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Posted on 17/02/11 3:10:56 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Jajajaja!.... very funny! wonderful. And seems totally real to me  nice work_________________ There are men who struggle for a day and they are good. There are men who struggle for a year and they are better. There are men who struggle many years, and they are better still. But there are those who struggle all their lives: These are the indispensable ones. |
Posted on 17/02/11 3:13:14 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Welcome!. _________________ Thank god for the google translator to help me not to make too many mistakes |
Posted on 17/02/11 3:15:50 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
welcome Marty... I'm feeling sad because the fate that waits to the bear at the pool, hehehe _________________ Thank god for the google translator to help me not to make too many mistakes |
Posted on 17/02/11 3:19:15 PM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Hi Garfield. Welcome ... just an idea: it seems to me a little strange that the bear right paw is slipping under the arm of the baloon chair... don't you think so?
Anyway, the bear is really having a very good time _________________ Thank god for the google translator to help me not to make too many mistakes |
Posted on 17/02/11 8:19:15 PM |
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Sophie
Political Parodist Posts: 595 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
One last spin of fun for our bear to add to the other delights!  |
Posted on 17/02/11 10:23:46 PM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Sorry, no time this week, have had the house full of guests for the last few weeks, no spare beds, I have got it so well organised, that as I dropped one relative off at the airport, I picked up an other at the same time. great summer weather too, every day is a gem. _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 18/02/11 03:52:05 AM |
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bjansen
Satire Surgeon Posts: 32 Reply  |
Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Last minute entry...still a bit rough around the edges, but better than nothing I suppose....  |
Posted on 18/02/11 09:10:47 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7032 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
First to treat the bear this week was Ben Mills with a sunlounging tourist image - and very comfortable she looks too. The only thing that bothers me here is the way her legs are stuck out straight in front of her - surely some support is needed? Perhaps one of those deckchairs that has a built-in leg rest? I like the Nudist Beach sign. And a touch of nostalgia in the second entry - I can almost hear Michael Hordern's narration... A romantic image from 2tonezack for Valentine's Day - complete with hearts on the bedspread. I like the cloud of cigarette smoke. But I'm intrigued: out of all the possible men you could have chosen, why pick on Mr Bean? Very entertained by tuffpup's picnic, with an excellent setting for the bears - and a youthful koala climbing the tree. I like the two extra teddy bears, and the picnic basket - a very good arrangement altogether. The only thing that sticks out is the group of cold boxes, which are viewed from much too high an angle here... they're out of perspective with the rest of the scene. It took me a moment to work out what was happening in LonnieK's entry - at first, I thought the bear had simply fallen over in the snow, perhaps had been run over (there are tracks behind him). But then I noticed the blur on the pink ribbons, and it became clear she's sledging down the hill. So why was it hard to read it that way in the first place? Perhaps it's the lack of flying snow at the feet? Or maybe more motion blur overall? Tricky problem! I've often wondered how Forum members get their inspiration, and it beats me how someone can look at that bear and think Hmm... Skydiving... but that's just what brewell has done, to powerful effect. It's the perfect fitting of the harness and helmet, together with the neat tucking behind the hand, that really makes this one come alive. My only small problem is with the shadows on the underside of the feet - the shadows should be coming from the other side. A rare entry from powerslave, with the bear neatly nestled into a bunch of other teddy bears. A good fit, although perhaps a little more smudging of the fur down the side of the leg would help to blend it in. Otherwise, it's a great scene. A charming scene from puffin31939 - love the expression on the bear's face! And, of course, recycling old Challenges is not just permitted but actively encouraged. Almost everything fits well here - I like the focus-blurred gift in the foreground - but a couple of observations: the bear's shadow is a touch too strong - match the colour of the shadow cast by the bedstead; and either the woman is kneeling down, or her legs have disappeared through a hole in the floor. Tricky business, this scale thing. An excellent second entry - very nicely conceived and executed. Joy unconfined from Sophie - and they do look rather good in their finery, although I think the groom might have had the decency to wear a shirt. A good shadow of the groom on the bride, and the bride on the wall behind: and cure expressions! And I do like the fairground ride in the second entry, but of course sorry to see the happy couple have split up already. A new member this week - and JmarcP has given us our bear in what appears to be an inflatable jacuzzi. She's rather nicely blended into that water, and I like the way her arm hangs over the side. A touch more smudging on the fur, and you're done. Welcome to the forum! A terrific party scene from tooquilos, with our bear getting blind drunk under a tree... and do bears eat KFC? Great movement in the animated version - I love it when the dancing bear takes his head off! An ingenious blending of the bear with real polar bears from Jota120, but as is so often the case I'm slightly baffled... why is there half a jumping girl in here? And, the big question: why does one of the bears have a steel grasshopper on a pole sticking out of its head? Splendid work from Deborah Morley, with the bear living it up in style - that fish disappearing into its mouth is perfect. Great branding! A really detailed, immaculate montage. Some rather splendid bears in gold leotards (now there's a phrase you don't hear every day) from emanuelefrau - complete with reflections. The lighting here is particularly tricky: you've tinted the bears blue to match the background lighting, but the dancer has a strong orange spotlight on her. Perhaps some of this colour needs to be on the bears as well? Magnificent work from michael sinclair this week: his bear is perfectly blended into the Napoleonic War painting, so much so that it doesn't even look out of place in there. A great idea, and fantastic execution. Not entirely sure about the second entry though: there's a hardness to the bear's edge that needs softening, and it just seems rather too high in the water to be plausible. Our second new member this week is Marty all the way from Denver, Colorado - which is particularly appropriate, as that's where I took the photograph of the bear in the first place. It's a great show of the bear coming down a water slide, beautifully blended into the spray at the bottom: extras, like the penguin looking on and the shark's fin in the