Fantastic images this round....can't figure how the judges were able to narrow the field down. I won't even attempt to pick my favorites...just too difficult.
Anyway....just getting ready to add some comments to the gallery. Thanks again everyone for the help this round - much appreciated.
The planet thing
This is not so hard to do as it seems.
At first I was going to try something similar to what Pyry did. Must be a Baltic thing? He's Finnish and I'm Estonian (but born in America)-- our language and culture are very close. But I digress. In my search on line for that particular technique I stumbled upon a different one that showed you how to create planets from photos of textures by using the Sphereize tool in PS. With our new granite countertops I knew I already had a nice background with a nebula. All I had to do was photograph the other countertops and a rock for some more textures. Next step was putting it all together, which consisted of two phases: creating the background and then creating the planets.
The Background
1. Started out with the following image. All I did was crop this from the original and played a bit with Levels. Nothing fancy.
2. Duplicated the Background Layer and then selected Filter > Render > Lens Flare to add several different lens flare effects to the duplicated background layer.
3. The nebula in the center looked like it could use a little color so I added a Gradient fill layer: Blending mode - Overlay; Opacity - 19%. Masked out areas that did not require the color.
4. Set the foreground color to white and some distant stars by using the ellipse tool to draw tiny white circles and then applying some gaussian blur (to taste) to them. PS was a little concerned about that and asked me if I wanted to rasterize the shape so I told it OK. Repeated this for every teeny star I created.
The background image was now complete. I saved it and kept it open. Next came the creating of the planets.
The Planets
Bear with me, this isn't as bad as it seems.
1. Open up a texture photo and make a square crop of it.
2. Select Filter > Distort > Spherize. Make sure the Mode is set to Normal and that the Amount is 100%. Click OK to continue.
You may need to repeat Step 2 two or three times. If it looks too distorted, use Edit > Undo to go back to the previous setting. You should wind up with an image that looks like this:
3. Click Layer > New > Layer from Background to turn the Background into a layer.
4. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool to select the Sphere. Make sure Feather is set to about 5 px. You may need to use Select > Transform Selection to refine your selection.
5. Click Select > Inverse and the press the Delete key. Voila! Now this is beginning to look more like a planet.
But we still need to add a shadow to the side that will not be facing the bright star.
6. Click Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer. Yes, it's empty but it won't be for long. Make sure the new layer you created is selected and use the Elliptical Marquee tool to draw another perfect circle. Make the foreground color black and use the Paint Bucket tool to fill the selection with black.
7. Click Select > Refine Edge to soften the edges of your selection. These are my settings, yours may vary depending on the size of the image you're working with. Just make the edges "not sharp". Click OK when done.
8. Change the opacity of the top layer to about 50%. You should now be able to see the layer that's underneath. Use the Move tool to move the black circle so that it's offset from the image underneath it. For my composite I needed to move it to the left.
9. Make sure the top layer is selected and then click Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and move the slider until the edges are nice and soft.
Hang on, we're almost done!
10. Make sure the top layer is selected. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool to draw another perfect circle. Click Select > Inverse and then press Delete to remove the remnants of the shadow. You now have something that looks like a planet.
Just noticed my History tab is in full view -- just ignore that, OK?
11. Make sure the top layer is selected and then click Layer > Merge Down. Then copy this new layer to the background image with the stars in it, or you can drag it over. Once you put into the background image with the stars and nebula, you will need to use the Free Transform tool to resize it. That's it!
Did I forget to mention that you need to repeat steps 1 - 11 for every planet you want add to the background.
:whew Now I'm going to sit down and have some pizza.
Although I am really new to composites, I am thinking of one for the next round..
My greatest struggle is keeping all of the layers straight. I wonder if you guys use snapshot, and if snapshot preserves the layer work "separately" even if you flatten or merge the layer down..? I have seen layer groups, but those really confuse me..
As you probably know, the tree in the hand was my first composite, and I had a rough time when I had to merge certain layers to activate certain tool actions and then found later that I wanted back into one of those layers... any advice here from you guys would be appreciated..
My greatest struggle is keeping all of the layers straight. I wonder if you guys use snapshot, and if snapshot preserves the layer work "separately" even if you flatten or merge the layer down..? I have seen layer groups, but those really confuse me..
ctr+alt+shift+e is your friend...
