Creative Process Surrealist Photoshop Montage
Surrealist Montage Sample of current work seeking feedback on where to improve This is a composite I made a few years back for a friend, it was indeed one of my early attempts at Photoshop manipulation. I shared it to social media such as Facebook groups I´m a part of, LinkedIn and DeviantArt asking for any pointers that could lead to developing skills. There weren’t comments on the skills but they did help in a certain way.
Photoshop and Photography: Group Member
This is a composite I made a few years back to experiment with layer blending, it was indeed one of my early attempts at Photoshop. I shared it to social media such as Facebook groups I´m a part of, LinkedIn and DeviantArt asking for any pointers that could lead to developing skills.
Photoshop and Photography: Group Member
Diploma of Graphic Design: Group Member & Design Student
This is a composite I made about 10 years ago as part of a Multimedia course, it is my earliest manipulation. I shared it to social media such as Facebook groups I´m a part of, LinkedIn and DeviantArt asking for any pointers that could lead to developing skills. While there were virtually no comments on how to develop skills it was a success among the facebook group, so it was a moral booster, which in a way is helpful for wanting to learn more. Photoshop and Photography: Various Members
Development There were quite an amount of elements that went into the creation of this composite, from stock photos and PNG’s (royalty free) to my own photos and archive images. They were obtained from sites such as https://www.freepngimg.com and https://pngtree.com. During the process I often times referred back to the already mentioned tutorials and books and insight from social media feedback, although there were not many. Some elements were removed and others added during the development, these are the ones that made the cut.
Elements Used
Personal Photo
Stock Photo
Personal Photo
Stock PNG
Stock Photo
Personal Photo
Stock PNG
Stock Photo
Stock Photo
Stock Photo of painting
Stock PNG
Stock Photo
Stock PNG
The Process So I started of by sketching a thumbnail of the composite to assist in the placement of the elements.
For this next stage I prepared the elements that were going to be used by cutting them out, as in the case of the rip adding the interior photo via layer clipping and using brushes to add shadows to give it some depth and cut out the stairway. Added the skull to the lady using layer masking, blending modes, brushes and transform tools. The rip, as cut from source image, used smart objects to add inside image, added shadows using brush tool.
The stairway was cut using layer mask to hide unwanted parts.
A skull was added to the model using blend modes, her body was painted the same colour of the skull using brushes and colour blend layer. Added shadows to blend more naturally.
These elements were later imported to the composite.
Referring back to the tutorials it was now time to bring all the elements together in the composite. Added some light effects using layer blends.
Added some more light effects using layer blends. Added the clouds from another source image and using layer mask hid the parts I didn’t want.
Added the remaining elements to the composite, making sure I added shadows to the model using brushes. Used layer mask to hide out some parts of the meteorites so it would have more depth by going in front and back of the rip.
All elements were grouped with their respective name, such as “Girl”, “Stairs”, “Meteors” and so on this helped a lot in maintaining the layers organized and provided a smother work flow.
The final stage was to give it some more appealing colours that better related to the dark theme and tone of the project. So I added some adjustment layers, mainly colour balance, some photo filters and a purple colour overlay. I kept making small corrections with the colour balance until I felt satisfied with the colours. Added colour balance adjustment layers, colour overlay and photo filters.
Seeking Feedback After I felt confident enough and satisfied with the result so far I submitted the image to facebook groups, DeviantArt and Reddit (this one was funny) in order to get feedback on where I should or could improve upon. Although the feedback was small it was useful and was altogether positive. At this stage there wasn’t much that was changed.
Submitted Image (before changes)
Diploma of Graphic Design: Group Member & Design Student
Reddit: Photoshop Guy
This one was funny, and it ended up being useful.
DeviantArt: Illustrator
The Feedback Changes Based on the feedback received, and mainly because of the reddit user that suggested it was overdone I ended up adding the waterfall, as I see it, it is the end of the world and it should give a little sense of confusion, provoke an emotional response like that user, so his reaction with the feedback really cemented that fact.
Image (after changes)
Conceptual Development For this project I searched inspiration from varied sources, including nature itself, that inspired the red and blue colours in the composite, the colours of a sunset. I re-watched the movie Armageddon as a way to get myself in the end-of-the-world mindset, it also informed about colours I could use. Other sources of inspiration were photos from natural and man-made disasters, current event news, other artists and personal experiences.
Colour Transitions graphicmama.com/blog
Skull Face mymodernmet.com
Moody Tones creativemarket.com/blog End-of-World Mindset Armageddon Movie
Sunset Colours Nature
Stairway speckyboy.com
Design trends that influenced the work were: Color Transitions / Gradients that influenced the transition from red colours to blue seen in the composite. Moody Tones influenced the darker colours of the image. The following images influenced and inspired the colours, the mood, tone and feel, the elements that would be used, the layout and even lighting.
