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mockingale — EQUINE MANIPULATION WALKTHROUGH
Published: 2013-06-25 15:46:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 7341; Favourites: 413; Downloads: 92
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Description
This file is massive! You guys have been so supportive of me and I've gotten some requests for tutorials, and while this isn't a tutorial on anything specific, I hope getting a glimpse at how I work is a bit helpful to you! I explained a lot and there's a lot of reading in this tutorial, just a fair warning! This is the process of "You've got a BEAUTIFUL BRAIN".Don't worry, I'm still going to make tutorials on specific things such as horse prep / repainting and perhaps lighting, but I thought a walkthrough would be nice as well!
see the final piece
wonderful stock
horse: [link] bg: [link] feathers: [link] , [link] , ([link] - ~frisky-sheep-stock )
If you need help or clarification please ask! Enjoy!
please don't post this off-site or claim as your own. if you want to share it, link it!
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Comments: 61
This is the best tutorial I've seen that shows the entire process of manipping. I've learned so much, and now I can't wait to start my next piece! This is insanely helpful!
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I'm so happy that you like it!!! I tried to jam a whole bunch of information into it to try and make it as worth people's time as possible!! It truly means so much that I could help you in some way.
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I really like how you explained/demonstrated creating shadows in this tut!
There is one thing I'd like to bring up regarding one of your lighting explanations. Right around your doggy-in-the-window example you say "...the horse FACING us is cast almost entirely in shadow (but for the sake of photomanipulation, I try to keep some details so you can actually see the horse)."
Yes, what the viewers see of the horse is cast in a shadow. However, it's not for "the sake of photomanipulation" that you see some horse details. The reason it makes sense to light up the shady side of the horse is because LIGHT REFLECTS AND DIFFUSES!!!
You see those two big patches of sunlit ground between the shadows made up by your horse's legs? As much as that grass is catching the light, it's also reflecting it right back at your horsey's 'shadowed' side. It's the only reason why it makes sense to have GREEN highlights on your horse as opposed to yellow ones from the sun (because the surrounding PLANTS are REFLECTING most of the light, and since plants are green, you get a green reflection 
You seem to know this intuitively; when I look at the thumbnail of the final image it looks like a photograph. If the horse was darker it would look like you were depicting a black horse instead of a blue roan. Don't believe me? Check out what's happening in the shadows of the trees that were already there 
Butcha, at the end of the day you chose very good stock and put it together nicely 
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Oh wow thank you so much for this! Quite honestly I jave a ways to go wih my full understanding with lighting, and I'll admit I was a bit unsure of my explanation because I couldn't quite place the reasoning behind not making the horse totally black (so I just decided it was from an artistic standpoint). But now that you've provided me with that fantastic explanation of how it actually works, it makes a lot more sense!! Thank you again for clearing that up (part of me wants to edit that in somehow but i don't think I have the .psd anymore ahhh)! But yes, that was super super helpful, and I really appreciate the time you took to explain that (I just learned something new)! Thanks again!!
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LOL even if you had the PSD I would never ask you to go back and fix it up - Tuts are such a bitch to go back to, pardon my French
You're welcome
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Why didn't you make a shadow for the body part of the horse?
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Hi! If I'm honest wih you, looking back, I realize that i most probably should have. Even though I made this big walkthrough about how i worked, not everything I do or say is 100% right especially because I'm still learning, so I hope people can take away something from it but not follow my word for word recount of what photomanipulation should look like. Should i have extended the shadow to the belly? You know, probably. Why didn't I? I wasn't so convinced it would give the look I wanted, that being, I wanted to really emphasis the stretched shadows of the trees and the horse's legs, due to it being sunset / sunrise. I'll also even admit I was a little unsure how to do it well. All in all, though, it's a learning process, and looking even a couple months back I realize I could have handled the shadow a little differently. Even though I did a couple things wrong in this, I now realize, I still think it could possibly be helpful for someone :~) Sorry for the long drawn out response to a simply stated question!