It creates a new merged layer while leaving all the separate layers as is.
My biggest mistake is forgetting to label them with names I can remember so I know which is which. Oops...
That advice and an old skool technique called save multiple versions of your work as you develop the image so if you have to go back farther than the amount of undos or snapshots you have, you can.
I ended up at the letter "L" when I created "symbiote" - version 1 = name1a, version 2 = name1b and so on....
Like I said its old skool long before layers or even multiple undos existed in Photoshop.
Thanks Diva... I wrote it down on the list of shortcuts.. awesome.. I had no idea I could do that.... now to keep them labeled.. I am bad about that..
Looks like Sean has that down though... often I get so frustrated the save looks like 4444, or 44441, 44442, or final edit, final edit 1, final edit 2, hehehheeee.. hard to keep crossing back and forth from creative mind to organized mind..
Never could master the piano.. one side of the brain at a time ya know..
Thanks for the share pyry.. I am going to have to try this sometime.. yours is the first I have ever seen. An awesome effect.... I bet this would look cool with an ocean or beach shot..
ok,, I have to ask.. Are you guys using some kind of screen capture software to take screen shots here on these tutorials or are you using your camera?
Thanks for the share pyry.. I am going to have to try this sometime.. yours is the first I have ever seen. An awesome effect.... I bet this would look cool with an ocean or beach shot..
ok,, I have to ask.. Are you guys using some kind of screen capture software to take screen shots here on these tutorials or are you using your camera?
Kat
You are welcome, just remember to share your results
There's a key that says 'Print Screen / SysRq' on it on most keyboards. Press it and the screen (excluding overlays like video) is captured to the clipboard, then it's a simple matter of pasting to a new image, cropping and resizing.
You are welcome, just remember to share your results
There's a key that says 'Print Screen / SysRq' on it on most keyboards. Press it and the screen (excluding overlays like video) is captured to the clipboard, then it's a simple matter of pasting to a new image, cropping and resizing.
You can also use Alt+Print Screen to print just the active window.
That advice and an old skool technique called save multiple versions of your work as you develop the image so if you have to go back farther than the amount of undos or snapshots you have, you can.
I ended up at the letter "L" when I created "symbiote" - version 1 = name1a, version 2 = name1b and so on....
Like I said its old skool long before layers or even multiple undos existed in Photoshop.
I have multiple versions on my hard drive as well. I save the same document multiple times. I always work from a duplicate background layer.
I used to be the tech support individual for a company years ago and people would always ask me how often they should save their work. My answer would always be the same: "when you'd rather eat a bar of soap than redo what you've done: if it's every 60 seconds, then so be it, but only you can be the best judge. "
What hate is when PS crashes midstream. :bluduh But if I know I'm going to do something memory-intensive, I save my work.
ok,, I have to ask.. Are you guys using some kind of screen capture software to take screen shots here on these tutorials or are you using your camera?
Kat
I use a product called SnagIt to do screen captures. But there are other products available as well:
Also on Mac, pressing shift-cmd-3 grabs the whole screen and shift-cmd-4 turns your mouse into cross-hairs so you can select just a portion of your screen.
For Picasa users, if you do a prntscreen screenshot grab, it automatically saves it into a dedicated folder (I love Picasa - for a free program, it's pretty darned good,and I still prefer to import my photos from camera to computer using it rather than LR or any of the other software I have....)
For Picasa users, if you do a prntscreen screenshot grab, it automatically saves it into a dedicated folder (I love Picasa - for a free program, it's pretty darned good,and I still prefer to import my photos from camera to computer using it rather than LR or any of the other software I have....)
I never knew that, thanks for the tip.
I love Picasa too. But lets see... I use the kodak software from my camera, picasa, hp image zone (from and old camera) and Gimp. I have found each has something it does better than the others, at least for me. For what I do, they are all work for me. Best of all I like freebies.
Also on Mac, pressing shift-cmd-3 grabs the whole screen and shift-cmd-4 turns your mouse into cross-hairs so you can select just a portion of your screen.
