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Reader Tutorial: Planet X Matte Painting in Photoshop

guest — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:28:28 +0000

In today's feature film industry, productions are in constant need of digital set extensions or matte painting, the correct term for this type of work. If you don't know exactly what it is, a matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit.

Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage. At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is "seamless" and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible to film.

So in this tutorial I will show you how to create that using some photos, 3D rendered models in 3DS Max and Photoshop.

Step 1

Make a rough sketch of the scene that we are going to create. Drawing the rough sketch makes the work easier in finding the appropriate images for the scene. The image used for this tutorial can be found here http://night-fate-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1q5yrw

Step 2

Open a new canvas in Photoshop with 16:9 resolution(1280x720px) .

Step 3

Import the image onto the canvas for which we are going to create the set-extension. Name the image as "base plate".

Step 4

Now mask half the body of the model using the Pen Tool(P) , and separate the selection into a new layer. This layer will be helpful in the coming steps.

Step 5

Select a center point in the image which represents the vanishing point to draw the perspective lines. Now by using the Line Tool(U) draw the perspective lines from the vanishing point. Drawing the perspective makes the work easier while arranging the images and the 3d models.

Step 6

In this step we are going to create a city which is far beyond the hills. Naturally the city appears to be blurred and dim in color when it is seen very far away. The image here fits perfectly to the scene, you can download it at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/709616.

1) Mask out the sky from the City image using the Magic Wand Tool(W) .
2) Now place the city layer on the right side of the image as shown in the image below and erase the unwanted part of the city using the Eraser Tool(E) .
3) color correct the 'City' layer using the Curves(Image>Adjustments>Curves) to blend with the main image.

Step 7

1) To create the tall tower as drawn in the sketch, open the image of 'brudge khalifa' (http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=dubai%20buildings&order=9&offset=48#/d2c...) and mask the shape of the building using the Pen Tool.
2) Now save the mask by right clicking on the mask and select 'Save Selection'.Then give a name to the mask and save it.

Step 8

1) Create a new layer and open the saved mask from Select>Load Selection, and paint the selection with #909da1 color.
2) Now increase the Exposure value of the tower to +0.14.

Step 9

Here we have the 3d 'dome' models same as designed in sketch, rendered out in occlusion and with texture using 3DS-max. You can download the 3D dome at http://leostarkoneru.deviantart.com/art/3d-domes-179534553

1) With the perspective layer on, arrange the occlusion rendered dome to the right as shown and name the layer as 'acl dome'..
2) Now place the textured dome on the 'acl dome' and reduce it's Opacity to 61%.
3) According to the main image the sun light is coming from the right side, so duplicate the textured dome layer and color correct the layer using the Curves to get the sun light effect on dome.Name the layer as 'light'.
4) Now by using the Soft Eraser Tool(E) erase the left side of the light layer to give the dark shadow to the dome. Then select all the layers of dome and Merge them together and name it as 'dome 1'.

Step 10

Since the dome is resting on soft sand, there must be some sand covering the bottom of the dome.In this step we will be digitally painting the sand at the bottom of the dome.

1) Make a new layer and paint the sand as shown using the Soft Round Brush(B) with #7d7466 color selected.
2) Now reduce the Opacity of the brush to 75% and paint on the previous paint using #64584b color.
3) Again repeat the previous step using #303028 color with the brush opacity set to 26%.

Step 11

Now duplicate the 'dome 1' layer and name it as 'dome2' then flip it horizontally and place it on the left as shown.

Step 12

1) Similarly as the previous step duplicate the dome2 layer and name it as dome3 then resize it using the Move Tool(V) as per the sketch. Place this layer under the model layer that we cut in the Step 4.
2) As the object goes further from the camera it gets blurred, so add Gaussian Blur(Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) of Radius 0.7px.

Step 13

Repeat Step 12 to arrange dome 4 and dome group. After arranging the domes apply Gaussian Blur of Radius 1.4px to dome 4 and to 'dome group' add Gaussian Blur of radius 2.0px.

Step 14

1) Now import the planet image (http://superiorgamer.deviantart.com/art/Stock-Planet-1-60715114?q=boost%...) onto the canvas and change it's Blending Mode to Screen.
2) Repeat the previous step and resize the planet using the Move Tool to create a moon to the planet.

Step 15

Since this is a desert scene there must be some sand flying with the wind. Using the 'Softly Whisper' brush (http://zoozee.deviantart.com/art/Cloud-Brushes-II-48222245?q=boost%3Apop...) paint the sand flying with the color #e5d7c5.

