Photo Transformation

[MackCaddy]

Magic wand the car, or magnetic laso the car

If you want good clean selections always use the Pen tool!! OP I sorta did the same thing you were going for while I was making a background for my desktop. All I used was the pen tool, quick masking, and gradient tool. Took about an hour all said and done.

Original picture:

Final:

I accidentally masked out part of the front tire because the monitor I was working on is too dark and didn't notice it until I looked at it on another computer.:lol:

 

[Taz]

It depends on what your end goal is...Like I said...No Offense, but it doesn't "look" like you did much.

This is what it looks like I would do from looking at the picture.

Magic wand the car, or magnetic laso the car; copy, open new; paste. Create layer, apply solid color background; adjust brightness/hue/gamma, use a filter if you prefer; move car above background; adjust location and opacity of both layers; trim up the hard lines with eraser; file, save as.

So again, I'm sure you worked hard on it, but the way it looks is "simple".

Hope I didn't sound like a D**K. Just tryin to help.

Hahaha! You really think it's that simple, don't you?

No, I don't think you're a d1ck, but - and I'm not trying to be a d1ck here either - I doubt you've ever actually attempted to convert a photo of your own car to graphic like this. If you had, you'd realize what an oversimplification it is of the work that must be done to achieve the end result. You CAN'T wand the entire car. And lassoing the car isn't a viable option, either.

Everything looks simple until you actually roll up your sleeves and have a go at it, so I'd be happy to send you a copy of the original photo, so you can try your own suggestions on how to proceed. But only if you promise to let us all know just how rewarding your results were and how long it actually took you to come up with a good result.

Since you think I'm so ungodly slow, then you must be much, much faster, and the entire exercise shouldn't take you more than an hour or two, right? Okay, here's an opportunity to demonstrate your awesome graphics editing ability.

Of course - and here's what REALLY confuses me - who gives a rip HOW long it takes me? No one should give a rat's ass but me how long I spend on a graphic.

Oh and if you decide to try your own hand at a little production work, don't forget to add some light cans to highlight the car and add a little interest to the otherwise bland, featureless background.

Finally, bear in mind that the end product must be suitable for large format printing - the TIFF flat file that I'm sending out to the owner of the coupe is 85 MB - so any of the jaggies left behind by wanding or lassoing the car are definitely out.

 

[Taz]

If you want good clean selections always use the Pen tool!! OP I sorta did the same thing you were going for while I was making a background for my desktop. All I used was the pen tool, quick masking, and gradient tool. Took about an hour all said and done.

Original picture:

Final:

I accidentally masked out part of the front tire because the monitor I was working on is too dark and didn't notice it until I looked at it on another computer.:lol:

Looks great!

I must confess I haven't tried the pen tool, but you started with the plain white background, right? How would the pen work for a photo shot against a busy backdrop, like the original I posted in my first post?

 

[deannyc]

so what's it gonna be? Wanna show me how it's done, or wanna stfu?

lmao. :banana:

 

[MackCaddy]

Looks great!

I must confess I haven't tried the pen tool, but you started with the plain white background, right? How would the pen work for a photo shot against a busy backdrop, like the original I posted in my first post?

It is a bit tricky to get the hang of at first, but once you get it you'll wonder how you ever got anything done with out it. There are lots of tutorials all over the web with basic tips. If you have a really complicated selection I would suggest the color range tool, but pen tool is perfect for cars and other simple objects. Good luck! :rockon:

 

[WireEater]

Wish I knew how to use photoshop

 

[Torch10th]

I don't care how many steps you've gone through, or how long it took. It looks decent enough. However, there's a few things I would want to see from the image that would make it look quite a bit more realistic.

First I would super tint the windows. Black! The the end product should be completely void of objects in the windows. The pole in the rear of the car is a prime example.

Also, against the relatively non-descript back-ground the hard cut shadow just looks off. I would add a bevel using the Gaussian blur and a couple layers to get the bevel correct.

Finally, the lighting doesn't really seem to match. It's obvious that you've used the bump maps, and can lighting to create an effect. However, that doesn't translate on the background either.

Your background should mimic the lighting. Lighter on the opposite side of the car, and darker in the foreground to match that lighting angle.

That's my constructive criticism.

