Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the Contest entries here. This is also a great place to share your techniques or ask others about theirs.

Most members are eager to hear comments/suggestions about their entries, so please take the time to help each other out. :)

very cool, dee dee. :)

i like the addition of the painting. the window is great but seems to come pretty low to the floor. and some of the proportions seem just a touch off. good stucco.

(mind you, not that i can do any better, but that's what i see :) ).

Thanks for the suggestions, Craig. It was a fun project and I look forward to seeing what others will do with it.

Swampy, nice work.
Good to see you've set a high level for us to follow.

Why, thank you Ro! The hardest part was finding a source for the vine that was close to the perspective needed.

Have just seen the basis for this contest, I love it ! really fantastic and leaves a lot of space for creativity without deviating from the rules. Congrats to TPaul and the artist that sketched the photo :) :clap:

Congratulations also to Swampy, for your entry, just great (but then, what else is new coming from you ;) )
Will start looking for material .

Thank you Martha. Have fun putting your composition together. :-)

these are amazing, guys.

just one note, read the sketch VERY carefully! if i manage to enter i'll be judging, at least in part, based on duplicating the sketch instructions. the sketch says 'stucco or adobe, textured/old', not new. old stucco and adobe have a very distinct look from new.

these are amazing, guys.

just one note, read the sketch VERY carefully! if i manage to enter i'll be judging, at least in part, based on duplicating the sketch instructions. the sketch says 'stucco or adobe, textured/old', not new. old stucco and adobe have a very distinct look from new.


Thanks for pointing that detail out. Also, I'd like to add that the instructions state "Late PM or Early AM Shadows". I think correct shadows and lighting are a major factor in this contest.


Lorraine

I'm curious to know what the overall opinion is regarding this month's contest.

How do you feel if someone "posed" real items in front of an old stucco wall, waited for the light to be just right and took a photograph?

It seems to me the challenge of the contest, is to digitally assemble the image and not "physically" pose the items and then photograph them.

This question was prompted by the fact that I have the opportunity to photograph exactly the scene proposed even still I feel I would be "cheating" or, at the very least, I would be going against the "intent" of the rules.

Just curious...

It's up to you to get (or make) the components, but take care that no copyrighted photos are used. The final result should pass for an actual photo.

frank, though it's not implicitly stated, i think the idea is to get 'components', plural, and composite something. and, in the case of photographing each piece by itself and then compositing those, i'd say that was also missing the flavor and point of the contest. but, strictly speaking, that would fit within the stated rules... '(or make) the components,'. i can certainly see the person working for the art director doing just such a thing. so, i guess the question is, will the 'art director', (the voters) go along with that or not?

I'm curious to know what the overall opinion is regarding this month's contest.

How do you feel if someone "posed" real items in front of an old stucco wall, waited for the light to be just right and took a photograph?



Given high speed internet, google and patience I bet most if not all of the sketch elements could be found pre-arranged in a photo (it is kind of a generic scene). I for one am very interested to see what you could come up with, and think the photography half of the process is something that is a bit neglected around here. How about a contest where are all image elements are 'taken' rather than 'borrowed'?

And thanks Kraellin, my stucco maintainance was in dire need of mañana.

Hi all,

This is really a good discussion thread this month. I'm guilty of photographing some of the components in my proposed entry. I see no problem with that.

I wanted a true early morning light, so I posed the table, chair, vase and coffe cup in my east-facing backyard and draped a sheet behind them. I took that part of the composition at 7:30 a.m. Assembling the items, photographing and then cutting them out took longer than trying to find photos on the internet.

I used that photo along with photos found on the internet: background (stucco building with window) and the trellis.

Lorraine

Hi Lorraine. If you post your photos in this thread they'll be on the internet, then you can find and use them.

I don’t understand what the confusion is.
There are only two rules :

Quote:
* Turn the provided sketch into a photo.
* Final image must be exactly 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels high.

… & Frank Lopes would perfectly follow them. Any creation done using Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro could hardly be called a photo.
I think we all agree with the second rule & the first one should be left alone to everyone’s own interpretation.

