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Posted on 09/11/08 09:16:48 AM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply  |
Female hand holding a colt
Hello, my first post here at How To Cheat... how exciting, I am a big admirer of the book 
I want to create for my girlfriend a poster in the style of Wild West "Wanted". I have a suitable background, I have a suitable photo of her, but I would like to add a hand with smoking colt or a similar handgun. I didn't find any suitable photo in the internet and so I think I will have to create the female hand holding a gun from the scratch. I would be grateful for any tips... Thank you Martin |
Posted on 09/11/08 10:27:33 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4057 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Looks like you're off on a photoshoot Martin. That's going to be your easiest way to get the image you want. Another idea could be to try finding a suitable gun image and modelling the hand in Poser to fit in with that gun image then composite the two in Photoshop. Personally I would go the photographic route if you can find a suitable gun. It doesn't need to be a real one, of course; a good toy or replica would do fine. And it's safer. When you shoot it (perhaps I shouldn't use that word here!!) make sure that your background is fairly plain and contrasts well with the hand/gun so that you can cut it out easily. Add a bit of smoke (real or photoshopped) and that should be it. Make sure your lighting is similar to the shot of your girlfriend. In fact why not have your girlfriend holding the gun in the first place? As for finding a suitable gun.....try your local gun club and explain what you want to do. They might be able to put you in touch with a willing member. Or it's down to the local replica shop but the laws are pretty strict on what you can get hold of these days in the UK. As an initial point of contact about replica guns you might try The Sutlers Stores in Poole, Dorset. They should at least be able to let you know where you stand with the law and give you any further advice. Their catalogue includes Colt .45 Peacemakers and both Navy and Army Colts so they should have just what you want. http://www.sutlers.co.uk/acatalog/REPguns.html 35 Wessex Trade Centre, Old Wareham Road, Poole. BH12 3PG 01202 711660 Gordon _________________ I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. |
Posted on 09/11/08 10:48:23 AM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Thank you for the reply, Gordon
I think you are right that I am off on a photoshoot. I don't think I can make the shot with a real gun (you know I am from Prague and I don't know of any suitable gun shop around ), but I like the idea of shooting (I mean with a camera) some other girl with a toy and then replace the toy with a picture of an old colt. Those pictures are quite common on Internet.
Alas, I can't take the photo of my girlfriend directly, because it should be a surprise
Perhaps I should add that because I will make the photo look like an old ragged poster hanging on the wall, the photo doesn't have to be absolutely sharp - that is why I thought that perhaps I could model the hand holding a gun in Photoshop somehow... Martin |
Posted on 09/11/08 10:57:49 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4057 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Martin, Yes as you live in Prague that might be a problem. Your idea of shooting someone (I must stop saying that!!) holding a toy gun and then replacing it with a Colt image is a good one, though. If you need a higher resolution image than is available on the internet try asking Sutlers if they can provide you with an image. Gordon _________________ I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. |
Posted on 09/11/08 10:59:09 AM |
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David Asch
Tech Support Posts: 1913 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Something like this (from DeviantArt.com)? If that's not quite right, do a search on 'gun' in their stock section, there's bound to be something of use. 
_________________ Leap and the net will appear |
Posted on 09/11/08 11:03:37 AM |
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maiden
Golden Gif Gagster Posts: 471 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
It's a pity you haven't got Steve's new book Art and Design in Photoshop there is a 60's style girl holding a gun. I'd post it here but I don't think I have premission for that. |
Posted on 09/11/08 11:08:21 AM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
It's even worse, Gordon. I am working in Kiev, and although I could probably find some Kalashnikov here, I guess it would not be the right gun for Wild West poster...
Thanks for your advice Martin |
Posted on 09/11/08 12:25:59 PM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Thank you for the tip, David... No, I need the hand from the side, you know, I want to point the gun upwards so that I can add a smoke to it that the girl will blow away... I have created a quick scatch of what I am after . the gun with the hand comes approximately on the marked place...  |
Posted on 09/11/08 5:22:45 PM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Take a look at www.sxc.hu or www.morguefile.com I know they have some usable photos of pistols. |
Posted on 09/11/08 9:48:15 PM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Thank you Dave. Indeed, I downloaded some pictures that I think I can use. I knew about www.sxc.hu but the latter was new for me- Thanks!
Martin |
Posted on 10/11/08 8:08:19 PM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hmmm... I didn't find a female hand holding colt, but I have found a 3DMax Pulse Rifle. I don't know if they had these in Wild West, but I have rotated the girl's hand and put another pic of M16 on her back...
