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Obsession Academy > Enigma's Board > I'm here!

Posted by: scho Nov 20 2006, 04:33 PM

I wasn't told which level I should post so I will start here, feel free to move me if you need to. Favorite type of picture to make: Don't really have a favourite, I have mostly done the HL/LE kind of pictures, but I would really like to learn how to create realistic looking but dreamish images. Or something. More at ease with what animal type of picture to make: Horse What do you use most in your pictures(tool/blend mode/etc): Lasso tool and blending options. And for text outer glow. Your Favorite picture by you: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/kawasaki-1.jpg Your best picture by you: I really don't know. Your worst picture by you: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/secret.jpg (but I havne't uploaded most of my bad ones so...) Your least favorite picture by you: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/messanger.jpg Three favorite pictures by other personalizers: Uh, there's so many... I adore Nine's work, and http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/pixie343/altair.jpg and I also like http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9160/ghostgw7.png. One 'best picture ever' by someone else: There was one that made me literally spechless but I can't remember who did it and where it was, but if I find it I will show it to you. What you want to learn: Everything What you need to improve on, you think: Um, everything What you don't need to learn/improve on: - One more thing I think you should know - english isn't my first language so don't be surprised if I make stupid spelling mistakes or form weird sentences. Feel free to corect me since I can't learn if I don't know I have made a mistake.

Posted by: enigma Nov 20 2006, 10:01 PM

Woot woot. ^^ Okiez. Well, I'm glad to have another student! lol Let's see where you are. ^^ Take this foalie, cut him out and slap him on a background (preferably a red one, but it doesn't matter.) Don't smudge him. ^^ btw, about the english, don't worry about it. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said anything. ^^ Or, wouldn't have noticed yet anyway. I know a lot of people that only know english... and they suck at speaking it. Hahahaha... >_> It's sad. XD

Posted by: scho Nov 21 2006, 06:59 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/assignmentone.jpg Edit: Since I was bored I decided to try some smudging too, this is the first time I have ever smudged an entire horse (so far it has only been manes&tails) so yeah...here it ishttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/smudgincexample.jpg.

Posted by: enigma Nov 22 2006, 12:19 AM

Alright, I'd have to say superb cutting job. It looks awesome. What tool do you use? For the smudging - it's amazing for a first try, bravo! But you want to try to smudge in the direction the hair is already going (which I see you've done with most of it). Just watch out on the stomach, because pictures that aren't good quality (like that one) don't really show the direction of the hair. It mostly goes across though, not downward. Okay? Hmm.... I'm too lazy to actually make a tutorial for you, but adonis made a great one... http://www.hosted-forum.com/index.php?boardid=dreamscape&showtopic=238 Just a little note with the mane/tail smudging - if you go over it with the 3px brush, and then with the 1px set on Darken, it looks a bit more realistic. ^^ And if something looks a little off, don't be afraid to go smudge it over a ltitle bit. lol It explains pretty much everything. If there's anything you need answered, just ask. Also, I'm too lazy to go look at your application right now. lol How long have you been personalizing? edit; I took the liberty of doing an example of how I smudge. http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/2575/spic01editow3.jpg

Posted by: scho Nov 22 2006, 01:18 PM

For cutting I use the lasso tool with feather set on 1. And I started personalising in 2003 and then did nothing in 2005. So yeah, about 2 years. But I haven't done very many pictures, and only a handful of them can be shown to the public...

Posted by: enigma Nov 23 2006, 02:18 AM

Alright then. You're really good for only two years. I started in 2002, and have been personalizing since, though I got Photoshop 7 just a year ago. Hmm.... lol I'm not quite sure what I should help you with next... what do you want to do? The only thing I can't help you with is brushes. >_< I'm still learning that lol

Posted by: scho Nov 23 2006, 11:59 AM

Well, my pictures are a bit plain, take a few backgrounds slap them together and add a horse...this kind of picture making works for the SIM games but not for RPG's and since most of the orders come for RPG's I need to learn how to create realistic images. Maybe we could start with the water effects (ripples and splashes) and shadows?

Posted by: enigma Nov 24 2006, 02:22 AM

Perhaps we should start with some simpler things first? lol Shadow's are simple, so we can do that. I can get into removing halters as well. Ripples and splashes are things that I'm still learning... plus they're a bit more advanced (like, when you get into using brushes and stuff) lol But shadows and halter removals are fairly simple things that I can teach you if you'd like.