Step 16

Adding a Lens Flair to the scene makes it more natural. Go to Filter>Render>Lens Flair and choose 35mm Prime and increase it's brightness to 135%.

Step 17

From this step we will be using Lightroom 3 for color correcting the image. Lightroom 3 is very easy to use and we can get an amazing result in a very short time.

1) Import the saved photoshop file into Lightroom and choose 'color Creative-Bleach Bypass' preset from Saved Presets list.
2) Now move to Develop and change the exposure to -0.99, Temp=+6, Fill Light=20.
3) Set the value of Lens Vignetting Amount to -70 to get the dark corners.

Conclusion

About the Author

Santosh is a freelance graphic designer based in India. He recently completed his college courses majoring in 2D Animation, and has decided to continue on to Film Production. His weapon of choice: Photoshop. You can see more of Santosh's work via santosh' portfolio. Connect with him through Twitter.

World Collabs 3 Winner Artwork Tutorial by François Hoang

guest — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:11:54 +0000

This is my first tutorial ever so bear with me! I wanted to thank Abduzeedo for giving me this great opportunity. I am going to show you guys how to do my own submission for the Abduzeedo World Collabs 3 : James White. First let me warned you, that I won't be telling you all the steps but I'll be giving you hints that will help you make your "own" creation.

So I'll show you my techniques of shaping the colors and creating this vibrant light effect. The idea that I wanted to project in this collaboration was to put my "own" style from the original file of James White.

I picked out the PSD file from the given link of Abduzeedo : http://abduzeedo.com/world-collabs-3-james-white I must say that I really loved the colors on the original file of James White, the colors were so warm and futuristic.

My tools of battle are: the one and only Adobe Photoshop CS3, as well a couple cans of Pepsi and most importantly the music! I can't live without music so for this artwork; I must admit that I was just kept playing one song on "repeat" and it was Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime (Axwell & Henrik B Remode). Yes! By the way, this artwork took me about 3 hours to do! Okay, let's do this!

Step 1

First, really take a close look at the layers of the PSD, to see how the designer worked on his file because we all worked on different ways. By the way, James White has a really cool simple way of working along the layers. Everything was really well separated so it was easy to for me to work on it. This collaboration was to put a little bit of me but by also respecting his part of the collaboration.

After taking a closer look to the PSD, I just "desaturated" the whole thing and restart the project with my own colors and effects. Plus, I have resized the "circle" to make more space for the final details of my submission.

Step 2

Merge all the "Shards" layers together and take out the layer visibility for now. Let's start with the background, just make a simple gradient departing from the bottom to top. I've used the color #070c35 (dark blue) to black. I really like to start my work with a dark background so this way I have more fun with the lighting!

Step 3

Now let's make "Shards" layer visible and give it some "outer glow" from the blending options. I've used the color white so it is easier for me to play with it. The white color will be the base of your lighting effect. After duplicate the "Shards" layer and you will have a solid base of the "circle".

Step 4

Now let's get the radial gradient and pick two (2) colors to create the first color layer of the "circle". I've used "foreground to transparent" on the gradient and my two colors were cyan and the dark blue (#070c35). To give more punch to the gradients, just blend the layer to "overlay".

Step 5

Now you just basically repeat the "Step 4" but you change your color cyan to "pink" and voilà! The center of your piece is now done!

Step 6

Now you've setup the "circle" color base, here comes the "Fun Part". This is the part where you can be really creative with the lighting because now everything that will matter , is how the colors will blend in different kind of effects. As long as the base of your artwork is solid, the rest is up to you.

For my part, I added some white blurry shapes of white circles to give some more lighting to the "circle". I also added some lines and shapes and played with the blending options.

Step 7

I add further color shapes around the "circle" and blended them with the lines. After I've created some more shapes and afterwards added some "cloud" stock brushes in the background.

Step 8

Now activate the "Sparks" layer and change the foreground color to cyan. After I duplicate the very same layer and do a rotation of 180 degrees and place it at the bottom of the "circle". Now you have the "Sparks" all around it.

I also added some finishing touches like a stock image of a "Lighting Sparkle". I just played with it, I duplicated it and blended it and created some more sparkles! I also added some particles brushes processing their way along the lines. The artwork looks pretty done but not yet! There's still a few steps away!

