Category Archives: Photomanipulation

Nomads: Beast (Animated Signature)

Recolored and animated version of an Ultimate X-Men comic cover. This was created to be used over at marvel-boards as a tribute to my character in their ongoing RPG game Nomads (an Exiles themed rpg – not limited to characters based on Marvel originals but those are preferrred).

 

Anyway here we see Beast caught in a storm (lit by lightning flashes):

Imagine My: Blink

This is my ‘backup’ character for an comic based RPG called “The Nomads” that’s about to begin based on the Exiles style… my main character is Beast (Universe 666 Version :p) but I thought I best sort out a backup (in case I snuff it early on in the proceedings.. anyways.. I figured I would do a manip and it seemed to go with this theme day (although If we did another Transgender one it might have gone there) so here we go:

BIO:

Blink (Post “Days of Future Past”)

Real name: Clark Ferguson

Occupation: Leader of Human Resistance

Identity: Public

Legal status: Citizen of SCZ(Sentinel Control Zone) 001 (formerly United States of America)

Place of birth: St Louis, Missourri

Group affiliation: Human Alliance Resistance Movement

Base of operations: Mobile (Currently in ruins of New York City)

History: Clark was born to mutant parents, shortly before they were captured while travelling to northwards to the Canadian Border. Clark spent the early years of his life growing up in internment camps, learning to survive by running errands, always listening and learning. Seperated from his parents at the age of 13, Clark was transferred to the South Bronx Mutant Internment Center. Initially alone in the camp, which was much larger than any of the others where he had been detained, Clark began wandering the complex, learning all it’s secrets. This was a routine he had been through before many times in many camps. On one such expedition, Clark ran into an older boy, Franklin Richards and a pretty redhead named Rachel Summers, who took it upon themselves to look out for Clark. It was through Franklin and Rachel that Clark came to meet and befriend the men and women who’s selfless act would be the catalyst for his later life. Piotr Rasputin, a gentle russian giant with a talent for story telling, his wife Kate, their friend Ororo who’s startling beauty could not be disguised by the hard life they were force to lead. And last but not least, Magnus, who although wheelchair bound had such a strength of will and purpose that it was impossible to think of him as an invalid. As the next few of years passed, Clark became more closely involved with the lives of his new friends, learning of their former identities as X-men, a group of mutants dedicated to protecting both mutants and the humans who feared and hated them. He also heard rumours of an underground resistance movement making raids on the camps and sentinel strongholds up near the Canadian Border. There was also word that the Sentinel were planning on expanding beyond the borders of the former US. Clark believes his friends are hiding something from him and follows Franklin to one of the Camp houses. Slipping inside and hiding, Clark watched as Kitty returns from a sanctioned trip outside the camp for medical supplies, but she has also brought something else, a small electonic component. Clark listens in awe as they talk of now being able to disable the inhibitor collars all mutants are forced to wear. But that is the least of what they intend to do. There is talk of time travel and altering reality, much of which goes over Clark’s head, but what does grab his attention is his first sight of a mutant using their natural powers uninhibited. As the group prepare, Rachel has Kate, relax on a mattress, and then begins to talk to her very softly, calmly. Rachel continues to whisper to Kate on and off for the next couple of hours as the rest of the group come and go, obviously preparing for something that is about to happen. It is at this a gruff voice behind him tells Clark, he needn’t hide in the shadows any more. Shocked that he has been spotted Clark literally falls out of his hiding place as a short stocky man with an odd accent steps into the light. “Logan” it seems has come to aid the former X-men’s escape. Unwilling to take Clark with them due to the dangerous nature of the task ahead, they persuade him to stay with magnus to cover up their escape. The group fade into the darkness of one of the service access tunnels. Later that night Magnus and Clark hear rumors of a failed attempt by a group of mutants to destroy the Sentinel Control Centre in the Baxter Building. All the mutants are dead. The shock news of his friends death triggers Clark’s mutant ability – teleportation – causing himself and Magnus to be flung nearly 100 miles outside the camp almost instantaneously The next four years are spent hiding, fighting and learning. Magnus teaches Clark both about leadership and also techniques to control his gift. Rechristened “Blink” because of his ability to move from one place to another in the blink of an eye, Clark has gathered a small band of similarly minded individuals around them all with one purpose – to end the reign of the Sentinel.