Thanks for all your help guys. You know, I am a Photoshop newbie compared to you guys, but I am happy I have finally found this forum. When I visited plain howtocheatinphotoshop.com, I didn't find any link to this forum, but perhaps I am just blind
Martin  |
Posted on 10/11/08 8:14:27 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7068 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Glad you got it sorted out! The link is there - it's the clown on the bottom left, holding a sign saying "this way to the Reader Forum"! |
Posted on 10/11/08 8:25:15 PM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Thank you Steve It's a pleasure to meet you
You know, I come from a little bit different forums, Excel, Access, VBA programing and stuff, but I am a big PS fan! Another question, may I? I tried to place the poster on the wall, but it still seem to be artificially hanging in the air. I tried to bring the streams of light on the poster using blending options... but it still doesn't look realistic, no matter how I play with the perspective. What am I missing? What should I change so that the poster seems to be hanging on the wall? (There's a window behind the poster so I am afraid I can't simply play with copy of the background set to hardlight) Martin  |
Posted on 10/11/08 10:00:51 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hi Martin The sun is very high in the sky and is shining through the small roof, which in turn is casting a shadow on the wall. While your poster is on the wall, the shadow is missing - take a look at the remainder of the wall and you'll see what I mean. . This is giving the impression that the poster is sitting further forward. I copied the poster to a new layer and created a curves adjustment layer. On the mask I painted black (straight lines for speed I'm afraid) to bring back the sun. I have also added a small shadow behind the poster. Nick  |
Posted on 10/11/08 10:43:48 PM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Wow, this is great Nick, thank you!!!
I got almost everything, perhaps just few quick questions - a) how did you manage so quickly to cut out the poster? Magnetic lasso? b) how do you paint on the layer mask straight lines at arbitrary angle? Stroked path? c) In real life, would displacement map (based on blurred desaturated poster) be the ticket for the light rays? Thank you Martin |
Posted on 11/11/08 00:06:04 AM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply  |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hi Martin, I may be too late but if you can use this photo, send me an email and I can send you a bigger file in a .png so you don't have to crop it out.  |
Posted on 11/11/08 08:24:12 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hi Martin I used the Poly Lasso and made a very quick selection around the poster. The selection was feathered by 1 pixel. If I was going to spend more time on this, then I would have zoomed in tight and used the pen. The quickest way to create a straight line is to select the brush and change it to the size you want, i.e. the size of the rays, by using [ & ] keys. You then adjust the softness of the brush to suit the situation. Because the Curves Adj Layer was clipped to the poster layer, it only afftected that layer, so it's safe to paint on the mask anywhere outside the poster area. Hold the brush just away from the light ray and click. Then, holding down Shift, click just outside the area at the other end of the ray and PS will draw a straight line between the two points. I would have warped the lines if I'd had time, but it was late and this was purely for demo. To draw wavy lines to match the folds, my preferred approach would be to use the pen and stroke each path individually. You can copy the path to save drawing each time and then adjust the end points as appropriate. You could also paint back with white in places, as the lines are unlikely to be constant and there will be 'drop off' on the folds. A couple of points worth considering:- - Doubtful that a poster would have been that big, possibly 30 - 40 cm, so you really need to find a location which would allow for size and let the poster show properly. Perhaps a couple of cowboys standing outside the saloon, with the poster seen on a wall behind them, partially hidden by their heads to add interest. - The texture of the poster and the heavy deckled edge, with noticeable fold lines, gives the impression that the poster is made from a heavy canvas. I think this is part of the reason why the poster is not sitting flush on the wall. Nick |
Posted on 11/11/08 10:54:57 AM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hello Steve, thank you for the beautiful photo! I could cut it out quite easily and the size is enough for my purposes. Thanks!
Martin |
Posted on 11/11/08 11:03:32 AM |
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KingMartin
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Female hand holding a colt
Hello Nick, thank you for the tips! The Shift+Brush click was new for me. After several years of using Photoshop I didn't know that Shift click works for Brush
Yes, you are absolutely right that the poster is irrealistic. I exaggerated on purpose, so that the poster is dominant, but you your tip really made me think... Perhaps couple of cowboys with their backs turned to the viewer starring at the poster partly hidden by their heads placed next to the saloon door - in fact, I wanted to place the poster next to a saloon door, but I didn't find any such photo, taken from the front... but I will search once again... Thanks!
Martin |