| » Forum Index » The Friday Challenge » Topic: Contest 118: Shading the shades |
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Posted on 19/10/06 10:08:49 PM |
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Pierre
Constructional Confabulator Posts: 637 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Did you use the "hi-res" version? In the original post of the Friday Challenges, there is always a "hi-res" blue link that brings you the version to use for the challenge. _________________ |
Posted on 19/10/06 10:17:54 PM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
I agree, you need to start with the hi-res version. Then when I save, I save with Save-as and save it as a low-quality jpeg, reducing the image size if needed. This seems to give a better quality image than the save for web option. |
Posted on 19/10/06 10:34:10 PM |
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photosynth
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
To me the light source looks more frontal than in your photo. My guess is also that the right earpiece is not completely open (or is it just the perspective?). |
Posted on 20/10/06 01:06:16 AM |
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michael sinclair
Off-Topic Opportunist Posts: 1765 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Hi Big Vern, You're not the "BigVern" from the trainsim world are you? Okay no one has pointed out the obvious, and that is when you reduce the size to that of the tiddly-widdly size limit allowed on these here forums you'll find that any image so reduced will not be as sharp, and that's before you have even posted your image ! I reduce my file size by going into Image/Image resize, and choosing Bicubic Sharper--works every time 
Trainsim Mike  |
Posted on 20/10/06 02:01:04 AM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Some new faces. Good to be back. May not recognize me due to my shades!  _________________ Steve Mac |
Posted on 20/10/06 02:16:54 AM |
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Steve Mac
Grunge Genie Posts: 539 Reply |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
By the way, Thanks Steve. Your log-in suggestion obviously worked. We'll see what happens next time! _________________ Steve Mac |
Posted on 20/10/06 04:46:02 AM |
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photosynth
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Oops, dropped them in the pool...  |
Posted on 20/10/06 08:10:20 AM |
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Atomicfog
Virtual Visualizer Posts: 238 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
 _________________ -Atomic |
Posted on 20/10/06 08:51:49 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6846 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
This was a difficult Challenge, as many of you discovered. But I've been hugely impressed by the quality of the entries: not a single duff one among them, which is very gratifying! I think this has been a good test, and I'm sure it has sharpened your Photoshop skills. Whaler set the standard with a superb piece of work, in which the shadow ripples over some cunningly hand-drawn sand. The way the sand laps over the glasses is perfect - and that light flare really adds interest. Excellent! A great pair of flying glasses from Tom, who's incorporated a head from an old challenge buried in the sand. Love the way the shadow rolls over the head - and the colouring of the lens shadow is really good. Great texture, too! Wayne was the first to set himself the additional task of reflecting the glasses in the surface, and his shadow works very well too. My only slight problem here is with the perspective on the marble, which looks as if it's at a different angle from the glasses. Hard to pin this one down, given the random nature of the marble, but something's not quite right! A great addition of a flyswatter reflected in the lenses - complete with its shadow - from Eggbox. The shadow's a bit harsh, though; lowering the opacity a couple of notches would have helped here. And I'd have put the light source on the other side... Not just great sunglasses on a beach (and I really like the flare in the lenses) but a great fit on that dog, from Glen. Er... shouldn't the arms of the glasses go under the hat, though? A very illustrative piece of work from Deborah Morley, with an excellent shadow (and well tinted lenses). The lizard and spider are fantastic additions! The first entry from a new member this week: and photosynth has produced a fantastic shadow. The translucency of the lenses works well, but perhaps their shadow should be a little darker? A great piece of work overall, though. And the second entry adds some great rippling underwater effects - nice work here. Welcome to the forum! An extremely subtle shadow from David Urquhart - need to boost that one a little! And I certainly recognise my old pencil box under there. Great shine on the lenses, David. Not satisfied with the original challenge, GKB has added a rippling reflection to the mix. Um. Well, it's a good stab at it, but the perspective seems a little odd here; remember, it should look like another pair of glasses underneath, and this is just a little too wiggly for its own good. I like the flare on the far side of the lens - but what's the other one on? Beautiful work from Rufus, with his holiday reading well laid out on the sand. A good colour choice - and the reflection of the book in the lenses is an excellent touch! A good, solid reflection from Sophie, with well realised transparency in the lenses. Again, though, they're perhaps just a little too transparent to be much use as sunglasses! But with a colour like that, who cares? Another go at reflections, this time from James: a good attempt (and it is very hard to get right), but shouldn't the left arm be touching its reflection? And I think that applies to the shadows as well! And I recognise that floor, too... A novel approach from meguyer: we've lost the shades, but gained some clear lenses. Very sparkly! Mind you, leave them lying around on the floor like that and they'll only get trodden on. Bush with bunny glasses? Somehow that doesn't seem to fit his macho