Current Age: 20

Height: 6 ft. 2 in.

Weight: 220 lbs.

Eyes: Shining yellow, no visible pupils

Hair: Blue Skin: Pale Blue, with distintive facial markings that appeared following his first ‘blink’

Strength Level: Clark has the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engaged in intensive regular exercise

Known superhuman powers: Blink possesses the ability to generate teleportation warps, allowing him to displace people and objects. His maximum range hasn’t yet been determined, although with his current level of expertise he can move his entire group instantaneously a distance approximately 500 miles. Blink can also manifest the energy portals in the form of discus shaped weapons, which cause their targets (or parts of their target) to teleport. This power can be used offensively and defensively. The effective range of these discus is approximately 200 metres. Additionally Blink carries adamantium darts (liberated during an early mission) which he can use over a much longer range. By throwing the dart, and instantly ‘blinking’ it, it can effectively hit its target with the same velocity it had upon leaving his hand. It is unclear as to how Blink targets the destination for teleportation, but he may have a subconcsious precognition which automatically retargets him before materialisation to prevent appearing inside a solid object.

Wanted Loss Adjuster. Apply Fisk Industries

Well.. due to a pc crash I nearly lost this pic..which would have annoyed me greatly. Luckily I had saved a jpg version prior to the crash, meant I had lost all the layer info, but at least I had the pic. Anyways.. (I originally had this labelled as Penelope Cruz but it isn’t) here is Yamila Diaz Rahi as Elektra Nachios (in a Greg Horn style) applying for the post of ‘Loss Adjuster’ at Fisk Industries.

Yamila originally had on this crocheted bathing suit style affair, so the first thing I did was a hell of a lot of smudging on the main body to get it looking smooth. I also smudged out the skin to give it a painted look. Removed the silvery shoes she was wearing. Recolored the eyes. Extended the bodice up over the shoulder. The straps on the hands and feet created using vector lines, then darkened using lassoo and HSL adjustment. Then used a small brush to smudge out some wrinkling. drop shadows added to each indivual strap to give that overlapping feel. Created the flappy bit of the dress using vectors, then used HSL again to give it some shading. The sais were created from scratch using Eyecandy’s chrome tool and again more HSL adjustments to give some additional shading. Used the sai’s to create a selection cut from the floor to add some reflected color. The shadows were done in a similar fashion, then deformed and blurred. Added the FISK logo, with drop shadow on multiply layers.

May I see your ID Miss?

Well I was playing about with a quick Jennifer Connolly as Wonder Woman manip, and it came into my head that since she had all these dealings with Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman would probably have some sort of military clearance – and hence the idea for a DOD ID card..

Black and white photo of Jennifer, smoothed out the flowery bathing costume she had one and removed the straps. Found a decent Alex Ross pic of Wondy and grabbed those lovely metal’s he paints. Applied a halftone effect to this black and white image. The card was made up using a rounded selection to create a drop shadow/edge effect. The background text was created as normal and then used as a fill pattern. this filled layer was distorted using the wave filter and the excess cut off. The DOD embossed stamp over the picture, and the colored logo are from the DOD website (check it out they have various seals and logos available in multiple formats for download) The text was added and I used Eyecandy glass filter to give it a raised feel.

COSTUME: A Portrait of an Angel

I wanted to take part in this theme day, AND fill a request.. Brian Gaskill in the red Angel uniform (dunno if I got the right one though.. as he had a couple).

