This is my most advanced Photoshop work so far without a doubt.
* Background: shot in Normandie, France. The rocks were very slippery, and I had to walk 50m on them without falling into the water with my equipment, including my tripod... fun fun!
* The hydra: as soon as I saw the challenge theme, I ordered this painted resin statue in a specialized store. I got lucky: it arrived on Saturday morning, just in time for a nice studio session :) I used several flashes with gels, in order to recreate the sunset colours.
* The background hydra: actually, it is the same one, but shot under a different angle, and modified using the puppet warp tool to make it look a bit different.
* The knight: it's me! I used the same armour as for my "Knight Rider" shot, and used the same style of studio setup as for the creature.
* The flame: I created the fire texture using the "difference clouds" tool, then it was a *lot* of various painting, masking, wave and gradient effects.
Finally, I spent numerous hours merging it all together, using many colour and light adjustments, to recreate an atmosphere as realistic as I could. I learned a lot of processing tricks making this one, and I am quite happy with the result. I sure hope some people will enjoy it too!
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Thank you all for your nice votes and comments :-)
I am extremely proud and happy of this result. This was my first montage, and I went through many tutorials in order to achieve that one. Lots of time, but it was well worth it!
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 83 Avg (all users): 7.5472 Avg (commenters): 8.6585 Avg (participants): 7.3061 Avg (non-participants): 7.6019 Views since voting: 13375 Views during voting: 821 Votes: 265 Comments: 95 Favorites: 49 (view)
I have been on vacation and haven't had a chance to comment. I voted before I left, and gave this a 10. Simply outstanding work; great effort is rewarded :-)
Congratulations on both the win and the stunning image. I rarely give 10's, but this warranted one. Everything in it looks real and stood head and shoulders above all the other entries. C'est Magnifique!
Since it is not a downloaded clipart, but something I created by myself specially for that entry, I think it is legal. At least, this is my understanding of the rules, and a shared opinion in several threads in the forums.
* The flame: I created the fire texture using the "difference clouds" tool, then it was a *lot* of various painting, masking, wave and gradient effects.
Is that legal, or did it start as a photogragh? Looks like the cover of a book!
Once again Christophe has come up with a fantastic image, that is so well planned out and executed. Congratulations on the Blue and what an incredible first montage.
Christophe! Christophe! Christophe! Way to go!!! Still your biggest cheerleader even if we aren't on the same team right now. Huge hugs to you! This is a well deserved blue.
You are not only an excellent photographer, but also an excellent photoshop user. This is a well deserved blue ribbon image. WOTC can hire you to creat images for thier D&D game. Bravo!
Very nicely done. The lighting is fabulous; I hope to learn how you did it once the challenge is over. The sense of scale is excellent. Good work on the eyes, too.
This is OMG the most Awesome Pix!!! If this one don't win There is something very WRONG on dp.... (and I've got a photo in this challange LOL) I'd rate mine a 6 and this a 10+++++
This is a fantastic composition! Love the details in this image from the textured skin of the three headed dragon to the blast of fire to the knight who stands at the ready as the sun sets on the horizon and even the other dragnoid beast that stands on the far island. Composition is good and strong with a story to tell - St. George battling the dragon or just a lone knight making a stand against evil represented by the dragon. A small nit is that I wish the dragon's eyes had more 'life' to them. They appear dull and flat - maybe taking a picture of a lizard eye or gator to paste onto the dragon's eyes would give it more of a life-like appearance. Even though I do think this is a very strong composition and rate it in the high above average image I still wish it could have looked a little less like an illustration and a touch more photographic in nature - more life-like eyes would have been one way to do it...hmmm, the other though is to use more natural tones on the skin of the dragon as in what color tones one would actually see on say lizards and such (of course one could counter that the dragon is SUPPOSED to be a fantastic beast and that blue colors are possible because it places them outside the realm of normal)
I think you will blue with this one. Epic scene. Excellent work and nicely processed. I'm very curious as to how you did this within the editing rules.
That is awesome (and I mean that in the it brings awe to the viewer).
My favorite part to it is that there's another beast on the right that is just there! That's a very nice touch.
You must be some kind of mythological wizard at Photoshop!
Very well done. WOW! BTW, did you use toy figures as a base or paint them in photoshop, or actually construct them from photographs of other things? Let me know once voting is over!
A Matter of Life and Death
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