Just IMHO :idea:

Well, we've had "monatages", photographs, internet searches.......
Thought I'd add a 3-D render to the melting pot.
(just a WIP, lots to do still)

Rô

I don't think anyone will find something on the net that will duplicate the sketch exactly. Posing shots for compositing is fine with me and I'm happy for those who have the photographic talent to do so. I had most of the elements on hand except the dang trellis. Even if you have the elements, it's not easy to position them, get the perspective/proportion right, cast shadows and set the lighting THEN make sure it all still looks like a photograph. I have found it to be one of the most fun challenges I've done.

Thought I'd add a 3-D render to the melting pot.


I was hoping someone would use Photoshop CS3's new 3D compositing features.

I think 3D render's only in the Extended version of Photoshop CS3. I'm not going that far $$$ wise when I do upgrade. Actually, my upgrade will be a downgrade.. From CS2 Premium to CS3 Design Standard.

I was hoping someone would use Photoshop CS3's new 3D compositing features.

Like Swampy said...
..and seeing as I already have "real" 3-D programs, no need to use 2-1/2. :D

Rô

This is just a "Work in Progress" - I'll probably change everything.
Thought I'd add it here, just to stir up the discussion! :D

Rô
OK I'll bite - can a render really look like a photograph?

OK I'll bite - can a render really look like a photograph?

If it's well done (which isn't my case :( ), certainly.
Today it's pretty hard to find any film (movie) that doesn't have CG scenes - and not just Sci-Fi stuff.

I remember seeing CG stuff a few years back that looked it, but once it 'gets real looking' it kind of becomes un-noticeable - guess I need to pay more attention. Found this pic on the net that looks amazingly real,
http://www.deviantart.com/view/29814225/

Yep, scenes are easy (well, not so difficult).
The really, really, really hard part is trying to produce believable skin.

the sketch.gif link does not work

It's still working fine for me, Ron.

Craig... One observation from me. Your chair is out of proportion to the table. Not small enough to be a child's chair, not big enough to accommodate an adult. JMHO.

hehe, ok. thanks, dee dee :)

there's actually a couple other things i want to do looking at this now, so i'll probably re-submit.

i increased the chair size, dee dee. also made a few changes and updated.

I like it better, Craig. :-)

thanks, dee dee :)

I click to download image for contest, I never get it , am I doing something wrong.

It should open in a new window or tab. Make sure you have us listed as trusted or friendly so that is allowed.

Finally, I decided it was finished as I didn't want to keep on fiddling with that image. Tried not to look at the submissions until I was well advanced so as not to get discouraged.
All the submissions so far are fantastically creative, considering we all have the same sketch to start with. I forgot to mention that I used one of the images provided in Mayang's textures for the window and the Ivy, all the other photos including the "stucco" wall are from photos from Flickr.com protected by a Creative Commons license. I wonder where do I have to list them, HERE -following an idea by Margie (http://migsjet-forums.atspace.com/imgsandcredits.htm)
Meantime as I mention in my submission I will be looking forward to any kind of feedback.
Congratulations to all who have posted so far :clap: :D
:wavey: Martha

Very nice Marthig. The stucco is wonderful.

Thank you Dee Dee, it is a photo of course :D
Martha :wavey:

Martha, I think that you did a very nice job of compositing all of the pictures that you used.

Cathy:)

Thanks a lot Cathy, I am happy to hear that so far my work is found acceptable. I am pleased with most of it, and the things that I found more troublesome were the flower vase and the coffee mug :) :P
:wavey: Martha

I really like what you did too, Martha - you've got a great eye for style.

I am so thrilled at these nice comments, thanks so much Doug :D
:wavey: Martha

I've just had a look at all the entries so far and am very impressed. I have almost finished mine, just one more componenet to get. My partner and I have been taking photos and I have used them to make what I have so far.

I have posted my entry. If you would like to see the pictures which made up my entry they are here (http://www.yapooh.org/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=9)

I must say thanks to my partner for her help with taking some of the photos and her encouragement along the way.

lorraine, take a look at your shadowing again. it's a bit inconsistent across the boards. in particular, check out the chair, table, vase and flower pots.

Thrilled to see all the discussion, tips, and suggestions! Please continue! :)

I've just had a look at all the entries so far and am very impressed. I have almost finished mine, just one more componenet to get. My partner and I have been taking photos and I have used them to make what I have so far.

