIT: WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE BETTER??
1.


2.

JAG

WOW! 121 looks and not 1 comment! This really must have flopped!

aj986s

I think its a cool image you've put together. However, I'm finding the arm coming out of the TV and the picture on the TV screen are disjointed for me. The idea is cool, but I think a different TV image might help; something that lends more credibility to the arm.

MrsCue

I made a comment like yours about the views and the comments lol.
Maybe everyone is still numb from Christmas haha. I know I am.

I'm still stumped with my entry too. I'm still not sure whether to enter. The standard of work on here is amazing.

And what you have created here is incredible.
I dunno, maybe lower the opacity of the little girl and increase the opacity of her spirit.
Bare in mind it's just a suggestion. I still like it as it is.

divamum

JAG wrote:

WOW! 121 looks and not 1 comment! This really must have flopped!

I saw it last night but it was too late in this timezone to write coherently.... (most of the posts i've answered since then required less thought than a critique

I think it's pretty cool, actually, and I like the version you have up there now more than the original - more contrast, more colour and it's easier to see (on my monitor) exactly what's going on.

The only thing which still confuses me visually is what i now see is the side of a person in the monitor - initially it just looked like an abstract (particularly at the bottom - is it sort of a medieval tunic, or skirt?) with an arm coming out of the monitor. Can the figure/body be even clearer still?

I know not everybody in here likes composites, but I think when they're well done like this they're very cool!

JAG

Thanks all who have answered. Do you think this is too heavy on the composition side?

The arm is not necessarily from the pirate...but almost like a metaphore for any game that snatches our childrens lives away because thats all they want to do.

Diva...not sure if you are talking about the pirate over on the right bottom of the screen? Or the distortion I did to make it look liquid?

divamum

JAG wrote:

Thanks all who have answered. Do you think this is too heavy on the composition side?

The arm is not necessarily from the pirate...but almost like a metaphore for any game that snatches our childrens lives away because thats all they want to do.

Diva...not sure if you are talking about the pirate over on the right bottom of the screen? Or the distortion I did to make it look liquid?

Gahh.... it's a FACE! I didn't even realise that until you described it above - yes, the guy in the bottom r of the monitor (I thought it was a tunic or something). Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I think the message is crystal clear ... and one worth saying over and over!! Do you have a title for it yet?

JAG

divamum wrote:

Gahh.... it's a FACE! I didn't even realise that until you described it above - yes, the guy in the bottom r of the monitor (I thought it was a tunic or something). Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I think the message is crystal clear ... and one worth saying over and over!! Do you have a title for it yet?

Yes I call it "Soul Snatcher".

The arm is not from the pirate itself but a metaphor for our childrens souls being snatched by these games that they play.

richtersl

Great composite work, Joyce!

The expression on the little girl's face is priceless.

The "spirit" part of the little girl bugs me, though. It would be nice if you can get her a bit whiter/brighter and also give her a slight glow. Also, since she's being sucked out of her body, some motion blur would also look really cool.

Kwarta

richtersl wrote:

Great composite work, Joyce!

The expression on the little girl's face is priceless.

The "spirit" part of the little girl bugs me, though. It would be nice if you can get her a bit whiter/brighter and also give her a slight glow. Also, since she's being sucked out of her body, some motion blur would also look really cool.

But very cool..

JAG

Thanks for commenting Linda and Kwarta. I posted an edit in the first post. I am not sure its looking any better. I might try again tomorrow...but we see.

heatherfeather

Hey ya neighbor. I love the idea and your most recent edit is my fav of the set.
If it were me, I would play with Little One's Skin tones some more and get some more orange/ yellows in there. Also, I would make the arm match the color of the screen somehow. Maybe that color of blue that the water behind the pirate on the screen is? Right now it is so disconnected from the tv, it doesn't look like anything but a masked in black and white arm. It should look like a part of the TV coming after her. Try the smudge tool on the end of the arm closest to the TV and swirl it in? I am full of ideas, so just throw out what you want of course.

Trevlan

I'm no expert photographer, but I am an expert gamer. What's on screen looks nothing like a nintendo 64 game. I would, put something like a resident evil screenshot on the monitor. That would totally own. The concept is great Jag, but the picture in the monitor doesn't look like it would drain the soul of a child.

