matte painting : landscape

[EricUNSL]

Hi seb4d,

good start but I think you need to spend a bit more time observing. For starters, the background mountains on your right have a different light source from the rest of the image. I'm really not seeing a big enough difference between this and the source photo. It is a WIP however, so keep at it. The clouds are the weakest element in the piece. Find clouds and color adjust the pic then throw it into the painting or practice more with painting clouds. It's really hurting the piece.

[seb4d]

You're right about the moutains light source, I didn't even notice that, terrible mistake !

I'll try to find a good cloud picture, it's really difficult to paint realistic skies but I'll keep working on that !

Thanks again for your precious comments Eric !

[DEVARSHY]

you may want to search for the cloud painting tutorial by Steven stahlberg....that can be a great help.

[TheNeverman]

I too am a bit confused how the addition of a couple lil mountains and some color alteration constitutes a matte...

Looking forward to seeing the finished project though.

n8

[seb4d]

Yeah I understand TheNeverman. It isn't finished yet, I've just "prepared" the original landscape to receive the castle I plan to add in the background.
However I don't know yet if I'll paint it or model it in 3D. Maybe a 3D model will be easier for me to get a good perspective...

[EricUNSL]

I'd say definitely model the castle in what ever 3d package you use. That way there's no question about perspective or scale, etc. Light it according to the source photo, drop it in the scene and paint those textures. Your castle model doesn't need to be complex. a basic model will do so that you can still have some fun painting in certain areas or changing things as you go.

Ya know, it would be a interesting change from the plate photo if you added a surrounding village. Think of little things that can be added and taken away. What if the foreground was covered with rocks and boulders. rock plateau? A river or small stream leading away from the snowy mountain with small huts surrounding. You could go nuts. If you don't already have one, get yourself a digital camera. 4 or 5 mp. That should solve your cloud problems.

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