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Posted on 12/11/20 03:58:38 AM |
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srawland
Pixel Perfectionist Posts: 885 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
I had a little extra time this week so just the quickie. I've missed you guys.  _________________ I'm still learning. |
Posted on 12/11/20 10:25:08 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Mariner the strong sunlight between shadowed foreground and background is very effective. Putting Madame into conversation has helped her too. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 12/11/20 10:27:29 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
My brain hurts!   _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 12/11/20 10:31:40 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
We've missed you too. The washing is so absolutely appropriate, dare I say obvious even, but I would never have thought of it. Maybe that's a man thing ......  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 12/11/20 1:40:27 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
That's what's such fun about it. While improving technique and learning is going on in the background, we are having fun pushing each other in different directions creatively. Very appropriate setting Jim. One tiny thought. If you flipped the fella horizontally, I think he would end up looking at her which might be nicer. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 12/11/20 2:37:46 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3218 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Thanks everyone for your comments on the faux Bosch.... I was afraid the moose might push it too far 'over the top'. 
My daughter said it was a sorceress foretelling the year MMXX. |
Posted on 12/11/20 3:56:09 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Thanks David. I always try to get sunshine into my pictures. Don't we all love the sun? You have been holding interesting conversations about the ugly plastic woman, so I will put in my two cents worth: She needs a face lift, especially her eyes, nose, lips, and chin. Her arms and feet need arranging to look more natural. She needs to be doing something meaningful. Gossiping perhaps? Shadows and highlights need to be added to make here look more 3D. I killed two birds with one stone by hiding half her body. |
Posted on 12/11/20 9:26:29 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
A qualified yes to all. But the more I look at all the various entries this week the more I find number three the most important. It's been an interesting week this week .......... _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 12/11/20 9:42:09 PM |
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michael sinclair
Off-Topic Opportunist Posts: 1864 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Nice work everybody especially David, Michael, Anna, and Dennis 
Dennis, last week's ageing President kennedy was incredible  I wonder when Photoshop will buy the app and put it into a CC update?
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Posted on 12/11/20 10:19:11 PM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2898 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Loyd, that is fabulous. Looks like a tarot card from the Doomsday deck! Love it! _________________ Wicked Witch of the West: I'm melting! I'm melting! |
Posted on 13/11/20 01:30:34 AM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3218 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
I hadn't thought of tarot card, but you're right, it does... thanks Anna! |
Posted on 13/11/20 04:21:19 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron - Correction
Long after publication I realized that Ugly Betty's headband was not on straight. How could I have missed that? I found a very pretty girl on the net to make sure I was right and decided to pass some time putting out this correction. It would be easy to republish the whole thing, but it's very late and maybe Steve has already written his critique.  |
Posted on 13/11/20 04:41:48 AM |
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JimH
Image Imaginator Posts: 74 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Thanks David, your quite right it does look better if I had flipped the guy!! |
Posted on 13/11/20 08:44:47 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7023 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
First to treat the cauldron was lwc, with a totally appropriate hut setting and glorious animations: the steam, the rippling liquid surface, the flames and the sparks are terrific, but it’s the detail of the lighting on the woman’s face and hands that really impresses. The subtle motion in the second entry is interesting - the head is particularly well realised. A huge wow on encountering the third entry: so much to take in, and the contents of the cauldron are splendid. And here was I thinking Bosch only made power tools. The wide-angle background chosen by DavidMac perfectly matches the close-up view of the original. Excellent extras: the crawling baby and suckling pigs, and the children in the background. The lighting on the woman is also perfect for the scene. I take your point about her lifelessness, though. In this case I’d probably replace her face with a photographed image. But you’re right: there is something static about the pose. Hard to pin down. The second entry makes a huge difference: the smoke, and particularly the roof window, add significant areas of interest. And it’s surprising just how much difference tilting her head makes. Interesting work from Vibeke, who has used the original