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Posted on 19/12/25 08:51:10 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7115 Reply  |
Challenge 1085: It's that time again
It has been brought to my attention that Yuletide is once again upon us. And that means the customary seasonal decorations here at HotChiPs towers. i photographed this rather pretty Tudor building in Lavenham, Suffolk recently. It appears to have a rather meagre string of fairy lights hanging from its eaves. Surely we can do better than that? And while you're at it, can you add a door on this side so visitors don’t have to walk all the way up the street. High res is here. 
You've got two weeks on this one – see you next year! |
Posted on 19/12/25 09:02:49 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3226 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Only two weeks? The pressure is on! |
Posted on 21/12/25 2:28:56 PM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1783 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
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Posted on 23/12/25 6:49:15 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4103 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Christmas Eve is upon us so time to stop working on this. Happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year to all of you.  _________________ Have you ever noticed that all the instruments designed to detect intelligent life are pointing away from the Earth? |
Posted on 24/12/25 09:50:56 AM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3431 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Merry Christmas everyone! 
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Posted on 25/12/25 1:37:07 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1825 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Merry Christmas To All !!  |
Posted on 25/12/25 11:17:38 PM |
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Tom
Texture Technologist Posts: 405 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
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Posted on 28/12/25 1:46:34 PM |
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Ant Snell
Specular Specialist Posts: 603 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Happy Christmas & New Year to all.  |
Posted on 30/12/25 03:49:34 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2945 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
http://vimeo.com/1150262159?fl=pl&fe=sh I hope everyone had a calm and relaxed Christmas. Happy and healthy new year to all.  _________________ Wicked Witch of the West: I'm melting! I'm melting! |
Posted on 30/12/25 5:18:49 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5979 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
I am sure most of you at one time or another have had an idea that ran a bit out of control. I wasn't keen on simply putting up lights. It seemed too easy. But Steve did name this "It's that time of year again." so Christmas seemed necessary. My first thought was to take the house back to Elizabethan times. I thought of carol singers, but they didn't really come along in the street form we know until the nineteenth century. So I started by adding the doorway Steve asked for and putting carol singers around it. But it was all too small and distant and they, inevitably, had their backs to us. So then I hit on the idea of being inside the hallway of a nineteenth century house (which meant I could have gas lighting) looking out onto the faces of the carol singers with Steve's house and doorway in the background. That started to work but it was too empty. I needed to populate it a bit. So then the butler and maid arrived, but that looked to cold and formal. So then I had to extend the hall on the opposite side and add the lady of the house and her children. Like little Topsy, "it jes' growed", until the dog was in on the act too. It's put together from dozens of different bit and pieces and was quite a lot of work ...... but fun work. The result, like most Christmas images, is a prime example of what I call 'Chocolate Box' art. But ....... if I was a chocolate box maker, I think I would be quite pleased with it!!  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 30/12/25 8:52:36 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5979 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
By the way please check this out. It's the best New Year's news yet! _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 31/12/25 06:06:37 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3226 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Excellent picture David. You spent a lot of time on that. It's very hard to find carol singers in 17th centrury costume, isn't it? I had to make do with clipart figures on my second entry. |
Posted on 31/12/25 06:27:48 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3226 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
This was quite a difficult task, which kept me busy for hours. I wanted to create a flashback to Tudor times. It was obvious that the electric lights and the TV aerials had to go. No problem. Finding an old cart with horses and a suitable driver took some time. The lighting effects were difficult and time consuming. Putting a sprinkling of snow on all the roofs was fun. It would have been easy to overdo it, but then I would have had to put snow on the road as well. You can find The Swan hotel and restaurant on Google Earth, so the extra door was not hard. 