Posted by: scho Nov 24 2006, 01:02 PM

Okay, shadows it is then

Posted by: scho Nov 27 2006, 04:54 PM

I'm having some computer trouble so I might be a bit inactive in the next week(s)

Posted by: enigma Nov 27 2006, 11:55 PM

That's alright. Life's a little hectic, so I might be a little inactive as well. But thank you for letting me know.

Posted by: scho Nov 28 2006, 05:49 PM

If you have time then perhaps you could post the next assignement? I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with my computer (and most importantly - whats wrong with the moron who's supposed to be fixing it) so I might be able to do it before I have to take it back to the guy who's working on it.

Posted by: enigma Nov 28 2006, 10:59 PM

Alright, well I'll go find you a pretty pony to work with, and I'll post pictures that Nikii's posted for me, because they explain it well. I know, I'm too lazy to come up with my own. XD That and busy soo... I'll go find a horsie for you. edit; Okies! Take http://www.daretodreamstable.com/images/holybullverylarge.jpg and create a shadow for him. ^^ You can leave the halter on him though. We'll get to that later. QUOTE DROPSHADOWS :] cut your horse out, smudge him, blahblah. ok? copy your horse layer. go to image>adjustments>brightness/contrast and make your copy completely black. usually it's brightness -100 contrast -100 :] take your move tool and press ctrl+t and just go straight down until it looks like a normal shadow :] now move the shadow layer UNDERNEATH the original horse layer. adjust the size/angle/whatever to your liking. then change your shadow's opacity, mine is at 53% some shadows' opacity might not need to be adjusted, that's fine. whatever you think looks good. Yay for Nikii!

Posted by: scho Dec 9 2006, 12:05 AM

Ugh, I'm having so much trouble with this one. I just can't get the shadow in the right place . Just to let you know that I am working on it...

Posted by: enigma Dec 9 2006, 03:27 AM

Hmm.... lol I'm not sure how much I can help you there. >_< I tend to have trouble with it too. You can also use the Edit > Transform > Distort to try and get it in the right spot. lol ^^' Hope that helps a little.

Posted by: scho Dec 10 2006, 09:40 PM

Okay, here it is. Edit: I was bored so I made http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/moonchild.jpg. Critique please . Edit v. 2: I think I figured the shadows out...I think

Posted by: enigma Dec 12 2006, 03:11 AM

Alrighty! I think you have figured the shadows out. Nice job. Also, I like the picture. Though, when you do a dark picture, make sure the horse doesn't stand out too much. You want it to flow a bit more, so try making the horse a little darker, and keeping the contrast down a tad. Now. What I want you to do. Find your own horse/background and use the shadow technique to create a picture, okay? Provide the original pictures, too please.

Posted by: enigma Dec 14 2006, 11:52 PM

You use a touchpad?!?!?! You are god. XD I tired using a touchpad before. It's so hard! lol I love my mouse. But yeah, take your time. ^^ Life's a little hectic for me right now, too. lol

Posted by: scho Dec 16 2006, 03:26 PM

I was dead bored and decided to do the assignement anyway. I know that I should have chosen another backround since the shadow doesn't fith this one (I didn't know how to make the shadow look different on the road and on the field, you know, the difference in hegihts) but yeahm here it is. O yeah, at first I thought that it was impossible to use the touchpad too (hence the long break in my picture making). But then I found a cool little button that makes the mouse move really slow and that makes cutting really easy. Edit: Forgot the original images. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/37888213/?qo=48&q=by%3Alittlenake&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps http://flickr.com/photos/slipstreamjc/178664935/

Posted by: enigma Dec 16 2006, 08:42 PM

I won't be able to help you with the differences in heights and stuff, but the shadow looks good on there anyway The only thing I would have to suggest, is to be careful with the cutting... There's still a little bit of background on the horse (I can see it around the legs and the mouth) And maybe fiddle with the brightness/contrast a little? The horse looks a little dull in the picture. As for the touchpad thing, that's really cool. ^^

Posted by: scho Dec 16 2006, 08:46 PM

I tryed pen cutting for the first time, that's probably why there is still some background left .

Posted by: enigma Dec 17 2006, 02:27 AM

lol! Okay. I use the polygon lasso tool to do my cutting, but that's just me. ^^ lol I know I used the eraser for the longest time, but it bugged me because I kept erasing some of it. >_< lol!

Posted by: scho Dec 22 2006, 09:36 PM

Yay, I got my computer back . So you can post the next assignment whanever you get a chance (I will be away from tomorrow till the 25'th or 26'th).