background but spruced it up: the added vegetables, flames and smoke work well. But it\s that vast stewing lump of meat in there cauldron that really draws the eye… that’s quite a joint! A fun Halloween entry from GKB, with flaming titles giving way to a splendidly spooky scene. I’d like to see that bat flapping its wings, though, and the historians among us might dispute your decapitation of Henry VIII. A lot of fun. An unusually political entry from Michael Sinclair, who shows more self-restraint than we’ve come to expect. I like the bending motion on the woman, and Trump tilting his head to the side. Nicely done. An atmospheric scene from dwindt, with a great sense of distance. Beautiful lighting. Is everything else in the scene 3D modelled, then? Astonishing. Small technical point: I don’t think that crossbar could hold a cauldron of that weight. A simple chain going diagonally up from the left end would sort that out. I like the added figures in the second entry, and the lighting on the seated figure is spectacular (not to mention specular). A woodland setting from tooquilos, featuring witchery by moonlight. I see she’s bought a couple of those LED lighting strings to liven up her trees. A fine animated version, despite the spelling mistake in the title: the floating book is excellent, and the real video animals really add to the realism; that wavering branch in the foreground gives a good sense of distance. I like the hand movement, and the explosion. I like the support frame JimH has constructed, and the henge setting. The bending pose works really well. I like the figure in the background, although I’d flip him so he’s facing into the scene rather than out of it. The reduced size of cauldron is effective, although you might like to look again at the perspective of the top: 
A packed scene from Mariner, with an entire medieval village. I like how you’ve moved the woman away to the left, and those boar make a great foreground focus. A couple of points: the roof of the building looks too neat-edged; and the curious viewing angle of the cauldron is made more apparent by the basket behind it. Delighted to see srawland back with us, with a really funny entry - clothes washing! Of course! It’s so obvious when you see it. But as David wisely points out, maybe that’s a man thing. Welcome home, Sara. __________________ For those of you who find my close-up perspectives hard to work with… yes, I do understand that it can be irritating. I use an iPhone 11 Pro, which has excellent low light capability on its regular camera, but only a standard lens on its 2x “telephoto” camera. Outdoors, I step back and use the telephoto to avoid this distortion; but indoors, the noise outweighs the perspective benefit. The new iPhone 12 Pro has the low light feature on all its cameras. Trying to decide if it’s worth the steep upgrade price. |
Posted on 13/11/20 08:58:44 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
I know. That's the way it was in the original. I blurred it a bit. The cauldron has been left that way on purpose. It looks like someone has been filling a bucket from it, and has not put it back level. Thanks, Steve, it was an interesting and rewarding challenge. |
Posted on 13/11/20 10:58:18 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Yes it's been an interesting week that has raised a very subjective problem. To me replacing the face wasn't really an option as the challenge was to re-use the woman supplied. To me it would have felt like cheating. But that, of course, is partly due to my rather literal minded approach to some of the challenges. But I really enjoyed this one nonetheless.
HaHaHaaaaa! Whether it's worth it or whether it's a good enough excuse? Sorry to, laugh Steve but you really are the ultimate gadget freak. I've watched the simple pleasure on your face when you use your watch to open the barriers on the tube. It's fun! ...... but not terribly necessary. The new iPhones are a kind of digital Swiss Army knife. Both are beautifully made satisfying objects in their own right. I had a high end model of this wonderful knife when I was a teenager. I loved it! But I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I ever opened a can or bottle with it. Or used the scissors or the pointy bradawl for making holes in stuff. And as for the hook thingy for getting stones out horse's hooves .............. Wouldn't the cost of the latest iPhone be better invested in a really good camera? I don't mean a big bulky thing - there are incredible compacts from very high end manufacturers. But, somehow, I suspect that you will manage to convince yourself that the new iPhone is just what is needed! _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/11/20 11:07:28 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7023 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
That's true, but I'm not going to have it in my pocket. I don't go out looking for Friday Challenge images, I just stumble upon them in everyday life. And I'm not the sort of person who carries a camera - mainly, because I'm really not a photographer (no need to comment, I know already). |
Posted on 13/11/20 12:55:02 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
OK no comment ....... except "Good answer Steve!". _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/11/20 12:58:47 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
Ooops. Double post removed. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/11/20 2:01:20 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3218 Reply |
Re: Challenge 831: The cauldron
I really enjoyed this weeks challenge... mucho fun... thanks Steve. |
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