I've been playing with Photoshop

[thismaz]

And with some trepidation I’m posting my first proper attempt at computer graphics, in the hope of getting a little concrit and some pointers, because I know that some of you, my dear flist, can create brilliant graphics in your sleep.

I had the 1999 version of paintshop pro on my old laptop, but I only used it for basic stuff. I didn't have most of the filters and effects that went with it, so the only time I tried to create a graphic, the result wasn't very successful. That's why I've decided this is my first proper attempt *g*
I got photoshop elements for my birthday and I worked through the online tutorials, until RL got busy. But, I’m on holiday this week, so I’ve actually had the chance to play with it.

It's under a cut, because it is a bit big.

Would you take a look and tell me what is wrong with it, and what I should do to improve?




Things I already know are -

There is a horizontal line in the sky on the left and a diagonal one above the letter.

I couldn't figure out how to make the letter look more solidly golden and glow properly, like this -


I think I did a pretty good job of making sure the light on both Merlin and Arthur was coming from the same direction (see kazzycee, I was listening to your talk at writerconuk in 2007) but I know the light is hitting the grass at the front from a different angle. In fact, I think it is the grass at the front I am most unhappy with.

There's also a shadow on Arthur's arm, with nothing to cast it.

Also, when I tried to upload it as an icon, which is what I intended it for, it lost all definition, as you can see.

I tried doing that by resizing it in photoshop and by uploading it full-sized and allowing LJ to reduce it. Neither method worked. I guess that is because it is too detailed? Or maybe the original material wasn't of sufficiently high quality?

I would be very grateful if you would bear in mind that this really is my first ever proper attempt to create a computer graphic from scratch, so please be gentle with me! *g* But any/all pointers that will help me improve will be gratefully received.

Comments

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

I think it could do with something to anchor them to the M, like a bit of shadow on the letter, and maybe something to make the M more 3D.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree - making the M more 3D would be good, but I couldn't figure out how to do that, either.
I suppose I could have tried building it that way, from scratch... I'll have a go and see how I manage. I've not got the steadiest hands when drawing with a mouse, though, so it could end up looking very wobbly. It's pretty wobbly at the edges already.
The M is supposed to be glowing, so I didn't want to put any shadow on it.

[ex_peasant441]

I think the main issue is I have to ask myself what the three elements are doing together. Why are the boys and that giant M together in a flowery landscape? If you tried to make the M look more rooted in the landscape it might work better. How about changing the M so it is made of stone or wood. If you still want it on fire you could add a few flames afterwards or something.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Why are the boys and that giant M together in a flowery landscape?
The picture I had in my mind was of a forest, but this was mostly an exercise in 'seeing if I could do it'. The Merlin I found had too much light on him for a forest and I am not yet familiar enough with the programme to create shade. I think that will take more than 2 days experimentation.
I like the idea of stone. It removes the result further from my original concept, but I suppose making graphics is similar to making stories - sometimes they just take you in an unexpected direction.
Thanks for the input.

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

Well, I think you've done an amazing job for your first ever attempt, especially when (I think) you've made things quite hard for yourself!

I'm rubbish at giving concrit, but here are some ramblings:

That particular 'M' is a difficult shape. It works on the titles/logo because the rest of the letters are in the same style, but on its own it's not particularly attractive (so I think that softening it by placing Arthur 'inside' it, and Merlin in front of it, was a good idea). Obviously, given that it's part of the logo, you don't have much choice.

Having it standing in the middle of a field doesn't look strange to me, btw. It's graphics!

On the TV image, 'Merlin' glows because it's against black, which is so much darker. To make your M glow against the blue, I think you'd need to really darken the blue and/or lighten the yellow until it's almost white.

When you cut something out and place it against a different background, it really helps if the background is 'busy' -- has a lot of pattern or texture -- because that will hide any ragged edges on the foreground image. I often cheat by dropping a scratchy texture on top of parts of the finished picture, to further hide any flaws (though, tbh, that's getting a bit old)! The sky you've used is very plain and unforgiving, and I think you've done an amazing job of blending the foreground images with it.

Lighting-wise, too, you've done a good job, though I think Arthur's face is possibly a bit dark compared to Merlin's (or maybe Merlin's is light compared to Arthur's). If you do make the 'M' more glowy, you may need to add some yellow highlights to the figures -- you would have to experiment...)

I think the grass in the foreground works pretty well, but you could maybe blend it a little better if you reduced the contrast and tweaked the colouring to make it slightly yellower, so it's more like the grass in the background. You might also make it very slightly transparent, so that the colour of the background shows through a bit.

(I don't use Photoshop, btw, so I don't know what tools you'd need to do any of this!)

With the icon -- I always make icons actual size, so I know exactly what I'm getting, then save them as 100 x 100 .png files, and upload them as userpics.

In this case, if you want the 'M' to fill the icon but the figures more detailed, I think you'll have to change your design so that the figures are relatively bigger. One thing I do with people is use the lasso tool (and, again, I don't use Photoshop, so I don't know what tools you have) to select the eyes, nose, mouth, maybe the ears (especially if it's an elf), hands, whatever else needs a bit of emphasis, and sharpen them so they stand out a bit. (But don't make them stand out too much. It's much easier to judge what looks better if you make the icons actual size).

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. This is so helpful. I will have to study it in more detail, but I wanted to thank you as soon as possible.
I'll have to experiment more with colour tinting (at the moment I am having trouble remembering how to pull up the colour pallet).
Thank you for the hint about sharpening up the areas of flesh. That sounds like something that will be very helpful advice, even if it doesn't work in this case.
Originally I had the background colour of the letter a much more golden yellow, but I changed it to white and that gave the whole letter a better glow. However, I couldn't figure out how to change the orange overlay at that late stage. I will have to experiment more with that whole idea.
Thank you again. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping (and more than I expected) to get and I really appreciate the time you have obviously spent in putting it together.

[seadragonlady.livejournal.com]

I have Photoshop I use it to convert my hubby's extended family photo album to digital. I promised myself once I had done that I would play with it a while. Two years later ... well just lets say my middle name is ' round to it' and no the conversation is still not finished.

I am not artistic. My art teacher said I couldn't even draw a straight line. However here are my thoughts. Consider them a down payment on all your wonderful fics and recs you provide me with. I like the background apart for the horizon thing in the sky that you mentioned and the fact that the tree makes it just a little out of balance. If most of it was behind the first arch or to the left of the arch itself it might have a smoother feel. Have to agree with the earlier comment about using a more 'earthy' feel to the arch. Stone or wood with ivy growing up just a litttle way could look cool, maybe. I reckon it is a really good first and hope I can do as well when I 'get round to it'.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm going to play with the idea of stone, because it is something I hadn't thought of but, as I said above, the whole thing has moved so far from my original concept *g*
I only used Paintshop Pro for trimming photos, but the potential of Photoshop made me think I really wanted to try to do more. The individual tasks are quite easy, it's just working out which one will result in the effect I want that is hard. That and finding the original source material. I've been taking photos of random things for the last year with the vague feeling that I will be able to sample them and use bits. We'll see. *g*