After creating the first phase for my main image I decided to move onto the second aspect. As mentioned in the previous blog post this is the editing stage of the Eiffel Tower. This plays an equally big role in the main image as the previous phase. So lets start by looking at the end result I produced and then work through the processes. The image below shows my final Eiffel Tower Image.
For this aspect of my assignment I only used the one image. The image, its source and the date accessed can be seen below.
Sourced: http://famouswonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/The-Eiffel-Tower-on-sunny-day-in-Paris.jpg Accessed: 20/02/2014
In hindsight I thought this aspect of my main image would be the simplest however as time progressed I was proven wrong. Like in my previous blog post I needed to cut out the aspect of the image which I wanted. In this case the Eiffel Tower. To achieve this I used the Magnetic Lasso Tool. The image below shows this in action.
Like with the images of the characters mentioned in the previous blog post I then needed to use the refine edge technique to remove and adjust the way this image is cut out. To do this I used the Refine Edge tool which can be found along the top tool bar. A dialog box then appears and I was able to change the settings. This can be seen below.
This image was much harder to cut out. This was due to the trees at the base of the Eiffel Tower as well as the sharp corners and fine details. For this reason I did adjust the edge of my Lasso Tool to produce a higher quality result. The final settings for this can be seen above along with the image after this refinement.
The next stage of this process was very simple. The gap between the two turrets of the Eiffel Tower had not been cut out in the previous technique and hence this was my nest step. To achieve this I simply used the Quick Selection Tool and selected the blue sky in the middle. I then simply used the delete button on the key board and this was now removed. The screenshot below shows this.
I now felt as though I had two main issues with this image. The first issue was the edge of the image. Due to the fine details the tools previously used hadn't quite perfected this edge as much as I would like and hence I needed to refine this further. The second issue I had was the sky. This was still showing through in place and would spoil the effect this image would produce when I came to combine all three elements at a later stage. To get around the first issue I used the easer tool. I zoomed in to the image to the extent which I could see individual pixels and then rubbed out the excess image. This was very very time consuming and tested my patience to the limit as it was so easy to over do it and then ruin the shape of the Tower itself. The image below shows the final result of this.
It is quite clear to see that the edge of the shape is now much sharper and I am a lot happier with this aspect. The second issue does however still remain. For this reason decided to add effects to the image in an attempted to make the image darker and hence eliminate the blue sky seeping through. The first effect I used was the Brightness/Contrast Tool. This can be found in the Adjustments panel to the right of the screen. The screenshot below shows the levels I changed. You can see I dropped the contrast down to a minimum and the brightness down to -58. This darkened the image without loosing all of the detail which was the look I was going for.
Even with this effect applied you can still see some areas of blue sky and hence I decided to add a second effect on top of this. This time I decided to use the Hue/Saturation tool in an attempt to make the image darker but also all over grey. This tool aims to keep the detail just change the colour which is exactly what I want. This tool can be found like the Brightness/Contrast tool in the Adjustments panel. The screenshot below shows the Hue/Saturation settings which I applied.
The image below now shows the image after this effect has been applied. The image is now much darker and no blue sky can be seen.
Due to the fact that this image had a transparent background I saved it as a PNG file. I then opened the workspace which I had already created with the images of the four girls in and used the File, Place Embedded Tool to add the image to the workspace. I could then adjust the size and position accordingly and finally save the image as a whole.
What key tools where used in this process:
Layers
Layer Masks
Hue/Saturation
Brightness/Contrast
Magnetic Lasso Tool
Quick Selection Tool
Marquee Tool
Eraser
Refine Edge
Like in my previous blog post regarding the back cover image creations I will also evaluate the effectiveness of this aspect in terms of my inlay as a whole rather than an individual piece and hence this is to follow at a later date.
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