So here we see Angel admiring a painting of himself in his original X-Men uniform. The red uniform is a recolor of the previous blue uniformed Archangel I previously submitted. The wings have been desaturated and brightened. The background pic was painted using my wacom tablet over another image of Brian. Everything is new other than the eyes and mouth area. Tried to give a cloudy sky impression in the background. Added a perspective shadow on the wall from the front Angel.

X3: Emma Frost, Professor of Telepathy

Just another concept for the next X-Men movie. Courtney Thorne-Smith as Emma. Let’s face it, with this teacher you would definitely come to attention..

This was just a quickie really as we were discussing castings over on marvel-boards.co.uk and I wanted to do a realistic costume for Emma, but still keep her flirtatious, almost vampy style.. Found a suitable chest to use as a base and positioned it over the original t-shirt. Recolored it to more closely match the base. Used the smudge tool to extend the skin area. Cut out a distorted X shape. Used vector point to point to create highlights and shadows for seams around the X.

Found a chicken wire texture on the net, used this to create a fishnet style front piece for the t-shirt. Used the mesh warp tool to distort it to follow the curves of the chest and the pull of the t-shirt. created a drop shadow, and additional shadowing at the shoulders and chest for the t-shirt. Brightened up the eyes, and added the x to the belt. A simple gradient fill and border to give it a nice look.

Not X3: Archangel

Keeping with the tradition of a new blue person in each movie.. hehe.. not really.. We had a request to see Brian Gaskill as Archangel, So here it is my own take. Costuming from scratch using the usual techniques, background from xmen, a pic of an Angel Bust, and a smaller unfinished Brian Gaskill/Angel manip as screen type box outs. Body donor was Antonio Sabato. Tried to give the wings a metallic look but not sure if it really pays off.

Ultimate C2F: LocalHero – Lion Heart

Another theme day submission. In the Ultimate Universe, LocalHero is the protector and Champion of Scotland, heir to the mantle of William Wallace.

Back story: Was struck by lightning during a freak storm while visiting the Wallace Monument in Stirling.

Abilities: LocalHero has the ability to generate highly charged plasma using metallic objects as a conduit. Skilled Marksman and Swordsman. Exceptional Athlete and Martial Artist. Using metal threads laced through his uniform to channel plasma and create a frictionless field can achieve flight capability at up to 200MPH for approx 2 hours

Weapons: Chromium Steel/Vibranium Sword, Chromium Steel/Vibranium Guns (Contain no shells. Used as focus to create and channel plasma projectiles.

Ok.. notes: Base Model: Chris Genkinger (Body Builder) Recolored the body and added my face (well one side of my face flipped and resized. Background: Window view from Duntulm Castle. Flags cut from seperate image, plag pole extended and placed on the cliff side. The floor is from a stone/brick texture i have, deformed and shaded to add some realism. Costume: Done using my usual method. Glasses: cut from Cyclops X2 image.

Used a mask to alter the lens transparency Colorized blue to match costume. The tartan headband was a late addition, I wanted to include something of my heritage, so that is my mum’s Clan Tartan – Mackay. The logo is the one I have used for years, it was inspired by the Lion Rampant on the gold flag. I gave it a raised feel using Eyecandy Bevel Boss filter, then deformed and manually reshaded it to match chest. The zipper is from the same base pic i used for the Vamp:Spidey Iceman manip.

Sword/Guns: from previously downloaded stock of objects. Recolored and deformed to fit. Glow on sword done using Eyecandy’s corona filter. I was tempted to do a belt, but then I decided the gun holsters were an integral part of the costume.. Used the sword image again in the logo to reemphasis the scots feel by replicating the St Andrews cross design from the flag. All original backgrounds removed using mask layers

Ultimate C2F: Ms. Jellybrain Telepath X-Treme

Ms. Jellybrain, Omega level Telepath and Telekinetic. Upon reaching puberty, Jellybrain lost her hair revealing a translucent scalp. The other side effect of her mutation was increased mental powers, which she initially used to place ‘artistic’ images into peoples minds. As her powers have increased, a further effect of her mutation has become apparant.. her brain glows lime green.. giving her head a jelly like appearance.. hence the chosen x-name.

