3D AND PHOTOSHOP
FINISH THE SCENE
BUILD YOUR WAY UP TO THE FINAL IMAGEPERFECT THE IMPERFECTIONS
As mentioned in Step 17, lens flares and effects
like these are all products of the imperfections in
manufatured optics. Our minds are so used to
seeing these artefacts in images that our brains
perceive them as reality. Photographers try to get
rid of these effects to make their photos more
perfect, while CGI artists add them to make their
works more realistic. One of the effects worth
mentioning is grain. Don’t be afraid to use grain
and other imperfections on top of your images to
make them feel more rough and genuine.12
ADD THE DOWNPOUR
Another nice detail to add is dripping water. In real life, water
mist would condense on cold metal and pour down in the form of
droplets and small streams. In order to create this effect you can either
paint droplets and streams by hand or use photos of dripping water on
a black background like we did in this case. White water, black
background – with this setting you can just switch the water layer to
Screen and paint the water itself by using the Clone Stamp wherever
you need it to be.13
PLAY WITH THE TINY DETAILS
Even the tiniest details matter, even those that are not visible at first sight. There is
no need to overdo your image or fill it with thousands of objects, but some small additions
here and there can increase the look of the whole image or add small hints of backstory or
the functionality of objects. There are small illegible texts and textures added in this step to
make the viewer wonder what could happen next or what the story of the scene is about.14
THINK AHEAD AND BUILD UP
It’s always a good idea to proceed systematically with building up your layered scene. Try to find a
good starting point which gives you the advantage of seeing what you need to do to add to or improve the
image. After some time spent looking at the image you start to lose the ability to perceive the image from
a distance and see things that need or don‘t need to be done. So think ahead before you start compositing.
In this case, we are building our image from background to foreground.