Project 2

This is the all live action foreground/background piece that was originally going to be my final. This was made using Shake. I really wanted this picture to blow my last Terminator image out of the water, so I decided after trying it on Shake I would do the final piece in Photoshop, because I would need a lot more time to do it properly in Shake.

This is the background that I used. The image was taken in the basement of Fike.

Here is one of the two images that I used for myself in the image. I needed two images so that I could actually make the legs look like the were not standing on anything. I had to rotoscope myself out of the background.

Here is the second image I used to make the complete, me.

After I did the roto in Photoshop, I made the background blue. I had to do this because my shoes are the same shade of green as the green screen color.

Here is the Alpha channel of that image.

This is the image the I used for the Terminator. I shot him against the green screen. It took me a while to get the right angle and the right amount of light to match the background image that I took, but I was finally able to get it right, after two shootings.

This is the Alpha channel for the Terminator.

I had to roto the foreground part of the background image so that it would look like the Terminator was actually standing at the bottom of the steps. After that I made the background blue so I could pull the key.

This is the Alpha.

This is the final image done in Photoshop. I chose to use Photoshop, because it would be easier to blur certain parts of the image, burn and dodge others while still keeping the images all on separate layers.

Below are a series of images that show the progression of work and the different layering methods used in Photoshop. One with the background and one without.

This is the layers menu.

Below is a comparison of the Shake image on the left, with the Photoshop image on the right.

This is the final image for the second piece. Live background, CG object/foreground.

This is the background that was used. It is a picture of my living room while my wife and I are still trying to unpack from moving in.

This is the image that I wanted to use for my CG foreground. It is a vase made for 807. I brought in the background image into Maya and used it to help me get the lighting and placement correct.

Since I was having problems with Maya, I just brought the above image into Photoshop and used the magic wand to select and delete the gradiant background.

This is the image with a green background to help with pulling the key.

This is the Shake tree.


This is the final image for the CG background, live foreground. I found this one to be really hard to pull off without looking horrible or stupid. I tried to make it looks as if I was in some sort of tunnel looking for a way out.

This is the image the I used for the live forground.

This is the image after the key was pulled.

Here is the Alpha of that image.

I decided to give myself a little bit of a red-ish hue. I thought it would add to help the image look more movie like.

This is the tunnel that I made in Maya to use as my CG background.

This is the inside of the tunnel with the perspective that I wanted for my image. I added two lights to the inside of the tunnel. One was more of an ambient light just to help show the location of where I was. The other light was a spot light and it was used to help simulate the light was that coming from the flashlight was I was holding.

This is the tunnel after I applied just a dirty stone texture map.

Here is what the tunnel looked like when it was rendered without me in the image.

This is the Shake tree.

I found that doing each one of these presents it's own problems. Each have to be thought out in their own way. I also realized that by limiting myself to just using Shake, I would not make images that were not what I considered to be good. I had to use Photoshop for the first one to make it look real. For the second image I just had to use it to help me pull a better key. The third image was done completely in Shake and that may be why it's not as good as the other two. I think the third image holds up a bit better than some of the examples that were shown in class.

add shadow

The Add Shadow node can be found under the other menu tab.

Once the Add Shadow node has been clicked, the control parameters will appear on the right bottom side of the screen. On the image itself a white outline will appear, as well as a crosshair in the center of the image. The crosshair is the center of what will be the "shadow" and will let you move the "shadow"

The shadow has been moved to the right and the offestX and offsetY will reflect this movement.

The fuzziness parameter will make the edges more fuzzy or more crisp depending on which way the slider is moved.


The opacity parameter will make the "shadow" more opaque or more translucent depending on which way the slider is moved.


The color parameter will control the color of the "shadow"

After clicking the color box in the color parameter, a menu will appear that will enable the shadow to be any color chosen.


After adjusting your parameters to what you like, you will have a shadow!


Here is the books description of AddShadow:
The AddShadow node takes the alpha channel of an image, and then colors, blurs, fades, and moves the alpha channel. Next, the alpha is composited under the input, creating a basic shadow effect. It differs from DropShadow in that it already composites the shadow under the element; DropShadow creates an entirely new shadow element that can be manipulated separately.
Parameters
This node displays the following controls in the Parameters tab:
xOffset
Controls the shadow’s horizontal offset from its originating layer.
yOffset
Controls the shadow’s vertical offset from its originating layer.
fuzziness
Blurs the shadow. The slider’s range is from 0 to 100, but this parameter can be set to any positive value.
Shadow Color
A color control that lets you define the color of the drop shadow.
opacity
Defines how transparent the drop shadow is. The slider’s range is from 0 to 1.