I have posted my entry. If you would like to see the pictures which made up my entry they are here (http://www.yapooh.org/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=9)

I must say thanks to my partner for her help with taking some of the photos and her encouragement along the way.
Congratulations ScubaMargie, I liked your image, it does look like one photo :nod: . The only thing that -to me at least- seems not to quite belong is the Ivy. There is something about the perspective that makes it stand out.
Loved the sky reflecting in the window.
Also liked the idea of posting all the images in another place, I will do that too, probably a smaller image with the credits all in one page. Will see, hope you don't mind if I copy the idea :blush:

Thanks Martha for your comments. I will have a look at the ivy again and see what I can do with it.

You can put your pictures in the same place as I did if you like. You'll have to sign up to post pictures but it is free and easy. Go here (http://www.yapooh.org) and in the left hand column is the gallery. I have quite a few pics there. If you have any problems or need help just PM me, I'm Margie at the site, and I will help as much as I can.

T.. I think you've created a real winner in this month's contest. It's both a challenge and fun to work on. All the entries so far are the same but different. Everybody bringing their own taste and personality to their entry. I learned a lot about light and shadow working on mine and found many ways to improve my masking and compositing skills. Just getting the pillow to sit naturally and comfortably in the chair was a lesson in Free Transform! LOL

This one will be hard to judge too. :-)

Thank you Margie for the offer to posting the images. I will probably use one of the (free) sites I have to post material for forums, as in this case. Again thank you so much for your kind offer :D
Good luck with the Ivy's perspective :wink:

@ DeeDee - Totally agree with you about this contest, let's hope we could get another one in a not too distant future :)

Congrats T-Paul !! and thank you !! :nod:

:wavey: Martha

I also agree with you Swampy that this contest is a real challenge. Half the battle was to get all of the images together, and then struggle to get them to look natural in a new evironment. I loved the whole process. I also am enjoying seeing all of the different interpretations of the simple sketch.

Cathy:grin:

T.. I think you've created a real winner in this month's contest. It's both a challenge and fun to work on.

All the credit goes to Doug Nelson for this month's contest idea! :)

Cheers for Doug's idea then and a hug to T-Paul :D

Well I didn't want to open a new post THIS IS (http://migsjet-forums.atspace.com/imgsandcredits.htm) a special page I created to show the pictures I used in my image and assign the proper credits.

Wondering what I did wrong here. Anyone else have this problem? I was pretty pleased as punch with pic, then reduced it to 600x800 @ 72ppi and flattened it, but to save it for web, to meet the 100kb maximum had to drop the quality to 17 which introduced terrible pixelation. Could I have done this another way?

Gee, Cass, I set my document size first then assembled the picture. I had tons of layers but used Photoshop's Save for Web and set it for the closest file size (I think medium resolution was about 165K at this point). Then I hit the Optimize flyout menu and Optimized for 90K.

hmmm, something fishy, can't understand it, just tried one of the artistic one's where the original is under the 100k and did a layer with desaturate and then equalise in overlay mode, did the save for web and it too results in shocking compression to meet the 100k limit

Hi Cass, not sure why yours is more pronounced. You said you reduced it, what size and res did you start with (the orig sketch is proper size and res)? If you worked at higher size/res maybe compression is having a tougher time dealing with increased detail and colour. My save for web settings were; jpeg, medium, optimized, quality 48 (file size 99.42), and I created and worked my pdf at 600x800 res 72. Maybe check the res of your source photos, and try pasting them onto a new 600x800 res 72 pdf and see if save for web does the same thing to that pic.

Hi Cass !

I'm not quite the technical type for that but could it be that it is saving as a tiff or some other unusual kind of file ? I sometimes, after saving some file as a gif, my "save for web" keeps the same settings.

I have no other idea on this subject, sorry. Hope you can solve it :)

DeeDee
What or where is the "optimize" menu ? Maybe I use it all the time and don't know the name :depressed :blush:

Took a few photos myself so my starting image is 2576 x 1932 @ 230ppi. Does not seem to correlate well to camera - 5mp. Unfortunately Doug, in my frustration I overwrote my original psd file. Well maybe should have reduced pics first, so my fault.

My next suggestion was going to be to zoom in and clone the edges of all those tiny little squares.

day I stop learning I am dead, lol

frustrating, some aspects seem blurred whilst others seem over sharpened

This one was a lot of fun. Took me a long time to make everything I needed. Tried to get it as close to a photograph as possible.