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Posted on 31/12/25 06:56:05 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3226 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
No critique needed Steve, unless you want to. This picture has little or nothing to do with the Challenge. It's just my love of the work taking over. The Great Fire of London was in 1666, and judging by the candles in this picturre, I am not surprised. I found a Tudor-style room on the net and added some carol singers and the English politician Nigel Farage in the costume of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is noted for his silly laugh. I was just putting in a keyboard when I heard of the death of Brigitte Bardot, "La Bardot". I admired her as a film star, but lost interest when she turned to rescuing animals. Here shie is again. Sorry she doesn't look very Tudor, but then, her dog might.  |
Posted on 01/01/26 11:44:20 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5979 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Shame it isn't the other way around. I think this rather odd image works surprisingly well. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 01/01/26 11:59:15 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3226 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Yes, she was a breath of fresh air. Yes, he is the smell of bad breath. Yes, David, the picture turned out better than I expected. |
Posted on 01/01/26 12:04:29 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5979 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
How neatly put. Very quotable .......... and adaptable to quite a number of people I can think of. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 02/01/26 07:47:55 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7115 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
First to decorate the building this week was our old friend Nick Curtain, with a fine array of lights (I particularly like those around the timbers), a light dusting of snow and a lit-up snowman. The glimpse of Christmas tree through the lit window is especially impressive. Great to see you back on the Forum, Nick, and to see that you haven’t lost any of your Photoshop skills in your absence. Welcome home. Prodigious decoration from GKB, enough to send the good burghers of Lavenham into an apoplectic fit. There’s so much going on here! Looks like you generated the snow on the roof and timbers by inverting the image – clever technique. Did you use Blend If to control the amount of white? I do like the glassy reflection in the icy road surface. Technical point: I thought Santa landed his reindeer on the roof, obviating the need for a ladder? A somewhat gloomy set of lights from lwc – higher wattage needed, I think. But the lit windows are beautifully done. I do like the promise of an unexpectedly warm greeting from Mrs Santa, although there’s something odd about the angle of that right-hand door. I think the equal slopes top and bottom suggest a horizon at middle door height, when we’re clearly much higher than that. A veritable blizzard from Frank, with multicoloured lights and a cheering spectator. A bit of falling show in front of her would place her more firmly in the scene; at the moment there’s the sense that she’s in front of the falling snow. A perfect angle on Santa on the roof, and I like the new door. What are those curious decorations on the pavement? The dog seems to like them. A charming snow globe (how appropriate!) from Tom, who – like Santa – appears only occasionally. Great reflections, and I like the way we can see the underside of the snow through this side of the glass. I like the engraved lettering, but not sure it matches the shape of the base; does it need to be more splayed at the bottom? I always like how Ant Snell tells a story in his montages, and this week it’s Santa’s sleigh being towed away. Breakdown or angry wassailers? Certainly, no one seems very keen to get him down off the roof. Technical point: if the door is open and we can see light within, shouldn’t we also be able to see light through the window? It’s back to the North Pole for tooquilos, with both Santa and reindeer asleep in the snow. I suspect he’s been drinking at the wheel (reins?). The holly around the eaves is very tasteful. I like the falling snow in the animated version, and those are splendid golden fireworks! Charming. A very novel view from DavidMac, turning the whole thing around so we’re viewing from inside the house opposite. The bannister really shows it’s an internal view. I like the crowd of carol singers outside, and of course the lit-up door and window in the original house across the street. But why is the interior of the house so dark? Can’t they turn up the gas a little? And that looks strikingly like a meerkat at the window. A self-imposed rigour from Mariner, stripping away all 20th century elements from the building and road. The light dusting of snow is subtle, and the extra door fits in there well. The wisdom of transporting reindeer by cart aside, I have a slight issue with the sharpness of that shadow, especially because there are so many other light sources behind the cart. One more small suggestion: the window light is very lemony for candlelight. Could do with warming up. An extraordinary Farage-Bardot image! What a pairing! Happy new year, everyone. |
Posted on 02/01/26 08:28:48 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4103 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Good morning Steve, welcome back. To create the snow I used colour range at a low tolerance on the roof and timbers then filled the selection on a new layer with a very light (almost white) grey. Because of the low tolerance some of the roof tiles still show through. I did, initially, put the sleigh on the roof but I thought it funnier to have Santa climb a snow-covered ladder before falling head-first down the chimney. Nice work everyone _________________ Whatever you do in life do it with the enthusiasm of a 4-year old in a Batman suit. |
Posted on 02/01/26 08:39:18 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1783 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1085: It's that time again
Thanks Steve, your kind comments have given me the encouragement to do more PS work. I looked back through my HTCIP file and I believe the last submitted was back in June 2020 when I turned Loyd into Dracula using an image of Gary Oldman. So I'm over 5 years rusty and it was with trepidation that I decided to have another go. So good to be back. |
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