Compositing Project 1

Los Angeles, CA. "Apparently, my future self sent a Terminator back in time to protect my company!" This is the claim of Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos cookies. Weekly World News has found out why Famous Amos is still around and why his cookies are so good.

"My future self," says Amos "went through some rough time with my cookie company. Determined to make it no matter what, he sent a Terminator back in time with a recipe from the future in order to secure the company. Just ask the Terminator yourself!"

After having this discussion with Famous Amos, Weekly World News decided to sit down and interview the Terminator himself to figure out all of the details behind this amazing story.

Weekly World News: Please sit down and tell us of your amazing journey from the future to our time and please explain why you came back for Famous Amos.

Terminator: I will not sit down. My mission is to make cookies.

WWN: Oh, okay, well then please continue to make cookies and explain to us why you're here.

T: I am here to ensure the survival of the Famous Amos cookie company and to make the most delicious cookies the world has ever known.

WWN: Why have you come back in time to help the company? Was there some sort of fall out in the future?

T: Thirteen years from now there is an over saturation in the cookie industry. There are hundreds of companies all trying to out sell each other. Famous Amos was one of these companies. Eventually, mankind grows a distaste for all cookies except for one company, Charlie's Cookies. Charlie's Cookies caused all of the other cookie companies to fail. Famous Amos realized in order for him to stay famous and have his company come out on top, he would have to send me back in time with the ultimate cookie recipe.

WWN: Where did this amazing cookie recipe come from?

T: Once Famous Amos realized that a recipe needed to be sent back in time, he reprogrammed me to go to Charlie's Cookies and steal the recipe. I was then instructed to come back to this time and cook Charlie's Cookies for Famous Amos and have him claim them as his own. This would ensure that Famous Amos would win in the future cookie war.

WWN: Why are you cooking the cookies? Why did you not just give the Charlie's Cookies recipe to Famous Amos?

T: It is one of my mission parameters.

WWN: I don't understand.

Famous Amos: I think I can help explain this.

WWN: Please, go ahead.

FA: The reason the Terminator will not give the recipe to me is because I might be tempted to sell it off. If the Terminator is the only one in this time who knows the recipe, then it's safe. The Terminator can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse and it absolutely will not stop, ever until Famous Amos is the only cookie company left in the world.

WWN: Wow, it sounds like you've a pretty full proof plan on how to make stay a float in the cookie world?

FA: Well, I can't take all the credit, it's really my future self! By the way have a cookie!

WWN: Don't mind if I do.

The cookie that Famous Amos gave to Weekly World News was in fact the best cookie that we've ever tried. It was rich and moist with just the right amount of chocolate chips. The only draw back is that now that we've had one we want another. Each day we want more and more of those delicious, amazing, addicting cookies...mmmm.

This is the view of everything in shake. The main image for the newspaper was done completely in shake. It would have been easier, by far, to do this type of compositing in Photoshop, but for the sake of learning, I stuck to staying in shake.

This is a detailed view of my tree in shake. Finding my way from branch to branch was a bit difficult at first, especially when I didn't have a middle mouse button, but I was able to get used to manipulating an image this way. I tried all kinds of different nodes to see what each does.

Here is a view of just the image made in Shake.

I decided to take a picture of my 12" Terminator figure using the green screen partially because I couldn't wait to use the screen and also because I knew it would be easier when making the matte. The Terminator that I used is articulated at every joint in almost the same way that a human moves. Without this, I would not have been able to make this image.

This is the full sized cookie sheet that I brought it and shot against a blue screen.

I decided to make real cookies for the shot. They really didn't come out looking the way that I wanted to in the final image. It is mainly because I still don't know everything about Shake. It would not have been a problem in Photoshop.

I found this image of a kitchen with an oven on the internet. The quality and perspective are the reasons why I choose this image.

After doing the main image in Shake, I decided to do the paper design in Photoshop. The limitation of Shake had a lot to do in the decision to use Photoshop this way.

This is a picture of the real Famous Amos that I was going to use as a lay over image in the final paper. I decided instead to use this image in the background of the kitchen, to help show that the Terminator was cooking in the right place.

Overall, the project was fun. I liked my idea and it came to me as soon as I read what we were going to be doing. I know that once I get used to Shake making an image like this will be quicker and easier. Knowing Photoshop as well as I do, helped with making this image, but if I was given an option, I would use Photoshop to make this image.