I would put a horror/survival game on the monitor and call it,"That's what you get." Good luck. ;-)

JAG

Thanks for the input Heather and Trevlan. Actually last night I did a new rework. I actually did do the arm in the color of the screen...but I haven't posted that one yet. The reason the girl has the blue hue is because of supposidly the reflection of the screen color is on her. You know how it is when kids sit in the dark and play games or watch tv...the skin tones constantly change.

As for the game she is playing. Seeing that she is young...this particular game was the roughest one she owns....its called pirates and is on her wii she got for Christmas. Had I tried to conjole my older grown up children to pose for me...I would have used one of their games which is far too graphic for such young eyes. But the soul snatching can start here.....I am wondering if I made the correct choice in getting her a wii. I am setting strict limits...but my older kids have been lost already to this horrible curse of the game world!

I do appreciate your comments and I will post the color changes I made.

slpollett

I'm really liking the concept you have working on this one. I think that arm is bugging me too though. Maybe since it's a pirate face on the screen/monitor that you could 'lose' the arm and instead have the face 'sucking' the soul toward it?? Something like a sideways tornado, blurred a bit with the child's ghost image soul merging into the maelstrom. Sorry, I don't know how to describe what I'm thinking...

Great concept though.

I still have zero ideas at all.

Sherry

richtersl

#2 is starting to kick some serious butt now. The lightning bolts are a nice touch. I'd still like to see the little girl's spirit a bit whiter, if that's possible against that black background. The motion blur in #1 is effective but I think you added to much and it obscured her. You only need a little of it for her to take on an eerie appearance.

heatherfeather

JAG wrote:

.I am wondering if I made the correct choice in getting her a wii. I am setting strict limits...but my older kids have been lost already to this horrible curse of the game world!

Ha ha... we got one of those LAST Christmas. But we mostly use it as a family for game night. Yeah, you got it- I am the duck shooting champion! We have a couple of the single person games but someone always feels left out when those are played so we gravitate to the group ones.

Great job setting limits and keeping things under control! You are such a good mom, Joyce. * Erie voice*: "Aaavoiiiid the braaaiiin suuuucking gaaaame." Hey- that could be your title...(joke)

Oh and back to the photo. I like your new edit a lot. One thing that bothers me is the lightning is the same in all the strands. Could you find some different ones or warp them or something? It looks a bit fakey otherwise.

divamum

Loving the new edits!

JAG

heatherfeather wrote:

Ha ha... we got one of those LAST Christmas. But we mostly use it as a family for game night. Yeah, you got it- I am the duck shooting champion! We have a couple of the single person games but someone always feels left out when those are played so we gravitate to the group ones.

Great job setting limits and keeping things under control! You are such a good mom, Joyce. * Erie voice*: "Aaavoiiiid the braaaiiin suuuucking gaaaame." Hey- that could be your title...(joke)

Oh and back to the photo. I like your new edit a lot. One thing that bothers me is the lightning is the same in all the strands. Could you find some different ones or warp them or something? It looks a bit fakey otherwise.

hahaha! you crack me up Heather!
I have been out today so havent had time to play with this more. I will after I finish getting lunch done. Lots of good suggestions giving me some ideas on what to try. I really want this to pop and go wow! Thanks everyone!

JAG

ok...I did some more editing as seen in the third one at the top of the post. I added noise on the screen image to obscure it more...then I changed the position of the arm to be more center...since its not necessarily the pirate (or this particular game) that is snatching the soul, but any game that can become addicting. I do see one lightning bolt I need to fix since I have posted this and will fix that.

I made another layer (there is a total of 15 now,) of the soul and did a gassian blur and lightened, plus changed the color of it...then put it behind the original soul to give just enough detail to know that its the soul of this girl. I darkened and cleaned up the base of the monitor stand.

So with this I thank those who have given me some great ideas. The moderators gotta love me for changing my mind again!

divamum

Sooooooooooooooooooooo much better for me! I don't get that weird optical illusion thing where the pirate head looks like an 18th century jacket *attached* to the arm, so this solves my biggest problem with it right there!

I really like this most recent edit, Joyce - definitely been worth pressing on with it I think!

Greensquared

I gotta say it...#1 is my favorite of the 3.

JAG

Thank you all for your responses. Ok I added one more final. Which do you think is the better one of the two?

richtersl

#1 clapclap

Tentacion

Sorry , nevah saw this, I usually don't comment in the threads much, cuz I am typing all the time, I write aviation manuals...so I pretty much lurk and enjoy reading and viewing more.

I know it is late, but GREAT creativity here!! I like 1 but without the lightining bolts.