Very nice, Racc. All the elements are there, but you changed the perspective. The rules didn't say anything about perspective so I assume it's okay with the rules. :-)

Very nice, Racc. All the elements are there, but you changed the perspective. The rules didn't say anything about perspective so I assume it's okay with the rules. :-)

Thanks, Swampy.

I thought about the perspective thing too, but as you pointed out there was no mention of required perspective, and everyone seemed to have a slightly different perspective anyway (usually slightly from the left), so I thought I'd mix it up and come at it from a different direction. Seemed to give it more depth, too.

Updated my entry.

Reminds me of school.
Rushing to do a three-week assignment all on the last day! :tired:

Rô

Nice silhouettes combination byRo …wow

Just want to say good luck to everyone who has entered.

Just wondering when the voting can start. I haven't seen the competition close . Has it closed or is it still going?

There are some great entries and I am having a hard time trying to chose between them all.

Voting opened 25 May.... :)

May 07 Contest Votes (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/contests/17245-may-07-contest-votes.html)

Has anyone done a gallery?

Has anyone done a gallery?
Not this time. Wish there could have been one, my PC is having "issues" and keeps freezing for reasons unknown when I make too many screen changes and took me some 4 intents to post my votes :D

But I also came here to say congratulations to all participants in this so interesting challenge. May we all win :D

:wavey: Martha

if you have tabbed browsing, just open all the pics in a tab. there arent that many this time.

Thanks Craig for the tip about the tabs. Unfortunatelly I don't have that in IE6 and don't feel comfortable with FireFox :blush:
Still there is something wrong that needs to be looked into, but have to get in touch with a trusted "PC guy"

Thanks also for your comment on my entry. :)

:wavey: - Martha

hi martha,

you could upgrade to i.e. 7. it has tabbed browsing and is very stable. or, you could try mozilla, not to be confused with mozilla firefox. i used mozilla a lot before i had all my hardware problems.

and you're welcome on the comments. hope it helped.

Thanks Craig, have to see first what is wrong with my system. Will probably have to format my C: HD and reinstall a whole bunch of programs. Nothing I look forward to doing :depressed
And yes your comments have always been most helpful.
Again thanks :)

you're welcome :)

you might submit your pc problem in the hardware forum. gary, and others, might be able to help.

I think one of the hardest things about this contest was dealing with perspective. It's very difficult to collect items from different photographs and find everything you need at the perfect perspective.

So, since I had no luck in doing just that, like ByRo, I decided to create all the elements myself in 3D, thus allowing me to control everything from perspective, to lighting, to materials, and shadows. Everyone's commenting on how my grass looked painted. Well it was, in a way, though not by me directly, but by the computer rendering process directed by me.

The only pre-exiting imagery used in my entry was the vines on the trellis and the flowers as I just ran out of time to model them. Oh, and the reflection in the window. Everything else I built from scratch on my own in 3D and textured it. Took over a week to do it. Once all the rendering was done, I took everything into Photoshop, composited it, made some adjustments, and color corrected it to give it that warm sunset feeling.

Don't know why, but thought some might be interested in what went into my entry.

Don't know why, but thought some might be interested in what went into my entry.
Me for one! As the other 3-D entry, may I congratulate you on your effort.
I know well that this stuff ain't easy.

This contest was also good for me to see that I should stop discussing technical nuances of procedural filters and go out and actually render something!

like ByRo, I decided to create all the elements myself in 3D,
Well, actually, I didn't create much.

The flower, vase, mug and vines were are all freebies.
The trellis, pencil and window I did make (yeah, wow!).
The rest (floor, wall, photo, paper ) are all simple one polygon planes with procedural textures.

Rô

My very feeble attempts with one of those 3D programs make me realise the work you byRo and Racc put in those renders. Congratulations to both. :wavey:

Thank you to all for the nice comments and good advise on my submission :D

Martha

As the other 3-D entry, may I congratulate you on your effort.
I know well that this stuff ain't easy.


Thanks! And no, it's not easy.

I had orginally planned to build everything myself, but simply ran out of time. And as in the real world, as deadlines loom shortcuts have to be taken. As a result, I too used the single polygon plane with an image mapped to it, as evidenced by what I feel was the weakest part of my image... the vines on the trellis.

