How Do They Do It

[phatboy]

I cannot see how these great artist of the mouse do what they do digitally. For me to make a picture of even 1/4 the quality that these guys produce it would take me months. Please dont take this post smartly and give stupid answers like pracitce...or there just good...that isnt what im looking for...I want to know what they are doing within photoshop to get these results, and im sure im not the only one...so please you guys out there that do those chops of realistic proportions let a newb in on a secret or two(airbrushing hint hint). thanks.

ps I put this thread here because I think that it will get a better response than the classroom area...thanks :o

[Itanium]

It'll just get moved anyway

[humppapappa]

Originally posted by phatboy@Oct 3 2004, 06:28 AM
I cannot see how these great artist of the mouse do what they do digitally. For me to make a picture of even 1/4 the quality that these guys produce it would take me months. Please dont take this post smartly and give stupid answers like pracitce...or there just good...that isnt what im looking for...I want to know what they are doing within photoshop to get these results, and im sure im not the only one...so please you guys out there that do those chops of realistic proportions let a newb in on a secret or two(airbrushing hint hint). thanks.

ps I put this thread here because I think that it will get a better response than the classroom area...thanks :o
First you should take a good look to real bodykit and look for how light blends from surface, then just try to copy the shadows and highlights from them. That's about it. And Practice makes you perfect. Also take your time and don't rush, or your chops look like poo-poo.

[phatboy]

what kind of a mouse are they using or is it just that they can make perfect lines and such...cause i cant draw a straight line with my mouse...its a normal 2 button wheel wired optical mouse...will that make a difference at all. i also have a pen mouse but i havnt learned how to use it yet. thanks

[Stanty15]

i also really want to knnow how they do it. especially the paint shine on iacs impreza

[humppapappa]

Originally posted by phatboy@Oct 3 2004, 06:59 AM
what kind of a mouse are they using or is it just that they can make perfect lines and such...cause i cant draw a straight line with my mouse...its a normal 2 button wheel wired optical mouse...will that make a difference at all. i also have a pen mouse but i havnt learned how to use it yet. thanks
Well the pen mouse is the ultimate tool for chopping, if you handle that you are able to do anything. But it's just practicing and practicing. There's no other way.

[hav_lova]

Well the have taken the time to practice (duh) and they have experimented and found out what works and what doesnt... you dont need anything great to draw straight or perfect (you can mark everything with the rulers) they know to draw the perspective of the cars they have probably done a course or two on photoshop and know how it works back to front (e.g. i know omicron can tell you what every layer effect does basicly) now stop asking about this the only way you can get that good its to try and try again and try again and improve your technique!

and the key ingredient? PRACTICE!

[chopstick]

if you have problems with drawing straith lines you just change your normal lasso to polygoon lasso or something and then you just have 2 click were you want your selection to start... go click click click and end it at the same spot!

[phatboy]

i guess i should rephrase myslef and ask what are some of thier techniques and are there any tutorials for some of the things they do...i realize that practice is the key and i do practice quite often...but the problem im having is i dont even know where to start some things. such as, on iacoskis lates impreze how did he do the c/f headlights. not the look of the c/f but how did he model the acctuall bezel for the lights, or when he starts brushing a body kit. does he draw it out first with lines and then fill in the lines, or does he just start with the airbrush on a ?size brush and play till it looks right...

[brasher]

I can tell you a bit of a secret, it helps if u are able to draw in perspective. If you have the basic concept of how angles and point of view perception works then it makes it much easier. Take a printout of the car you want to chop ( in black and white) and then with a penicil make a rough sketch of what the kit would look like, then this may sound wierd, but it helps to tilt your head sideways and take a look at it from a different view point.

Try these techniques out sometime and see if they work for you.

[phatboy]

thats what im talking about tricks like that...thanks i never thought of that. and the perspective thing is not a problem, i just dont know how to start doing some things

[Carty]

Originally posted by brasher@Oct 3 2004, 09:53 AM
I can tell you a bit of a secret, it helps if u are able to draw in perspective. If you have the basic concept of how angles and point of view perception works then it makes it much easier. Take a printout of the car you want to chop ( in black and white) and then with a penicil make a rough sketch of what the kit would look like, then this may sound wierd, but it helps to tilt your head sideways and take a look at it from a different view point.