image. Still, Neal's placed them on so well I can't really complain. Excellent lens effects! Some nicely buried glasses from 2bfree, with great lenses. The shadow has me perplexed, though: the main shadow's on the far side of the glasses, but the shadow of the nearest arm is on this side. Are we working with multiple suns? Or just one that's very, very close to the glasses? The right approach from Toby, but the main problem here is the variation in tone on the shadow: it's just too extreme. Add a layer mask 9if there isn't one already) and soften the far right side. But you're right, it was a very difficult Challenge! Spectacular reflections from Michael Sinclair, which very nearly work. The right arm (as we're looking at it) is obviously too long; and I'm not sure the middle of the frame lines up correctly. This is a really difficult task, though, so it was well worth having a stab at. An extremely subtle shadow from David Asch - well, he's obviously too busy fixing the interminable glitches in the forum to get out in the daylight much. And that's a very tiny beachball! Good shadow, and good sand from Pauline: but remember to make sure the shadow touches the object in all the right places! At the nearest, point, for instance; and on the end of the far arm. Something a bit odd about the shadows of the lenses, wouldn't you say? Another new member this week - and BigVern has drawn an intriguing shadow here. The distance from the far arm to its shadow shouldn't be that much greater than in the corresponding pair on the near side, though; but with an expertly rendered logo like that, I'm not complaining! And to answer your question about file sizes using Save for Web: the more complex an image, the larger the file size when using Save for Web. In your case, it's the synthetic background you created that caused all the problems. It's fully of tiny detail, and this bumps up the size considerably. Applying a small amount of Gaussian Blur to the background would have made a big difference to the overall quality you'd have been able to achieve. Crikey! We've seen a lot of shadows this week, but the one from dave.cox really has me beat. Are you assuming that the two arms are bent in on themselves? Perhaos they are... this shadow seems to be cast from a light source that's only a couple of inches in front of the glasses, in which case it would make sense. The background bothers me, though; more perspective needed here! Thanks to jwhite for posting a photograph of a real pair of sunglasses: the shadow's certainly not what we'd have expected! But then, this is lit from a light source like a window, rather than a distant sun, so the effect is very different. A classically perfect shadow from Pierre: but the second entry is a work of art. Absolutely beautiful. And I've never seen a matt, non-reflective paint job on a mini before (hint, hint...) A good attempt from vibeke, but watch those bits of shadow that extend down below the glasses - they shouldn't! On the ends of the arms, and under the nose bridge section. I'd like to have seen the glasses buried in the sand a little, here! A very intriguing approach from Steve Mac. Lighting the shades from such a low angle produces the elongated shadow seen here; but in this case, the shadow from the arms should have extended an equal distance behind them as well. A good looking effect, though! Some very creative masking from Atomicfog, who has half hidden his glasses among the grass with great skill. This does, of course, raise its own shadow problems: ideally, the shadow should have been painted separately on each individual blade of grass for true realism. But - phew! What a job that would have been! This was a real tough Challenge, and you've all risen to it with great skill and enthusiasm. Well done, all of you. Great work. |
Posted on 20/10/06 1:23:02 PM |
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pauline
Centenary Challenger Posts: 213 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Thanks Steve. Like JWhite I also set up the shot to look at (I think we had the same darn sunglasses which don't work so well as the lenses tilted forward and in the pair supplied they wouldn't have). I knew the light souce wouldn't be the same with a light bulb as with the sun, but I'm a visual person and it was the only way I could figure it out. A very tough challenge this week! _________________ Pauline |
Posted on 20/10/06 1:51:46 PM |
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Pierre
Constructional Confabulator Posts: 637 Reply |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Oops... I forgot the reflection on the roof of the car...  _________________ |
Posted on 20/10/06 2:35:31 PM |
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dave.cox
Marquee Master Posts: 518 Reply |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Your right Steve, my light source is very close to the glasses. I tried to duplicate your set up to see what the shadows would look like, and this was the only way that I could see where the shadows on the frames seemed to match. Thanks for your comments.  |
Posted on 20/10/06 6:01:10 PM |
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Wayne
Printer’s Devil Posts: 312 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Steve, thanks for the comments. I did do a perspective distortion on the marble layer, but looking at it again in the light of your remarks I probably didn't get it right. But I can't figure out if it needs more or less angle! This was pretty tricky, good job everybody. |
Posted on 20/10/06 6:08:53 PM |
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2bfree
Twilight Trickster Posts: 81 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Steve, Thanks for the critique, sometimes it takes a nudge to open ones eyes  As I had stated I had a problem with my picture.
now I see exactly what the problem was, it did not appear to me before, but now it sticks out like a sore thumb. Thanks again, Joe |
Posted on 21/10/06 05:11:14 AM |
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Tom
Texture Technologist Posts: 401 Reply  |
Re: Contest 118: Shading the shades
Thanks for the comments, Steve. |
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