Moodboard
Feedback
submitted.jpg 1016K
The previous image that had small changes done after the first round of feedback was then submitted for another round. Email from Joana Carvalho Teacher/Art Lover Joana Carvalho <joana.jig@gmail.com> To: Sérgio Pina <sergio_pina@sapo.pt>
14 September 2018 at 11:41
Hi Sergio! I really like the montage, especially the colours you used to clearly establish a contrast between the two worlds. It is surrealistic and very imaginative. I also like the way you covered the model's face with the skull, without exaggerating it. I would probably replace Saturn with Mars to keep the apocalyptic image more orange and red and I would try to transport the contrast between the two worlds onto the plants on the stairs, making them look dead at the bottom and more lively toward the top. I hope you find these ideas helpful! Joana On Fri, 14 Sep 2018, 11:07 Sérgio Pina <sergio_pina@sapo.pt> wrote: Gmail - Surreal Composite https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=3e7ac8bb97&view=pt&search=a... Hi Joana, I was wondering if you could give me some feedback for this surreal composite. What do you think of it? Is there something I could improve upon? What do you think of the colours? Thank you, Sergio Pina
Sérgio Pina <sergio.crow@gmail.com>
Surreal Composite Ally Mina 2 messages Graphic Design Student
Sérgio Pina <sergio_pina@sapo.pt> To: graphiconds@gmail.com
17 September 2018 at 14:55
Hi Angelo,
1 of 1
I was wondering if you could give me some feedback for this surreal composite. What do you think of it? Is there 14/09/2018, 12:28 something I could improve upon? What do you think of the colours? ThankAlmeida you, Angelo Sergio Pina Lead Graphic Designer at Tipografia Beira Alta Angelo Almeida <graphiconds@gmail.com> To: sergio_pina@sapo.pt
17 September 2018 at 15:11
Hi Serg This is an interesting image. Its well balanced and the colors suit it. I think this kind of stuf have been done before so it isn't that original but it still makes you think and it looks good. I dont know where you could improve on this one. On Mon, 17 Sep 2018 at 14:55, Sérgio Pina <sergio_pina@sapo.pt> wrote: Hi Angelo, I was wondering if you could give me some feedback for this surreal composite. What do you think of it? Is there something I could improve upon? What do you think of the colours? Thank you, Sergio Pina
The Feedback Changes 2 The feedback was positive overall. In regards to the feedback from Joana I did experiment in changing Saturn with Mars but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like the way it blended with the image so decided to maintain Saturn. Ally made a good point when mentioning that a context would be needed for friends or clients to understand the image, but I think it can stand its own, and if not it can always serve a purpose of begging a conversation that may lead to a new client. At this stage I decided to add a watermark with my logo, since this piece is to showcase my skills and hand out prints to friends and potential clients I thought that made sense. I did not think anything else needed to be changed.
Comparing to Others
Image (after 2nd round of feedback)
Usually this kind of composites are dark and somber, I think mine lives up to that and still manages to have strong colours like reds, purples and blues. I do believe that there is a difference with mine, it also has a lighter side to it, the landscape in the rip has lively and bright colours contrasting with the dark element, the rip itself symbolizing hope, that there is a chance to escape. I think that this fact sets it apart from the rest although technically it may not be as good but that is due to my limitations at this point, that will be corrected by practicing and discovering hew techniques and better ways to take advantage of Photoshops capabilities. I also feel that it has more depth than some of the other due to the prospective of the stairs and the use of shadows on it, but that could be just me.
The Final Composite
I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel the need to make any additional tweaks and changes after comparing my work with others as I feel quiet satisfied with the result. I have to say that this work was really fun, I enjoyed the whole process.
Final Composite Image
Bibliography Grafolog 2007, Create a Surreal Apocalypse Photomanipulation. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://en.tutsps.com/create-a-surreal-apocalypse-photomanipulation/ WebFX 2010, Surreal Train Cabin Photo Manipulation with Photoshop. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://www.webfx.com/blog/web-design/surreal-train-cabin-photo-manipulation-with-photoshop/ TUTZOR 2012, Learn how to photoshop, design, layout, typography and everything.. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from http://tutzor.com/ PHLEARN 2012, Free Tutorials. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://phlearn.com/free-tutorials/ Iveta 2017, Top Graphic Design Trends 2018: The Ultimate Guide. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://graphicmama.com/blog/graphic-design-trends-2018/ Laura Busche 2018, 10 Graphic Design Trends for 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https:// creativemarket.com/blog/10-graphic-design-trends-for-2018 Kelly Richman-Abdou 2017, Thought-Provoking Sculpture of Split Head Reveals a Hauntingly Surreal Skull Within. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://mymodernmet.com/skull-art-taiji-taomote/ Jameel Khan 2016, 40 Examples of Surreal Art in Graphic Design. Retrieved 16 September 2018, from https://speckyboy.com/surreal-world-an-outstanding-collection-of-surreal-art/