Crossover fun with Photoshop! - a little silly ;)

[yasureubetcha]

hehe!

Great.....I'm gonna go and get photoshop!

But I guess it needs a wealth of knowledge in how to manipulate all the tools and stuff!

There's a free 30-day demo you can download from adobe.com. Gives you a little time to figure out if you like the program, and to learn some of the tools before you buy it. Or you could go to college/Uni and take advantage of their computer labs like I do .

[Beatrice Otter]

Oooh yeah - filters and textures in the wrong hands *shudder*. Oh the humanity! The careful manipulation of colours and levels is where the real magic happens in image manipulation The best photoshops I've ever seen are the ones where you can't be absolutely sure that anything's been done at all (check out some of the stuff at Worth1000 *picks up jaw from the floor*).

I must admit, I'm yet to use photoshop to it's full capability as an illustration tool - I got somewhat attached to colouring straight over pencil sketches, as there's a bounce to the image that I've never managed to duplicate through digital inking, which always comes through so lifeless (that's where the lack of skill comes in, hehe). Just wondering - do you set the inked layer to 'multiply' and create colour/shadow/highlight layers under that, or do you have another method?

Absolutely! I mean, effects are nice and everything, but if the basic image looks fake all the effects in the world aint gonna make it look nice. Which, surprisingly enough, most photoshopers just don't get. I've seen so many chop-jobs on various fansites, and some just make me cringe (none really from this thread ).

For anyone out there who's thinking about starting to photoshop, there are some handy things to remember:

1) lighting. It must be the same on all the elements you are combining. That is, if you're putting two people together and one is lit from the right and one is lit from the left, and their are no shadows on either from the other, it's gonna look fake. Before starting to throw things together, go out into the real world and look at lighting and how it looks on objects so you can recreate it.

2) Color balancing. This can be a part of lighting, or it can be separate. If you're putting two people together from different pictures, and one picture is printed very cool (i.e. with the blues and greens coming out the strongest) and the other is printed very hot (i.e. yellows and reds coming out the strongest), and you put them together without adjusting the color balance on one or both, it will look fake. The clothes and background might look ok, but the skin tones will be obviously off. Photoshop has tools for fixing this; use them.

3) Contrast. Similar to 2. Pay attention to it.

4) Relative size. This is especially important if you're going to put someone's head on someone else's body. You don't want a head the size of a pea on a body the size of Schwarzenneger, or vice versa. Also, you don't want Janet to be larger than Teal'c. Enlarge or shrink elements so they are all at the same scale before combining them.

I know all that stuff is way more boring and time consuming to use than effects, and if you do it right nobody will notice it. That's, um, kind of the point--you want the image to look real and not like a kindergarten collage, and that means that the majority of your alterations should not be obvious to anyone at a glance.

[BlobVanDam]

Absolutely! I mean, effects are nice and everything, but if the basic image looks fake all the effects in the world aint gonna make it look nice. Which, surprisingly enough, most photoshopers just don't get. I've seen so many chop-jobs on various fansites, and some just make me cringe (none really from this thread ).

For anyone out there who's thinking about starting to photoshop, there are some handy things to remember:

1) lighting. It must be the same on all the elements you are combining. That is, if you're putting two people together and one is lit from the right and one is lit from the left, and their are no shadows on either from the other, it's gonna look fake. Before starting to throw things together, go out into the real world and look at lighting and how it looks on objects so you can recreate it.

2) Color balancing. This can be a part of lighting, or it can be separate. If you're putting two people together from different pictures, and one picture is printed very cool (i.e. with the blues and greens coming out the strongest) and the other is printed very hot (i.e. yellows and reds coming out the strongest), and you put them together without adjusting the color balance on one or both, it will look fake. The clothes and background might look ok, but the skin tones will be obviously off. Photoshop has tools for fixing this; use them.

3) Contrast. Similar to 2. Pay attention to it.

4) Relative size. This is especially important if you're going to put someone's head on someone else's body. You don't want a head the size of a pea on a body the size of Schwarzenneger, or vice versa. Also, you don't want Janet to be larger than Teal'c. Enlarge or shrink elements so they are all at the same scale before combining them.

I know all that stuff is way more boring and time consuming to use than effects, and if you do it right nobody will notice it. That's, um, kind of the point--you want the image to look real and not like a kindergarten collage, and that means that the majority of your alterations should not be obvious to anyone at a glance.

When doing a serious image manipulation, I think you've covered all of the main points. Photoshop CS2 has many awesome tools for matching images, including focal blue, automatic alpha masks, colour matching between images, and people don't learn them, instead opting to just use a large eraser brush and click around the outside and scale something without constraining the axes, and they may as well be using paint.

Another point I didn't see mentioned above (sorry if it is) is focus. If you're trying to put an object into a blurry background, you have to match up the focus of the element to the image. Good old gaussian blur has helped me many a time.

[MarshAngel]

Not bad MarshAngel. It looks a bit off, though. I think if the symbol was blurred a bit it would blend into the field more. But that is, of course, just my opinion.

What program do you use, if I might inquire?

I use Photoshop CS.

[Vee]

I use Photoshop CS.