Try these techniques out sometime and see if they work for you.
haha why not just tilt the paper instead of your head :rolleyes: but anyways, these guys are god, yea you can practice all you want to, but they have alot of their talent naturally

[phatboy]

well i am an artist also, airbrush(real ones), colored pensils, whatever...i just dont know the processes in which they start a project like the afore mentioned ones...

[giRogosian]

when ever i see their cars i cant believe thats possible, you cant even make a real car look that good. they should all do tutorials to help us lil jackass out that would be cool.

[joemomma95]

Well, you've all been waiting for this post I know.....MOVED!! :lol: :lol: :P :D


As far as the techniques, it helps alot to study real pics for me(don't worry I'm not saying I'm as good as those other guys), looking at real pics with reflections/shadows/shading helps out alot...also helps to have a little art background, I took art all through highschool(and used to love drawing, until PS came into my life :D ) and that's it, not much but I really think it helps me out alot in chopping. And of course the other guys already mentioned....PRACTICE.

Another thing that might help you that has came up lately(that I personally have never done).....if you wanna learn how to brush and how to make thing look real, find a part you wanna brush and lower the opacity on it, start a new layer and "brush over" the part trying to get it to look like the real part...

[The Fighting Panda Man]

yeah, being in a art class or two should help you as far as perspective goes. it really helps as far as realism goes, i mean i'm starting to create my own cars on paper, it just helps to get the flow of the body lines on the car right.

if that doesn't work, then you can always head down to barnes and noble or borders and pick up a how to book or something...

[hawk_196]

hrm i really dont have that many questions as to the process but to how they use the tools.... if ya know what I mean.
like, everytime I brush it end up being blurry and flat. I've heard that you should use the lasso to make sharp looking brushings but whenever I do, I get a real pixelated edge. So how do they get rid of that? Do they just brush everything on a different layer and use the eraser (no selection, just the eraser) to erase it or what? Also, all of my brushing turns out flat somehow (no differencec in color). Any way to add depth/noise into your brushings or is there some trick I dont know about. Or is it just the old fashioned pick a color, brush, pick a color, brush.

Thanks.

[joemomma95]

Work with selections, selections can make or break a brushed chop IMO. Also play with the feathering(in the selections menu), feathering can make the edges of your selections look smooth and not so sharp around the edges.

And yes, brushing something on one layer and then using the eraser tool to get rid of what you don't need or whatever can be very useful.

I personally use the smudge tool alot in blending 2 or 3 colors into a good fade job. You have to use a big brush, soft edged, etc..

All in all, I hardly ever use any brushed that aren't soft edged. I use the default brush on the second row down, the size on it varies and so does the opacity. Mess around with those things too and you'll start getting a feel for how to use them to brush. Sometimes I use a brush the size of New York, not saying I use that size to create something but every now and then I use the edge of a huge brush to get a very slight fade on the edge of a selection..

[Sha$XL]

well dont forget guys IAC has a year or two more choppin experience than most. i remember i started in spring of 03 and iac had been doin it for almost a year already (and believe it or not he actually was human at one point, i saw an older one of his chops and, um wow, did it suck, jk it didnt suck but you'd never guess it was made by the same guy)

plus not to mention im sure most of the other really good guyd on here are art students, and you wouldnt believe how much you learn in those classes. i learned a lot in my intro to PS class at school last year

[OmicroN]

I've been using photoshop for years, in 03 I had at least 2 or 3 years already in. I just don't have the artistic talent to pull off the stuff that IAC does, or a lot of you others. I'm sure if I was that creative, i'd be great at airbrushing crap. With my experience, and a real artistic talent, the possibilities are great. B) :ph34r:

Makes me proud to know the people who do this sort of stuff, it's a real treat to see the work that's done.