Posted by: enigma Dec 22 2006, 09:43 PM

lol Alright. I don't have time to do it now, but hopefully I'll get the assignment up for when you get back, alright? ^^ HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Oh, and a little hint I forgot to give. lol! Sometimes when you do a shadow, adding a little gaussian blur to it (just a little lol) makes it blend better with the background. That might help a little bit.

Posted by: enigma Dec 24 2006, 02:18 AM

OKAY. I wrote up a whole lesson on removing halters, and then, at the very end, I remembered we hadn't done smudging yet!! Wow. Okay, I'll try and write this up detailed enough for you, because I don't have a tutorial anymore. The one I used got deleted lol. You'll want to cut out the horse first... so use the first horsie we did, okay? The one with the halter that I got you to cut out. You'll want to take the faded circular brush... I can't remember what it's called. lol. Select around 27pxl, at 25% opacity. You'll want to smudge the body, nothing else yet. lol Be careful to smudge in the direction the hair is already going, so it looks neater. After that, make the brush around 20pxl or so. Change the opacity to 20% as well... This you'll use to smudge the legs and the head. With the halter, be sure not to smudge it. However for the mane and tail, use a 1px brush on "Darken" mode - this takes longer, but it creates a nicer, more realistic effect. Hope that works for you!

Posted by: scho Dec 26 2006, 03:58 PM

I don't think I need help with halter removal, I sometimes mess it up because I get bored but to avoid that I just have to work on my patience . But here is the smudging, I think it looks weird, but then again, I'm not a big fan of whole body smudging.

Posted by: enigma Jan 6 2007, 01:48 AM

Ooooh. ^^ Sorry I've been away for a while. ^^' Well done on the smudging, though. You did a good job. With practice you'll improve lots, and it'll be absolutely amazing... If you wanna keep the smudging, that is. hehe. The second one is awesome, great job on the cutting. The only thing I can see, is that the edges are kind of rough... especially around the face. And for the mane, you can use a few strokes on the outside as well, to make fly-aways. ^^ Also (and I should have mentioned this before) be careful not to smudge the eye. It can make it look weird.. lol

Posted by: scho Jan 17 2007, 04:01 PM

Hey, have you left?

Posted by: enigma Jan 19 2007, 12:38 AM

No, I'm still here... I've been really busy lately though, and I'm not quite sure what to go to next... >_>

Posted by: enigma Feb 9 2007, 09:34 PM

OK!!! lmao I forgot I hadn't replied to you, I'm so sorry, Scho. What would you like to do now? OH I KNOW! Have you done halter removals before?

Posted by: scho Feb 10 2007, 06:42 PM

Yup, I think I did it somewhere on the previous page .

Posted by: enigma Feb 12 2007, 04:26 AM

What would you like to do next, then? lmao

Posted by: scho Feb 13 2007, 11:10 AM

Ugh, I don't know. What can you teach me?

Posted by: enigma Feb 13 2007, 11:51 PM

Uhm.... I could try.... Oh. I just went back and checked... we never actually did halter removals. hahahahaha Sooooooooo gimme a minute to go find a good picture to use... ^_________^ OKAY! Cut out that guy, and smudge him. I'll get to it after that. ^___^

Posted by: scho Feb 17 2007, 10:33 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/halterrem1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/halterrem1s.jpg

Posted by: enigma Feb 18 2007, 02:42 AM

Very nicely done!!! I'm impressed. ^____^ What would you like to work on now? hm... lol What do you want to do?

Posted by: scho Feb 18 2007, 07:22 PM

I'm afraid I'm going to have to repeat myself - I don't know, what are the things we haven't done yet?

Posted by: enigma Feb 18 2007, 07:55 PM

things we've done: cutting smudging shadows halter removal Hmm.... What are some things we could do. Colouring ... reflections? splashes/ripples I dunno. lmfao I'm a horrible teacher.

Posted by: scho Feb 19 2007, 09:08 PM

Maybe we could do them in that order? I know how to colorize things like eyes (small parts of a picture, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/colorizing.jpg) but I'm not that good at colorizing the entire picture. So yeah, let's do that

Posted by: scho Feb 21 2007, 02:22 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/marictur/Thepivturefortutty.jpg the different parts one. I was too lazy to do the first one, since I know how to do it, I had something different in mind in my previous post but I can't explain it and I can't find a picture to illustrate what I mean so we can move on to the next thing .

Posted by: enigma Feb 25 2007, 02:34 AM

Very well done! ^____^ You might want to remember to do the teeth, though... so they're white instead of a brownish colour? lol But overall - very good job. -applauds- =D Alright so... reflections, eh? Hm... Give me a little bit to find good pictures to work with.

