The object I had to illustrate for this image was quite complex, so I decided to build a simple 3D model of it to take care of the perspective and major shapes. I used Cinema 4D to build my geometry and give it some simple materials. It was rendered with global illumination and with an alpha channel. You may need to render out several alpha channels, depending on the complexity of your models. It looks pretty good, but it's a bit dark and it doesn't mesh so well with my painted background.
The first thing to do is to load the alpha channel as a layer mask. That's why alpha channels are so important when you do your 3D render. Since the image came out a bit dark, you can add an adjustment layer. I also added a color pass layer on top that brightened it up quite a bit. Do whatever color and value adjustments you need in Photoshop to get the render to match your background. The rendered image will be a base layer that the adjustment and painted layers will use as a clipping mask.
Start painting the wood texture on the ties. I used my favorite pencil thin brush again. The ties already had a wood material applied in Cinema 4D, but it didn't look so great and it was going the wrong way. I did a bit of loose painting to suggest the rough wood grain. This layer was clipped along with others to the render layer, so it was using that mask, but it needs one on its own layer so that the painting doesn't cover up the rails. I rendered out an alpha channel channel of just the rails, then loaded its selection to use as a mask on the ties painting layer. Invert the mask so that the rails are black and the background white. Now the painting doesn't cover up the rails. Since renders can be very time consuming, you can turn off options like textures, lights, ambient occlusion, etc. when rendering alpha channels. This will save some time.
Continue painting other details on additional layers. Multiply mode works well for dark areas. For the solar panel, work on a new layer. Start with a simple shape with lines drawn across it. The final look is achieved with Layer Styles. The bright glare comes from a gradient overlay, using a light blue in Color Dodge blending mode. Using this mode with light colors is a great way to simulate luminosity or strong, specular highlights.

Now you can see how it is all coming together. The crisp, clean lines of the 3D model are softened and made to look less perfect and uniform. There is a bit of looseness which matches the look of the background. As a final step, note that all the layers of the train and ties are inside a layer group. Add a mask to the group and you can paint out the edges of the ties so that it looks like they are sunk into the ballast. Doing this on the group's mask keeps the mask made from the rendered alpha channel pristine. I try to avoid painting on these masks. What is really cool is that layers like the ties painting are being affected by three masks at the same time: the opacity of the bottom layer they are clipped to, their own layer masks, and the mask of the entire group. This allows for a great deal of flexibility.
In the next tutorial, we will continue with the details and finish off the train and rails.
Fantastic work, I really enjoyed that. I have just started using photoshop and its a bit of a maze. I am looking forward to boosting my skills and creating such beutiful work as this.
ReplyDeleteI am currently using paint shop pro (which I use for my 3d renders) and such but so far very impressed with photoshop.
I am also a CGI hobby enthusiast. My website is http://www.freeposes.net where I share poses for the new DAZ software (free 3d rendering etc)
I think boosting my skills in photoshop as well as paint shop pro will be invaluable.
Thank you again!
I agree. I used to use Paint Shop Pro many years ago, but Photoshop really is a more professional-level tool. If you are serious about this kind of work, I would concentrate on it.
ReplyDelete