You are welcome, just remember to share your results
There's a key that says 'Print Screen / SysRq' on it on most keyboards. Press it and the screen (excluding overlays like video) is captured to the clipboard, then it's a simple matter of pasting to a new image, cropping and resizing.
Thanks pyry... Very helpful.. I have never had a reason to screen capture before but it looks like this technique comes in handy around here.. So, thank you for your help.. and if I can pull the planet effect off, I will definitely share it..
And I wanted to thank everyone who commented on not only my shot but many others, I enjoy reading each and every perspective from each of you, its a great learning experience. Also I want to thank Steven Hatch for taking the time to comment as well even though you were a guest judge and were not obligated to. Your comments are always so interesting to read. And of course divamum too, thank you soooo much!
And I wanted to thank everyone who commented on not only my shot but many others, I enjoy reading each and every perspective from each of you, its a great learning experience. Also I want to thank Steven Hatch for taking the time to comment as well even though you were a guest judge and were not obligated to. Your comments are always so interesting to read. And of course divamum too, thank you soooo much!
Sean
Thanks for posting this Sean, it reminded me to go check my own! So many great comments this round. Thank you to everyone!
And I wanted to thank everyone who commented on not only my shot but many others, I enjoy reading each and every perspective from each of you, its a great learning experience. Also I want to thank Steven Hatch for taking the time to comment as well even though you were a guest judge and were not obligated to. Your comments are always so interesting to read. And of course divamum too, thank you soooo much!
Sean
I'll second that--it's the learning and sharing together that really sets this group apart.
Comments
You'll get there. And besides, polaroids are fun
I still want one of those Holgas with a polaroid back...
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
Polaroids and jpegs are fine.
It was just an analogy: raw is to film negative what jpeg is to polaroid?
A direct positive straight outta camera.
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
Anyway....just getting ready to add some comments to the gallery. Thanks again everyone for the help this round - much appreciated.
My Photos - Powered by SmugMug!
These exist?! I have a Holga, but one with a polaroid back would be teh r0xorz.
Polgaroid in stock here.
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
This is not so hard to do as it seems.
At first I was going to try something similar to what Pyry did. Must be a Baltic thing? He's Finnish and I'm Estonian (but born in America)-- our language and culture are very close. But I digress.
The Background
1. Started out with the following image. All I did was crop this from the original and played a bit with Levels. Nothing fancy.
2. Duplicated the Background Layer and then selected Filter > Render > Lens Flare to add several different lens flare effects to the duplicated background layer.
3. The nebula in the center looked like it could use a little color so I added a Gradient fill layer: Blending mode - Overlay; Opacity - 19%. Masked out areas that did not require the color.
4. Set the foreground color to white and some distant stars by using the ellipse tool to draw tiny white circles and then applying some gaussian blur (to taste) to them. PS was a little concerned about that and asked me if I wanted to rasterize the shape so I told it OK. Repeated this for every teeny star I created.
The background image was now complete. I saved it and kept it open. Next came the creating of the planets.
The Planets
Bear with me, this isn't as bad as it seems.
1. Open up a texture photo and make a square crop of it.
2. Select Filter > Distort > Spherize. Make sure the Mode is set to Normal and that the Amount is 100%. Click OK to continue.
You may need to repeat Step 2 two or three times. If it looks too distorted, use Edit > Undo to go back to the previous setting. You should wind up with an image that looks like this:
3. Click Layer > New > Layer from Background to turn the Background into a layer.
4. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool to select the Sphere. Make sure Feather is set to about 5 px. You may need to use Select > Transform Selection to refine your selection.
5. Click Select > Inverse and the press the Delete key. Voila! Now this is beginning to look more like a planet.
But we still need to add a shadow to the side that will not be facing the bright star.
6. Click Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer. Yes, it's empty but it won't be for long. Make sure the new layer you created is selected and use the Elliptical Marquee tool to draw another perfect circle. Make the foreground color black and use the Paint Bucket tool to fill the selection with black.
7. Click Select > Refine Edge to soften the edges of your selection. These are my settings, yours may vary depending on the size of the image you're working with. Just make the edges "not sharp". Click OK when done.
8. Change the opacity of the top layer to about 50%. You should now be able to see the layer that's underneath. Use the Move tool to move the black circle so that it's offset from the image underneath it. For my composite I needed to move it to the left.
