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Posted on 07/03/12 8:59:33 PM |
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Ben Mills
Luminous Luminary Posts: 570 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
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Posted on 08/03/12 02:51:26 AM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
 _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 08/03/12 4:21:11 PM |
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salfordnurse
Intensive Illustrator Posts: 207 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Some great images as always. Thought I'd try a slightly different perspective ( which is probably off in this) 
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Posted on 08/03/12 4:47:25 PM |
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Garfield72
Montage Manceau Posts: 353 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
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Posted on 08/03/12 5:48:14 PM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Well, thought I would just try getting the water right, but haven't really succeeded. Looking forward to Steve's workaround!  |
Posted on 08/03/12 8:53:18 PM |
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marlcliff
Knight of Intrigue Posts: 171 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
not a girl in sight  lol |
Posted on 08/03/12 9:10:58 PM |
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Jota120
Ingenious Inventor Posts: 2615 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Well got something working eventually, but sorry not so interesting, time, access and other stuff very limited (see earlier comments).  |
Posted on 08/03/12 10:07:11 PM |
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BigVern
Q Quipper Posts: 674 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
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Posted on 08/03/12 10:49:42 PM |
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Artwel
Satire Supremo Posts: 607 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
"Where's that darn cat!?.." http://photobucket.com/PSART  _________________ “Art Is Never Finished, Only Abandoned.” |
Posted on 08/03/12 11:31:35 PM |
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BigVern
Q Quipper Posts: 674 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Also, video version here ...... http://youtu.be/biHdI-6NUag Cheers Vern |
Posted on 08/03/12 11:38:29 PM |
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Artwel
Satire Supremo Posts: 607 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Vern I like how you've done that with the foreground and background panning at different angles. Is there any formula for that or was it just guesswork? cheers _________________ “Art Is Never Finished, Only Abandoned.” |
Posted on 09/03/12 01:31:05 AM |
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joeysala
Perfect Palmist Posts: 604 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
[quoted] salfordnurse wrote: Some great images as always. Thought I'd try a slightly different perspective ( which is probably off in this)
A little vertigo happening when I view this! Honest! I live in the country, so no tall buildings, especially on my property. I do have puddles, though, and when I got really close to them, all I could see reflected was the cloudy sky. Hmmmm...... Joey  _________________ "Art is a blade of grass ... and in a moment I will eat it." |
Posted on 09/03/12 06:19:32 AM |
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BigVern
Q Quipper Posts: 674 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Hi Artwel, I just played around with different fore, mid and background elements on different 3D layers. This tutorial helped me greatly http://vimeo.com/groups/5732/videos/36462266 I think the quality of light you have achieved in your image is quite beautiful. Cheers Vern |
Posted on 09/03/12 08:05:14 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7052 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
First to make it rain this week was GKB, with a splendid tribute to Singing in the Rain - complete with Gene Kelly hanging off that lamppost. Great lit-up windows (which make me doubt the street's green credentials) and a very damp-looking road surface. Perfect angle on the car, too, although someone's left the interior lights on as well as the headlights. But wouldn't Gene be casting a shadow? Some seriously wet streets from Ant Snell, with someone rather curiously surfing with a paddle (is that what they do in Wales?). I like the sandbags, and the translucent spray at the back. But the people are much too big - they'd never fit through those doors! Just the one lonely puddle from Brewell, but it's finely wrought, full of rippling reflections. But what's causing those ripples? I can see the boy would produce one, but the others? An interesting reflection from Nick Curtain, the puddle reaching almost exactly half way across the street. It's a perfect reflection - but this is water, not a mirror! More transparency, please. Also, you need to watch the perspective on those windowsills: we should be able to see the underneath of each one, which means they all need to be sheared up slightly. Tricky. Great potholes from tooquilos, with patchy puddles. I like the added street furniture, and the fact that the house has been turned into a police station - but if that's the sort of car the police are driving, I reckon they're on the take. Terrific moving rain in the animated version, and great action with the policeman and his umbrella. Now, do you just happen to have a dozen shots of a policeman struggling with an umbrella? If so, why??? A really clever take on the issue from Frank, whose street is wet because the car has driven into a hydrant. Good idea! I like the spray, and the lit windows - although indoor lighting means they should be more yellow than pure white. A good go at the reflections, but they really do need to go straight down, rather than at an angle. Some very attractive cars from Deb Raskin, neatly lined up - a great perspective fit. I like the overall warmth of the street, and that house has been neatly turned into a gallery (although not sure about the name - is it actually an atelier?). Good rippling reflections: some spots of the Zigzag filter would add points of interest in the street. A fine night scene from bayer2012, with a well-lit interior and a good hallway. That hall and window would be casting strong reflections, though as - along with the lamp - they're the brightest things on the street. And the front door needs to open in, rather than out. Good choice of people. A clever post-rain scene from Garfield72, the girl's pose clearly showing that the rain has just stopped. I like the rippling on the reflections, but there are a couple of issues. First, the reflections need to be going straight down, not at an angle (as the black door is) and not offset (as the wood door is). Second, lowering the opacity is fine except where you can see through one layer to the next - such as through the girl's reflection to the door reflection behind. Put all the reflected layers in a group first, then change the opacity of the entire group. I like the added car in the second entry - but the spray needs