Removing lens distortion with the Adaptive Wide Angle filter
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Form the "How"
As a component of art, the word form refers to the total overall arrangement or organization of an artwork
Definition:
(noun) - Form is an element of art. At its most basic, a form is a three-dimensional geometrical figure (i.e.: sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, etc.), as opposed to a shape, which is two-dimensional, or flat.
In a broader sense, form, in art, means the whole of a piece's visible elements and the way those elements are united. In this context, form allows us as viewers to mentally capture the work and understand it.
Finally, form refers to the visible elements of a piece, independent of their meaning. For example, when viewing Leonardo's Mona Lisa, the formal elements therein are: color, dimension, lines, mass, shape, etc., while the feelings of mystery and intrigue the piece evokes are informal products of the viewer's imagination.
Pronunciation: fôrm
Examples:
"Sculpture is not the mere cutting of the form of anything in stone; it is the cutting of the effect of it." - John Ruskin
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I've completed the Twitter for Business course on lynda.com
Join author Anne-Marie Concepción as she shows you how to leverage the power of tweeting for business promotion and customer engagement. This course reviews the basics of tweeting for business and shares smart ways to set up an account that reflects your brand. It explains how to tweet strategically in order to engage customers and attract followers. Anne-Marie also offers suggestions for creating a richer Twitter experience, managing your feed and activity using third-party apps and utilities, and integrating Twitter with other marketing endeavors.
Topics include:
- Understanding the role of social media marketing vs. traditional marketing
- Specifying business goals for Twitter
- Choosing a strong username and creating a strong profile
- Creating a Twitter landing page
- Following the people who matter most
- Using mentions, replies, and conversations
- Finding potential clients
- Providing support to customers and prospects
- Using hashtags for events and promotions
- Sharing photos and video with Flickr and YouTube
- Automating and archiving tweets
- Integrating Twitter with your blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn
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Overcast Front Light
Of all the different lighting conditions that I can use, overcast front lighting is the one that I consider being the safest. This is because overcast front light illuminates most everything evenly. Overcasting front light is good for white balancing since overall illumination is balanced. The softness of this light results in more natural-looking renderings and it also eliminates the contrast problems that a sunny day creates.
Some of my clients have a preconceived notion of how a color should look. Holding the color swatch up to the print will usually not produce the expected result; "the colors don't match!", is a typical response I get. I can go into color theory, monitor calibration, gamma, but it's typically received with the deer in the headlight gaze. Instead of pulling out the before and after images as to proof, I am usually spot-on, I chose to go with a nice, and very safe, overcast lighting setup.
As for me, I prefer the high contrast, and more dramatic scenes. I understand basic color theory and how light and color react to each other. The work that I am most proud of, and has been recognized by my peers, has not been by playing it safe. I can guarantee that the color swatch will change colors with every light source you view it under. That color, on that color swatch, will not look that way on your building.
So, if you want to play it safe, I can recommend Peter Guthrie's 0902 Overcast HDRI.
Overcast HDRI by Peter Guthrie
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The Human Shape
The human shape is perhaps the most unmistakable shape in all the world. As a result, when you include its shape in any rendering, an obvious sense of scope and scale result. This happens regardless of whether that rendering is a nature scene, or something urban or industrial.
One of my favorite resources for people cutouts is, by far, VizPeople. I have many of their libraries and they have created a great video on how to composite people in your rendering.
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Correcting Keystoning
Keystoning is the term used to describe the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" effect of converging lines in architectural renderings. it's a very common result when rendering with a wide-angle lens. Photoshop can oftentimes straighten those buildings for you, correcting this perspective problem in a matter of seconds
Open your rendering in Photoshop, select the Crop tool from the toolbox, and drag the cursor from the top left corner to the bottom right corner and release. You will see the "marching ants" around your entire rendering. Go to the lower menu bar at the top of the screen and check the small box next to Perspective. Now, using the cursor, drag the top left corner of the marching ant border into the rendering so that the border is parallel to the tilting structure in the rendering. Do the same thing on the right side of the rendering. Then, double click in the rendering just to the right or left of the small center circle that appears on the rendering. Photoshop adjusts the image so that any tilting lines appear truly vertical, as they do when the human eye views the actual scene.
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Filters in Photoshop CS
Photoshop has made it easy to get those warm colors I love. Adobe added a whole set of adjustments that resemble the filters you'd use on your lenses. And, the best part is that they are available as adjustment layers, so you can apply them to your image and then mask out areas you don't want to be effected by the filter.
So, want to add warmth to an image you rendered? On your Photoshop menu bar, click image, then adjustment, and then Photo Filters. You'll get a choice of eighteen filters to use on your image, including several that warm things up. You can vary the intensity of these filters; and if you use Adjustment Layers to add the filter effect, you can apply those filter effects to selected parts of your image by using layer masks. To do this, select any of a number of tools from the toolbox, and using the mouse, select an area where you would like to apply filter effects. The area will be indicated by a dotted line. Then choose Layer on the pull down menu bar, then New Adjustment Layer, and then Photo Filter. Once the filter list comes up, you can choose your filter for that selected area.
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Architectural Rendering Art
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is particularly true in the field of architectural renderings. There is no better medium than a balanced, well-done rendering, for capturing and displaying the look and feel of a building.
At what point does architectural rendering become art, and how can we differentiate between artistic architectural renderings and its documentary sibling?
The variety of definitions that exist justify some inquiry. The following are a few that come to mind:
“An action by means of which one man, having experienced a feeling, intentionally transmits it to others”
“Art is nature expressed through personality”
“Everything which we distinguish from nature”
“Art is the expression of pleasure in work”
Please, bookmark this, because I am going to add to it as my thoughts develop. If you would like to contribute please, leave me some feedback.
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V-Ray Stainless Steel Material
Several of my subscribers commented on the stainless steel V-Ray material I used in my Chicago Apartment rendering. Well, I am glad you guys liked it, and as promised, here are my settings, along with an Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design file.
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The Quality of Light
When light fades, color go with it, yet this is not just a question of the quantity of light; it's also the quality. Both time of the day and climactic conditions make a big difference. Morning, midday and afternoon light all have a different effect on color, making them cooler or warmer, crisp of vague.
Distance. Color nearest to us appear brighter and warmer than those in the distance; colors seem duller and cooler as the atmosphere in between increases. If you want objects to recede in the distance, they have to lighten, as well.
Surrounding Colors. Every aspect of color is relative. Learn to see each color with a fresh eye every time.
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