Blinky2004

Hey nice to see you again Jon, been awhile huh. [excited]

Great effect you got too man, nice touch with the cloud swirls.

I agree about you 'photo-realisim' viewpoint.
I personally have no quams what-so-ever about giving up some realism for a cool looking effect -- creating didgtal art/graphics would be very boring if we didn't do that.
But my point earlier was directed specifically at those trying to achieve more realism -- especially with this one effect.

And i'd actually like to clarify my view on this subject... for those who might be wondering
The only reason i ever tell people to really try to achieve some realism in their images/effects is because there's a whole lot to be learned about creating graphics, in general, from taking on that challenge. No matter what program you're using. You'd be real surprised to see how much better you get at noticing the finer details in the world around you -- from trying to mimic it on the computer.

Otherwise... i'd suggest using a 3D app as the best solution for that.

gymmie

Obviously, it depends on what you're trying to achieve. Sometimes it's realism. And there's no substitute, as Mark has said, for staring at, say a glass ball in the real world and see how refractions work> Or as all of us have done in art classes, putting and object on a table and seeing how shadows work and how light hits the object. Art 101.

That said, once you learn that... by all means expand it. Say "what if?" What if you're creating a fantasy world? In that world, the laws may be different but.... there still have to be laws. So you bend, but not break, things like gravity, light, etc. Create a whole new world, yes. But that world still has to conform internally to its own laws.

jonbalza

All good points, of course... I think that photo-realism definitely has a place in -- someone mentioned this already -- ART-101. I think that the principles of Art in regards to perspective, balance, etc... all need to be understood and an artist needs to be proficient in their use before those laws can be "broken".

AppleCider, you bring up some good points, but I don't know if I agree with you about every world has to have laws that it conforms to. Looking at, say, Picasso or Dali, some of their works definitely didn't have laws that they conformed to. (How come the clocks bent but the branches didn't?)

I think the laws are especially meant to be broken in the terms of Graphic Design... Where would all the perfectly balanced/color-corrected pieces be without the occasional standout with "bad" color and a completely off balance design?

wbiss

I enjoyed your tut Mark! Thanks... and here's my results.
w

wbiss

Oops! My file didn't travel along with my previous post! I wonder why? I did the "browse" thing to locate the file but it was a 'no show'. Bear with me... I'm new at this so will try again.
[confused] w

That a great one Wbiss! [righton] You did better than me on this tutorial [bustagut]

Blinky2004

Hey real nice result there Wbiss.
Good stuff. [righton]

And welcome to the community too btw. [excited]

wbiss

Thanks for the compliments... and the warm welcome!

I have been browsing through your artwork and you guys do absolutely fabulous stuff!!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

I will endeavour to join in on as many projects as possible (time permitting). It's a little intimidating, but it'll be a great way for me to learn new skills. I always welcome a challenge and constructive criticism from the pros!

w

lilwicked805

Ok been working really hard on this one and here are four versions I came up with. [oops]

Oh, now these are some nice looking balls Linda [righton] Way better than I did I especially like the second one.