Step 9

Now create a rectangle of about 30 pixels and set the background color to a beige color (#ecd193). Duplicate it and place it all around the artwork. My idea behind this beige border was to pay a little tribute to James White. This has been part of this style so I wanted to honor his trademark.

Step 10

Now take the very same layers of the beige rectangle and put an opacity of 40% and rotate them a little just to give an effect of borders overlaying themselves.

Step 11

Now for the piece of resistance, I've decided to put the middle circle layer on and give it some outer glow from the blending options. To finalize my submission, I've put the logo of James White - Signalnoise right in the middle. This last touch is the one that completes my World Collabs 3 submission.

About the Author

Hi guys! My name's François Hoang and my alias's Aoiro Studio. I am a self-taught freelance graphic designer from Montreal, Canada. I've been designing for the last 4 years and really have a huge passion for creative work that makes a difference in our world. I am currently working as a freelancer with private clients on different commercial projects. I can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/aoirostudio , Facebook and Behance, as well as my online portfolio on AoiroStudio.com.

Mecanicow - Case Study by Marcos Torres

guest — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:48:06 +0000

I'm pleased to announce that I was one of the artists selected for Cow Parade 2010 Porto Alegre, Brazil. My initial concept was to make a customized cow with gears like a engine, but it would take a lot of time and money. Since I didn't have that, I decided to try to apply a style of geometric/tribal illustration, that I have already created.

After hours of work I was really happy with the result I got. So in this case study I will show you quite a few pictures of the whole process. I'd like to thank everyone whow supported me on this project. The photos were taken by Alexandre Raupp (http//:www.flickr.com/alexandreraupp)

The process

The final result

About the Author

Hey buddies! I'm Marcos Torres, a 19 year old art director/freelancer from Brazil, I'm here to bring some new interesting stuff to you. You can see my portfolio at http://flickr.com/marcostorres. Any request or jobs opportunities contact me via email to marcostorres90@gmail.com, also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/marcos333 to get in touch with cool design news.

Motion Graphics Inspiration by Kyle Cooper

guest — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:08:58 +0000

When the great Kyle Cooper spoke at FITC San Fran this past August, he did not disappoint. Kyle Cooper is an American film title designer who is known for his memorable, evocative work. Most notably, he elevated the opening titles to an art form with the film, Se7en in 1995. His work has inspired a younger generation of designers, and to this day, he has produced many more film titles. His story in a nutshell is this: Kyle Cooper studied under Paul Rand at Yale, and decided that he would focus on creating film titles. In 1996, he co-founded the creative agency, Imaginary Forces, which is focused on motion design. Once the agency grew substantially, he left and founded the agency, Prologue, which is where Kyle remains today.

At FITC, Kyle Cooper gave a very inspiring presentation entitled "Others: Content and Creative Community". His presentation offered us a rare glance into his genius; Kyle described his creative philosophy and process. As well, he showcased a few of the title sequences that he has designed.

While Kyle strives to provoke an emotional reaction from the audience, he does not want to reveal too much of the story. His focus remains on creating strong concepts, and tweaking them until they are solid. With Iron Man, he created visual riddles with the typography that allude to the story; this served as a means to connect with the audience. Kyle understands the need to engage an audience; he carefully develops visuals that have relevant, contextual meaning to the rest of the respective film.

These days, we have a plethora of digital tools available that make it easier to create digital pieces. That being said, having more tools does not necessarily equate to better quality work. Analogue forms of content have their own merits. Kyle admitted he had a preference for analogue content—that is, physical objects and handmade effects. Se7en has plenty of these including a hand-drawn alphabet, mishandled negatives, scratches, etc.

His reasoning behind his preference is that analogue content offers much more room for creative exploration. Analogue content can be arranged, rearranged and juxtaposed quickly to establish meaning and tone. It is raw, and there is an authenticity that digital tools may not be able to produce. As a result, analogue content gives way for some interesting experiments, some of which may be happy accidents.

3D animation and effects, on the other hand, don't offer that same luxury, and due to the amount of time that rendering takes, there is much less time (if any) to concentrate on tweaking the concept. Ultimately, it's hard not to argue that using tactile objects in the design offers an extra avenue with which the audience can connect. Kyle's creative process has paid off: With Wimbledon, he mentioned that his sequence was chosen over the work that other studios had created, which was more 3D and effects-heavy. See the opening sequence below:

Kyle Cooper's talk reassured one thing: the best design is concept driven. While technology may offer countless possibilities, it doesn't replace having a solid concept in creating a stunning title sequence that resonates with us. Content is king, and building that community with the "others" is paramount... and Kyle Cooper knows this.

