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Posted on 21/12/08 9:48:03 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply  |
People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Hi, Sorry if I'm putting this in the wrong section(?), I'm just trying to work through the examples in the book with my own pictures.. Hope that's okay(?) I'd like to seek your opinions as to what I should do with this.. Think perspective is a problem here. (Just like to get this sorted before I try to add shadows.) Using the techniques outline in the book, I was just trying to create a stylised / hyper-realistic / cartoonish montage of my friend (Pat), sitting in an old 911 turbo, zipping across some road in the American Mid-West.. Here was my first stab at it:  |
Posted on 22/12/08 9:36:33 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Original, car image: 
(Lots of shadows and reflections, and a strong, low sun coming from the left.) Diagonal mid-point grid: 
(Photograph taken from a low level, and car on a slightly downward slope. Car pointing very slightly to the left.) Yes, my pen-tool selection could be much better! (And those green bushes, reflected in the paintwork should be removed.) But here's the Person-in-car image: 
The original picture of the empty road: 
Same picture with 'perspective grid' on it: 
Radial 'Zoom' Blur added to the diagonal-cross-point. (The road actually dips down and climbs up a hill before reaching the vanishing point.) 
Would you recommend shearing the road, or the car? Or is it just positioning? (What needs to be done first?) |
Posted on 23/12/08 08:07:27 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7068 Reply  |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
This is excellent. I wouldn't shear either here. Just two small matters: 1. The whole background is blurred, even directly in front of the car - yet the car is fully in focus. Either blur the edges of the car too or, better, blur the distant background but not the foreground (use a gradient on a QuickMask selection). 2. You need to get rid of the reflected foliage! Welcome to the forum Steve |
Posted on 24/12/08 11:29:16 AM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Cheers, Steve - I didn't expect to hear from you! (Thought your Mac was wrapped up in the corner, bow tied around it, and with a tag - "Do not open until 2009"  )
1) Yeah, as you suggest, I'll have more of a play with the masks, gradients and blurs. In my mind's eye, I suppose that I was trying to get something similar to a 'TopGear shot' (where they typically have a cameraman dangling out of the back of a Range Rover, tracking the review car, and the car then overtakes them). 2) Lots of 'Color Replacement' and 'Healing Tool' work to remove the reflections and shadows. (There aren't too many trees/bushes by the side of that empty, American road!) |
Posted on 24/12/08 11:25:30 PM |
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Ocker
* Posts: 54 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Umm, The head's too big. . . ? And looks as if it's being pushed forward into the windscreen. |
Posted on 25/12/08 4:08:28 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Yeah, Ocker, thanks for that - I certainly think you have a point - here are a couple of pictures of drivers in similar cars (for scale) : 
But, to be fair, the guy's fairly big (a 6'3" Truck-driving Yorkshireman) and I was trying to give him a slightly cartoonish/stylised look. (Part of the joke was to take him out of his ERF and stick him in a Porsche!  )
This guy (standing outside the car) looks fairly tall (6'3"->6'4") 
I suppose that the 'Dodge'/'Burn' tool and shading could help with the 'leaning forward' appearance? I'm still a bit worried by the perspective. But I'll take on board what you say and give it another go. Thanks, Tom. |
Posted on 25/12/08 7:49:35 PM |
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David Asch
Tech Support Posts: 1913 Reply  |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
The head definitely needs to be smaller but the blur is technically OK: if the shot was taken from a vehicle moving at the same speed as the Porsche that would be the only thing in sharp focus. _________________ If you hold on to the past, sooner or later you'll lose your grip. |
Posted on 26/12/08 08:11:44 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
To add to David's comment, the amount of blur should be relative to the distance from the car. Assuming the car is photographed from another directly in front, with a shutter speed of between 125th and 250th sec , then the Porsche should be sharp and the road immediately in front will be very blurred. As the camera to background distance increases, so the relative speed difference decreases and therefore the foliage in between the double lines in the perspective shot above and any distance beyond that is likely to be sharp. Nick |
Posted on 26/12/08 6:23:07 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Ah, yes - that makes perfect sense! Another thought I had was that (I think) the Radial Blur starts at a 'focal point' and blurs the pixels out towards the edge of the picture - giving the impression that the edge is where the object once was, but the object is now positioned closer to the centre. This is absolutely fine for the road; the car, however, is coming out towards the viewer - so the blur would be going in the opposite direction(?). Anyhow, I'm not sure that it matters greatly - there are more pressing matters to attend to - but this kind of thing (blurring in 2 different directions at once) would lend itself very well to plug-in filter. Has anybody here ever written one? (Is this a question for another part of the forum?) Is it difficult?.. Testing my memory here but I think a long time ago (~10 years), I wrote something while at University for something. I think it was only a simple DLL - but presumably this would have to be both Mac and PC compatible? |
Posted on 26/12/08 8:16:23 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
This was the kind of effect I had in mind  |
Posted on 27/12/08 9:08:23 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Yeah, that's more like it!.. Incidentally, Nick, how did you do those (more realistic) white headlights - was it just 'Curves'? (Mine came out more yellow!) I see that you've used some 'Lens Flare' Thumbed through this month's 'Evo' car magazine, looking for similar action shots - unfortunately, there weren't any! There were, however, a few taken from a 3/4 angle... They also show the shadows the cars make with the ground, and the relative size of the driver's head. AMG Black - Laguna Seca, fence posts in line with the angle of the shot are more blurred than those in the distance. The posts and telegraph poles in the background are barely blurred at all. 
