Destroying images to make them more exiting.

[Anonymous]

While waiting for AC to export an artlantis file I chip in this image to show one way of manipulating an image. Very often I don't have the time or computer power to load my models with stuff like cars, people, vegetation etc. Instead I add some Photoshop filter effects to the rendered images to kind of cheat the viewer. By adding grain and somewhat destroying the original image the new image feels much "fuller" though very different. The attached image makes me think of the Hitchcock movie The Birds. I should have some gdl birds and some nice gdl corps to complete the image...
Btw the grass, asphalt and sky textures were added in Photoshop...
The filter I used was Nik Color Efex (plugin) but could be done entirely in Photoshop.

Mats

[Karl Ottenstein]

Beautiful effect, Mats. Thanks for sharing.

Piranesi can do similar things alone (but is better combined with Photoshop) ... in particular, Pir makes it easy to add some of the things that you left out because of complexity. For example, in the new Pir 4, you can import a 3D elements (3ds, dwg, etc: cars, etc), place as desired, and have Pir cast shadows ... ditto just photos of plants, birds, etc.

But, I really like the starkness and the artistic feeling of the image as you have produced it, including the painted/faded crosswalk in the foreground.

Karl

[Dwight]

a quick thing to do to ArchiCAD images is to use Photoshop's color balance dialog to shift shadows to the cool and highlights to the warm.

Like Kodachrome.

[Anonymous]

more photoshopping

open up the 'levels' dialogue

for each channel, rgb, separately, drag the left and right sliders inwards to where the histogram starts to rise

can work wonders

bill

[Dwight]

Any ArchiCAD image needs to have the levels expanded since the existing ArchiCAD engine tends to play it safe with values - sticking in the muddy middle...

[Anonymous]

For _publicity_ purposes we almost always boost contrast and luminance in a photograph by 20-40% (as a start) just to make the space more 'airy' and 'nice'.

Renders *always* look more 'architecturally interesting' if they are darkened down. Adding contrast to get (nearly) black shadows helps the mood too...

- Stuart

PS. Are yoga lamp poles only found in Vancouver or can you get an export licence?

[Dwight]

But be sure to put a little color tint in those dark shadows since plain "blackness" sucks the life out of an image - see any old style rendering where blackness dominates for the enervating quallity.

In watercolor we never use black - always a dark color like blue or indigo - keeps things lively - and more memory-accurate.

A third Photoshop thing would be gradient darkening where you color burn to indigo from the foreground of the image.

Those "yoga" poles originated with the Swede's illustration - I just messed with it.

In Canada, we use a light pole I call the "Schwanstuker" which can be euphemistic for anything that stands vertically.

[Dwight]

compare previous image - dark blue color burn iin foreground

[Karl Ottenstein]

Dwight wrote:
But be sure to put a little color tint in those dark shadows since plain "blackness" sucks the life out of an image

If you want to see black, browse inside:

http://www.markstoryphotography.com/

Karl

[Dwight]

Its different in portraiture - he knows what he is doing.

However - these aren't monochromatic images - there's plenty of sepiatone to make flesh interesting and alive.

Besides, orange is the new black.