Kyle Cooper/Imaginary Forces documentary (1 of 2)

Kyle Cooper/Imaginary Forces documentary (2 of 2)

Demo Reel 2006

For more information about Kyle Cooper visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Cooper
http://www.prologue.com/
The Dark Genius of Kyle Cooper http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/cooper.html

About the Author

My name is Janet Cordahi and I’m a Toronto-based visual designer who loves to explore new ways of approaching different design challenges in this digital playground. I specialize in creating original solutions via motion graphics, print and web. For more information about Janet visit http://eccentricity.net/ or follow her tweets at http://twitter.com/janetyelplanety

GIMP Quick Tips: Abstract Background Effect

guest — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:02:10 +0000

I was thinking a few days ago, what I should do, what I could create. I entered in some sort of a minor art block, when I took a look at my old design. One of them caught my eye. It was one of my old GIMP experiments. I couldn't remember anything about how I made it, but it looked awsome, so i saw in this a challenge. Finally, I managed to remember and put back together a quick step-by-step tutorial.

This is what I hope to achieve. A simple spiral fiery background. Nothing complicated, everything kept to the minimum, and simplicity has laid its word here. I hope you will enjoy my tutorial as i did creating it. And of course, i would like to thank Abduzeedo for this occasion. So, let's get to work :

Step 1

Open GIMP, and create a new project, let's say 1920 x 1200 px with about 300 ppi resolution. This should do the trick.

Step 2

Grab the Gradient Tool (L), and then drag a gradient like i indicated below.

The Shape must be Spiral (cw). As for gradient itslf, use Incandescent. Leave any other setting default.

Step 3

Duplicate this layer, and then Flip it Vertically and Horizontally.
Set the resulting layer to Multiply.

Step 4

After that, Merge the two layers, and then apply a Gaussian Blur (Filters ⇒ Blur ⇒ Gaussian Blur ...) of about 25 pixels.

Apply a Lava Render (Filters ⇒ Render ⇒ Lava ... ). Set this layer to Overlay.

Eventually, duplicate the Lava layer and set its Opacity to 50%.

Step 5

Nice. But still not ready. Create a new layer directly above the background layer, and fill it with the "Walnut" texture (drag it to your project from the Patterns pallete). Set the layer to Overlay.

If it seems a little bit dull, then create a new layer above the texture layer, fill it with white and set it on Overlay.

Step 6

It looks really nice even now, but let's add a little bit of dynamism to it. You can see that the Lava texture, and the Walnut texture are getting along perfectly. And as an extra, that Gaussian Blur we applied a while back makes it look more fluffy. But enough talking, and more working. Moving on ...

Create a new layer, above the Texture Layer, and pull your Gradient Tool (L) again. This time we are going to use the Cyan Neon Gradient, and as a Shape, we'll use the Spiral (CCW). Drag like i did below, ... basicly from the center to the top, and bottom. (twice, one from center to top, and one from center to bottom).

Set the resulting layer to Overlay.

Step 7

Great, looks good. But it's still a little bit too obvious. how about we change that?

Apply a Gaussian Blur of about 50 pixels, and we should be done.

Conclusion

Excelent. we're all set right now.

Seven simple steps, to achieve a pretty remarcably simple effect. I must admit, i stumbled by accident about 6 months ago on this amasing fit of the Lava and the Walnut textures. Everything else was just filling. Feel free to experiment with other colors, shapes, anything your heart pleases. You can add some sort of logo to it, or anything like this.

Click on the image for full preview

Download the Photoshop File

Click here to download the Photoshop file used for this tutorial

About the Author

My name is Marcu Sabin. I'm a 15 years old enthousiast from Romania, and i've "stuck my nose" up most of the big design tools. I'm quite adept of GIMP, Photoshop and Pixelmator. I really enjoy working with all of them, and got a few great ideeas. I also enjoy your site, the tutorials are great, and i would like to contribute as much as i can. I have a few GIMP tutorials at the ready, and it would be an honor if you would allow me to post it on your site. It is fully detailed, easy to follow, and all in all pretty nice.

