ROTVD (Return of the Virtual Diorama)

[mista_carrot]

Howdy all! Been a while since I've posted here; kinda took a break from star wars. Anyway, just got a Republic Gunship and it inspired me to do some virtual dioramas. This is the scene where Mace, Yoda, and Ki Adi look on as another gunship gets shot down.

[187-Maul]

again, very cool done, although the mace looks a bit strange with that hand like that
still, nice work

[mista_carrot]

Well, I chose the lesser of two evils; Geonosian Rescue Mace would have been much much worse. Anyhoo, here's another one I was working on. Not sure if I'm done with it though...I'm thinking of adding a clone trooper in there. This is where they're still in the arena and are about to leave.

[187-Maul]

that one looks pretty good too, and I don't see the need of another clonetrooper there

[mista_carrot]

There's supposed to be one in the foreground, shooting to the left. Well, I'll see how it looks and if it looks better, I'll post a revised version.

[mista_carrot]

Well, here is a revised version. Also fixed up a few minor things. I also motion blurred the clonetrooper since he is strafing to the left in the movie.

[Dark Knight]

SWEET!!

Awesome looking VD.

[187-Maul]

looks very cool, too
now for another question, can you somehow tell or teach me how to make those lightsaber effects? I do have photoshop (since I think that is how it's done) but I somehow never succeed to make the effect like that
any help? e-mail is yannick_ludwig@hotmail.com

[mista_carrot]

Always a good subject, so I'll just post it here.

Right now I'm using Photoshop 7 which is a little different than versions 6 or below. I'll try to name the differences, but I'm really just going by memory.

1. First, you've got to select what you want to glow (in this case, the lightsaber blade). I use the polygonal lasso tool since if gives you more control over what you're selecting.

2. After you've selected just the lightsaber blade, copy it (ctrl + c) and then paste it (ctrl +v). This will create a new layer with just the blade in it.

3. Select the new layer (if it is not selected already) in the layers window. Make sure the blade is in the right place (you can always move it later though).

4. In the menu, select "Layer" and go to "Layer Style". It may also be called "Layer Effects" in earlier versions. Then select "Inner Glow". A window should pop up.

5. In the Inner Glow window, click on the color box and select the color you want the lightsaber to be. The inner glow of a lightsaber is white-hot, so I select a color that is white with just a tiny hint of purple for instance. In any case, the color should be white or almost white.
Next, make sure the Opacity is turned up to 100%, Noise should be at 0%, and the blend mode should be "Screen".
Below, in the Elements box, the Technique should be "Softer", and the Source should be Center.
Now for the "Size" and "Choke" sliders. I usually set Size to 0 or something close to zero. This fills the blade with the color you just selected. Choke should be zero. Now it's time for the Outer Glow of the lightsaber.

6. On the left side of the Inner Glow window, there should be a list of the other Layer Styles/Effects. Click on "Outer Glow". The Outer Glow options should now appear. Click on the color box and select the color you want the lightsaber to be. This is where the real color of the lightsaber will be most appearant so don't choose something too light.
Make sure Opacity is 100% and Noise should be 0%.
In the Elements box, the "Spread" and "Size" sliders are very important. The Size slider will determine how far out the glow will go, and the Spread slider will affect the gradient of the glow. The settings for these two are dependent on the size of the image and personal taste, so play around with them until it is to your liking. Generally, the Size should be greater than the Spread.

7. Click OK and you're done! This technique can also be used for blast effects, lights, hot metal, and other things that burn intensely.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

[187-Maul]

thank you so much, mistacarrot
I just used the technique and tried a bit around (attached the pic with the best I could come up with at the moment)
but I do have another question, how can you put several effects in one photo? I used the Magic Wand Tool at the moment (so I could get the selection quicker and more precise) and when I'm done with one saber and I want to start on the other one in the pic, it always selects the first lightsaber...do I somehow have to deselect the first saber, if so, how?

anyways, I think it worked out quite nicely, thank you so much for your help