to come from both wheels, not just the front. So many girls with umbrellas this week! The latest is from munchonu, with a glassy reflection that's perhaps just too opaque to look real. I like the fishing gnome, though - and you've done a good job flipping his tricky reflection. But why is the water that shape? Roads are taller in the middle than at the edges, so the water would naturally gravitate towards the kerb. Ingenious work from James, who has a Google mapping cyclist going down the street. But look closely: not only are the wheels going round, he's also pedalling the bike. The wheels produce spray in the puddle, and his reflection travels through it with him. You really need to have another go at After Effects, James, as this would remove all the GIF jerkiness. Perhaps Anna can give you some pointers? A rather charming scene from joeysala, with a little girl playing with her boat in the gutter. Good streaky reflections, matched by the reflections of the girl; but are they leaning backwards slightly? A stormy scene from Jimbean, with highly distorted reflections. But would they really bend in that way? Surely we'd be looking for much tighter, detailed rippling? I like the spray around the wheel of the car, but perhaps it should be more behind rather than in front of it. Good rain from puffin31939, but you need to watch the direction of the reflections. They have to be directly, vertically below the originals: yours drift to the side in several cases. I like the way the water sits in the gutter, though. A splendid image from Ben Mills, with - is that Harrison Ford? They seem rather more drenched than your light rain would account for. I'm a bit bothered by the green tint, too, which makes the scene a little bilious. Perhaps an Adjustment Layer at the top to push everything a bit more red? Dappled reflections from Vibeke, with good ripples and a nicely mottled surface. I like the warmth here, there's a really feeling of it having just stopped bucketing down. A very different approach from salfordnurse, looking straight down - but what are you walking on? A photograph of the street? Only there's no way the street could reflect like that in a puddle beneath your feet! Nine out of ten for innovation, with one point docked for over-enthusiastic use of Plastic Wrap. Nice drop ripples from Deborah Morley, with the Zigzag filter artfully applied over the coarser distortions. A few slightly dodgy angles on the reflected windowsills, though - they really are tricky to deal with. I like the patchiness of marlcliff's water - but reflections never, ever go at an angle like that! How could the pavement cast a reflection in the road that's in front of, and below it? Reflections always, always, go straight down, never at an angle from the original! Some very placid reflections from Jota120, which would work fine if the road had been glazed. Not even the slightest ripple, Trevor? Some good rippling from BigVern, as the water seeps across the street. Not sure about the perspective on the sign: from this point of view, it's all above us, which means both the top and the bottom edge should be sloping down to the right. But I like the way it moves in perspective in the second entry - although strictly speaking, that's a tracking shot rather than a pan. A charming night scene from Artwel, with beautifully lit windows. I really like the woman at the open door (although I'm not sure what's casting her shadow). The reflection of the front of the car is at too steep an angle, but it's close - and a good job dividing the car up into segments to do that. I especially like the individual raindrop splashes - a nice touch! ___________________________ So - how should it be done? Well, I noticed two things when I was driving in the rain the other day. First, that the rain makes the road surface look much darker. But second, and more importantly, the distortion on the water surface also seems to produce reflections that are very long and streaky - far more stretched out than the originals. Something like this: 
Naturally, it hasn't rained properly since I noticed this, but next time it does I'll try to take some photographs to show you what I'm talking about. What do you think? |
Posted on 09/03/12 08:30:56 AM |
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salfordnurse
Intensive Illustrator Posts: 207 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Thanks Steve, was trying different approaches, and wanted to subvert reality just a little. Though there's no plastic wrap used in the image except for a small amount on the top of the boot. The water was done with a grey scale image of a puddle and blending options. Simon |
Posted on 09/03/12 08:46:09 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Thanks Steve The puddle only reached the parking allocation for the houses and I wanted to give the impression of depth, i.e. the water covered the kerb stones. I will be interested to see your pics taken in roughly the same location. In many I looked at, the water is not transparent, even where it is relatively shallow and, with no factors to distort it, will almost act like a mirror. |
Posted on 09/03/12 09:28:06 AM |
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Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Hello Steve, Looking at puddles with rain causing ripples made me realise that the zig-zag filter doesn't really work. Because the ripples are concave, convex, concave etc they reflect different angles, so you may only see the reflection of the street in the concave part, while the convex area reflects the sky (or vice-versa). That is what I was trying to do by making my own ripples but it was a pain to do as the reflection of the street underneath had to be partly erased. Just wandered if there is a better way rather than using zig-zag.  |
Posted on 09/03/12 09:38:41 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
This illustrates my point about the transparency. If you are looking down on the water you will see throught it, but if viewing at an angle, as in the street scene, you will see what's reflected in it, particularly where it's more than an inch or so deep. You will see that I have made the edges of the puddle slightly see-through. |
Posted on 09/03/12 09:38:42 AM |
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joeysala
Perfect Palmist Posts: 604 Reply |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Oh no! You completely missed "Pennywise" peeking out of the gutter drain!?!? "Pennywise the Clown" from Stephen King's book "It"...... who terrorized children. I was afraid it might be too small......... _________________ "Art is a blade of grass ... and in a moment I will eat it." |
Posted on 09/03/12 10:02:02 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2905 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 392: Rainy reflections
Thank you Steve  Its been a really eye opening week looking at puddles. I was in Manly with my daughter the other day and I saw this one, which I felt was quite interesting..there is no transparency and the surrounds are reflected like a mirror.
with the policeman..he is part of the Digital Juice Photo Knockouts.  _________________ Wicked Witch of the West:I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too! |
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