Becoming a Professional Creative

matthewreiswig — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:46:41 +0000

If you are considering on becoming a creative professional, you should make an important decision: whether you will admire it or do it. The difference? I always admired great footballers all over the world. But to be a professional soccer player would have meant committing to that lifestyle, including intense training, enduring difficult challenges, and challenging myself physically and mentally. But I decided not to and I'm ok with that. I'm a big fan. I read about it. I follow it. I love to coach my kids and watch lots of games. I don't do it. I admire it.

Decide whether you will be a hobbyist or a professional.

Here's a good example. My wife makes amazing cakes. My grandmother gave her a family recipe and some awesome secret methods that result in beautiful and scrumptious cakes. Every time she makes a cake for some event, she's asked to make another one. Inevitably, people comment, "You should go into business!." However, making cakes isn't her passion. It's a hobby that she loves. And if she made it into a business, she'd probably end up hating it. Instead, she takes the comment as a compliment and keeps making cakes for fun. Remember that you have you are faced with deciding whether it's something you love to do (leisure) or something you will do to pay the bills (work). Be mindful of whether you want to turn your hobby into a career.

If your answers are "admire it" or "hobbyist," then enjoy it as such. If your answers are "do it" and "professional", please read on.

1. Know what it takes.

What is good design? What are the principles? Who is a good designer? Why are they good? What is good code? What are the standards?

2. Start from scratch.

A good cook starts from scratch. So does a good website designer. Learn at least a basic working knowledge of html, css, typography, and grid-system design.

3. Give yourself assignments.

You are at an awesome time in your career where you can do anything. So do it. Build a website for someone who needs it and tell them you need a guinea pig. Tell them you'll do it for free as long as you have zero restrictions. Non-profits are usually great for this sort of thing. Then, pretend they are your best client. Blow them out of the water with brilliant ideas. Use illustration, stop-motion, ink in liquid, paper or hand puppets to execute and solve their problems.

4. Get out of your comfort zone.

In order to be inspired, I have purchased books, dvds, and downloads from Japan, the UK, Italy, and other places around the globe. I've covered a wide span of subjects, including architecture, interior design, urban art, fabric, and fashion. It's important to also find non-computer methods to solve problems.

5. Politely bow to the greats, but don't worship them.

These great designers are your peers. Read about their methods. Respect their work. Then go create your own unique style. There's no problem with establishing a network of colleagues -- follow them on Flickr, stalk them on Twitter -- whatever. But there's way too many people right now who worship people on the web, steal their ideas, copy their work, and devalue the industry.

6. Be great at something.

You've heard the old saying, "It's better to be great at one thing than good at a lot of things." It's true. At the beginning, you'd be smart to learn a little about everything. But eventually, be great at something. Design or front-end development, back-end development, or user interface design. It took me 8 years, but I finally figured out I was pulled in too many directions. Now, I focus a majority of my time on interactive design and brand management.

7. Ignore trends.

It's fine to check out nice sites every once in a while, especially to recognize standards and user interaction. But the longer you look at other sites, the more likely that your sites will look a lot like them. Take them for what they are, then throw them out before you design. Someone, somewhere started that trend by doing it different than everyone else. (See #5)

8. Remember to solve the problem.

It's usually not "just a website" for most. Often times, people are sinking a lot of money into the investment and would like to see some kind of return. So they push their own goals, needs and desires onto the project. But remember to solve the problem for which real people are using the website. A good solution gracefully balances all aspects.

9. Avoid templates.

Most of them are not good. They'll give you bad habits and more headaches than you would've imagined.

10. Give great attention to detail.

I can't tell you how many times I've huddled around a computer talking about whether a pixel or an extra click matters. If you want to make great websites, it does.

11. Take advantage of content management systems.

BUT understand what they do first. A CMS is a great way to get tools that you couldn't program yourself. But don't think for a minute that you've solved the client's problem simply by installing one. (See #8)

12. Build your own portfolio site.

This is your personal place to experiment. Don't feel like you have to represent yourself as a "company" or show a bunch of sites. But this is one place where you can blog, install things you wouldn't want to try out on other people's sites, and try out new visual concepts.

So now what do you think? Is becoming a full-time creative the right path for you? When you're making the decision, remember that becoming a creative requires a lot of effort, so you shouldn't make the decision lightly. This isn't like deciding whether or not to mow your own yard. See you online.

3 Ways to Flunk Design School

guest — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:58:28 +0000

When you go to Design school, you realize that there are so many other designers out there that you might get a little worried about the market and stuff like that. Well, if you use your time at school to overcome yourself, and use all the knowledge avaiable, you'll find no problems to find clients.

