first try at matte painting (composite)

[pyrandon]

Ravs, I don't think that's a bit blah at all. I like it and think it holds together very well. I do think the watercolor filer effect is a nice here (but as you know, I have a big soft spot for that filter!), although a couple items (like the tree) are not as filtered as others, which detracted my eye a little.

I also would have drawn reins from the horse's bit/bridle to the man's hand--at least a dark line loop of sorts.

I think this is far better than your first one! Great fun--keep 'em coming!

[ravells]

Thanks Don. The hardest part is getting consistency of perspective, colour and key.

[pyrandon]

"Key"? What is that? (some Brit-ism?

[ravells]

Heh, not at all. It's making sure that all the composited images, if switched to greyscale have the correct range of blacks, greys and whites!

[ravells]

Here is my next trip into art...it's a copy of an illustration by an artist called Bilibine (nowhere near as good as his version).

[pyrandon]

Hmm! I like the serenity herein! Is this handmade, or an edit/composite, ravs?

You're having fun with this art stuff, aren't you?!!

[ravells]

This one is entirely handmade. I am having fun with the art...I think it does make you a better cartographer in the end!

[Badger]

Rav, I liked the horse and knight composite as well as this last one you posted. I'm not an artist by any means, but I think you are doing quite well. So well in fact, I think I want to take a page from your book and start trying it myself. But let me get this straight, you are essentially taking several different graphics from different art and making it into your own picture... sorta like a collage, but instead of a jumble you make it into one coherent piece.... ? (This is going to be a fun challenge for myself)

Did you only use PSP for the final composite? Were those free (copyright) graphics or since this was originally something for your personal self-teaching did you not worry about that?

On the last painting, did you copy that from a photo or from somewhere on the web... I'd like to see the original art is what I mean to say.

What a unique and fun way to further ones skill at both the software and as a cartographer... kudos rav, have some rep

[ravells]

Hi Del and thanks for the kind words. Making matte composites can be just using images or a combination of images and drawing. So for example The one with the knight and castle was just done using images - as explained on post #3 of this thread. These were a combination of photographs, a bryce render for the sky and images I found on the web of the castle and the knight.

The one of the rider looking at the castle in the distance was a combination of photos I'd taken of the horse and landscape, the sky and lightning were filter effects and the rider was a Daz 3d model. The castle was the fantasy land castle in Disneyland and the water was Bryce generated. The saddle was painted. For tutorials on doing mattes, see Arcana's link further up this thread. There's some great tutorials on that site.

I used PS for the compositing, but you could equally use PSP. What you must try to get right (in addition to properly cropping the images for compositing) is the perspective, the right darks/lights and saturation for the colours.

Here is the original Bilibine drawing which I tried to copy in the last one - originally done in the 1800s so I don't think there are any copyright issues. It's such a simple and beautiful composition and the textures are lovely. If you google Bilibine you will find other drawings of his on the web. Attached is one which I think is a real beauty. His style of painting - similar to Arthur Rackham and Edmund Du Lac is one which is really suited to cartography, I think.

Cheers

Ravs

[Midgardsormr]

Beautiful. I'd never been exposed to Bilibine before. I think I'll have to keep an eye out for him in the future.