Image Manipulation and Compositing
Fitzcarraldo
Week 8 | #oneperday18
noun.
an image that somehow becomes lodged deep in your brain—maybe washed there by a dream, or smuggled inside a book, or planted during a casual conversation—which then grows into a wild and impractical vision that keeps scrambling back and forth in your head like a dog stuck in a car that’s about to arrive home, just itching for a chance to leap headlong into reality.
- The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
This week, we were to create a composite image based on an idea of our choice. I decided to name the piece Fitzcarraldo as I've had this concept, although not exact, in my head for year and I haven't had a chance to commit to the piece and realise it fully. I developed the meaning and theme behind the image mid production as I had a clear visual image of the result but not a conceptual one. This is probably my favourite image of this project.
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Baby's Breath
Technique: Photography | Portrait
Baby's Breath: long lasting love.The only reason I'm in this photo is because no one else wanted to be in it. I could also control the pose and expression more as a result.
Process: Dressed in my favourite dress shirt and waistcoat, I posed with a bouquet of baby's breath. I kept my expression neutral as I knew I was going to manipulate my face. I asked my dad to take the picture for me in the framing that I wanted. I stood up against some white cupboards so that I could remove the background later.
Reflection: I should have tucked my shirt in more so that there isn't that red part showing as it upsets the balance of the image. Luckily it's not saturated enough to divert the focus of the image.
22 September 2018
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Carnations and Roses
Technique: Photography
Carnations: Yellow, disdain. Pink, I'll never forget you. Roses: Red, deep emotion. Pink, poetic romance. I have a very large collection of dried flowers. I would have uploaded all of the flowers I took but the photo-grid display system has been acting up.
Process: Since I love dried flowers and had so many, I knew I had to use them. Their meanings also compliment the main concept. I held up each flower in front of a solid colour background from various angles as I took the pictures. I then took these photos into Photoshop and removed them from the background. I also adjusted some of the colours. There's not much else to say. This was a relatively easy process.
Reflection: There also it's much to say here although, I should have set up a tripod as my hands were shacking a bit as I held both the camera and flowers. This would have sped up the process as I wouldn't have to retake images that were blurry.
22 September 2018
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Clockwork Mirror
Technique: Photography and Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop and Medibang Paint Pro
I had a hard time finding a round ornate looking mirror so I settled with this old clock.
Process: First in Photoshop, I separated the inner ring from the image followed by the outer ring. I adjusted the outer ring to sit flush with the inner ring and duplicated and flipped sides of the outer ring to remove the overlap the embellishments caused. I then blended the edges and seams together in Medibang and added a brass overlay gradient.
Reflection: I suppose I could have gone out to buy a new frame or mirror but I did not want to spend the money so I improvised instead. Maybe I could have gotten a higher quality image from an actual frame but I am very pleased with the result I've managed to get.
22 September 2018
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String of Fate
Technique: Digital Illustration | Medibang Paint Pro
Originally tied around one's pinky finger or ankle, the Red String of Fate. Said to guide soulmates together.
Process: I drew the base red on to the image then protected the alpha channel. I then when it in the shading and a clipping mask with the thread details.
Reflection: I wanted to take a photo of real string but I only had thin sewing thread that wouldn't show well in a photo.
23 September 2018
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Composite
Fitzcarraldo
Technique: Composite Image | Adobe Photoshop and Medibang Paint Pro
I named this piece Fitzcarraldo because although this piece has a meaning and theme, that's not the main point. The main point is that I had an idea that wouldn't leave me alone and here's the result. This piece is a combination of different kinds of love and irony with juxtaposing floral symbolism. Normally, I prefer digital painting and drawing over photography, I knew that this image had to be 90% photos otherwise the drawings wouldn't cohesively match with the realistic photo. This image capture the aesthetic I was going for.
Process: Throughout this whole production, I was constantly jumping between Photoshop and Medibang. Photo is the better photo manipulator but I can only draw and edit organically in Medibang. I'm lucky that Photoshop files open in Medibang. First, I isolated my figure in Photoshop and transferred it into Medibang where I cleaned it up and erased anything above my bottom lip. I also colour the bottom lip to increase the contrast. I wanted to keep the bottom lip in to elude to the Hanahaki Disease. The Hanahaki Disease is when someone who suffers from unrequited love will cough up flower petals until they either suffocate to death or their love is returned. Then, after isolated the flowers in Photoshop, I touched up the colours in Medibang and arranged them so that they look like they are coming from the head. I then made the mirror frame and placed it in the image. I copied the Baby's breath placed it in front of the frame and erased the gaps so that the frame will be visible. Finally, I added the red string of fate, wrapping it around my neck like a noose, suffocating. I decided on a double complementary colour scheme with the de-saturated yellows and reds and oranges as the main colour with splashes of subtle blue and green in the background and in the leaves. I added a grey saturation layer to de-saturate all the colours and make it cohesive. I finished by putting the image into Photoshop, adding drop shadows and adding a pointilise filter and a black/white adjustment layer to make the final image look like an old photograph.
Reflection: I am super proud of this image. It is probably the best composite image I've ever done. I will probably use this in my portfolio and as profile pictures. There are still a number of things I have to touch up but I'll save those edits for when I have more time. Below are some alternate versions.
23 September 2018
#oneperday18
PROCESS
