The Coming Storm

The Coming Storm

I started out with a simple space scene to highlight Generation Toy Tyrant, but got bored since I've already done a couple of those. I also wanted something more than a sunrise backdrop. 

Tyrant and GCreations Ultra Maxmas were shot in my light tent. A combination of colored gels on my flash and Photoshop Curve and Color Dodge layers were used to color grade them. Tyrant already had purple energon lines painted on his body, which I spruced up with Inner and Outer Glow Layer Styles. His exhaust trail is a distorted polygon with Field Blurs applied at both ends.

The background is a sun rise shot over the Silicon Valley, taken after a long hike up Black Mountain. The explosion is from a stock photo I found online. I used a Levels layer to blend it into my photo, then I used Color Dodge layers to paint the sky and clouds on fire, more so than they already were from the sun. I finished the scene off with a lens flare because I'm channeling JJ Abrams.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ctabb6gBD2KAPoclGQYS_7Zv5lH3q7mZ

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War Zone

War Zone

I was originally inspired by that highway scene between Optimus Prime and Bonecrusher in the first Michael Bay Transformer movie. Somehow it morphed into this scene between Jazz and Scrapper instead.

The background picture is not mine. It is from a 2014 AFP photo of a car bombing in Beirut. 

I shot Generation Toy J4ZZ and Scraper with some colored gel on my flash in anticipation of matching them to flames. In Photoshop, I used curve, photo filter, and saturation layers to further blend them into the picture. For Scraper, I placed a shadow layer under him and some dust to obscure where his feet "meet" the ground. His eye flare is from a lens flare render. For both figures, their faction symbols are actual stickers, but with inner, outer, and gradient layer styles enabled to provide that shimmering effect. As usual, I covered up obvious screws, filled in gaps in the form, and provided some subtle glow layers.

In the foreground, I blended in some embers from stock photos by placing them in front and behind J4ZZ. They add some more depth to the image.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1F5LK407pVpJ7_NPvvkmsTbnTmsbnkeFP

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We're all doomed

We’re all doomed

TransformMission Over Turn was shot on my garage floor, using my cell phone as a light source. The background is from a trip to Washington DC, taken from the deck of a moving boat on the Potomac river. No tripod, just a handheld shot. Don’t quote me, but I think it’s the National Harbor. The downside of these extremely dark shots is that my camera seems to introduce quite a bit of grain to the picture. I added a moon from a different evening. For whatever reason, it really was that reddish color in the night sky. Seems fitting for this nihilistic character. The reflection in Over Turn’s windshield is from a different shot from somewhere along the Potomac. I cleaned up some of the panel lines, added headlights with a couple of lens flare renders, and tried to clean up the unbelievable amount of dust from the car. The Decepticon symbol is a png file that I distorted and toyed around with the various layer style tabs to achieve the desired effect.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwxl1QbH6hwVcWJRNUlfdGNiZ0k/view

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Autobots - Season 1 (complete)

Autobots - Season 1 (complete)

With the arrival of BadCube Huff 2.0, I'm able to finally complete that collage of the Season 1 Autobots. Eye glows added, blemishes cleaned up, and figures scaled to taste in post.

There are a few figures I'll want to be replacing. While BadCube Sunsurge looks fine as Sunstreaker, I'm excited for the official figure from Takara. Reximus Prime will likely be switched out for FansToys Grinder X just to be consistent with the rest of the Dinobots in the collage. I'm not that happy with Ace Collectables Tumbler so can't wait to get my hands on some other rendition of Cliffjumper. I also wouldn't mind a more screen accurate representation of Sideswipe.

I'll try and work on the Season 1 Decepticons next, minus most of the Welcoming Committee and Rainmakers, unless someone makes Masterpiece-styled Tetrajets.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVcHVNcnRIVVlrY1E

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Bug Spray

Sometimes the accessories included with the figures lend themselves to fun ideas.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVZkJ3Vms0QlFmU28

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Moo!

Figured I should join in the fun of putting my spin on the UFO-abducting-cows pictures people are doing with the third-party Cosmos figures. I used X-Transbots Klaatu for Cosmos and Mastermind Creations Bovis for Tantrum.

The background is a Hawaiian sunset, with Color Lookup, Curves, and Photo Filter layers applied to adjust the tone of the picture. I added the moon from a photo and the stars from noise layers. I also added several layers of fluffy clouds, which had an accidental effect of creating the moonlight reflecting in the water. The glare of the moon in the clouds, the exhaust trail, and the tractor beam were created from polygons, distorted and Field Blurred.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVSjdpdzk2NmhaUDQ

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And One Shall Fall!

I knew I should have used something besides my usual white background when first taking this shot of Spark Toys Spartacus and Alpha Pack. I simply could not reproduce the angles to my satisfaction while trying out different felt backgrounds. Thank goodness for the Multiply mode in Photoshop.

To add some mood to the picture, I used a foreground layer of clouds I had taken with a magenta filter. Without having to do any cutouts, which is very difficult when the edges are not sharp and distinct, Multiply mode pretty much replaced the white background and imparted some natural looking colors to the highlights on the figures. Several layers in Color dodge mode were added to alter the color some more. It was all a random, happy accident, and I probably wouldn't be able to reproduce the exact same image from scratch.

I added the sparks from a picture I downloaded to make more dynamic where Alpha Pack's axe is striking Spartacus' shield.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVUkl6S0MyTEdJODA

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