photoshop tutorial

This is one image i produced in photoshop tutorial using layer mask. Bit confusing about layers and where things went but i think i got there in the end.
This one is a tile that was offset and then repaired where the joins were. Quite easy specially with tiger print.

Ho ho ho

Some festive spirit now in the form of a maya santa hat :D Like doing the fur effect on this, was really simple.

Moar maya fur

Grass fur effect combined with polar bear effect with lighting and shading.

Ever wondered what gorilla fur would look like punked..? Here's your answer.

Just the lion mane fur effect with lighting and shading.

Maya fur

This is just the preset porcupine fur effect in Maya with lighting and shadows.

This is a combination of porcupine and squirrel fur with lighting and shading. Liking this one a lot.

A combo of porcupine, squirrel and wet otter fur with lighting and shading. Liking the clumping effect on this one.

Influence map

I looked at artists Tom Hunt and Melanie Pullen that were hyperlinked on the brief and slooked through their work. I chose these images as i like the atmosphere created in them as well as composition and lighting. The bottom right image really gives a sense of foreboding and a sinister feel as the body of a woman lies sprawled across the bonnet of a taxi. This is a complete contrast to the one on the top left which gives a feeling of calmness and light. Most of these images are quite dark and gothic which is an approach i am thinking of applying in my work.

4 more thumbs

Just more quick thumbnails of a few of my new ideas. The top left is suggesting a homeless person asleep on a lone park bench. Top right is a view from within a wardrobe in an attic looking at abandoned toys. Bottom right is of an attic with a single light source from the window and the bottom left is a perspective view down an alleyway.

Idea rethink

After a comment from phil, i chose to rethink my initial ideas. Heres a quick list of what i've come up with:

*alleyway

*pub

*dance studio

*garage

*attic

*forest

*cupboard under the stairs

*wardrobe (Not in the Narnia sense)

*town centre

OR

combine wardrobe and attic, make the attic dusty and everything. Then, have it so you're looking out of the wardrobe through a crack in the doors because you're hiding.

OR

a street at mid-night with a lone park bench lit by a single street light. A mound is on the bench suggesting a homeless person. The rest of the image is cropped by the rest of the street being in darkness so all you can see is the light.

Any of these any good? I can think of stuff for all of them mostly.

The Haunting 1963 review

The Haunting 1963 [poster art]

I had never seen this film, directed by Robert Wise, before. It was one of those 'heard of it but never seen it' sort of films for me.

This film builds a lot of suspense quickly when an unknown force starts hammering on the bedroom walls of Elanor and Theo, the camera seeming to focus on the voice and footsteps leading the audience to believe it is really there on the other side. The anticlimax of this persistent hammering, in my opinion, is that it just finishes and the force just seems to walk away. The argument to this could be that it is the house itself that is thumping through the walls, trying to get to Elanor. BBC said 'a genuinely startling film that still retains effective tension.' In this perspective, it really brings the film and also the house to life and makes it that much creepier to think that the house is alive and doing these things to them.

Elanor and Theo [film still]

The fact that you dont actually see anything physical adds to the overall dramatic effect of the film, as it allows the audience to imagine for themselves what the creature could possibly be like. Of the 'ghost', IMDB said 'the film manages to build tension steadily without ever showing the 'ghost,' therefore leaving you on the edge of your seat throughout.' Many of the audience can probably relate to the strange happenings of the house, the bangs and creaks during the night as it cools which after watching this film play at the back of the mind during the night when they're in their own homes. However, NYT had a different view of the film by saying 'this antique chiller drags to an ectoplasmic end, you'll agree that it does have just about everything in the old-fashioned blood-chilling line except a line of reasoning that makes a degree of sense.'

Hill House [film still]

I found this film quite slow to begin with and didnt really engage with it properly until the characters spent the first night in the house. The introduction to the characters was a bit too long and uninteresting in my opinion, but it does mean that it allows the audience to get to know them better and a bit about why they are at the house in the first place.

Quotes:

IMDB The Haunting, 1963. Robert Wise http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057129/

BBC The Haunting, 1963. Robert Wise http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/12/12/the_haunting_1963_review.shtml

NYT The Haunting, 1963. Robert Wise http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A06E4D81431E73BBC4152DFBF668388679EDE

A final possibility..

I think im leaning towards one of my ideas as it is the one that keeps popping up in my mind and that has the most ideas connected to it.

I'm thinking of doing the hospital scene as i feel i can really create the atmosphere i want in it using elements from my research, and also most importantly create the final scene/image and have it looking good. I can't really explain what the image is in my head so i'll try and draw it and post it on here to see what people think.

Four quick thumbnails

Ok, just knocked out 4 thumbnails while playing left for dead. These four are different in the way that they have different lighting. Top left is lit by a fire which would give a really good glow to the scene. Bottom left is lit by a single ray of light from the window which would create a good mood to the scene. Bottom right is lit by a strong, single overhead light which would cast rich, dark shadows, and top right is general lighting but still containing some shadows for depth along the corridor. Each one is inspired by left for dead.

Atmosphere inspiration: Left for Dead 2 'The Parish'

Another experimentation with image cropping, this time using the window of the door as my cropper. I dont think this is particularly interesting because of the image through the window, but i do like the way it has been framed.
Took this one just before going through a doorway so it was cropped. Main focus seems to be the fire on this one, even though that was unintentional as i was just experimenting with cropping images. Its good as it draws the viewer into the image.
Just a quick shot of the horse statue (Ellis invaded my pic). Like the blurry background and overhanging trees.
This shot is just a quick one i took before i got swamped by rampaging zombies. Use of slight low mist again, and low sunlight coming through the trees.

