Production Experiments

1. Experiments
Ayrton Starkey

2. Process
With this experiment I wanted to get better at adding light to an
image in Photoshop. For this image I got a photo of people
walking in the dark from google. I then got an image of a
lantern as I planned to make the walking man hold the lantern.
When I had imported the lantern I aligned it with the mans
hand to make it seem like he was holding it then I make a
duplicate of the lantern, changed the opacity and coloured it
black. I then aligned this copy with the hand of the mans
shadow to add a shadow of the lantern. After I had added the
shadow of the lantern I used to brush tool to get a bright yellow
colour and coloured the inside of the lantern with that colour. I
then made the lantern light have the colour dodge filter so that
it looked darker and therefore more natural. I then added a light
on the floor underneath the lantern so it gave the impression
that there was light coming from the lantern. Once I added the
colour on the floor I changed the filter to ”Overlay” and I
changed the opacity so that the light was softer on the ground
so that the light does not look artificial. The last thing that I did
was adding light to the mans body. When doing this I added
light to parts of the body where the light would probably reach
which was mainly his lower right hand side. I also decided to
add another layer of colour over the lantern and the floor on
the same layer as the body. This was to make the colours work
better together and match so that all look like they are
originating from the lantern. When I made the body light I
changed the filter to “Overlay” as I didn’t want the colours to
stand out and create too much light as there is only a small
lantern emitting the light. By doing this experiment I have
gained a better knowledge on adding light to images on
Photoshop and I wish to use this knowledge in my final project
so that I can add light to an image if needed.

3. Process
With this experiment I wanted to learn how make an effect where
it looks as though a person is turning in to ice or looks like they are
made of ice. To do this I looked at a tutorial and tried to learn
from it so that I could create something similar that looks good
and believable. The first thing I had to do was find an image which
would meet the criteria for making what I want. The next thing I
did was make duplicates of both hands and forearms. This was so
that the filters and effects I used would only work on the hands
and not the rest of the image. I then selected one of the hands
and opened the filter gallery. In the filter gallery I selected plastic
wrap. This was to give the hands a creased effect. I then inverted
the photo and added a ”Screen” filter. Once I did this I changed
the hue and saturation so that the hand was turning a shade of
blue. After this I went back on to the filter gallery and added the
glass filter on top of the plastic wrap one that is already applied. I
did this because it gives the hand an glassy/icy look which makes it
look more convincing. I then erased some of the ice from the top
of the forearm so that it makes the ice seem like it is spreading.
I wished to make the ice look brighter on the inside of the hand so
I used the brush tool and brushed over the middle parts of both
hands with a soft white brush so that it blended well with the
hands. I then selected the hands and added an outer glow with
the screen filter. When I had finished tweaking with the outer
glow I added an inner glow with the same settings. This helped
give the ice more a radiant feel and made it glow more. This made
the ice seem more realistic. The last thing that I did was change
the hue and saturation so that there was a very opaque blue
overlay which enhanced the colours of the ice hands so that it
looks better and more vibrant.

4. Process
With this experiment I wanted to learn how to manipulate and
image so that it looks like the person in it is controlling lightning.
The first thing that I did was render clouds and then inverted them.
This gave me lines that would replicate lightning. I then cut out one
of the lines that I thought would be sufficient. I then changed the
hue and saturation of the lightning so it is blue and replicates
lightning. I then started cutting the lightning into smaller pieces and
linked each line from each finger in to the middle of the hand. Once
they were all centralized, I added the larger pieces of lightning
coming out from the middle of the hand so it looked like it was
being fired from the persons hand. Once I did this on the first hand I
did the same thing on the second hand. After this was done I cut
down some more pieces of lightning and warped them around the
arms of the man to give the effect of the man generating lightning
from his arms. The last thing I did was add an overlay to the entire
picture. This overlay consisted of a change in colour, hue,
saturation, brightness and contrast to make the image look dark
and gritty whilst also making the lightening stand out and also
making it look more realistic.

5. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
One of the elements that I plan to use in my final product is the adding of light to an
image. When I make a poster for my final product I will probably be have to use this
technique to make the person in the poster seem like they are in a different place as
they are by using lighting to make it more convincing. I will also probably use the ice
effect as I wish to make a segment in my magazine which discusses a new marvel
movie that may involve a hero with ice powers. I may end up using the lightning effect
but I am not sure as I don’t know yet where I could incorporate it unless I make the
villain in the marvel film a man with lightning powers or change who the hero could
be.