Realistic looking rainbow and compositing into sky clouds with Photoshop?

[frog]

It's not just the colours but the shape too, Your rainbow is too fat and too round. A real rainbow is an arc, but not a semi-circle, and is much thinner. Look at some photo reference.

[FR33K]

It's not just the colours but the shape too, Your rainbow is too fat and too round. A real rainbow is an arc, but not a semi-circle, and is much thinner. Look at some photo reference.

fat: ok i make it more slim!
round: but its arc form choosed in photoshop is a rainbow not an arc? you said it so not?
my rainbow has 1/4 or 90 degree of a full circle so its an arc not a semi-circle which has 1/2 or 180 degree of a full circle.

colors: thats the hardest part... can you give me any advice how to achieve this luminating, million color displaying rainbow in photoshop cs2 ? I have only found some tutorials in www about layer masks for transparency etc... and the results looked cheap...

would be really great if someone could help me with more technical information about creating a real rainbow with cs2.

edit: ok i have just seen that i searched only german sites in google now i have found this:
http://www.lunacore.com/photoshop/tutorials/tut026_2.htm

looks much better than other tuts, i try this and come back with result :)

[-NG-]

Also keep in mind perspective rules, take a look at the camera's perspective and the image itself and composite in the rainbow with the right perspective. This will add some depth to the rainbow.

To tweak the perspective, you can offcourse do it by hand, or go to edit -> Image -> Perspective.

[FR33K]

my result: http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8949/rainbowyj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

good/bad?

[FR33K]

just improved the sky coz i messed it up with some filters :P

new image: http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7493/rainbowrj2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[-NG-]

Looking good so far. Nice improvement over the first image you posted. :)

[FR33K]

thx if you say that i am glad ;-)

[Datameister]

Keep in mind that the center of the rainbow will always be at the opposite "end" of the sky from the sun. That means that the center will basically always be at or below the horizon. You've got the center a ways above the horizon in the first one, which looks strange. Also remember that rainbows don't just occur randomly--they occur in rainy situations.

Your second attempt is much better because the center is lower and the colors are blurred. I looked through my own reference photos and made the following observations:

1. There are no hard edges between colors.
2. The rainbow is typically seen in front of darkish, low-contrast clouds or fog.
3. "Brighter" rainbows have increased saturation, but they are still very blurred.

Part of the problem with your rainbows is that the clouds behind them aren't rain clouds. They're bright, fairly well-developed cumulus clouds that almost never drop rain. Part of the beauty of rainbows is that they almost always fall in front of darkish, almost gloomy skies.

Don't be afraid to use multiple layers. You might try a base layer set to the Color blending mode, with another faint one on top set to Screen or Linear Dodge. Overlay is another good mode. Experiment a little, and USE REFERENCE.

Good luck!

[FR33K]

2. The rainbow is typically seen in front of darkish, low-contrast clouds or fog.

thx but dark clouds on a website of a producer of biological and medical beauty stuff and cleaning and washing stuff aint good i think and 99 % of the ppl out there dont know what you know;-)

[Datameister]

thx but dark clouds on a website of a producer of biological and medical beauty stuff and cleaning and washing stuff aint good i think and 99 % of the ppl out there dont know what you know;-)

Probably true. I didn't realize that's what this was for. That being the case, I'd suggest a much less photorealistic approach, more stylized. That's just me. You're right that a lot of people won't be able to put their finger on it--but I think if you go for photorealistic but use the wrong clouds, some people will feel like there's something slightly wrong. It's just not something they're used to seeing, even if it seems to them like it should be right.

The latest image looks good. I'm probably nitpicking too much. :D

[FR33K]

about the dark clouds i dont agree 100 % because when i see a rainbow i see also sunshine and nice weather and this is what other ppl also think. A rainbow is something connected to nice weather;-)

[Datameister]

about the dark clouds i dont agree 100 % because when i see a rainbow i see also sunshine and nice weather and this is what other ppl also think. A rainbow is something connected to nice weather;-)

You see sunshine and nice weather at the end of the sky opposite of the rainbow. Most of the time, the foreground where you're standing is brightly lit and the sky opposite the rainbow is quite beautiful. But a big part of what makes real rainbows so beautiful is their contrast with the sky around them. I invite you to do some Google image searches; I've yet to find a single photo of a rainbow without either low-contrast clouds or mountains behind it. If you find a photo that proves me wrong, please post it--I'd rather have an accurate understanding of rainbows than be correct. :)

I know most people think of rainbows as arches that flow between cotton-ball-like clouds with sharp, crinkly edges, but that's not how they often are in real life. Like I said before, I personally would be inclined to stylize the image more if I were to put the rainbow in front of such clouds.

Also keep in mind perspective rules, take a look at the camera's perspective and the image itself and composite in the rainbow with the right perspective. This will add some depth to the rainbow.

Well,there's not really anything perspective-wise that needs to be done to a rainbow. No matter where you are, the rainbow will always be a circle. The "size" of the rainbow is relatively inflexible (and it certainly doesn't get bigger if you move closer) and it never becomes elliptical. The really important thing is to make sure that the center is below the horizon and directly opposite from the sun.

[FR33K]

http://img-a.fotocommunity.com/ram/new/6783608.jpg

yes dark weather but i cant use this dark weather on a www site for biological cleaning,washing and skin care etc. stuff ;-)

funny but this photo could easily be a photoshop fake...

[Datameister]

yes dark weather but i cant use this dark weather on a www site for biological cleaning,washing and skin care etc. stuff ;-)

Shoot, I can't see the image. It gives me the 404 "forbidden" message. Anyway, I stand by my original suggestion--go with a more stylized representation of reality. But it's your choice. :)

[FR33K]

more stylized? you mean using dark clouds and sky? pls explain if yes to my question then no i cant do that;-)


if you watch ads in tv they are often unrealistic like morphing cars to a robot or cars can speak and jump etc... its not of any interest wether it is realistic in this moment counts only what does the customer think when he is watching the ads all the above means the customer will get a flexible car thats it. And when i make a dark sky or dark clounds the customer will think the products dont clean or wash nice etc. you understand?

its for a www site i wanna keep it simple its not for an cg art gallery;-)

[Datameister]

more stylized? you mean using dark clouds and sky? pls explain if yes to my question then no i cant do that;-)


if you watch ads in tv they are often unrealistic like morphing cars to a robot or cars can speak and jump etc... its not of any interest wether it is realistic in this moment counts only what does the customer think when he is watching the ads all the above means the customer will get a flexible car thats it. And when i make a dark sky or dark clounds the customer will think the products dont clean or wash nice etc. you understand?

its for a www site i wanna keep it simple its not for an cg art gallery;-)

I understand all that. What I'm saying is you shouldn't try to make things that can't look realistic...well, look realistic. If you need, for example, a rainbow with no sign of rain or fog, don't try to make it realistic. Stylize it--and by that I mean, make it a little more cartoonish or logo-ish. Don't try to make it look like a photograph. It'll get the point across a little clearer and tend to bother nitpickers like me less. :D

Again, it's all up to you, and it really doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things. What I'm trying to say is...either go realistic or don't. With stuff like this, splitting the difference can produce some strange results. (Although your results are only slightly strange, at worst.)

[FR33K]

the thing is i asked once a while on my home photoshop forum traumprojekt.com (german board) about the rainbow in this www image and they said its good :) nobody complained about what you complained so i keep it that way maybe we german have a diff. taste;-)

[Datameister]

I never said it wasn't good work; I was just offering some subjective tips on improvement. If you disagree with what I'm saying, that's okay. It's your work, not mine. I'm just telling you what I'd do if it were me. :)

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