SHARK BAIT
Sep 16, 2015 18:13:57 #
This was an exercise in compositing, digital painting, layer masks and wanting to create a really cool underwater background scene which I had never done before.
The foreground diver is actually me. It was taken by our diver master off the Catalina Islands in southern California. In the original photo I am feeding a moray eel, but I wanted to create something a little more dynamic.
The bait is a juvenile baracuda that was caught by my neice off of the Coronado Islands in Baja, Mexico. I took the photo as she reeled it in. I used a layer mask to remove the head and paint in a more realistic piece of bait. The tropical fish are from my next door neighbors fish tank. I just shot three of them and then duplicated the layers and used the liquify tool in PS CC 2015 to bend the fins. The rusted hull and the trigger fish are some royalty free images I found. The shark is hand-painted. I included the close-up so you could see the detail from the custom brushes I created.
The foreground diver is actually me. It was taken by our diver master off the Catalina Islands in southern California. In the original photo I am feeding a moray eel, but I wanted to create something a little more dynamic.
The bait is a juvenile baracuda that was caught by my neice off of the Coronado Islands in Baja, Mexico. I took the photo as she reeled it in. I used a layer mask to remove the head and paint in a more realistic piece of bait. The tropical fish are from my next door neighbors fish tank. I just shot three of them and then duplicated the layers and used the liquify tool in PS CC 2015 to bend the fins. The rusted hull and the trigger fish are some royalty free images I found. The shark is hand-painted. I included the close-up so you could see the detail from the custom brushes I created.
Sep 16, 2015 18:40:06 #
Very good job. You showed your talant in different fields like photography, underwater hunting and scubadiving, painting, postprocessing and compositing.
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donolea wrote:
This was an exercise in compositing, digital paint... (show quote)
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Sep 16, 2015 19:07:53 #
Thanks for the kind words MMC. I really enjoy the post work creating something totally different and unique.
Sep 16, 2015 19:58:38 #
Good luck and keep trying.
donolea wrote:
Thanks for the kind words MMC. I really enjoy the post work creating something totally different and unique.
Sep 16, 2015 21:16:57 #
holy cow! Love the light and color that you put on the shark, very cool effect. The light on you not so much.. And from a composition point of view, the small fish to the right pop too much. I'd love to see a "darker" rendition of this.
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Sep 16, 2015 21:22:37 #
pfrancke wrote:
holy cow! Love the light and color that you put on the shark, very cool effect. The light on you not so much.. And from a composition point of view, the small fish to the right pop too much. I'd love to see a "darker" rendition of this.
:thumbup: :thumbup:
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Yeah, I was debating how much light would hit them at that depth. I originally shot them in a fish tank, so they were pretty bright to begin with. I'll play with it a bit and see what I come up with. Working with matching so many colors is a bit tricky, but I'm pleased with the overall effect for my first try. I ended up with 52 layers.
Sep 17, 2015 06:15:56 #
Great composite, I like to do them but I am no good at painting so I take and use my own pictures. Did you paint the shark yourself? As I said great for a first time.. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Sep 17, 2015 06:23:41 #
Sep 17, 2015 06:54:32 #
Excellent work on this, a very impressive display of talent!
Sep 17, 2015 09:53:23 #
nanaval wrote:
Great composite, I like to do them but I am no good at painting so I take and use my own pictures. Did you paint the shark yourself? As I said great for a first time.. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Thanks for the kind words. I use my own photos almost exclusively. However, this started out as just a goof I wanted to see if I could make a realistic underwater background. I just kept adding elements and thought it looked pretty good. I did paint the shark from a photo my wife found in a magazine. I was not a great traditional oil painter, but I find it easier on the computer, as I can built the colors in layers which gives me more flexibility.
Sep 17, 2015 09:56:11 #
First attempt! Goooooolly! Now that is talent. Congratulations, Donolea.
Sep 17, 2015 11:35:14 #
Thanks everyone for the compliments I do appreciate them. I'm making a few changes ... my wife thinks I need to make the shark having a bite hanging from its mouth.
Sep 17, 2015 11:36:34 #
donolea wrote:
This was an exercise in compositing, digital paint... (show quote)
Excellent work. You've displayed a considerable amount of talent in various artistic areas.
--Bob
Sep 17, 2015 11:40:39 #
rmalarz wrote:
Excellent work. You've displayed a considerable amount of talent in various artistic areas.
--Bob
--Bob
Thanks Bob, I was a traditional artist specializing in charcoal sports art and cartooning before I picked up a camera. I wasn't a great painter, but I enjoyed doing it.
Sep 17, 2015 13:48:58 #
pfrancke wrote:
holy cow! Love the light and color that you put on the shark, very cool effect. The light on you not so much.. And from a composition point of view, the small fish to the right pop too much. I'd love to see a "darker" rendition of this.
:thumbup: :thumbup:
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Shark Bait: Part II ... I took a few of your critiques to heart, made a few adjustments , then my wife suggested having some of the barracuda hanging from the sharks mouth ...
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