Well, aside from maybe the grass. But at about 4 hours a pop for rendering the grass while having to calculate all the bounced lighting from indirect illumination and shadows, I quickly setteled on a look that was only so so. Otherwise, I'd still be testing grass renders. I suppose I could have used a photo for the grass, but that would have defeated the goal I set for myself in creating the image for this contest... namely to make everything in 3D, just to see if I could.

Thanks, Martha. Very kind.

racc, well, i was one that thought the grass was off, and the trellis. but i loved the rest of it. and, that you made this all in a 3d program is even more impressive. had you just made the grass a smaller element, that part probably would have worked better... less noticeable, less prominent.

and Ro, i hadnt even noticed you included the sketch. clever :) was that curved photo made with a filter forge filter? the style looks very familiar.

...but i loved the rest of it. and, that you made this all in a 3d program is even more impressive. had you just made the grass a smaller element, that part probably would have worked better... less noticeable, less prominent.

Thanks.

I did try shorter grass. But it looked even worse, like an old matted brush. In the end, I decided what I used felt more wild and fun so that's what I went with. It was a weak element, but I stand by it, especially considering the other options.

One of the things I like most about the image is the intangible feeling that the camera could move at any moment and reveal more of the scene, even though I know nothing exists beyond the edges of the frame, because I didn't create anything there. And I think the grass, in its own way helps contribute a lot to that despite its apparent unreality.

I am impressed by the 3D images. That is an area of design that I have not ventured into yet. For my entry I just did compositing. I had to spend lots of time finding images but I had fun doing it. I was going to go out and shoot some photos but I discovered that I had lost my camera.:bawling:

Cathy:)

This contest is now over. There were some wonderful entries and close voting that resulted in a tie for first that had to go to a tiebreaker (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/contests/13446-contest-faqs.html#post120860).

And the winner is.....ScubaMargie!

Prize: NuLOOQ navigator (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2769,CONTENTID=12771).

It's not a mouse, but it could be your mouse´s best friend!

Put your other hand to good use; NuLOOQ navigator gives you a powerful new way to interact with your application. Design, create, edit or just navigate — put the fun back on your desktop! The NuLOOQ navigator boldly goes where no device has gone before: to the other hand


Top 5
ScubaMargie - 27
Marthig - 27
CathyH - 23
Cazubi - 19
Racc Iria - 18

Congratulations, ScubaMargie! Well done

And my thanks to all who entered this contest and showed me their exceptional compositing talents!

WOW! Thanks guys. I didn't think that my entry would have a chance against all of the wonderful entries and the skill and talent that was displayed in them.

I think this month's contest was a real challenge. I loved all the different interpretations of the theme. I enjoyed getting the pictures for my creation and then putting them all together, it took quite a few hours of work.

At the moment I am lost for words. I would like to congratulate everyone who entered on such excellent entries. And thank you to Doug for the cool suggestion of the topic.

Thank you Swampy

First, humble apologies for not voting - sometimes life sortta gets in the way.

Congratulations to ScubaMargie!!!:bigthmb:

Quite a relief to see that my vote wouldn't have changed anything - just avoided the tie-breaker.
While Marthig's entry has all the elements perfectly placed,Scuba's just has that little something in the lighting that pulls it all together.

Congratulations Scuba Margie on a well deserved First
:bow: :bigthmb:

Congratulations ScubaMargie :)

Congratulations ScubaMargie. Well done.

Cathy :bigthmb:

Congratulations ScubaMargie. Can you tell how you did the lighting effect?
cathyH

congratz, scubamargie. nicely done :)

Congratulations ScubaMargie.

Thank you all. :blush:

CathyH the shadows on the wall were just there when I took the picture. It was just after 12 O'clock when I took the picture, and i thought of just getting the wall. It wasn't until I got it back to the computer that i realised the shadows were there.

The shadows of the chair and table were made by making a selection of the chair and table and putting them on their own layers and then filling them with black. I then used the transform tool to put the shadow where I wanted it. A bit of gausian blur and drop the opacity and bobs your uncle.(Thanks Swampy for telling me about this in a different thread, can't remeber the thread though).

Mostly though it was the camera.

Congraulations, ScubaMargie. Great work!!!!

Lorraine

Thanks Lorraine. Your's was preety cool too.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone here at Retouch Pro. I wouldn't have made it as far as I have without this site.

I have just received my NulooQ. It looks cool, is heavy and now the research begins on how to use it.