Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts
January 23, 2017
June 11, 2016
Vector Transition
I've been working on a project that includes some vector work and I thought the transition from the photo to vector was visually interesting. See it below.
April 19, 2016
I thought it might make for an interesting post to break down one of my recent photo composites I have done. About four years ago when I began working at Turn5 I had zero compositing skills. Since then I have created quite a few composites using a variety of resources including photography, stock imagery, 3D renders and various Photoshop tools and techniques. I've posted the final versions of this specific AmericanMuscle F-150 campaign before, however, here's how it all came to life, more or less.
The top image was the initial rough concept to represent spring mods. This is a photo with a few Camera Raw adjustments that was taken by our in-house photography team. One of the first edits I made to this image in order to make it feel very seasonal, was to remove the one boat with the tarp. I also tidied up the environment to remove any distracting pieces.
Now that the majority of the environment was cleaned up and feeling seasonal, my next step was to focus on the F-150. Since AmericanMuscle is an aftermarket automotive business, it would make sense that the truck be a bit more modded than when it was photographed. Our vehicles tend to transform over time with mods and at times they appear less modded than others. When a vehicle appears to be less modded, it doesn't hurt to add a few in post that transform the entire look of the vehicle.
Above you can see the addition of the upper and lower grille on the 2015 F-150. Essentially, I could call this composite complete and begin placing it in the variety of web, email and display templates along with the campaign copy, however I decided to take it a step further below with some foreground elements.
One of the nicest additions one could make to a photo composite is foreground elements that fit within the depth of field with the photograph. I chose to add some greenery to the bottom left of this image that matched the out of focus boat. These blurred out blades of grass overlap the front tire of the F-150 to make the overall image more convincing (especially for when I show you the next F-150 year that was not shot in camera). I personally thought more green would only help the overall concept of spring for this campaign.
Finally, this 2015 image is ready to be placed in the variety of templates, however the project is not complete until the image is made generationally. Currently AmericanMuscle sells products for 2015-2016 F-150s and also 2009-2014 F-150s. Those products represent two very distinct body styles that we refer to as generations. So in order to complete this project, I first began to remove the 2015 that was in camera to get a nice clean backplate.
Above is the cleaned up background. There are definitely some highly visible imperfections that reveal I used the clone/stamp tool to copy and paste elements from the image. With this I wasn't concerned with making it perfect since I knew the new F-150 would cover up those imperfections. The next task was to find a different in-house photograph of a 2011 F-150 at a similar angle that would fit my scene.
Not only is a close angle important when compositing, it is crucial to use images with similar lighting and environments. The 2011 F-150 above had similar elements and as you can see is also outside on gravel, surrounded by trees. After retouching the truck and clipping it out, it fit pretty nicely in the scene.
After retouching the truck and clipping it out, it fit pretty nicely in the scene above. I made sure to take the shadow from the original image and tweaked it slightly so it lined up well with the new 2011 F-150.
Above shows the upper and lower grille mods that I also added to this truck to transform it and make it look more unique than other modded trucks we have shown in our previous campaigns.
Finally, I use the same layer that includes the foreground grass in this composite as I had in the 2015 version to make it a complete and finalized image to use for the spring campaign. Compared to where we started with the original 2015 photograph, I think both vehicles turned out well visually and fit the campaign direction nicely.
The top image was the initial rough concept to represent spring mods. This is a photo with a few Camera Raw adjustments that was taken by our in-house photography team. One of the first edits I made to this image in order to make it feel very seasonal, was to remove the one boat with the tarp. I also tidied up the environment to remove any distracting pieces.
Now that the majority of the environment was cleaned up and feeling seasonal, my next step was to focus on the F-150. Since AmericanMuscle is an aftermarket automotive business, it would make sense that the truck be a bit more modded than when it was photographed. Our vehicles tend to transform over time with mods and at times they appear less modded than others. When a vehicle appears to be less modded, it doesn't hurt to add a few in post that transform the entire look of the vehicle.
Above you can see the addition of the upper and lower grille on the 2015 F-150. Essentially, I could call this composite complete and begin placing it in the variety of web, email and display templates along with the campaign copy, however I decided to take it a step further below with some foreground elements.
One of the nicest additions one could make to a photo composite is foreground elements that fit within the depth of field with the photograph. I chose to add some greenery to the bottom left of this image that matched the out of focus boat. These blurred out blades of grass overlap the front tire of the F-150 to make the overall image more convincing (especially for when I show you the next F-150 year that was not shot in camera). I personally thought more green would only help the overall concept of spring for this campaign.
Finally, this 2015 image is ready to be placed in the variety of templates, however the project is not complete until the image is made generationally. Currently AmericanMuscle sells products for 2015-2016 F-150s and also 2009-2014 F-150s. Those products represent two very distinct body styles that we refer to as generations. So in order to complete this project, I first began to remove the 2015 that was in camera to get a nice clean backplate.
Above is the cleaned up background. There are definitely some highly visible imperfections that reveal I used the clone/stamp tool to copy and paste elements from the image. With this I wasn't concerned with making it perfect since I knew the new F-150 would cover up those imperfections. The next task was to find a different in-house photograph of a 2011 F-150 at a similar angle that would fit my scene.
Not only is a close angle important when compositing, it is crucial to use images with similar lighting and environments. The 2011 F-150 above had similar elements and as you can see is also outside on gravel, surrounded by trees. After retouching the truck and clipping it out, it fit pretty nicely in the scene.
After retouching the truck and clipping it out, it fit pretty nicely in the scene above. I made sure to take the shadow from the original image and tweaked it slightly so it lined up well with the new 2011 F-150.
Above shows the upper and lower grille mods that I also added to this truck to transform it and make it look more unique than other modded trucks we have shown in our previous campaigns.
Finally, I use the same layer that includes the foreground grass in this composite as I had in the 2015 version to make it a complete and finalized image to use for the spring campaign. Compared to where we started with the original 2015 photograph, I think both vehicles turned out well visually and fit the campaign direction nicely.
April 14, 2016
Doodle Turned Into Vector
Last evening I had a spike in creativity and felt the need to create some handwritten typography and toss it over one of my new photos from the trip to Austin. Below is one of the doodles I made last night and its transition from a sketch to vector to photograph.
December 29, 2015
Catalog Design Transition
I find that one of the most interesting things to look at is the comparison of similar designs throughout the year. Overtime, designers are able to critique their own work, receive feedback by others, use data to drive design, and overall make better and smarter design choices that look and function better than the previous. Below shows just that. This is the evolution of a small category within the AmericanMuscle catalog: Vinyl Decals & Graphics that is within the Exterior section. The design shown first is not my own, but rather a former design by one of my design teammates at AM. At this time, we were experimenting with backgrounds and the Merchandising team was choosing a lot of products per spread since there are so many vinyl finishes. A designer created the "key" of several design colors, which was my launching point to creating "swatches" in 2014. Initially the key provided information, however, did not necessarily function throughout the design. Therefore, I introduced swatches as you can see below in 2014, and modified them to a more sleek design in 2015 which moved the slices to a horizontal orientation. The swatches eliminated the charts almost entirely, which was one of the tasks I had taken on. Also in 2015, I brought back the usage of lifestyle photography to show the vinyl in real life situations, rather than solely clipped out product shots. The key was also simplified. Overall, this layout has remained quite similar with some increase in swatch height and font size for 2016. I believe this layout design has come a long way from where it started, and accomplishes more within the space provided.
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