| » Forum Index » The Friday Challenge » Topic: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed |
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Posted on 14/10/21 12:39:40 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Sorry, Auguste!
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Posted on 14/10/21 1:47:59 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
That's really interesting Michael. Lots going on in there. I like the way you have let the far background recede into darkness. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 14/10/21 2:17:30 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3999 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Very nice Michael. _________________ If at first you don't succeed then skydiving is not for you. |
Posted on 14/10/21 3:03:49 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Thanks, David and Gordon. This was a fun challenge and I was worried I might run out of time. I copied the idea from Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party here and was amazed by his talent. He couldn't have done the painting from memory, could he? Surely he had taken a photograph. His brushwork is magic if you see it really close up. |
Posted on 14/10/21 3:43:41 PM |
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michael sinclair
Off-Topic Opportunist Posts: 1864 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Very atmospheric Michael.  |
Posted on 14/10/21 3:50:12 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Yes, I tried to add some feeling to the picture. |
Posted on 14/10/21 6:48:43 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1739 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Agree with remarks above Michael - however a few errors noted - guy in white T shirt is coming out of middle of bar (perhaps moved and went unnoticed) - girl beside him has no rear end - guy with pen looks like leg cut off ( perhaps girls shadow making it look that way) - all easily repairable |
Posted on 14/10/21 9:20:47 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Very interesting Michael. I hadn't made the connection to Renoir's well known painting ...... which is very evident once one sees it again. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 14/10/21 10:24:02 PM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
I had real trouble with this one, finding people and time. Ended up using old family photos for the 4 people sitting at the tables. 
_________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 15/10/21 00:41:48 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Frank, you are right - I moved the barman and missed the error. The girl with no rear end is leaning over the end of the bar, so I thought I could get away with that. The waiter with no pants does actually have pants but it's too dark to see them. If you get in really close in on my picture you can see. Thanks for your comments. All criticism is welcome. There are a couple you missed: the waiter is carrying what looks very much like a ball point pen, and I don't think they had those in 1881. Two of the women look non-caucasian, so they probably wouldn't be drinking with the white folk back then. The signs for hats and neck ties would not normally be found in a cafe, and the lamp shades aren't bright enough. All in all, though, I am quite proud of this picture, and am especially glad of the desaturation tip which your own picture exemplified. |
Posted on 15/10/21 08:52:02 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7023 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
First to populate the bar was DavidMac, with a terrific array of characters, beautifully integrated into their surroundings. Replacing the modern spotlight with a hanging lamp was a good call. I’d like to see more interaction between the people, though. The top-down second entry is an extraordinary piece of work - brilliantly conceived. How did you model the rafters? I really enjoyed the 1900 third entry, especially the man leaning on the chair and the one leaning on the bar - and, indeed, the rather tall woman leaning on the shelf at the back. Michael Sinclair was absolutely right about the whites, though, as the fourth entry shows. Poirot, Miss Marple and Maigret from lwc - but which French film star is behind the bar? And why does Poirot’s walking stick look like it’s about to attack him? I like the smoke in the second entry, although somehow being black and white does exaggerate Poirot’s lack of the shadow that afflicts Marple. I enjoyed the bats in the third entry, and I disagree with David about the fringing: they’re cartoon bats, and the outline makes them easier to discern. Having them shooting towards us in the fourth entry is very disconcerting - but not nearly as disconcerting as the fifth entry. The wasps are fantastic, and really well animated. When faced with an object such as that grill, though, I’d always put it at a slight angle to prevent it looking too graphic. The First World War in the sixth entry is fantastic, even if you did have to remove the glass from that curious object on the table. I like how the sitting soldier is clutching the bottle. A glorious cast populates Frank's entry, beautifully woven into the scene. Absolutely convincing, Frank. The only change I’d make would be to move the bartender back a little, as his body appears to be going through the counter top. There’s a lot of hidden work in michael sinclair’s entry: it’s not what he put in, but what he took out. A perfectly patched bar front, floor and sideboard, removing all the tables and chairs. As for the trio of dandies: I’d have gone for just one, two maximum. Mariner has gone all Renoir, with a spectacular array of drinkers. I particularly like how the man in the foreground has turned the chair around to sit on it. A couple of very small points: that fruit could really do with a bowl; and having all the bottles with their labels directly facing the camera always looks unnatural. Although of course I do realise how difficult it is to find shots where they aren’t. All other minor slips have been fully covered already! Congratulations to Vibeke for finding an entirely different set of people. They fit very nicely into the scene. Old family photos? What a brilliant idea. The chap on the far right looks a little pale, though - I think he could do with more chocolat chaud and less absinthe. |
Posted on 15/10/21 09:04:20 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3055 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Thanks, Steve. Points taken. I loved this one and spent countless happy hours sourcing and transforming people. |
Posted on 15/10/21 09:25:23 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5666 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Thanks Steve. I enjoyed these, even though they were very rushed in a single day. The rafters were built in Sketchup using a matched 'camera' derived from vanishing points in the image. I imported just the geometry in PS and textured and finished there. The third image works well because of a problem. Period black and white photos from the turn of the twentieth century tend to always be posed formally looking straight at camera. This is usually a big problem. In this instance I deliberately chose them so as to create a 'formal' posed portrait as would be usually be the case with a photograph of this sort from this period. Another plain looking subject that turned out to be fun! _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 15/10/21 10:02:05 AM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1739 Reply |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Thanks Steve. Yes, I had a good look at that (moving bartender back), tried a few variations but given the very narrow width of the bar top decided his stance was plausible given that fact. A challenging one. |
Posted on 15/10/21 12:21:48 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3218 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 878: Frenchmen needed
Barmaid is Brigitte Bardot. Poirot's walking stick was simply the unedited original image. I tried to distort the mesh facemask, your suggestion to also angle it slightly would have been even better. Maybe next time. Glad you liked the WW1 version, I put more time and effort into it than all of the others combined. Many thanks! |
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