 

[Taz]

It is a bit tricky to get the hang of at first, but once you get it you'll wonder how you ever got anything done with out it. There are lots of tutorials all over the web with basic tips. If you have a really complicated selection I would suggest the color range tool, but pen tool is perfect for cars and other simple objects. Good luck! :rockon:

Thanks. I'll definitely give the pen a try next time around.

I'm really not into making these any harder than they need to be.

:thumbsup:

 

[Taz]

I don't care how many steps you've gone through, or how long it took. It looks decent enough. However, there's a few things I would want to see from the image that would make it look quite a bit more realistic.

First I would super tint the windows. Black! The the end product should be completely void of objects in the windows. The pole in the rear of the car is a prime example.

Also, against the relatively non-descript back-ground the hard cut shadow just looks off. I would add a bevel using the Gaussian blur and a couple layers to get the bevel correct.

Finally, the lighting doesn't really seem to match. It's obvious that you've used the bump maps, and can lighting to create an effect. However, that doesn't translate on the background either.

Your background should mimic the lighting. Lighter on the opposite side of the car, and darker in the foreground to match that lighting angle.

That's my constructive criticism.

Thanks for sharing.

I don't personally find BLACK windows very realistic. They look more like Hot Wheels models to me.

And the hard cut shadow produced exactly the effect that I was after. You may not like it, but that's you.

Also, since I didn't apply the lights until after I flattened the file to a single layer, I'd say the lighting on the car and in the background should certainly match.

But we all want something different, don't we?

You know what I'D like??? I'd like the car to morph into a little black goose that will drop 24K golden eggs out of the monitor into my lap. Hahahaha!!!

 

[supercarkiller]

12 hours?

 

[Taz]

12 hours?

Okay, I lied. It only took me 12 minutes. Feel better now?

Honest to Christ! What the hell does it matter to you HOW long it takes me???

 

[Venomous98Cobra]

I hear this sound...

The sound of butt hurt.

 

[flowgoode]

If you want good clean selections always use the Pen tool!! OP I sorta did the same thing you were going for while I was making a background for my desktop. All I used was the pen tool, quick masking, and gradient tool. Took about an hour all said and done.

I use the pen tool as well...I was just stating a "quick" way of doing things.

Hahaha! You really think it's that simple, don't you?

No, I don't think you're a d1ck, but - and I'm not trying to be a d1ck here either - I doubt you've ever actually attempted to convert a photo of your own car to graphic like this. If you had, you'd realize what an oversimplification it is of the work that must be done to achieve the end result. You CAN'T wand the entire car. And lassoing the car isn't a viable option, either.

Actually I have made many graphics of not only my car but other people cars. Maybe not something exactly like what you've done. But I've made numerous people's signature images on here and other car forums.

Oh and if you decide to try your own hand at a little production work, don't forget to add some light cans to highlight the car and add a little interest to the otherwise bland, featureless background.

Finally, bear in mind that the end product must be suitable for large format printing - the TIFF flat file that I'm sending out to the owner of the coupe is 85 MB - so any of the jaggies left behind by wanding or lassoing the car are definitely out.

Why do I have to add light cans? Just because you did? People have their own ways of doing things.

Wish I knew how to use photoshop

LOL!

 

[4fit?]

Dude, I got to say, I'm with the others. I see nothing overly special here. Certainly not a "photo transformation". Just a cut IMO. And don't bring up the "well you do it then" thing (see sig). No point in getting so defensive about it.

 

[66speed]

I could do that in MS Paint in about 30 mins, all the while masturbating to a picture of Barbara Walters.

Seriously dude, 12 hours with a mediocre result? I hope you weren't charging these people by the hour.

 

[BoneStock02]

OP: you are an amature at photochop, I'm sorry but it would take me about 5 mins to do what you did. If I spent as much time as you say you did on those they'd look wayyyy better.

I can give you credit for giving it a try but it looks terrible.

 

[flowgoode]

I took your challange (sorta). Here is my variation of what you did....with my car pic.

Before:

After:

 

[66speed]

pwn

 

[canibus]

PZOWNED.

Get over it, it sucks. BTW, they have cs4 now.

 

[04YellowGT]

I did this in 10mins and 5 of those mins were remembering what buttons did what. Its not the cleanest but with another 11hrs and 50mins I could photoshop me and Megan Fox having sex in the bed and make it look legit.