Water
The water was made using two shades of blue and the Filter>Render>Clouds tools. This created a mottled effect using the two shades. I then altered the perspective of this layer and created the effect of rippling light. These techniques I discovered during the creation of the last image, and I am pleased that I can apply them in different situations.
Mud
By duplicating a photograph of mud, I was able to create a thick wall of mud to line my riverbank. I experimented with light settings and layer properties until I was happy that it fit well into the composition.
Flower
The initial changes to the main flower were cleaning it up. There are several blotches and insects in the original photograph, so I edited these out using the clone tool. This was very effective. I also shortened the long petal at the back of the arrangement. I felt it needed reducing in size because it was going to obstruct a large portion of my image. By selecting the tip of the petal, I was able to merge it with a lower section creating a seamless join and the result I was looking for.
I had decided to a new lily pad using digital painting techniques. So I began with the circular selection tool and filled in it with green. I then used a rough gradient to create a stripy layer, which would help create a range of highlights within the structure of the lily pad. I also applied this texture to the lip. Although I had planned this section of my image, I was very unhappy with the results. In my opinion, the lily pad is flat and looks very processed. As I currently have now ideas on how to solve this problem, I am going to move on and return to this at a later stage.
During my experimentations, it has occurred to me that there would be some depth to the water. In order to add a sense of this, I duplicated the Mud layer and stretched below the water. When I reduced the opacity of the water, you were able to see a darker section where the mud sank below the water level. I tried this at two different levels; one turned very dark.
I then also began adding in some extra highlights to create a sense of waves. This could need altering at a later stage to help the shape of water fit to the objects floating on top of it.
Toadstool
As I liked the shape of my mock-up toadstool, I decided to use this as a template for the shape of my improved version, and made some alterations as I felt appropriate. I paid close attention to the shading I was adding to the stalk and the top, as lighting is a very important feature in these illustrations. I used a rough gradient to create the texture on the stalk and a Rock pattern from the default settings in Photoshop for the textures on the toadstool's top. I am much happier with this piece, as it has suitable shadows and a good sense of depth.
Adjustments
After taking a step back from my image, I have realised some adjustments that need to be made. First of all, the toadstools are too bright; so I changed the brightness/contrast settings on each of these to make it more appropriate. I then changed some of the water's highlights as they didn't suite the surrounding objects.
More Toadstools
Another adjustment I am making is to one of the repeated toadstools. As it is quite obvious that I have used the same image three times, I have returned to the original file and altered its shape to create a different toadstool with little effort. This will now be used in place to the right of the smaller original toadstool.
Grass
As it would be very time consuming to make the grass one blade at a time, I have downloaded a brush that creates a patch of grass for me. By duplicating and altering each section of grass, I was able to create a realistic section of grass that covers the entire area I was hoping to. I am pleased with the density of grass, as it creates a sense of depth and distance. I used the Dodge tool to add some shadows that would be cast by the toadstools.
I am now interested in altering the line of the mud, as at the moment it is very dominant, unrealistic and distracting from the rest of image. My first attempt at solving this problem is to create a layer of grass that flops down over the edge of the riverbank; this would be realistic of an unkempt riverbank. By using the brush tool, I could make a small patch of grass. I then applied the Warp tool to bend the blades over the mud. You can see my attempts below.
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| Complete Grass - Flopping |
Above is the image with completed grass, in the style that I was looking to create. However, it doesn't look right. The bend in the grass is too flat and straight; the entire line of grass is all one height, which would not be realistic. Therefore, I have decided on a change of tack.
The new direction I am taking with the grass edge is to embed shorter more random sections of grass in the mud to dissipate the strong line. The result is below.
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| Complete Image |
This is my completed image at this stage. I am very happy with my improvements to the grass and toadstools. They look very realistic and live up to my designs and imagination. I am now going to continue improving on each section. I hope to have a completed image by Thursday; this will give me enough time to complete the third image in my series in time for the exhibition.
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