water, may be geographically unlikely but do add greatly to the fun! Very good work - welcome to the forum, Marty. A serene scene from Garfield72 - good fitting into that inflatable char, I like the way the chair arm slots underneath the bear's arm. The shadow's a little harsh, perhaps - a tricky one to get right: it needs to roll over the contours of the inflatable more, otherwise the bear looks as if it's hovering. And the sunglasses very nearly fit! I like the second entry, except the cigarette doesn't seem to be in the mouth. There's a problem with the position of the table: it's clearly to the side of the chair and, judging by the base, is right next to it - which leaves no logical rom for the bear's arm to fit in. And more shadows directly under the bear, and under the chair, needed! Some extremely gummy bears from sutex - don't you just love Plastic Wrap! Nicely made, and the bows on the cartoon bear's head fit perfectly. Terrific animation from james - I really like the way the shadow moves with the bear, and the way the man walks into the store. So much detail - the girl hugging, the head reflection disappearing from the window, the man's shadow moving off the door, the patched pavement beneath the bear - with all James' animations, you really have to watch them over and over in order to catch everything. Excellent! And thanks to Trevor for hosting this one. A fantastic image from Dejá_vu, who has taken bear hobos to great lengths. A wealth of detail here: the slumped bear's bottle, complete with spill beneath it; the soiled fur, the altered signs... very fine work, from the idea through to the finished article. Subtle work from bjansen, with the bear tucked away in the crowd scene. The real skill here, of course, was in rebuilding the wire fence in front of it: details such as the baseball cap and the glass of beer simply add to the fun. Very neat work - but is the beer glass floating? Hugely entertaining work this week. Thanks, all. |
Posted on 18/02/11 09:23:06 AM |
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powerslave
Custom Cobber Posts: 136 Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Cheers Steve, I actually tried 0.2 blur which did nothing, then 0.3 blur which looked to blurry, then 0.25 which was too blurry, so left it. Didnt think of smudging though....Thats a whole new ball game many are doing to entire photos. _________________ Go Hard or Go Home! |
Posted on 18/02/11 10:25:03 AM |
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Jota120
Ingenious Inventor Posts: 2615 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thanks again Steve. The guy in the distance is hang-gliding. As an expert he/she is in the prone position to reduce wind resistance when flying. When you start you hang vertical so can run and jump off a hill, and if fail to fly, or when come to landing your legs (undercarriage) are ready to take the shock and run like made. She is a beginner. Our bear wants to have a go  Yes I tried it, weee! great fun, but weather an issue. Need wind at just 10-15mph blowing onto the hill. One of our instructors, using the thermals got up ~3000ft and flew from the North/South Downs to Brighton, as you do! Thats nothing compared to some records though.
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Posted on 18/02/11 10:28:08 AM |
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puffin31939
Montage Mariner Posts: 383 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thanks for the comments. Yes, Steve, you are quite right when you say 'Tricky business, this scale thing'. I fiddled for ages trying to work out what size to make the lady. And I was happy with what I had done - until I looked at it again this morning after your comment! Will I ever get the hang of it? _________________ Man cannot change the direction of the wind but he can adjust the sails |
Posted on 18/02/11 10:39:22 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7032 Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Yes, you will. People are always smaller in the scene than you expect. Imagine them standing next to a doorway: there's usually nearly a foot of space between their heads and the top of the door. Our tendency to make people larger is just because we tend to focus on them most. |
Posted on 18/02/11 10:44:32 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2898 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thank you Steve for your comments. Yes this bear does eat KFC..she is quite the rebel _________________ Wicked Witch of the West: I'm melting! I'm melting! |
Posted on 18/02/11 11:07:07 AM |
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dejá_vu
Guest Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Is quite interesting to me how psychology affects our perceptions and hence our artistic expressions. Sometimes I've believed to found in some paintings that certain people was larger than another despite the fact that were placed at the same distnce, perspective and level; probably that was because they were more "important" to the painter (or mecenas). Thanks a lot for your explanations, not only about technics and our challenges but also about perceptions and the "why" of things. _________________ Thank god for the google translator to help me not to make too many mistakes |
Posted on 18/02/11 11:22:53 AM |
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sutex
Specular Specialist Posts: 157 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thanks for looking,Steve.Now the time I can un-wrap it and try some.  "Bytheway" - few years ago I lived in Hackney and use to do kiting on Hackney Marsh and once on my way there I saw massive polar bear just sitting in the van on drivers side, just like that, just like yours one, so I know its hit a brain what the hell is it and the world is never the same as before  |
Posted on 18/02/11 1:05:41 PM |
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Garfield72
Montage Manceau Posts: 353 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thank you steve, actually I still have trouble with the positioning of shadows and the placement of furniture in a scene |
Posted on 18/02/11 1:55:53 PM |
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Marty
* Posts: 39 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thank you Steve for your kind words. I just started your book "How to cheat" last week . Although I have been using Photoshop for a while now, it is showing me that there is so much that I don't know. Thank you for providing this forum ! |
Posted on 18/02/11 5:10:47 PM |
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Sophie
Political Parodist Posts: 595 Reply |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Thanks Steve! I should have given the groom a shirt of course and I've just thought my second scene should have been a honeymoon one! |
Posted on 18/02/11 7:03:24 PM |
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2tonezack
* Posts: 35 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
The main reason I chose Mr. Bean was his facial expression in the image. The comic look of horror/surprise as if he is thinking "did I really just do that" |
Posted on 19/02/11 00:54:14 AM |
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brewell
Pixel Pentagrammarian Posts: 752 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 338: Bear necessities
Small change, but it makes a difference. _________________ I aim to give pause. |
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