One thing many young designers fight are critiques from fellow designers and teachers. It can tough to go from having all your family and friends tell you all your work is awesome to your teachers and peers telling you to fix things on a daily basis.

You need to be willing to grow, trust your teachers and listen to your peers. While you don't have to listen to EVERYTHING they say you should take it all into consideration.

Your teachers will have much more experience than you while you are in school, so you need to take their advice and apply it to your work and see how it comes out. Students who fight their teachers too much on everything will not grow quickly.

Stay Inside the Box

Many designers get comfortable with a style or using certain typefaces or design elements. You must keep pushing the limits and never stop trying new stuff. Design school is the time to go crazy and lets your creative energy burst outward.

The more you try, the more you will learn and eventually you can develop your own rich design style, but even if you develop a style you should always keep experimenting well into your design career.

Image by Shutterstock Images

Show no Love

If you have no passion for design why are you even in school or considering going to school? I remember seeing people in class spending more time texting or on Facebook than using the Adobe programs.

Even if you are not in class you should be creating artwork, going to museums, reading books, attending lectures and anything else you can do. You must surround your self with design, breath design, eat design and dream about design.

If you don't feel the passion than design simply may not be for you and you should keep searching for what career will truly make you happy for many years to come.

Author

By Gino Orlandi from YouTheDesigner.com and the Online Printing Company UPrinting.com.

Get you art on Laptop Skins and iPhone Covers

abduzeedo — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:39:56 +0000

First there was Threadless.com for crowd-sourced art for T-Shirts... now there is Infectious.com for crowd-sourced art for the rest of your life! It's a very cool site where any artist can submit art for people to buy to decorate their laptop, iPhone, car, or wall.

They just started accepting photography, so I thought I would submit a few from www.stuckincustoms.com. Here are some samples beneath with links to the site. Besides these, you will see many other good submissions on there to start decorating your world.

I think the next step is for fans of this site to submit some of those beautiful Abduzeedo backgrounds submitted to Infectious.com! Also, there are so many good designers that frequent this site, there should be ample opportunity to get a wide variety of high quality work on there soon.

Some Examples

Below are two of the entries along with the third source picture for the third.

Written by Trey Ratcliff - www.stuckincustoms.com

About the author

Abduzeedo is a blog about design. There are all sorts of articles for those who want to look for inspiration. Also you will find very useful tutorials for the most used applications out there, with a special selection of Photoshop Tutorials and Illustrator Tutorials. You can get in follow us via Twitter at @abduzeedo

Really Cool Photo Art Tutorial

abduzeedo — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:04:52 +0000

Hello everyone from Abduzeedo!If you are anything like me, you have this site in your regular reading list for inspiration.I've been so inspired by so many things here, that I thought it would be good to share a few things back with the world.I talked to the very nice Fabio here at Abduzeedo, and he thought a light version of my photo art tutorial would be fun for a guest post.

Trey Ratcliff - www.stuckincustoms.com

So, this is really a short version of the big tutorial here on my blog, which you may or may not enjoy if you had any inkling of linking.

You should note that this is not really JUST an HDR tutorial.The process begins with that, but ends with significant steps thereafter.If you have seen HDR photographs, then you probably have noticed how many of them are kinda rough on the eyes.I've evolved (and continue to) a new technique to bring these full circle back into something that "feels" more right to me.

What is HDR?

HDR is short for High Dynamic Range. It is a software technique of taking either one image or a series of images, combining them, and adjusting the contrast ratios to do things that are virtually impossible with a single aperture and shutter speed.Most of the images in "Your Top 100 Favorites" are HDR, so you can take a look there if you want to see more examples than in this tutorial.

I will post a few interesting HDR photographs that I have taken that people seem to like.This one immediately beneath has the honor of being the first HDR photo every to hang in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. I think this goes to show how mainstream and accepted HDR can be, if the technique is properly applied.

I'm a huge defender and believer of utilizing HDR as a technique for processing photos because I think it helps to evoke my actual memory of the scene.It's just another tool that digital photographers can utilize depending on the situation.As opposed to the camera shutter and aperture, the human eye actually scans the scene at a very high rate of speed, constantly adjusting the pupil diameter to adjust the light and color levels.The brain builds a quilt-like image that is comprised of millions of little bits, combined with neuron-connected memories of colors of objects.For example, when you look at a sunset, you can see all the colors of the clouds and sky, but you can also see all the colors of the trees and rocks in the foreground.

