Keeping the Faith is one of my newer photo manipulation projects and a chance to show off some refinement to my techniques. In some ways its is similar to my much earlier work “Cloud Chaser”.

Inspiration- Keeping the Faith was inspired in combination by both my own work Cloud Chaser, and just the amazing series of work that I’ve seen and showcased in the online community. Seeing all that amazing work drove me to want to create something more, something visually stunning, as a result Ive been creating more work and trying to take my art to a higher level. I would encourage other artist to gather inspiration from the work of people they admire since its something that has been working very well for me.

The actual choice in model was fairly easy since she had a similar pose to the model I used in Cloud Chaser. I also really liked the coloring of her outfit and the way those colors played off each other, I tried to emulate that in the effects that I used in the image since they blended very well together. As to the title of this image I’m trying to reattach myself to the belief that the impossible can be achieved by sheer will.

Effects- I used a combination of effects many of you have  probably seen me resort to before, although more effectively this time. I used dynamic lighting, disintegration, and smoke effects in this image. I also wanted to use high contrast colors to really make the image pop.

In this image I used streaks of light, light particles and energy spheres to create a surreal, fun and expressive image. As for the disintegration effect, I wanted to make the model a part of the ether in a visually interesting way.

Typography- For the typography in this piece I used a font called “MOD”. I decided to make the font transparent using the multiply blend mode. I felt the type and the color streak helped visually balance the image and the white space in it.

Retouching- The retouch work on this image was very involved and I actually used several techniques from Rob Shields, to make the give the model more depth and a sharp detailed look. I believe it worked out very well. I believe that this is an image that will set the tone for the level of work I’ll be putting out going into the year 2010.

Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is a Professional Graphics Designer and Photographer, living in Fayetteville NC, has work been working with Photoshop® for over 8 years now, and Flash® for the past 5 years.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Its obvious when you first look at this image that it was inspired by none other than the Jabbawockeez, the Season 1 Champions of America’s Best Dance Crew, who also stared in the movie Step Up 2 The Streets, who have taken the nation by storm.

I love break dancing, hip hop, and all forms of artistic and expression, and this image in which I am actually the model, allowed me to unite those passions in an interesting and unique way!

I had a friend snap a few pictures of me while I was doing a few moves in this mask and decided to use them for a series of Photo Manipulations. In this work I wanted to get back to lighting effects as they work so well with this type of image. I also wanted to add various other elements to convey motion, such as the arrows and the lines. It was also vary different to be in front of the camera for a change, but an interesting experience, I think I will try being my own model more often as it has opened up some interesting possibilities.

As for the Jabbawockeez mask, it was actually left over from my Halloween costume I wore while clubbing this year, which was a hit. I have some other images that I will post when they are finished but I just couldn’t wait to share this with you all. I’m a huge fan of the Jabbawockeez and I really enjoyed working on this image.

Visual Effects
This image required a series of layer for each of the individual effects as well as some intense masking, I would say there was anything in particular I had to do that I hadn’t used in previous images before as far as technique, I think it was more of a matter of execution in which I think I’ve improved quite a bit. In away this comes back full circle to “Dark Leap” one of my first images in this style. I’ve mostly improved on the techniques I used for that image and combined them with everything else I’ve learned since then.

Sponsored Links
This kind of photo manipulation are also taught to students taking Graphic Design Degree and part of their basic curriculum.

Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is a Professional Graphics Designer and Photographer, living in Fayetteville NC, has work been working with Photoshop® for over 8 years now, and Flash® for the past 5 years.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Roberto Blake Graphic Design | Star Girl III

The Star Girl, is a concept I’ve been revisiting in my Photo Manipulations, that I’ve become quite fond of. By combining and array of lighting effects to create the surreal image conveying energy and emotion. The concept was so well received when I did the first Star Girl image, that I decided to do a series of them.

When ever I create a Star Girl I try to make them as unique as possible, while still representing a unified concept. Sound a little difficult? Well I will admit to having to think of a clever way to pull that off. Most people would settle for the fact that they are different models and utilizing different colors, but I felt each image needed more to distinguish it. I decided that I would utilize a different approach to the textures involved in each image, as well as present not only a variation of the effects from the original image, but also introduce entirely new elements.

One new aspect of Star Girl III that greatly differs from the previous two images, is the introduction of repetition in the main model. I wanted to present the idea of an energy echo, or an astral projection, maybe an “aura”, generated by the character. The previous two images were also  very stationary, this one had to make you feel like the character was moving, the model conveys movement on its own but I felt I wanted to take it further. I used several elements to get across the idea of rapid movement, I think the repetition also helped with this since each image of the model was offset and scaled.

Inspiration
Ultimately the inspiration from this image was the previous two Star Girl images, as well as some of the lighting work I’ve seen various artist use. In part I would have to also say that the Star Girl images are partial inspired by the visual effects in the movie “Jumper”.  I also took some of the advice of Adam from Advanced Photoshop with regard to some of the lighting effects, particularly the blending modes. Thanks again Adam! It worked out rather well.

Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is a Professional Graphics Designer and Photographer, living in Fayetteville NC, has work been working with Photoshop® for over 8 years now, and Flash® for the past 5 years.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

Roberto Blake Graphic Illustration Star Girl

Star Girl
Star Girl was interesting to work on, I used several effects here including one the required me to make a custom flare-brush set. This has since become one of my most popular images on both Photoshop Creative and Advanced Photoshop.

Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is a Professional Graphics Designer and Photographer, living in Fayetteville NC, has work been working with Photoshop® for over 8 years now, and Flash® for the past 5 years.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook