rrische
10-30-2004, 06:13 AM
I've been looking through the matte painting challenge submissions.
I've really enjoyed the work I've seen so far. But it got me thinking
about an idea for a different kind of challenge....
The ultimate goal of a matte painting is to fool the viewer into thinking
the image they are viewing was actually photographed, that it look
believeably real. I think the job of a matte artist really breaks down into
two basic categories....the ability to visualize what doesn't exist, and the
ability to render that image to a level of finish so that it looks photoreal.
It has to have the qualities of a single, unified photographic image. This
has never been more true than it is today, as audiences have become
extremely sophisticated and able to spot deficiencies at a glance.
All artists are interested in creating images that are arresting, beautiful
and dramatic. But matte artists MUST have the skills to make that image
look PHOTOREALISTIC. You must become intimately familiar with the
qualities that photography posesses.
Early in my career, I did several jobs that required me to paint directly
onto photo enlargements. While this didn't exactly thrill me at the time,
I've since come to realize that this experience was invalueable. In order
for my painted additions to blend successfully, I had to become acutely
aware of the underlying properties of the photo beneath- LIGHTING, subtle
color and tonal properties, EDGE QUALITY, sharpness (or lack thereof),
lens perspective, aerial perpective, EXPOSURE....the list goes on. All of
these properties had to be studied and duplicated in the process of doing
the work, or the painting failed, it didn't look "photoreal".
So, here's my idea for a challenge. Find a photograph (or take one your-
self) and duplicate it. The more low-key and mundane the image, the
better. Don't alter it. Don't add to it. Don't dramatize it. DUPLICATE IT.
If you can, start with an image that's at least 1k, preferably 2k. Make
a new, blank document with the same pixel dimensions, and recreate
your source picture in this document. It can be any subject you want,
the skies the limit. The only condition is that it be a real photo of a real
subject. A building, a city, a landscape, an interior, whatever. Just copy
it.
Here's the catch- YOU CANNOT USE ANY PART OF YOUR SOURCE IMAGE
IN YOUR RECREATION. No cloning, no cut-and-pasting, no cheating. You
must study and become intimately involved with your source picture,
but reconstruct it using other sources and methods. You can trace the
composition in your source, but that's it. After that, you leave it alone.
You can place your source on the topmost layer in your reconstruction
document, but ONLY as reference to gauge your progress (by turning
it off and on). Compare your new image with your source picture- if they
don't look the same, you're not finished. Figure out WHY they don't look
the same. Zoom out and look at the image overall. Zoom in and examine
the details. The key is to really LOOK at it.
This exercise totally relieves you of the responsiblity of "designing" your
image, and focuses completely on the "nuts and bolts" aspect of matte
painting. In the real world, sometimes you will be asked to contribute
your design input, and sometimes you won't. Sometimes the client has
a crystal-clear idea of the image they want (and have supplied you with
clear concept art that illustrates it), and sometimes they only have a vague
idea. Those are the times you are called upon to demonstrate your
talent as an artist and designer. But in any case, this exercise will build
skills you'll use EVERY DAY as a matte artist, no matter the situation.
You can use the paint tools, you can clone and cut-and-paste from other
photos, you can model your subject in 3D (and light and texture it also)
WHATEVER feels right to you, it's all on the table. The only condition is
that your final result must be as close as possible to the original,
preferably identical to it.
Sound hard? Maybe. But I think you'll learn a LOT from this exercise.
So, what do you think? Who's up for it?
I've really enjoyed the work I've seen so far. But it got me thinking
about an idea for a different kind of challenge....
The ultimate goal of a matte painting is to fool the viewer into thinking
the image they are viewing was actually photographed, that it look
believeably real. I think the job of a matte artist really breaks down into
two basic categories....the ability to visualize what doesn't exist, and the
ability to render that image to a level of finish so that it looks photoreal.
It has to have the qualities of a single, unified photographic image. This
has never been more true than it is today, as audiences have become
extremely sophisticated and able to spot deficiencies at a glance.
All artists are interested in creating images that are arresting, beautiful
and dramatic. But matte artists MUST have the skills to make that image
look PHOTOREALISTIC. You must become intimately familiar with the
qualities that photography posesses.
Early in my career, I did several jobs that required me to paint directly
onto photo enlargements. While this didn't exactly thrill me at the time,
I've since come to realize that this experience was invalueable. In order
for my painted additions to blend successfully, I had to become acutely
aware of the underlying properties of the photo beneath- LIGHTING, subtle
color and tonal properties, EDGE QUALITY, sharpness (or lack thereof),
lens perspective, aerial perpective, EXPOSURE....the list goes on. All of
these properties had to be studied and duplicated in the process of doing
the work, or the painting failed, it didn't look "photoreal".
So, here's my idea for a challenge. Find a photograph (or take one your-
self) and duplicate it. The more low-key and mundane the image, the
better. Don't alter it. Don't add to it. Don't dramatize it. DUPLICATE IT.
If you can, start with an image that's at least 1k, preferably 2k. Make
a new, blank document with the same pixel dimensions, and recreate
your source picture in this document. It can be any subject you want,
the skies the limit. The only condition is that it be a real photo of a real
subject. A building, a city, a landscape, an interior, whatever. Just copy
it.
Here's the catch- YOU CANNOT USE ANY PART OF YOUR SOURCE IMAGE
IN YOUR RECREATION. No cloning, no cut-and-pasting, no cheating. You
must study and become intimately involved with your source picture,
but reconstruct it using other sources and methods. You can trace the
composition in your source, but that's it. After that, you leave it alone.
You can place your source on the topmost layer in your reconstruction
document, but ONLY as reference to gauge your progress (by turning
it off and on). Compare your new image with your source picture- if they
don't look the same, you're not finished. Figure out WHY they don't look
the same. Zoom out and look at the image overall. Zoom in and examine
the details. The key is to really LOOK at it.
This exercise totally relieves you of the responsiblity of "designing" your
image, and focuses completely on the "nuts and bolts" aspect of matte
painting. In the real world, sometimes you will be asked to contribute
your design input, and sometimes you won't. Sometimes the client has
a crystal-clear idea of the image they want (and have supplied you with
clear concept art that illustrates it), and sometimes they only have a vague
idea. Those are the times you are called upon to demonstrate your
talent as an artist and designer. But in any case, this exercise will build
skills you'll use EVERY DAY as a matte artist, no matter the situation.
You can use the paint tools, you can clone and cut-and-paste from other
photos, you can model your subject in 3D (and light and texture it also)
WHATEVER feels right to you, it's all on the table. The only condition is
that your final result must be as close as possible to the original,
preferably identical to it.
Sound hard? Maybe. But I think you'll learn a LOT from this exercise.
So, what do you think? Who's up for it?