[LiquidSilver]

Ive been using photoshop for about a year now & i started doing cars as well. I need some help on how to change front bumbers on cars as well as the lights, can anyone please help :(

[rickysals]

i have not had a photoshop class to date... i sort of picked it up and taught myself as a joke when photoshopjunkie was around. I liked cars so I tried a contest or 2. I had actually been designing baseball cards with microsoft paint..HAHA, they looked real too... I did it pixel by pixel, average card took a week or 2. Printed them on photopaper, and some people didn't know they were fake. That actually helped me see how things blend on the ocmputer screen in pixels... dot to dot, how the lighting will change.

I will have my first photoshop class next semester. I start InDesign tuesday.

Just for the thread starter (forget the name with all my typing) on technique... my HSC concept was 100% brushed outside of wheels... and yes i printed out a black and white, and did concept sketches overtop of it.

http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/112004/original_HSC.jpg
http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/112004/sketchHSC.jpg
http://www.pifiu.com/upload/uploads/112004/chop_HSC2sketch.jpg


p.s.
I dont think i'm on IAC's level, but I hope someday to be... also I am gonna quit chopping eventually and start 3D modeling and do my own concept cars. I wanna be the creator, not the editor :)

[ckg690]

wow...i think that's the best chop i've ever seen.... :o

[Sha$XL]

Originally posted by rickysals@Nov 6 2004, 12:53 PM
I will have my first photoshop class next semester. I start InDesign tuesday.



sweet, inDesign is another really awsome program, its used for layouts and printing for like magazines, newspapers, and other stuff, its really an amazing program that offers stuff PS dont have. From what ive seen its almost as good as Quark Xpress.

If you can see if there is an Adobe illustrator class as well

also I am gonna quit chopping eventually and start 3D modeling and do my own concept cars. I wanna be the creator, not the editor :)

good luck with that man, i really want to get into 3d modleing but unfortunatley there are no classes at my school that have it (well there is an autocad class im in, but its not really the same thing, not mention the first marking period is already over a week now and my teacher still doesnt have the fizzucking CAD software)

[rickysals]

yea

I actually already know how to use it for basic things, a friend of mine is the mac techie here at school, and he tought me enough to do my typography homework. The class is mandatory, 3 credit hours, each credit hour is 5 weeks of an adobe software... indesign, photoshop, illustrator. he is hooking me up with dreamweaver, fireworks, and possibly the new version of Maya. it may be a few years for all this stuff, but hey, what else od i have but time?!

I wanna graduate here in Visual Communication and Design with a minor in either webdesign or photoillustration, then the if all goes right I wanna go for a masters in transportation design at Pratt... but that;s a ways away, I'm trying to surive sophomore review this spring first!! haha

[rickysals]

Originally posted by ckg690@Nov 6 2004, 02:13 PM
wow...i think that's the best chop i've ever seen.... :o
check my website for the full version :)

[ckg690]

Originally posted by rickysals+Nov 6 2004, 03:55 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (rickysals @ Nov 6 2004, 03:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-ckg690@Nov 6 2004, 02:13 PM
wow...i think that&#39;s the best chop i&#39;ve ever seen.... :o
check my website for the full version :) [/b][/quote]
amazing work...is that alternate bg for the honda nsx in newport oregon? looks familiar...

[rickysals]

not sure, was just in a picture with a 6-series

[-GS-]

yeh im in teh same boat as Omicron. I dont have the creativity to make my own bodykits etc. Not to mention i have no sense of perspective. I&#39;ve been chopping from around the year 2000. Its just i cant brush so i stay with my copying/pasting.


btw: Thread seems to have alot of good info. I&#39;ll sticky it.

[Sha$XL]

Originally posted by GS-@Nov 10 2004, 06:58 PM
yeh im in teh same boat as Omicron. I dont have the creativity to make my own bodykits etc. Not to mention i have no sense of perspective. I&#39;ve been chopping from around the year 2000. Its just i cant brush so i stay with my copying/pasting.


btw: Thread seems to have alot of good info. I&#39;ll sticky it.
doesnt matter if you cant make cool car kits, thats just one of a million things PS is used for. dont say your not creative just cuz you cant brush a body kit. Guys like IAC and Glac are extremley creative in the car sense, but in any other area their probably isnt as spectacular as thwir cars (assuming they actually use PS for something other than cars <_< )

[MCL4R3N]

or you can go outside. :rolleyes: not like this is acheiving anything apart from getting brown nosed from other users.