This is why, many times, people get home after a vacation and sigh at their pictures and tell their friends, "Well, it was much better when you were there."With this technique and a bit of practice, no one will ever have to say such a sad thing again.

Step 1: Get your tools on

What apps do you need?I have the three core essentials here: Photoshop, Photomatix, and Lightroom. All of these are available for the PC and the Mac.Note, of course, that Lightroom can be swapped out with Aperture or Bridge if you wish...

One new program to you might be Photomatix, which is quite inexpensive with my coupon code of "StuckInCustoms".You can purchase it for download here.I've been using it for years, and I sent so many people to their site that they gave me a discount code to increase sales!There are many programs I have tried for this technique, and Photomatix is still the best.

Step 2: Get some equipment on the sly so your spouse does not ask too many questions

I have a full "My Equipment" page here, which is much more organized than the following Hawthornesque ramble.

What kind of equipment do you need?All you really need is a camera that has autobracketing.Autobracketing is the ability for your camera to take at least 3 pictures right after one another, each at different shutter speeds.If you are hunting around the menus on your camera now, just look for the words Autobracketing and perhaps some numbers like -2, 0, +2.If you have a DSLR camera, then you probably have this ability.I notice that some of the high-end consumer compact cameras have these as well.

Recommended Low End Camera:

Nikon D40 with 18-55mm Lens

Note:I don't recommend this entry level camera because it does not do autobracketing.It DOES take shots in RAW format, and you can use that for making HDRs (later in the tutorial), but I believe it is better to have a camera that does have autobracketing built in.

Recommended Mid Range Camera:

D80 with 18-55mm VR Lens

This is a great camera.It will treat you well and it will last you a lifetime of great shots.

Recommended High End Camera:

Nikon D3

This camera is the ultimate.I can say no more.

As for me, I have a Nikon D2X, but I am expecting to get the Nikon D3X any day now.Then, my life will be complete, truly.Well, except for a few minor things that would help take the edge off...

Step 3 - Look at the world in HDR

It is key to choose good HDR candidates.What I look for are extreme levels in light in a given scene.Below is a selection of five photos that I shot in New York at Times Square.This is one of the pictures that Getty is currently representing, so I think it is a good example of how to take something mundane and turn it into something beautiful that can be mass market and selected by major agencies.

And here is another photographic-philosophical moment.Everyone shoots Times Square in New York.Everyone.Professionals, tourists, teenagers with grainy cell phone cameras, etc. Think about it and name your worldwide location:Paris, New York, Shanghai - these places are filled with thousands of photographers, many of them very very good, with incredible equipment and great training.YET, it is still quite difficult to get an "original" shot.You end up with just about the same shot that everyone or anyone else can get.So this New York picture is a good example.If you look at this one below, you will see it is a "decent" and "serviceable" shot.However, look at the final version right below that, and you can see how much more interesting and engaging it is.

The BEFORE shot, selected in Lightroom.

The AFTER shot, after running it through Photomatix and Photoshop:

Step 4 - Take your autobracketed pictures and prepare for the HDR

Set up your camera in Aperture Priority mode.Turn on Autobracketing.If you have 3 pics in the autobracket, set it up at -2, 0, +2.On my Nikon D2x, I usually take 5 pics at -2, -1, 0, 1, +2.I usually do 5 pictures in extreme light or extreme dark.The rest of the time, three pictures seems to be okay.

Below, you can see that I have selected 5 pictures from Times Square.You can also easily see that they are all taken at different shutter speeds.By the way, you can click on any picture to go its Flickr page, where you can then click on ALL SIZES then ORIGINAL at the top if you want to zoom in all the way.

Step 5 - Photomatix

Now it is time to fire up Photomatix and get crunk in the HDR house.Okay that was stupid.

Photomatix will take your 3+ shots and convert them into an HDR image.You can then tonemap the image and save it as a JPEG.I'll take you through this process.

The easiest way to use Photomatix (more in the longer tutorial) is to just go to the menu and click GENERATE.

Choose the images you like then click OK.You will then see a second dialog.I have selected the most common choices that I make.That "Ghosting" area never seems to work so well for me, so I don't check it.I have a better method for ghosting that I will show you later.

Click OK again and now your computer will churn like a farm of computers generating a single frame from a Pixar movie.