370Z Nissan - The foreground trees and far more blurred than those further back. (Ringed the reflection of the hatchback camera-car with its tail gate up, flapping in the wind!) 
Panamera - Tyres show the tread patterns from the front. (Very pronounced vertical lines; no horizontal.) 
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Posted on 28/12/08 10:07:47 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Hi Tom, hope you had a great Xmas. I made the lights light by going into Quick Mask. Use a soft edged brush just smaller than the light unit and with the brush set to 100% opacity dab a few times in the centre of each light. Exit QM and this will return a normal selection. Open a Curves Adjustment Layer and push the curve up from the centre into the middle of the next box and click ok. Set the blend mode of Curves to Luminosity and keep copying the Adjustment layer until the lights look realistic. In this way you have absolute control over the intensity of the light. Using a small version of the same brush dab a blob of white paint onto a new layer where the bulb would be. Because its on a seperate layer, you can adjust the opacity. Create another new layer and with a larger brush paint to create a flare effect around the light. This should be subtle. Create a new layer filled with black and go to render / lens flare. Choose a realistic flare and click ok. Change the blend to screen mode and the black will disappear. Select the move tool (V) and drag the flare into the correct position. ALT click on the flare layer and drag a copy to the other light. Merge the flare layers. You may need to do some masking around the edges depending on the image. Reduce the opacity of the merged flare layer to achieve the right effect. The picture you have posted demonstrate what I was referring to earlier and much will depend on the shutter speed and aperture used to take the picture, so technically there is no right or wrong answer here, it's just what you're happy with. Nick |
Posted on 30/12/08 2:15:03 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Thanks, Nick. Yes, I did - and I hope you enjoyed yourself, too! I've been playing around with shadows. Got an image of the side perspective and was trying to imitate the way Steve did the Sunglasses. 
Though I think that (with reference to the shadow in the original photograph, and where the sun is roughly at a 10-to-10 angle) I'm going to far more trouble than I need! But - first things first - I still haven't achieved satisfactory results for removing the foliage from the bonnet. Was going to try to layer the reflection of the windscreen, the front grill and the badge, then just apply a red, colour gradient beneath.. I'll see how it goes! |
Posted on 30/12/08 3:04:27 PM |
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cy98
** Posts: 104 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Now that you know what you need, if possible, re-shoot the car picture with the proper lighting minus reflections. Would be quicker and have better results. Could even have lights on. |
Posted on 30/12/08 4:29:05 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Have to agree entirely. To remove the tree reflection would call for great skill and considerable time. There are a thousand shades of colour there and this is not a task I would attempt. Nick |
Posted on 01/01/09 7:20:01 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Haha.. Well you're both absolutely right. But, taking your logic to the N-th degree, it's clear that the very best solution would be to fly Pat over to the Mid-West, hire a motorbike and an old Porsche, and...
Inspired by Steve's excellent book, I was just trying to "Make do" and get things to fit. I had a go at trying to Warp the bonnet from that other red car and getting that to fit. But if we're talking realism, these 2 computer models (made by a fellow going by the name 'TwinSpark') are really good: Sideview Planview And - Holywood aside - I don't think I've ever seen better than his 2 photorealistic models: 3/4 I 3/4 II Anyhow, I don't expect great results, but I'll give some of the FX a go. Cheers, Tom. |
Posted on 02/01/09 07:41:51 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
The models are fantastic Tom. I did look to having a go at replacing the bonnet by using a grey layer and then shading and using Hue & Sat, but the wings are also splattered with the trees. There must be a stock image you could use, or a local Porsche to photograph? Nick |
Posted on 25/03/09 10:07:34 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
...Found an image of a similar black car (at a similar angle). Used curves to 'reden' it and then cut it's front to pieces (using this to 'defoliage' the reflections), traced the black car's shadow (with a vector), applied Nick et al's other suggestions, et voilą! 
Think the red is a little tooo saturated, the telegraph poles should have shadows, and Pat's still leaning forward too much, but "b*gg*r it!" - It's meant to be stylized! It'll do for me.
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Posted on 25/03/09 10:21:06 PM |
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TJ930
* Posts: 25 Reply |
Re: People in Cars / Perspective / Curves etc
Here's the pic of the black car (just for proof!) 
It's American (left-hand drive), so I flipped it horizontally ("mirrored the image") |