Ah, good old photoshop. Well it's a very clever manip.

[-Jules-]

lol all of these are great! ((Marsh Angel, I laugh whenever I see your sig! )) My skills are very, very basic, but I have fun.

um....


I must be in a Disney mood!

[Cynicat]

Photoshop 101

Wordy McWord! Awesome tips, guys

My $0.02:

Fugly Giveth Fugly - basically, the foundation of any manip is its source images. You'll have a hell of an uphill battle working with grainy, lo-res magazine scans (be it by attempting to clean them up, or dirtying down other elements to match), as opposed to working with decent hi-res stills or screencaps. Take a little time to track down the best source images you can, and it'll show in the end result (as well as making your job a lot easier, heheh).

Masks - quickmasks and layer masks are dead handy things, IMHO. Before getting too enthusiastic with the eraser, think about using a mask instead - you never know what you might find yourself needing later

SAVE! In the too short, bloody waste of money, didn't help me get a job graphic design course I foolishly did, that was seriously the first thing they told us. Make sure to save your work about every 15mins or so, as computers are unpredictable things, and occasionally delight in crashing when you're moments away from a masterpeice It's also a good idea to save the file with different names (eg: gatemanip_1, gatemanip_2, gatemanip_3 etc) so you can go back to a previous version if you need to.

Oh... almost forgot the most important thing: HAVE FUN! That's the whole point

[ForeverSg1]

Oh... almost forgot the most important thing: HAVE FUN! That's the whole point

I have to say of all the hints and suggestions I've read recently this is the best. I truly understand everyone is trying to help with the tips and I'm sure there will be things I will learn in time, but I really think there are two types of people who use Photoshop... the artists and the hobbyist. As much as I admire the work of everyone on this thread, it really doesn't matter how good a program Photoshop CS is or how many toys or tools I have at my disposal, my tinkering will never compare with someone who has true artistic talent.

The thing I enjoy about Photoshop or programs like it is that all my life I've been the analytical one in my family. I was the one who read books, enjoyed math, loved putting things together, ect but put a pen or brush in my hand and I was limited to stick men. My brother is the artist, my sister is the poet and my mother is the writer. I've taken painting lessons, pottery lessons, photography lessons, you name it and honestly I just don't have the artistic eye that makes truly beautiful creations.

But luckily a year ago I was so impressed with some of the wallpapers and sigs ect that I saw that I decided to give it a shot. What was the worst I could do? So I began playing with photo manipulation/editing. I admit I still have a great deal to learn, but it's all about having fun to me. I don't sit with a book in hand. I simply sit in front of my computer and play until I make something I somewhat enjoy. I know it's not great quality, but if it amuses at least one person then that's all that really matters.

I just wanted to send a big thanks to everyone who posts on this thread, because I always know I will recieve a chuckle from the posts I find on this thread which has been a huge contrast to many of the threads on here as of late. So if you are using PS to enhance your creative abilities or simply just to waste a few hours and have some fun then more power to you and I hope you keep posting.

Kat

[Osiris-RA]

The next Stargate spinoff...

Stargate Camelot

Stuck without a means to return to the SGC or Earth, the team must rid themselves of their traditional BDU's and P-90's and find a new means to blend in and survive until they can be rescued.

He-hey! Awesome! But why does the girl always get the bow and arrow?? Did noone take a clue from Xena???

[contact2918]

hehe!

Great.....I'm gonna go and get photoshop!

But I guess it needs a wealth of knowledge in how to manipulate all the tools and stuff!

I use Photoshop 7.0 at work, but I'm too broke to buy that for at home. I found Photoshop 5.0 LE on Ebay for 10 bucks. Since it's a limited edition version, it doesn't have all the features that the full verson does, but it does have most of them. There's only been a few projects I've had to take in to work to finish off, and that was for a couple of things specific to video graphics, not photo manips. I'd recommend trying that route to anyone who may be financially impaired like myself.

[WaterDweller]

My little contribution, titled "Loki's Big Dream". Enjoy!



Perhaps we should name him "Thorneill"?

[Cynicat]

My little contribution, titled "Loki's Big Dream". Enjoy!

http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/3...inished9uc.jpg

Perhaps we should name him "Thorneill"?

LMAO That's awesome! And...a little bit creepy...

[MarshAngel]

LMAO That's awesome! And...a little bit creepy...

It's definitely a little creepy. Brilliant but scary...an sgard stalker with the power to replace you.

[orii7]

My little contribution, titled "Loki's Big Dream". Enjoy!



Perhaps we should name him "Thorneill"?

Scary AND wierd.....Almost looks like the little grey aliens from the new video game called "Area 51" lol ive never layed it but ive seen some screens of it

Make another picture with "Doctor Who" stuff in it (although that one with shep and McKay was funny,dont do one of those type of pictures or we'll get in trouble)

Like make a picture of some Daleks and one of the Goa'ulds marching or maybe SG-1 shooting at some Daleks lol now that would be funny!

[Lysia]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/BlobVanDam/GTA-Atlantis.jpg
I spent way too long on this, but I think it paid off. Hope y'all like it!

That looks totally amazing.