Posted by: enigma Feb 25 2007, 03:49 AM

OKAY! So I've found some pictures that I think you can work with. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v389/reggy/personalized/stillwater-lake.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v389/reggy/personalized/paint-standing01.jpg Okay! uhm... soo it's kind of like a shadow. Because you want to make sure it's going in the direction of the other reflections. So cut him out, smudge him, and try it out. You may want to fool around with the blending options and see what works best. Or you may not want to touch the blend modes, and just decide to lessen the opacity of it. Try it out. If you run into any problems, lemme know and I'll see how I can help. oh, I forgot to mention something that'll make it easier. Since this guys' drinking from the water, you don't want to make it look like he's shoving his face into the water too far... soo lol This'll be a little... harder, I guess. But after you cut him out, use the polygon lasso tool, set the feather to about 5, and cut out part of the hooves... like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/hoofprep.jpg It'll make it fit into the water better.

Posted by: scho Feb 25 2007, 09:32 PM

I'm probably not able to work on this before wednesday. I've been avoiding school this trimester and I really should go there this week (odds are that I won't ... but yeah ).

Posted by: enigma Feb 26 2007, 12:00 AM

lmao Well, do that. There's no rush - I'm fairly busy this week anyway. XD

Posted by: scho Mar 4 2007, 02:09 AM

Posted by: enigma Mar 4 2007, 03:36 AM

Veeeeerrrry well done. From here we can do ripplessssss hahaha. Which actually aren't very hard... QUOTE Ripples: Now make a new layer, title this one ‘ripples’. Take a small fuzzy brush, size 1 or 2, whichever your preference may be and proceed to make small half circles around the base of the splash like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/ripples1.jpg. This will look rather odd at first because it does not blend, and just looks strange. Don’t worry it will get better. Grab your smudge tool, the same one you used for forming the splashes, size and strength the same as before, and wiggle through the to be ripples till they appear less definite like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/ripples2.jpg. In the image I am working with to best blend them I set mine to overlay, then duplicated same mode, but lowered the opacity to 31% Uhm... yeah. I'm kinda... really asleep right now - so if this isn't clear, then just... uhm... o.O yeah. Lemme know and I'll do a better job when I'm not dead on my feet. ^^'

Posted by: scho Mar 4 2007, 02:17 PM

I did ripples on this one, they're not very visible though. You can see one on the right hind leg. I used the disort->twirl option but I'll do it your way too.

Posted by: enigma Mar 5 2007, 10:23 PM

I was wondering about that. It looks kinda neat, but a fuller ripple effect would look nicer, I think.... maybe not. I don't know. haha

Posted by: scho Mar 18 2007, 10:36 PM

Okay, I now have a bit more time on my hands and I tried to do it your way and it seems that I'm physically incapable of drawing a semidecent circle (or anything that resembles a circle even from a distance) with a mouse so perhaps you could give me a new/next assignment? Or shall I try again?

Posted by: enigma Mar 19 2007, 12:37 AM

Well, don't worry about that. lmao I found that it doesn't work quite as well in still water... but it works really really well in water that's moving, even a little bit. =) I'll... uhm... I'm not quite sure what assigment I should give you next... o.O

Posted by: scho Mar 20 2007, 01:27 AM

Splashes?

Posted by: enigma Mar 21 2007, 07:37 PM

ooooh... we didn't do splashes?!! o.o wow. lmfao!! Anyway... alright, give me a few days to find some good pictures... though I might find some tonight.