Art: I think I managed to keep MsJellybrain’s lovely face pretty much untouched. Hope you don’t mind this little bit of fun 🙂 The pic is from the Yahoo album. So is the head.. you might recognise Robbo’s crowning glory. Blended the two images together and cut out the combined head on a new layer. Found the brain on the net and masked it into the head. The body is Jolene Blalock (T’Pol from Enterprise) which was recolored. The head was resized to match. Using masks I faded out a larger head in the background. The power effect was created using one of the tutorials in the Hints’n’tips thread. The background is a random pic from the net.

Ultimate C2F: WelshCat – Brenin Cymru

or ‘King of Wales’. I see the Ultimate Welshcat as being like T’Challa aka Black Panther, a champion and ambassador for his people and country. I liked the Universe X take on Black Panther and thought it would work here.

The base model is Antonio Sabata whom i beheaded. I have used this base for previous submission(s). The head is a panther cut from the original and grafted on to the body. It was simpler to cut the whiskers and redo them from scratch. The body has two fur texture layers one purple, and one mottled on overlay. The head was colored and additional mottled fur texture added to match. I promoted the eyes mouth and nose over the color layers to retain the correct colors for them. The chest logo is cut from a welsh flag, and distorted onto the chest. The sword and scabard were done originally for my Valkyrie manip but I decided to re-use them here to get a sort of Captain Britain/Arthurian vibe going too. The belt created from scratch and the lion head was from a medallion. The background is of Port Merrion (setting of The Prisoner tv show) Meeowww;)

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Laracroft C2F Offer

There was a thread in the forums at C2F about stuff that should be for sale in the C2F shop… so I Was messing about with this as a gift for our very own Laracroft… just for being gorgeous :p but it fits in well with this theme day so.. anyone want to trade?;)

How: Grabbed some pics from Ashley’s site (it was a real chore :p ) cropped them all to the same size. Created an overlay using gradient fills. The font is Beast Wars. Applied the overlay to all the pics as a screen layer. cut off the extra to round the edges. rotated the pics to 15,30 and 45 degrees and applied drop shadows. Pulled them all together in one pic. applied a background, some text and the C2F logo.

Cyber2Reality Redo: American McGee’s Alice

Well.. Evanesence current number one has a lot to answer for.. for some reason made me think of Alice here.. so i went back and tidied up some of the bits from my previous submission of this piece. The new monitor helps a lot.. amazing what I missed on the original pic cos the old monitor was so dark. Anyways, basically ramped up the colours a bit, tidied up the fades and masks and added some glows..

F4 Concept: Ben J Grimm AKA ‘the Thing’

Just an experiment in PSP8 using masks (which I hadn’t used that much in the past). Ben is weight training while Johnny annoys him as usual. The base model is body builder Greg Kavaks, who already had pretty big arms, but I cut these out, enlarged them (and the bar bells) and blended them back into the base pic. The background is made of a few different textures including galvanized zinc and black ceramic tiles. The flame was done using a custom gradient fill smudged into a flamelike trail. an additional softened gradient fill used to give an orange glow to the rest of the background. Thing’s head was based on a mask I saw. USed this to get the basic shapes which were made using the pen and various flesh tones from the base pic. The rock texture is one of my stock and was put on a multiply layer. Edited various mask layers to reveal the sections of the base pic and arms/barbells I wanted to show. The logo was made from one cut from a comic cover, with additional texturing and the rest of the text is done in Fantastifont. The ‘4’ logo is from the teaser pic I submitted previously.

What was the Question?

I had downloaded this pic of Orson Welles from the Third Man with the intention of using it for the Back to the 40s theme day, but i decided to go with Cap America instead. This was just a quickie experimenting with some filters. Smudged the face to remove the features. created the logo from scratch using vectors. added a drop shadow, them deformed the layer to look like it was receding. set this to soft light. applied a watercolor filter over the whole pic and then worked on the edges to look like the paint was layered on.