9. Make sure the top layer is selected and then click Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and move the slider until the edges are nice and soft.
Hang on, we're almost done!
10. Make sure the top layer is selected. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool to draw another perfect circle. Click Select > Inverse and then press Delete to remove the remnants of the shadow. You now have something that looks like a planet.
11. Make sure the top layer is selected and then click Layer > Merge Down. Then copy this new layer to the background image with the stars in it, or you can drag it over. Once you put into the background image with the stars and nebula, you will need to use the Free Transform tool to resize it. That's it!
Did I forget to mention that you need to repeat steps 1 - 11 for every planet you want add to the background.
:whew Now I'm going to sit down and have some pizza.
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
Although I am really new to composites, I am thinking of one for the next round..
My greatest struggle is keeping all of the layers straight. I wonder if you guys use snapshot, and if snapshot preserves the layer work "separately" even if you flatten or merge the layer down..? I have seen layer groups, but those really confuse me..
As you probably know, the tree in the hand was my first composite, and I had a rough time when I had to merge certain layers to activate certain tool actions and then found later that I wanted back into one of those layers... any advice here from you guys would be appreciated..
Kat
ctr+alt+shift+e is your friend...
It creates a new merged layer while leaving all the separate layers as is.
My biggest mistake is forgetting to label them with names I can remember so I know which is which. Oops...
Thanks pyry. I'm going to have to try this one!
My Site, My Book
Way cool Linda. Thanks!
My Site, My Book
That advice and an old skool technique called save multiple versions of your work as you develop the image so if you have to go back farther than the amount of undos or snapshots you have, you can.
I ended up at the letter "L" when I created "symbiote" - version 1 = name1a, version 2 = name1b and so on....
Like I said its old skool long before layers or even multiple undos existed in Photoshop.
Thanks Diva... I wrote it down on the list of shortcuts.. awesome.. I had no idea I could do that.... now to keep them labeled.. I am bad about that..
Looks like Sean has that down though...
Never could master the piano.. one side of the brain at a time ya know..
ok,, I have to ask.. Are you guys using some kind of screen capture software to take screen shots here on these tutorials or are you using your camera?
Kat
You are welcome, just remember to share your results
There's a key that says 'Print Screen / SysRq' on it on most keyboards. Press it and the screen (excluding overlays like video) is captured to the clipboard, then it's a simple matter of pasting to a new image, cropping and resizing.
http://pyryekholm.kuvat.fi/
You can also use Alt+Print Screen to print just the active window.
Course, if you're on a Mac, just fire up Grab.
I have multiple versions on my hard drive as well.
I used to be the tech support individual for a company years ago and people would always ask me how often they should save their work. My answer would always be the same: "when you'd rather eat a bar of soap than redo what you've done: if it's every 60 seconds, then so be it, but only you can be the best judge. "
What hate is when PS crashes midstream. :bluduh But if I know I'm going to do something memory-intensive, I save my work.
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
http://www.google.com/search?q=screen+capture&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
For Picasa users, if you do a prntscreen screenshot grab, it automatically saves it into a dedicated folder (I love Picasa - for a free program, it's pretty darned good,and I still prefer to import my photos from camera to computer using it rather than LR or any of the other software I have....)
I love Picasa too. But lets see... I use the kodak software from my camera, picasa, hp image zone (from and old camera) and Gimp. I have found each has something it does better than the others, at least for me. For what I do, they are all work for me. Best of all I like freebies.
My SmugMug
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
Thanks pyry... Very helpful.. I have never had a reason to screen capture before but it looks like this technique comes in handy around here.. So, thank you for your help..
Kat
Gallery Found Here...
And I wanted to thank everyone who commented on not only my shot but many others, I enjoy reading each and every perspective from each of you, its a great learning experience. Also I want to thank Steven Hatch for taking the time to comment as well even though you were a guest judge and were not obligated to. Your comments are always so interesting to read. And of course divamum too, thank you soooo much!
Sean
Thanks for posting this Sean, it reminded me to go check my own! So many great comments this round. Thank you to everyone!
http://photos.thomasflock.com
I'll second that--it's the learning and sharing together that really sets this group apart.