Ah, it feels so good. Tonight I finished recording the last of my Photoshop Top 40 podcasts, produced in association with my beloved video publisher, lynda.com. And while the most recent ones won’t go live for months, I wanted you to have a sense for what’s coming. The final two episodes, Features #1 and #2 (more than that I cannot tell you) feature the transformation of this image by Jason Stitt over at stock image vendor extraordinaire Fotolia . . .
into a full-blown Na’vi teen yearbook picture, a la the obscure art-house flick Avatar.
Click the image above for high-res. (I can’t give you a high-res of the base photo; it’s a commercial image for sale at a very reasonable price.)
Frankly, the irises still need a little bit of work, but otherwise I’m pretty happy with it. (Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think, including any defects I may be missing.) I plan to document the entire 22-layer process—complete with adjustment layers, masks, smart filters, a bit of hand-painting, luminance blending, and a single pain-in-the-ass knockout layer—in a future set of videos for the lynda.com Online Training Library.
Here’s another image to whet your appetite, this one from Feature #6. Predictably, I called him Big Electric Cat (after the in-house codename for Photoshop 4), but he’s really a cuddly Na’vi house pet.
Don’t click on him. He might bite.
You probably think I have an Avatar obsession. But really, I just like war paint. It’s the Plains Indian in me.
I’d like to show you more, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Suffice it to say, Photoshop Top 40 is all set to wind its way into a fever pitch.
Can’t Wait!!!....
I’ll Strart Examine the Images ....and try to achieve the same results before reaching #1
Love Ya Boss;)
Really Can’t Wait
As for the image, I think there is a green areas intersect with the hair on the right side, I don’t know if that was intended or not, anyway, that was my eye searching for odd stuff.
I think I can achieve the tiger effect with some stubbornness and imagination, but I’m not sure about the lady effect, it looks like it needs a lot of work, but it definitely worth the effort I’m gonna put in.
I just wanna say that I own you so much, Mr Deke.
Keep up the awesomeness :)
Love the hair!
The total Avatar effect is stunning. But the hair is absolutely amazing especially on the left side. (her right)
Master pulled it off…
once again!
I’m at the last chapter of CS3 Channels & Masks advanced tecniques… I’m also done with CS4 One on One. Then I’m off to the land of smart objects for a couple of hours!!!
Thank you so much for all this!
A few things….
The picture of the na’vi girl looks great. It could be improved slightly, however you may have reached the point of diminishing returns, and the cost to improve it slightly may not be worth the result.
• Eyes slightly further apart (their noses are super wide)
• No hair obscuring the prominent forehead
• Their huge ears are pretty characteristic. In your picture they should be just inside the upper left corner. They’d be even more important on that girl if her hair was pulled back to reveal her forehead.
Here’s an imageshack link to a bunch of screencaps for reference:
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/2040/ewrwr.jpg
Anyway, I’m looking forward to the videos. Great effort.
I like your picture
I think I can achieve the tiger effect with some stubbornness and imagination, but I’m not sure about the lady effect, it looks like it needs a lot of work, but it definitely worth the effort I’m gonna put in.
They do have big ears
But hers are tucked under her hair.
And besides, she’s self-conscious.
(Great comments all around.)
haha
Well played. It looks great Deke.
hi there
I can achieve the tiger effect with some stubbornness and imagination, but I’m not sure about the lady effect, it looks like it needs a lot of work, but it definitely worth the effort I’m gonna put in.
CS-4
CS-4 WILL WORK WITH WINDOWS 7. HOWEVER YOU WILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD SOME UPDATES. THIS CAN TAKE SOME TIME AND I RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE THEIR TEC SUPPORT ON THE PHONE WHILE INSTALLING UNLESS YOU ARE VERY COMPUTER SAVVY WHICH I AM NOT. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS MAKING A D-90 CHANGE THE RAW FILES INTO DNG FILES. THIS IS ONE OF THE UPDATES. HOPE THIS MIGHT HELP SOME NEW USERS OF CS-4 AND D-90’S.
Aw… Shucks
You are having w-a-a-y too much fun, sir. It’s probably a sin of some kind.
Deke, a mini-series like
Deke, a mini-series like that would be GREAT!!!
I see
Liquify and Color Replacement in our future…
Wow!fantasy
so try it later.
really cool!
Wow, truly amazing. I really like the way the picture looks. It seems so realistic with the Avatar theme. This cannot be photoshopped, I believe so.
waw . . .
what great picture this one. i really like it. and i think all users are also liking this post.
Tiger effect
I tried a radically literalistic approach to the “tiger effect” photo, but with mixed results. Bengal tigers can be SO ornery when you’re painting that close to their eyes…. If anyone wants to stop by and see the results, I’m in St. Mary’s, mostly in room #232 but I think there’s a few parts in rooms #234 and #421.
Thats the most freakish
Thats the most freakish looking eyepiece ever, gonna have nightmares for days.
What’s up with these avatar craze?
But really looks like in
But really looks like in movie, i watched it in 3d it was awesome, so beautiful movie, but what is great too, is that you made in photoshop this face like Avatar’s, that wa sreally cool, and girl is beautiful too.. Great share!!!!
Amanda @ VoIP
i would love to say thanks
i would love to say thanks at least for a mind blasting blog
ART
It is truly amazing how technology and creative ideas create something very beautiful. This seems like a great thing to do every now and then. Honing one’s skill and using the powers of imagination can really payoff at times.
Excellent work!
you’re good
wow, you’re good at using this. I’ll give CS 4 a try and see if I can do some magic too. This software is really helpful and so are your videos. I get a lot of tips from your podcasts. ty