Poster

I started this poster, advertising my work, by creating a blank black layer in photoshop. I then added noise to give it the star effect. After playing with the "brightness/contrast" and "levels" this stage of my star field was complete.

My next step was to create a glow around the stars, making them look more like nebulas. To do this I duplicated my star layer and filtered this new layer with a "gaussian blur." I then changed the mode of my star layer to "linear dodge." I altered the colour balance, and gave it a blue hue.

Next, I added in a couple brighter stars and the sun. To do this, I created a new layer and set the mode to "screen." I then rendered a couple "lens flares" altering the brightness of each one.

To finish it off, I added in the earth, altering different effects to make it look as realistic as possible. I also added in text with a radiant to make it fade into darkness with the earth.

Photoshop Snow Planet

For the background of this piece I chose to use a landscape picture of a snowy scene. First, I added in the large planet. To do this I pasted a stock picture of a planet i found on the internet into my scene. I then set this layer to "overlay." Next I duplicated the planet layer and this layer from "overlay" to "normal" with an opacity of 13%. I also added a "gaussian blur" to this layer to give it a more natural look. After applying layer masks to both layers, I used the "gradient tool" to create a fading effect on the planet. I then partially erased the parts of the planet that are covered by clouds from the background layer. Using the "blur tool" I then blurred around the edge of the planet to give a smooth transition into the sky and make it seem as if to have an atmosphere. After using the dodge tool to add contrast to the lit side of the planet, I added in the smaller moon using the same method. With so much empty space in the top left of my picture I decided to add some comets. To do this, I started with a small dot using the "brush tool" on a new layer. I then applied applied a stylized filter of "wind" to this layer and repeated this three times. After applying a "gaussian blur" to the comets, I applied a distort filter of "shear"to curve the light streams. Finally, after adding some contrast and saturation it was complete.

Resources:

Background

Planet

Moon

Photoshop Space Scene

To create the starry background, I started with a solid black canvas and added monochromatic noise. I adjusted the brightness/contrast repeatedly to provide a nice dense yet realistic star field. I then added the effect of the cloudy nebulas. To do this I created a new layer with a black background and added the "difference clouds" filter. After playing around with that, I set the new cloud layer to the blending mode of "screen" and set the opacity to around 30%. I then merged the layers two layers and added a new colourized hue layer. After adjusting the grey tones to new monochromatic tones, I merged this layer to the bottom one. Using the colour dodge tool with a small soft brush I clicked repeatedly, making the brush slightly larger each time until the areas appeared glowing. Next came the planets. On two new layers I created two black circles. Selecting each planet and using a round soft brush I clicked and dragged along the outside to fill in the lit side. I then merged the layers down and used the colour dodge tool to enhance the glowing effect on the edge of the planets. Using a "lens flare" filter, I added a flare point to the lit part of the planet giving the image nice depth.

Space Time Lapses

HD Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqj__FthbZM

Equipment:

• Shots taken with Nikon D50 18-250mm Tamron
• Pclix Timer
• Tripod

With a shutter speed of about 20-25 seconds for the star footage (found an interval of over 30 caused spin to look glitchy), I kept the ISO low. I left my camera in a safe place, away from possible nudges and bumps and remained patient while i captured hours of footage for each scene. Most of the shots are taken around my cottage in Muskoka (to avoid light pollution when shooting stars), or around Oakville. After loading my footage onto my macbook I used programs such as Quicktime and iMovie to speed up the time lapses and add desired effects.

Music:

The Thrill (Instrumental) - Wiz Khalifa

Photoshop Lake Scene

For the background of my collage I found a photo of a cloudless sky of an emerald colour. Using the crop tool I cut out the bottom half and then doubled the size of my canvas. I duplicated the layer and reflected it symmetrically. I then adjusted the "colour balance" of the sky layer to make it purple and blue. After merging the layers down, I increased the contrast. To improve the quality of the sky and blur the reflection off the water, I duplicated a layer off the background and applied a "gaussian blur" to it. I then lowered the opacity of this layer to 50%. Using the erasertool, I erased the layer in places which covered the trees in the top half, to return them to clearness. On a new layer I inserted a picture of a planet and placed it just above the trees. I changed this layer to the style of "screen"so that the background of the planet became transparent. To clarify the part of the planet on which light falls, I used the "dodge tool." Then, with a usual brush, changing the size from 1 up to 3 pixels, I drew stars. I made a duplicate of the layer, set it to an opacity of 50%, and applied a "gaussian blur" to create an effect of luminescence among the stars and planet. I then inserted a picture of clouds on a new layer and set it to fit over the bottom half of the canvas. I then changed the layer style to "overlay" and adjusted the opacity. I used the same actions for the top half only using a less cloudy texture to create an interesting effect. After changing the fill of the two cloud layers to 50%, I adjusted the brightness/contrast. To create a reflection of the planet in the water I duplicated its layer and reflected in vertically. Using the smudge and dodge tool and altering the opacity I created a realistic looking reflection.

Resources:

Background

Sky1

Sky2

Planet