Colourizing of Black and White photographs can be fun. It can also be a very effective element for a graphic piece. Weather to make the photo look like a hand tinted image, a colour photogragh, or an old faded snapshot, are a few challenges facing the digital artist.

Colourizing of Black and White photographs can be difficult. Unlike the previous coloured photograph of “Bible Bill”, this photograph did not have much in the way of tonal contrast.

Sometimes my clients files need a little extra help.The “before’ picture, was what the client began with. The grapes consisted of a profusion of small brass locks, coupled with silk and plastic leaves. Adding a natural looking drop shadow, airbruching the leaf stems, and applying various techniques to the leaves themselves, went a long way in aiding the final image.

Sometimes my clients files need a little extra help.The “before’ picture, was what the client began with. The red apples were plastic and the dials, cut in. The whole composition looked a little stiff. Adding a natural looking drop shadow, real leaves, reduce the glare on both dials and apples, and augmenting shadow detail within the apples themselves, was my contribution to the project.

A base photograph of the treated seeds and photo placement paper, is where this project began. Text, tape, and a few extra images of crops were placed in afterward. Then the original photo had the shadows reduced and the colour/contrast bumped.

An addendum to the pervious image, crops in the eastern part of the Country, are not the same as the west. Same box as before with different seed and all the photos now placed, Text and tape were all that needed to be added, however, the colour was really faded in the photographs. As a result, the original photo had it’s shadows reduced as well and the colour/contrast bumped.

I had fun with this one. “Put a goldmine in a cornfield” was the instructions. “But, make it surreal”. In the end we took out the rocks by the culvert and toned down the “mine-shine”.

Merging the man into the animation cel, apply shadowing and put the jackle on his lap. Looked easy enough. The challenge came in reconstructing part of the jackels body (who was originally sitting in the throne) and then move in the text to a new position. All were part of the original animation cel and not easily moved. Either way, this was also a fun job.

The client was very specific in what they wanted for a cover look. However it took many low resolution composites to finally arrive at the above image.

An idea, simple as it may seem, can run into complications during production. It would have been optimal to just dress the bulldog in the Elvis costume and be done with the project. The bulldog had other ideas. No less than five images and a completely revised hair-do went into finishing this composition.

A full crop of Canula on a beautiful Summer day, is what the client requested for this image. Unfortunately the main photo could only be shot in the Autumn leaving a freshly harvested field. The UFO model also needed to be completed. By merging a variety of photos, digital Imaging, along with colour correction, has enabled the client to achieve the results needed to promote their product.

A collaboration on beer and beef. Placing the bottle within the existing photo, maintaining the overall feel and harmony of the photo.

Often there are times in our lives that we would simply like to forget....or erase. This was just such a case. The addition or deletion of elements in a photo are common place. Power lines, litter, ex-partners, former board members..etc, are all examples of deletions in everyday photos. Anything to draw the viewers attention from the intended item can be removed or altered. Sometimes easily, sometimes not.

A new product for Bayer Crop sciences, combining a roman centurions helmet with the age old farmers cap adjustment strap. The challenge was to make the strap look like it always belonged and was constructed of metal. Adding sky and cloud, having it vignette nicely, placing the farmer in the field, putting the helmet on his head.

Adding movement to a still photograph can create a totally different atmosphere. Understanding the movements of a subject, then reconstructing them, rather than just using a motion blur filter, takes time. The end product speaks for itself.

Colour Composite Mock-Ups are used to help clients see what a designer might be planning. In this case, the end client wanted something very specific.....many comps were produced with variations.

What appears to be a seemingly hopeless photo, can .sometimes. be salvaged to such a degree as to become usable. The harsh lighting and overall blue hue of the original photo wouldn t lead you to believe that it could be used in a sunset scenario. Likewise the sky photos are far to saturated. The final image, after much finessing, looks quite convincing. Tonal adjustments, shoulder reconstruction and merging techniques were all employed.

Making the none real - real. The InVigor sign to the right was created as vector art. As can be seen above, the client wanted the sign placed within the field, dimensions, depth and shadows were all added later.

The stark colours and contrast of the wedding party, in conjunction with the bright yellow field and azure sky, really portray a warm summer day. In reality however, this image was created in the palette of Autumn. All the before pictures being of dull muted earthy tones.

This terrified couple were shot on the rollercoaster as it sat still...fans created the blowing hair. However - the feeling of movement and being upside down were the clients wishes. The necklace was the give away and had to be removed. Distortion, blurring, colour correction and more, were used to create this white knuckle ride.