The Photoshop Thread, Part IV

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Shaw, Apr 15, 2009.

  1. Shaw

    Shaw Commodore Commodore

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    Actually the chin shadow I got for free from the original image of Sisko. Here are the two original images (from Balance of Terror and Trials and Tribble-ations) with the final.

    [​IMG]

    Yeah, it could have been better... I'm just really pressed for time lately.

    Still, the question about blur is a good one.

    How much and where to blur are always the biggest issues when dropping someone into an image... but usually the image gives you the hints you need. Usually if you look at how many pixels it takes to transition from the color of one object to another at an edge, then that is how much blur you'll need (and the Gaussian Blur filter gives you a preview to work with anyways, so you can see how it is effecting your image). And similarly, the blur tool lets you select a strength level.

    Also, if you aren't happy with what you are given in an image... change it.

    Khan was a big person... so make the person you are putting his head on big as well. Duplicate the background layer, and beef up (or slim down) aspects of the person using the liquify tool. When you are done, remove the rest of the layer other than what you are needing for the person you're working on.

    Here is a quick example...

    [​IMG]

    Another great exercise is removing people from images. This should be done when placing heads on people (by removing the original head on a duplicate layer) so that you aren't making the heads too big to cover up the original head. In the example I did above I removed Spock's head first before adding Sisko's.

    Oh, and what I use for head sizes (in general) is matching up distances between eyes of the original person, eye level and nose, eyes with placement of ears, etc... there are visual queues to work with that make for great starting points (but every image and person is different).

    I still use many of the old techniques, but then again I've been using Photoshop for my work since around 1994 (I still have version 2.5 on one of my systems :eek: ). So There might be better ways around somethings that I've never used because the old ways always worked for me (I know that I can do pretty much everything I normally do with at least version 5.5 or later).
     
  2. Orac

    Orac Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  3. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Thanks for those tips, Shaw. And your very useful before-after samples. :) I didn't know about liquify--what an amazing tool. :D I tried it out on the uniform shirt and was able to give a little extra muscle to balance out Sisko and Khan. What a rich function it is... looks like there's a lot to learn about it.

    Sorry, when I said "blur tool" I mean the blur filter. The strength setting is rather obvious on the tool, but for the filter I can't find anything. Is there a way to set the strength for that? I'll have to give the Gausian blur a try, as that filter provides strength settings upfront.
     
  4. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Orac, very cool take on Straker. :D I'll have to see about putting him in the Captain's chair. ;)
     
  5. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    [​IMG]

    Remember those funky looking Vians from "The Empath"? :lol:
     
  6. Orac

    Orac Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  7. Praetor

    Praetor Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The fine line between continuity and fanwank.
    Heh, nice. :)
     
  8. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Talk about what Gerry Anderson could have only dreamed of. ;)

    Very cool, Orac. :D
     
  9. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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  10. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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  11. Frodo Lives

    Frodo Lives Captain Captain

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  12. Gary7

    Gary7 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^ Nice work! A little heavy on the blurring for the foreground characters, but the lighting and scaling is excellent. :techman:
     
  13. NickInABox

    NickInABox Captain Captain

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    A perfect Kirk though! Now I'm PUMPED for the movie! Just from that pic.
     
  14. ambessalion

    ambessalion Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    beautiful pictures....i especially like the ST11 redux and alternate Enterprise TOS captains......//the Chkatoy/Riker pic is by far my favorite....
     
  15. hellsgate

    hellsgate Commodore

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    Ooo...anymore with a TNG-era "First Contact Uniform"-wearing Scotty?
     
  16. Frodo Lives

    Frodo Lives Captain Captain

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    I'll get on to that.

    For now, here's take two.

    [​IMG]

    I think I've improved Bones, but I need to take another go at Kirk, and finding a decent shot for Chekov is HARD.
     
  17. K-Star

    K-Star Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    How the frickin FRAK do you put someone's head on another body and do it so well??? I've tried before and it always ends up sucking really bad! I mean, some of those I can barely tell they were photoshopped!
     
  18. Tachyon

    Tachyon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Practice, practice and practice. ;)
     
  19. Shaw

    Shaw Commodore Commodore

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    I thought your first one from The Gamesters of Triskelion worked pretty good. The major problem is that I don't think there are any HD screencaps of him around yet.
     
  20. Frodo Lives

    Frodo Lives Captain Captain

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    Yeah, that's why I decided to drop it - there's no HD screenshots of Chekov, and the DVD shots aren't of good enough quality to properly match the background unless I shrink it down a lot. Even then it doesn't look great.

    Ah well, lemme see if I can get Kirk and Uhura right first.