You will soon see a strange looking image on the screen.You are not done yet - not even close. That is an HDR image and you can't really do anything with it until it is tonemapped.So, go up to HDR in the menu and select Tone Mapping.Now you will get a nice little dialog with all these fun gizmos and Willy Wonka-like controls.

Every picture is different.There is no "right way" to set these sliders.There is certainly a "wrong" way to do it, though.I am sure you have seen lots of crappy HDR images.Below, I paste an example of how you can really make your image look too funkadelic.Funkadelic is cool if that is what you want or you have a lot of druggie friends that like laser light shows and your mind-bending HDRs, but most people don't like them.Actually, please don't look at my old work.It's a little over-the-top too... I cringe when I think about it.Just look at the newer stuff.Thank you kindly.

Above, you can see the options I selected.It's way overdone.Below, you can see better selections.Here are a few things I do... although none of these are cast in stone.I like to crank up the White Point and Black Point bars to give it some punch and contrast.I also like to slide the Luminosity bar over to the right as far as I can before it looks too flat.The further right the Lum bar is, the less halo effect you get as well.If you don't know what the "Halo" effect is, you will soon enough - especially with daytime shots.Another way to combat that is with the next few steps I go through below.

Once you have set everything up with the sliders, click PROCESS.Save the resulting image as a .jpg and then prepare to bring it into Photoshop.

Step 6 - Photoshop fun

As you might have seen, Photomatix is great, but it probably messed up parts of the image that you now need to repair.

This, briefly, is what we are gonna do.

a)import 3 images to make 3 layers - the .jpg HDR you just made, the original RAW, and the darkest RAW.

b) repair the blown-out areas with the correct areas from the dark layer and

c) repair the ghosty cars and people with the real cars and real people from the first RAW file.

Below, you can see I am importing one of the original 5 pictures.

Okay, in this next screenshot, if you look over on the layers, you will see there are 3 of them.TOP LAYER - the cool HDR we just made in Photomatix.MIDDLE LAYER - the DARKEST of the 5 original images.BOTTOM LAYER - the MIDDLE exposure of the original 5. The current layer showing is the 2nd layer.You can see why I chose this one - all of the lighted ads are very sharp and readable, whereas in all the other shots, including the HDR version, they are all jumbled and unreadable.

As you can also see, I have the AUTO ALIGN layers dialog up.I am using that to make sure all 3 layers line up correctly.This is a CS3 option.If you have CS2, you will have to do it yourself.

Also, I am going to throw something at you here called MASKING.This is a really valuable thing to know when cleaning up HDRs.Essentially, what you are doing is taking the TOP LAYER - the HDR layer, and then "punching through" to see the layers beneath.If you look closely at the layers on the right in the screenshot below, you can see that I have created a LAYER MASK for the TOP LAYER.If you see those little black and grey marks there, that is where I have painted black to see the MIDDLE LAYER beneath.I used a paint brush, adjusted the opacity to about 30%, and kept painting until enough of the middle layer shined through.

Now, I combine those two layers into a single layer.We now have two layers.TOP LAYER - the HDR with the fixed ads and blown out areas.BOTTOM LAYER - the original RAW photo with the nice streaking yellow taxis and busses.We need to fix the HDR image on top because, if you look closely, there is lots of ripping and ghosting that looks unnatural.We create another LAYER MASK, then use the 30% brush to paint through to the bottom layer.As you can see from the extreme black in many areas, I painted over many many times until I was effectively at 100% brush, but you don't want to start with that because sometimes the transition between the HDR and the original RAW can be too extreme.

Now, there is just some general cleanup left.I used the blur tool on the sky since there was some noise there, cropped the entire image better, and then pulled up the "LEVELS" dialog to adjust the overall brightness and contrast.I think HDRs look best when there are dark blacks somewhere in the image.Sometimes HDRs don't have a single black dot anywhere in them, and they can look a little fake.I like to take the viewer's eye on a little visual tour-de-force!

Below, we can see the final image once again!All the hard work has paid off!Behold!

There are a few other techniques on the longer version of this tutorial for different conditions.One common question is how to do this with just one RAW photo.That is easy and can be done with Photomatix as well.

Over the next month, I will be updating the tutorial for 2009, and I will continue to update it and evolve it with newer, better techniques as I figure them out every few months or so.I hope this has been useful to you!I will close with a few of the most recent shots I have processed in the last month or so...and remember, you can do this stuff too!It just takes a lot of practice and failure.Remember what Winston Churchill said:"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

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Step 1: Get your tools on