I dream of horses

Working on a dream ...your observations would be greatly appreciated

Tiffany, it's difficult to offer feedback since I'm somewhat familiar with the original images from your other postings. If she's supposed to be in front of the canvas, I would probably say a more natural rendering (of her) might be better. If she's part of the composite image, then anything goes but I would probably fudge the lighting so it's somewhat consistent throughout.

My husband pointed out that she should be textured. Do you think? I would rather make her part of the background. As far as lighting, what do you mean? It seemed to work for me where the moon was and the her angle. Am I off on that?

Well, Tiffany, the reason I mention the first point is that she appears to be in front of the canvas. There's even some shadow to help with that illusion.

 

If she's part of the composite, then I would agree there's a bit of inconsistency with texturing as hubby pointed to. As for lighting, she's lit from her front-left and casts no shadow, so it's not obvious where/what the light source is and thus not very convincing. That's just my perception, though.

The creation is superb, Tiff. what really grads me is the left side being dark with all the lighting emphasis on the right. The lighting on the model is great. Me personally, I don't have a problem with her not being textured, but I do however see what Mike is talking about. It's personal preference. . Awesome work. Regards, Lawrence.

 

I am very interested in your perception. Does something like this work better for you? Oh, I guess I posted this on top of your comments and ratings, Lawrence. Thank you! If you stop by again, please double dip...I am considering using this for a show submission if I can get serenity with the results.

Thank you for appreciating my input. It's a matter of "at what point does a picture or p/p work become perfect?" Perfect by who's standards? Your husband, as did Mike, point out about her being textured. For me, as I basically mentioned, it works well. If you want to get technical, maybe a lot less hi-light on her would make it appear that she is lit by the moon. (Maybe even a small strip of hi-light down her right side would do the trick. I must say, and I stand by my first remark, for me it works well. Lawrence.

I think it depends on what you're attempting to accomplish, Tiff. Personally, because of her modern look, pose and attire, the picture doesn't lend well with texture/blending for a traditional look.

 

Rather than starting with pre-rendered images, I would probably begin with out-of-camera files, composite a rough composition, then do a detailed blend/tweak. I know you have a concept in mind which I'm having trouble grasping so it might make my input of rather limited value.

Thank you both. I will look at this again tomorrow with a fresh mind.

Very nice work Tiffany. Not a bad dream at all. Take care

 

very nicely done Tiffany (love your name....it is my dauthter's middle name)....your effects combined with your very clear and detailed 'subject' rendered a very pleasing image. congrats

 

Thank you for the feedback. I greatly appreciate it. I am still tweaking this and hopefully I won't kill it in the process.

I think I like the new version . I would like your feedback if you have a minute. I would also like to challenge and question you...not because I am being defensive, but because I truly want to hear what you are saying. I value your opinion.

First of all, I am not sure by what you mean that she has a "modern look" or that it would even matter if she does. She is a beautiful girl with long straight hair, jeans and a tank top...she seems quite horsey to me. When I was her age (and I still sometimes do), all I thought and dreamt were horses. She is me and I am she (koo-koo kachoo)

Secondly, most of my art pieces are put together this way. I usually sit with a lot of images (processed or not) before I put them together in a way that gives me that "Eureka" feeling. I am sitting on a couple projects now because I am missing a few pieces of the puzzle. My "wild horses5" image was never complete (in my book). I felt it lacked something.

Lastly, this last attachment (hopefully) addresses some of the lighting issue that you and Lawrence brought up. What I see in my head is that she is looking up at the moon which is actually in front of her and the dream horses appear to her when she looks up at the moon...IOW...the right side of the pic is actually what she is seeing in front of her in her minds eye. ...Thoughts?

I see a few constraints on the composite: She's not in a full body shot which limits placement - you can't shrink and place her in the mid or background. The horses are of a certain brightness/contrast composed as it is, so to some degree limits placement as well. What I'm having trouble with is drawing a connection between the two - it's not immediately obvious that she's dreaming of horses - it just looks like a composite. I'm also at a disadvantage with just a small image to form an impression which can be quite different, as you might agree with, from when one views a large picture full screen, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

My perception of the "modern look" stems from the glossy clothes rendering which makes cotton and denim look almost vinyl (to me). That, and the smooth skin. Not a criticism, rather just my impression taking into account individual preferences.

 

I also can't see the illusion of the moon being in front of her. Apart from fantasy which we're capable of, it's quite physically impossible for this to occur for obvious reasons. For the impossible illusion to be accepted, I think one would need one of those Ben Goossens 3D deals, but even that would be difficult given her forward placement, that whatever she's looking at would be out of frame.

 

I think a successful composite is one which has little or no objections from its viewers. Your Harpist in the Garden is such an example where everything blends so well that folks suspend their disbelief, accepting the impossible to escalate the piece to high art. This one will be harder to pull off, I think.

Hi T -

 

I see the moon and the dream horses as "behind her". I don't have any input on how to alter that - my knowledge is so limited - this is a tough one. The image/color/concept is beautiful - I can't wait to see your final product. Keep on Rockin Sista!!

Thank you Michael and Sue. Your points are duly noted. I think that for this, I will keep this last version and move on to a new image. Michael, with my new software, I have been correcting a lot of flaws in my collage pieces. I haven't even started with "How DoesYour Garden Grow", but there is an egregious error in it which you cannot see small....the poor woman has two faces!

I know a few two-faced musicians myself. :-)

Tiff, Now this is more like it...There is context for me to get my mind around on this image. I like the funky vibe going on this creation...I reallly like the faux details you've created..the mountains, moon, ect...very cool. The only thing I might have done different is fade the horse out a bit to make them more dream-like...just a small nit. Great image. Jeff.

By the way, I like the girl as is...but maybe texture the horses more...or blend them somewhat into the background...I like the justaxposition of the young lady who appears relatively normal to the funky combination of elements in her dream state.

Thank you for the observations. This has been a really good post for me. It is sometimes impossible to forsee what PN might think of an image. I feel that there has been a tremendous amount of articulate direction and from the heart criticism. I love it. So helpful.