Went through the 'The Parish' campaign and looked at the scenery and environment in general in the park and took some snapshots of the ones i found most interesting and that i could possibly integrate into my work.

Atmosphere inspiration: Left for Dead 2 'Swamp Fever'

This shot was taken while i walked through the swamp. Again it has the low mist near the ground that i really like, and also the silohuette of the trees. I may use the dark atmosphere in my piece.
This is the same shack, but i managed to take the shot while i shot a zombie and liked the way it lit the room from the fire.
This was taken inside the shack and shows how ruined everything is. I like the rundown and destroyed objects within the room and the way it works really well in the scene.
This shot was taken further into the level, and shows an abandoned shack within the swamp. I like the low mist that covers the distance and the way it is lit by the torch. This is a dark environment which works well for the game, and could intergrate the effect into my work.
This shot was taken at the beginning of the level. The floodlights created this strong lighting which i quite like. The environment definitely has an abandoned feel about it.

Went through the 'Swamp Fever' campaign and looked at the scenery and environment in general and took some snapshots of the ones i found most interesting and that i could possibly intergrate into my work.

Fairground inspiration: Left for Dead 2 part 2

Another image i really like. A different angle of the boats, this time above them. I love the solitary light that is lighting the scene on the walkway and boats. Nice deep shadows in this one create an epic spooky feel.
Ok, really like this one of the swan boats. Love the way the lighting is working coming from that one light in the corner above them as it give some awesome shadows. The whole image to me, makes the boats feel isolated, unwanted and almost alien. Good shadows as well in this one.
A shot of pretty lights in the tunnel of love. Not much lighting in this one, not too keen on it really.
Moving through the tunnel of love, i took this shot of the heart-shaped arches. I particularly liked the way they framed the shot and created 'layers' within the image.
This is a shot going down the stairs into the tunnel of love level. I again really liked the lighting down the stairs and the way the shadows framed the picture.
This is a shot looking out from the safe room. I liked the way the stairs were lit just by the purple lights going up.

I managed to get some shots of the fairground in Left for Dead 2 (between fighting hundreds of zombies). It provides a really 'dead' atmosphere thats dynamic and includes great shadows and lighting that i really like and could use in my work.

Fairground inspiration: Left for Dead 2 part 1

Couldn't resist this one, a shot down the awesome bumpy slide.
This is closer to the sort of shot i wanted, with the ride blocking out part of the scene. I like the way in some parts you can see through sections of the ride to what is going on behind. I did want to find rides with the lights left on but there wasn't any.
This is a shot of the entrance to Kiddieland (for Ellis :D) Again, good shadows and ominous lighting, although perhaps the shot is a bit wide as there is little obstruction and cropping
This is a shot down one of the alleyways of the fairground. I lit it with my torch to highlight the mess created as well as the blood on the floor.
This is another dark shot of the fairground. I like how it is lit by small shades of moonlight and bulbs hanging from the trees. I also like the way the shadows and darkness give the image depth.
This is a shot of the abandoned picnic area of the fairground. I like the atmosphere it creates and the dark lighting. Forgot i had my flashlight off, but there was a witch about so i had to.
Not exactly sure why i took this shot, but it does provide a good single source of light, that being my torch. It also in a way, isolates the urinals by using the spotlight, which could be a form of cropping the image.

I managed to get some shots of the fairground in Left for Dead 2 (between fighting hundreds of zombies). It provides a really 'dead' atmosphere thats dynamic and includes great shadows and lighting that i really like and could use in my work.

One more i forgot..

I forgot to mention one more idea

Fairground

*Carousel

*ferris wheel

*dark shadows

*light from rides?

*light from moon?

*rides blocking part of the shot

*closeup shots

*long shots down between rides?

Hospital inspiration: Left for Dead

This is a shot of an x-ray room in the hotel level. I wanted a wide shot of it so i could get all of the equipment in and see the whole atmosphere of the scene. I really like the solo lighting over the beds and coming from the screen.
This is a front shot of the beds in the x-ray room (yes, that is Francis in the shot giving me a weird look) The light from the screen showing the hand x-rays gives great shadows from the beds, which look like they should have people in them.
This is a lighter operating room. I took a shot of the bed as it had a bright single light over it and created dark shadow under the bed.
This shot is of a desk lit only by my torch, which gives it great long shadows and a really ominous and foreboding look and feel to it. I also like the light around the edge of the doorframe and through the small window.
This is a hot through the small window on one of the doors. I wanted this shot as it cropped basically the whole image and focuses right down the corridor. I really like the open door with the blood on the floor and walls, as well as the misty effect as you look down the corridor.
This is another shot from the same door just looking at the other wall, which has large blood splats down it.
This shot, i wanted a wheelchair thats been abandoned as it sets the mood of the scene. I like the light from upstairs in the corner, but theres a bit too much light in the whole scene for my liking.
Managing to get away from the zombies i took this shot of a massively blood-stained corridor. Really liking the strong lighting thats coming from the open door and landing on the wall with the picture.
Same corridor, different angle :) Like the long blood streak on the floor, which is similar to what i have in my head as an idea. Deep shadows are also good.
In the safe room standing on the tv so i could get the strong lighting that comes from it (before i shot it)
The tv again, but this time getting the light that gives off shadows and lights the opposite wall.
Infront of the tv. I like the two panels of light either side of it and the dark shadow behind.

These are images that i have taken from Left for Dead 2 of the hospital level. This level had awesome atmosphere and lighting, and closely relates to what i want and see in my head.