MASTER POSTPRODUCTION FOR INCREDIBLE ART TECHNIQUES
02
MASK THE OBJECTS
After getting the layers ready, we move on
to masking the Colour pass. We use the Object ID
pass to isolate elements and then post process them
if you need. Each render pass can act as a mask. By
using the Magic Wand (W) you can select a colour or
object on any of the passes and then copy (Cmd/
Ctrl+C) the object you selected and paste it (Cmd/
Ctrl+V) into a new layer to create a mask, or work
with the outline of the selection to make
adjustments. You can use Hue/Saturation,
Brightness/Contrast or Auto Contrast from the
Image>Adjustments menu to post-process details
from each pass.04
ADD THE BACKGROUND AND
MATCH COLOURS
Selecting the background image starts off with
knowing what to look for in a great
background render. Sure you can choose any
picture you want, but a carefully selected
image is proven to give you far greater results.
So, after selecting my background layer (the
sea and sky) I have to make sure to match the
colour. I tend to use Hue/Saturation as a start
(Cmd/Ctrl+U), and for more colouring and
matching, I can create a new layer (Cmd/
Ctrl+Shift+N), fill it with blue colour and then
play with the layer mode.03
ADD MORE SHADOWS USING
AMBIENT OCCLUSION
Now is the fun part! After finishing with masking
and adjusting your Colour pass, we move on to the
next level, which is to add the Ambient Occlusion
layer above the Colour layer and change the layer
mode from Normal to Multiply. Ambient Occlusion
allows you to simulate the soft shadows that occur
in the cracks and crevices of your 3D objects when
indirect lighting is cast out onto your scene. The
soft shadows that are created from ambient
occlusion can help to define the separation
between objects in your scene and add another
level of realism to your render.05
MAKE THE IMAGE CRISP
Now this is one of the best tricks if you’re after a crisp look or you want
more contrast in your image. What you do is, after finishing with all the layers you
have (Background, Foreground and so on), combine all the layers by hitting Cmd/
Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E. This command will create a new layer with all the layers
combined together. Set it to Overlay and go to Filter>Other>High Pass, playing
with the levels until you get the effect you want.07
FINALISE THE IMAGE
Now we’re almost there, you can always go
back and re-use your Object ID layer to re-mask some
of the objects in the image, in case they need tweaking.
For this outdoor image you will be adding some glow by
creating a new layer (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N) and selecting a06
GRADE COLOURS
After getting everything almost ready for your image, now we move on to
grading and creating a general colour theme. Go to Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Gradient Map and you can select any two colours (You can adjust those
colours later) and then change the layer mode to Soft Light. Of course if you feel the
gradient is too much you can always reduce the opacity.brush with Hardness set to 50%, Now you can start
painting the glow. After finishing you will need to go to
Filer>Blur>Gaussian Blur. A Radius of 25 pixels should
be enough. Choose the Lighten layer mode for the glow
layer, a white colour should be good for the glow.RENDER PASSES AND
HOW TO USE THEM
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Render passes, or render elements, are the raw
elements generated by the rendering engine that are
composited together for you into the final output render.
Some of these elements are Lighting, Shadows,
Reflections, Specular and Global Illumination just to
mention a few. We can extract and customise these
elements and put everything together ourselves in
most post-production software that supports the
compositing of layers. Going about it this way will give
us much greater control over the look of the final result,
as render passes can be used to select and mask
colours and elements across multiple layers, allowing
us to make granular adjustments.