X3: Logan – Mutant Vs Metal REDUX

Based on the comments in the UIRs on my previous ‘BoneClaw’ Wolverine, I went back to the drawing board and began again. This is my first manip using PSP8.

I started with a much better quality pic of Wolvie running towards the camera in front of what looked like a bluescreen. The tunnel background was downloaded from google and placed over the top of the wolverine image, I then cut out wolverine’s shape from the background. I used the original metal claws to line up rectangles of my bone texture and then used the lassoo tool to cut out the shape (i made them longer than the originals). I also used the lassoo tool in conjunction with HSL to darken the flat sides of the claws. The blood was drawn on a multiply layer and then smudged out. The body on the background was added from another google find. logo from scratch. Let me know if this is an improvement. Using the same selection I cut out the background with I created a filled shape which was blurred, and distorted to make the shadow on the floor. I also made a gradient filled selection to tint wolverine to match the background more.

Hulk Smash!: Target Aquired

The guy Hulk is bearing down on better get his shot of quick, cos the speed the hulk is moving he only has about 5 seconds to shoot (or go “OH SH*T!). :p

This started out as a pic of bodybuilder Orville Burke, I liked the pose and figured it might make a good Hulk. I cut him out of his original background and colored him green. His proportions weren’t quite right for the hulk so I cut and enlarged his hands/forearms and his calfs using smoothing and cloning to get back the missing detail.

The head is taken from a teaser photo of the hulk that was released yonks ago. I upped the brightness by duplicating the pic onto a couple of new layers set to screen. The head was then cut out and positioned over orville’s. I had to tweak the colors a bit to get a match. Over the top of this lot I put a leathery skin texture for some additional depth.

The pants were created in my usual manner of multiple layered textures and shaders. The background was a random Nevada desert shot from the net. The helicopter is one of the ones I used previously in my Ultimate Hulk/Cap pic a few months ago. The target sights created using vector shapes and set to screen. Added some text to show range/speed etc and on the other side of the target is a list of random numbers. The hulk logo was pieced together from the logo in the hulk movie site.

I also made a wallpaper version:

Parker’s Portfolio Preview #4

A closer look at one of the manipped Photos used in the final scene (used in my big spidey image and the portfolio collection image).

I tried to put the backgrounds at an angle to give the pics a dynamic feel. the pics were created using photos the model of the movie spiderman from various angles combined with excerpts from a panoramic view of manhattan at various angles.

The panorama was actually a daytime shot which i made negative, then colorized a pale green, and set to multiply over the original pic – and made a night view. The combined model and background pics were tinged grey/green and a border added to make it look like a photo. For these Individual pics I added the camera viewfinder graphics on an overlay layer

Parker’s Portfolio Preview #3

Another closer look at one of the manipped Photos used in the final scene. I tried to put the backgrounds at an angle to give the pics a dynamic feel. the pics were created using photos the model of the movie spiderman from various angles combined with excerpts from a panoramic view of manhattan at various angles. The panorama was actually a daytime shot which i made negative, then colorized a pale green, and set to multiply over the original pic – and made a night view. The combined model and background pics were tinged grey/green and a border added to make it look like a photo. For these Individual pics I added the camera viewfinder graphics on an overlay layer.

X3: Cry Havok and let slip the dogs of war!

A concept for a movie Havok using the Mullet’s casting. Just a quickie really, using the base pic of Wolvie from X2 & the head of Shane West. Remove the x on wolvies chest using the smudge tool then added some random noise. The havok logo is done using vector circles on overlay layers offset to give a raised effect. The power effect was drawn then is smudged and softened and duplicated onto a couple of other layers and blurred to give the glow. The black halo was built up using some shaded vecotr spheres on softlight blurred. All in all took about 30-40 mins including the time to find a decent head shot of shane.