You can see all my entries here, but I wanted to go in depth to give a bit of a behind the scenes look into how I created these images.
I picked the image for the word "Photographer" as it is one of the most straight forward ones.
These are very complex shots, so I can't show every last detail. All told there are over 50 layers, adjustments, effects, and filters, spread out over 5 smart objects. A lot of detail.
However this should cover the basics.
The concept for the word "Photographer" was gear acquisition syndrome - something that plagues many photographers. Many of us always want the latest and greatest equipment. It is a real problem.
With that in mind I dug into my toybox. I fixated on Danbo, the Amazon.com themed action figure. I decided to capture the joy of opening that box and pulling out new gear. I settled on Captain America for two reasons. First, I hadn't used him yet in my work, and second he is one of the few action figures that has a normal looking face. Since the emotional reaction was important, having a recognizable folks can empathize with seemed important.
I tossed the figures into a light box, and took the basic shots. That and some textures from my library, and some clip art, and I was ready to assemble my image.
These are the elements that went into this image:
I tossed a bunch of layers into an animated gif so you can see how I went thru the process of constructing this image.
Some things of note:
- All the text was done with the Photoshop text tool, and adding some effects.
- The comic book effect on Cap and Danbo was done with a combination of the Poster Edges, Glowing Edges, and Color Halftone effects. Pro Tip: This is where smart objects become your friend.
- I did adjust Caps face with the liquify tool to add a bit of a smile.
- The glow from the box was done with brushes in Photoshop
- No plugins were used in the creation of this image.
So now you know how the magic is done. You have no excuse for not creating your own. Good luck!