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Oh - I didn't mean to offend you in anyway.. I was just wondering why/why not. I like the walkthrough and found it useful.
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Oh don't worry you didn't offend me!! I just wasn't sure how to go about answering that! I'm sorry if I came off rude or anything, that's totally not what I intended! Q ^ Q but I'm glad you found it helpful!
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oh no. I really liked it - I was just curious.
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This is really helpful! It really clarifies lighting! Thanks
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I'm glad it helped you!
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Thank you for sharing your magic with us. ^^
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You're welcome; I'm so glad you found it helpful!
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wow .. you really put a lot of work into this tutorial, this is
one of the better tutorials I've seen ! It really states every-
thing and is very clear. I love this piece and putting it in to
pieces makes me love it even moreee !! *u*
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aw thank you so much and I'm so happy you found it helpful!! <3
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Ok just to be clear- my art is hated by many. I also have learned to hate it. I practice EVERY DAY for hours. Now, as my last hope, I promised myself one more tutorial. If it didn't help me, I'd quit. [I guess every artist wants to quit at some point, right? then they get better i hope XD] This tutorial was the one I chose. And can I just say, I will never quit art again. I've never seen a better tutorial in my life. I love this so much. UGH this is glorious *.* even the background of it was like, how in the world did you do it? OMG. I am totally going to make manips again. I'll show you how well this helps me :*
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this made me immensely happy to know that I've helped you like that. Thank you so so much for sharing that with me, I mean I just feel really honoured to know that this tutorial means that much to you! <3 I'll look forward to seeing what you make in the future!!
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You did, you saved my art basically. lol ^.^ Thank YOU for making the tutorial. Without you, art would be bye-bye XD
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aw that puts a huge smile on my face!!
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i honestly think this is the best tutorial/walkthrough ever. i can only imagine how long it took you to put together. it's very helpful, thank you
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That's so great to hear! <3 you're welcome!!
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The most helpful tut I've ever read. (read it all) Still trying to figure out the 'halo trick' but overall this is Awesome!
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ohmy I'm so happy you think so hun! If you need help with it just ask! (I actually just came up with it in this manipulation, I've never used it before and it's not a known "technique" at all haha.) Do you need help with it??
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Alright - I'll try and explain it a bit better!
Basically, I created a layer underneath the horse layer to start off. Then I took the colour white and painted on the layer, creating a thick outline around the horse. Then, I guassian-blurred it. After that, I set the layer on "soft light" and lowered the opacity a bit. This made the area around the horse look brighter, thus giving a sort of effect that implies that the horse is getting a lot of sunlight. It makes the lighting more intense.
Here's a screenshot of the process if you need a visual:
[link]
After that, you can duplicate the layer a couple times and fiddle with the opacity, and you can also use off-whites (as in yellows) to give it a more golden look. But I don't think it'll look so hot if you use it all the time, I'd probably only use it in backlit scenes or similar lighting.
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Oh, now I understand.That technique should go famous, love it!
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Yay! And aw that's sweet haha, it's probably been done before though. I doubt I came up with it. But thank you!
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AW I HOPE IT HELPS YOU <3 
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one of the best equine walkthroughs I've seen on dA! it's so detailed and informative. thank you!
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Wow it makes me so happy that you think so!! I'm glad it's helpful!
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If ages = 2 days ahah gosh it probably took a few hours each day though! (I have too much spare time)
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lol I wish I had your time XD
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I'm glad to hear that!! You're welcome, of course
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thank you!! Hope it can serve as some use in the future!~
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awrh you're welcome hun! I hope it helps you!! O U O
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oh you're welcome!! I hope it comes in handy! quq
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Very helpful tutorial, thank you for taking the time to make this!
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You're welcome!! It makes me smile to know that it was helpful! <3
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This is incredibly insightful and absolutely fantastic- thank you so much for walking people through it!
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