Posted by: enigma Mar 27 2007, 08:04 PM

OMG. So sorry. I'll go find pictures now... XD I've been so busy the past week - SO SORRY! T-T edit; OKAY. Soo... I'm going to get you to do the splashes tutorial with different pictures... because I don't like how ripples turn out on the still-water. So I found better pictures for it... uhm... yeah lol And I'll get you to do the whole tutorial on these (with the ripples and splashes) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v389/reggy/personalized/SPic04.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v389/reggy/personalized/SPic04a.jpg Uhm.. I'd suggest using the horse on the right. ^____^ But you can choose whichever. lol QUOTE Splashes and Ripples Tools to be used: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/tools.jpg Here are the http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/startingimages.jpg that I chose to use. The pegasus I made a while ago, and then just some random background, that so happens to be a beach. (You can choose your own images to follow along, as I will not provide these for public use.) Beginning: Once you have chosen a subject that is doing the splashing and placed it into your background image in whatever position needed you then proceed to making splashes and ripples, and if needed a reflection as well. All three of these things shall be discussed and presented in depth. So keep reading. You will be using various brushes, in different sizes, as well as the smudging tool and if needed the eraser. This tutorial is made with Adobe Photoshop CS, and is compatible with lower level AP programs, but might need to be changed for the use of other programs. Splashes: Select the horse layer and your lasso tool, now fade in the horses hooves by doing http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/hoofprep.jpg. I set the feathering of my lasso tool to 5 and selected a small portion of the hooves, then cut and there you are. To begin your splashes make a new layer, above your horse[s] layer, title it ‘splashes,’ this shall be where you create and tweak your splashes. Not to mention it is a safe way to avoid making mistakes and ruining the entire image. I selected the brush tool, and chose http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/brush.jpg brush, and lowered the size to 8. Of course you do not need the brush I used, as just about any will do, but a different size may be needed. For practical purposes you can use a small fuzzy brush tool with the size of 1 and your results will be nearly the same as mine. Zooming in I proceeded to make the beginning patter of what will be made for splashes, like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/splash1.jpg. Nothing overly thick, as you can always add more far easier than you can take off. Next I will select the smudge tool, with http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/smudge.jpg brush set to size 8 and strength of 34%, you can choose higher or lower depending on your preference. Smudge your created splashes in a slightly upward direction, not to high, but realistic enough to give the proper effect. Do not use the entire thing as just a splash; I will often leave a few dots alone to give the thought of water droplets spraying out and away from the main spout. It is helpful to know how a splash will look so if you need a reference source then look up a horse running through shallow water and that will give you an idea to start with. Once you are done do the other three hooves as well, you should end up with something close to http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/splash2.jpg. Now your splashes are created, but might look slightly odd in comparison to the background and water you have chosen. To blend the splashes in you can duplicate the layer and lower the opacity of it, if need be you can also add layer effects. I duplicated mine, set the opacity to 47%, and then added a color overlay with tan ish color to dim down the bright whiteness of the splashes and set the opacity of the color overlay to 44%. So there you are finished with your splashes, but how odd does it look for your horse to be running through the water with splashes, but no ripples? Odd indeed. Ripples: Now make a new layer, title this one ‘ripples’. Take a small fuzzy brush, size 1 or 2, whichever your preference may be and proceed to make small half circles around the base of the splash like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/ripples1.jpg. This will look rather odd at first because it does not blend, and just looks strange. Don’t worry it will get better. Grab your smudge tool, the same one you used for forming the splashes, size and strength the same as before, and wiggle through the to be ripples till they appear less definite like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/ripples2.jpg. In the image I am working with to best blend them I set mine to overlay, then duplicated same mode, but lowered the opacity to 31%. That is the end of the tutorial, I then messed with the background a bit and the rest of the image and produced http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/fozzy_3/splashesandripplesdone.jpg. As another example of this, here is a horse running through water, with a reflection too. This also shows you a better example of the splashes going up from the base, and the water droplets. http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/Haiku_3/Random/Daamer.jpg Thanks to Haikuxxx for this loverly tutorial...

Posted by: scho Apr 4 2007, 11:20 AM

I forgot to check here, sorry! I need to finish a translation by friday so I can work on the picture after I have finished that.

Posted by: scho Apr 10 2007, 08:59 PM

Ugh, my computer is totally messed up and I'm going to have to get it fixed. I'm afraid it will take atleast two weeks (it usually does) or maybe even more, but I will try to back as soon as possible.

Posted by: enigma Apr 10 2007, 11:41 PM

That's alright. I'm pretty pressed for time, too. XD So no worries.

Posted by: scho May 18 2007, 07:52 PM

Whoops, that was me.

Posted by: enigma Jun 4 2007, 09:06 PM

Oh my!! I'm so sorry I didn't reply before this! lol I haven't been on the computer much lately and I might not be very active from here until the 26th (when school ends for me) But yes go ahead and finish up that assignment and I'll look at it when I can, okay?

Posted by: scho Jun 24 2007, 07:45 PM

Ohmygosh, I forgot to check back . I am still alive and willing to learn, but I don't have time to do any assignments at the moment. Would it be okay if you keep me on the students list and I will do the assignment as soon as I have time?

Posted by: enigma Jun 28 2007, 07:40 PM

Sorry about that! I've been busy with the end of school, and finals and everything, but that's all over and done with now. ^____^ I also took a few days to recuperate... XD But sure thing, I'll definitely keep you on the list until you're ready to start again.

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