Photoshop gurus - halp!? Can't work out how...

[Captain Starfish]

My google-fu is goofle-gucked.

I'm sure I'm kinda on the right path but I'm missing something.

I want to render something in the style of this:



based on a real photographed object.

So far I take a photo, clip the object out onto another layer. Black background layer btw. Object gets desaturated and inverted (so the darker edges are made light), the object layer gets grouped with a gradient map and the group is masked for a crisp edge. One more layer goes in with a solid fill of the colour I want to use...

but it's not working. Kinda like an x-ray image, nothing like the glowing edge render there. In fact, it all kinda looks like the ground directly under the stalks with a "reflected light" appearance, rather than transmitted/emitted light appearance.

I suspect that the mushrooms are most likely rendered in some kind of 3D package like Maya, 3DS Max, Blender etc but don't really want to head down that road just yet.

Anyone tried to get this kind of image with any kind of success?

[Professor Redfern]

No pic mate

[Captain Starfish]

Fixed. More info: yaaaas, that image was created using Lightwave (a pro 3D package which was apparently to Bryce what Photoshop is to MS-Paint) by Ryan Bliss in 1999.

But surely there's a way to get things glowy like this...

[Skut]

Kinda answered your own question, but have seen from yr posts yr no PS dummy! Any image you manipulate in such a way in PS is gonna depend on your masking/selection skills or the contrast levels in the original image (hehe, I believe Lightwave was originally developed on the Amiga, a trully awsome platform if it had only been allowed to grow! I don't know if you would ever get such a clean image from what is basically an analogue capture, all real-life subjects have flaws that will show up..

[Captain Starfish]

The more I look, the more it seems to be about creating paths along the feature lines and adding layers of white/blue along those lines manually.

Or doing a proper model in Blender and hitting the <render> button. But I've forgotten how to drive Blender and 3DS max, it's been so long, and can't be bothered learning again for the sake of one image

many sux0rz

[Barfrangipani]

Please tell me you're doing a glowing blue fat dog!
even if you aren't, just tell me you are

[Sentry]

...3DS max...

many sux0rz

For 3d max, apply a texture, flat colour, drop the opacity and up the luminescence/glow (forget the exact name).

[Captain Starfish]

@ barfy - is a secret. (ok, yes)
@ sentry - the rendering bit is not the problem. The problem is taking one or more photos and then going through the process of modelling a surface, on which I might then apply the texture, colour, lighting control and final render.

[Maxo]

Play with blurs and layers.

Start with a line drawing.

based on a real photographed object.

Duplicate/blur.

cut some bits out and blur the edges.

Duplicate again.

Blur according to light source.

Duplicate.


get really frustrated and fresco.

delete all the layers and draw a stickman punching a child.

rinse and repeat.

At some point throw in a filter to change the hue a bit.

[richie_b]

i'm no PS guru but i would play with, colour eraser, making "bump maps" and lighting effects.

[richie_b]

used some google fu = these tutes might help

50+ Ultimate Collection of Glow and Light Effect Tutorials in Photoshop | Naldz Graphics

[Captain Starfish]

ta maxo, I'm stuck on the bits you've struck through: I cant draw stickmen too good (children are fine)

richie_b - most of the effects are great for reflected light (specular or diffuse) but not so good for the appearance of radiated or transmitted light.

Waded through those tutes yesterday, not much help sadly.

Thanks for your suggestions guys, time to start tracing and drawing lines <_<

[Maxo]

How are you with basic shading / light sources?

[Chewie]

This one is for outline but I am sure you can modify to give the effect your after

Photoshop Outline - Outline In Photoshop - Outlines Photoshop - Photo Effects

[Captain Starfish]

maxo - are you implying that I should learn to walk before attempting the marathon???



my basic shading/light sources is pretty basic.

[Maxo]

maxo - are you implying that I should learn to walk before attempting the marathon???
.

You're not giving yourself an easy task, which can get very frustrating.

How are you doing the linework?

[Chewie]

Started with this Starfish



Came up with this using the outer glow fx



Its only a quick go at it during my lunch break but I am sure with your uber PS skillz you can do much better

[Maxo]

that kinda just looks like someone has applied a drop shadow and changed the colours about a bit.

[Captain Starfish]

@ chewie - the outer glow would be the last step after the tinting process. That's kinda the effect I'm getting with filters/transforms on photos so far though - it's sorta halfway there but the next step is hyooooge.

@ maxo - my attempts until this morning (when I got distracted with stuff I need to do instead of want to do) were aimed at creating an action that would take an appropriately lit image and get me 95% of the way there ready for a little hand tweaking and mask brushwork. So was relying on shadows and high pass filters to yield the lines.

I have now given up on this approach: it seems to be shit.

So now will start tracing with paths instead, and use these to clip painting with big soft brushes of appropriate colour.

[Captain Starfish]

okay, getting somewhere.

From this:


To this:


Only problem now is to do with that blue overlay layer. I have a layer stack that looks like this:


Problem is that when I enable "funky misty layer", the blue overlay layer overlays that layer too. I am having a stupid - is there a simple way of saying "No, photochop: overlay shud ONRY affect layers within the group!!" ??