Fall! Fall!

This was one of the first scenes I had attempted when I got interested in toy photography. I've learned a little since then, mostly by experimenting and watching what others do. Still have a long way to go in terms of proper lighting technique and believable Photoshop tricks.

This was shot with X-Transbots Apollyon who seems to not be long for this world considering how great DX9 Mightron and Maketoys Despotron look in previews, and Masterpiece Hot Rod who despite some flaws is still a nice figure. The background is composed of separate shots of the foothills at Alum Rock Park, a cloudy sky, and a large rock from my garden.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVaFZfaHpGMTNMUEU

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Planet X Dinobots

It's been a while since I've had time to work on a project. Couldn't remember how I did some of the glowie bits and shadows so Triton might be a little different than the rest. All in all, a bunch of great figures with some flaws spread across the line. Still, I absolutely love the set. It's one of my favorite groups. It's so hard to choose just one.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVWUJIcHRNaEVCRU0
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Dancing in Paradise

It's not from a cartoon or comic I'm aware of. I just wanted to make use of a vacation photo I had taken. I was also inspired by a scene from some late night Kung Fu movie I had seen.

I used Perfect Effect Aranea and Mastermind Creations Azalea. By underexposing the shot, I was able to simulate their silhouette against the sunset. Their swords and eyes are from Inner and Outer Glow Layer Styles.

The background is a photo I took from Waikiki beach as the sun was setting.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVWUdNbDFTclVHNVk

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Fans Toys Insecticons

The Fans Toys figures just barely edge out the Badcube Collector's Edition for a spot on my MP shelf. These figures are weighty and fun to pose.

Instead of my DIY light box, I used an actual light tent to take shots of the figures. That, plus learning how to use the histogram on my camera, made the photography process so much easier this time. Chrome is still a pain though. The majority of the time was spent trying to blend them into the foliage.

I've not been to a swamp so I used a shot from Manoa Falls in Oahu as the background.

I added a circular purple to orange gradient layer as an overlay to give a warmer feel to the lighted area and a cooler feel to the shadowy area.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVY1I5NF85WkxkT0E

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Get off me, you junkyard reject!

This scene was from the episode "Changing Gears".

Mastermind Creations Jaguar is a really nice figure. I understand why Takara couldn't do him in this size. The fan rage would have caused aneurysms if tape mode wouldn't fit inside MP Soundwave. I spent a little time cleaning up the seam lines on his neck.

Masterpiece Bumblebee is orange, but the character is yellow in the cartoon so I used the Hue slider in ACR to do the shift.

The pylon in the back is Mastermind Creations Anarchus' shoulder. I added the lightning by creating a Difference Cloud off a gradient layer.

The background is from an area at Manoa Falls in Hawaii, run through a Cutout Filter Gallery.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwxl1QbH6hwVeVlWX1R6V3hIRU0

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Let's see how he likes my new shock blast cannon!

This was a simple set of shots from a scene in Heavy Metal War where Wheeljack's weapon explodes in his face. Sad as it may have been, I would have preferred something like this for The Movie than his offscreen demise.

Unfortunately, Wheeljack's arm can't butterfly over to reach the handle of the weapon. His shadow is created from a Drop Shadow Layer Style. I used my custom smoke brush to draw the explosion for the second picture. Ironhide's lasers are created from Inner and Outer Glow Layer Styles.

The mountain background is a shot of some cliffs at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve that were run through a Cutout Filter Gallery. The ground in the third picture is just several panels of the desert tiles from ToxHax.

Direct links
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwxl1QbH6hwVTnYxektMdTlBX0U/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwxl1QbH6hwVZFh5TEdmd2RKZVU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwxl1QbH6hwVRzlybnA5RHJRVUU/view?usp=sharing

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Die, Autobots!

I have a morbid fascination with this scene, from when the Decepticons blasted their way onto the shuttle to when Megatron blew off Iron Hide's head. I couldn't believe how easily the Autobots went down. These weren't Red Shirts nor the weaker members of the team. I wonder what Brawn was thinking, charging in like that, without even a gun.

Bad Cube Brawny was shot from above. I'm still getting used to the depth of field on my new camera, which is why his feet aren't in focus. I ran his windshield through a Craquelure Filter Gallery and used Clone Stamps and Hue/Saturation Layers to draw in the debris. His mouth is brushed on. There is a Drop Shadow Layer to give him a sense of being elevated from the ground.

Masterpiece Starscream is holding the mini Megatron accessory that I've long forgotten came with which figure. The smoke coming from the barrel is a shot of an extinguished candle flame. It's a subtle effect, but I think worth the effort spent capturing some smoke pictures.

Generation Toy Navvy is serving double duty as Scavenger and Bonecrusher. I used a Hue Saturation Layer to recolor his legs for Bonecrusher and the smoke to hide his body.

Generation Toy Mixer may have provided for a more consistent look, but I'd already spent some time cleaning up Toy World Concrete.

Sadly, Long Haul didn't make it into the shot since I don't have one.

Since I couldn't think of a decent way of replicating the shuttle interior, I spent a little time transforming and clone stamping the screen capture. I had to hide where the drawn characters were still peaking through and extend the light running along the ceiling.

I may have gone a little overboard with the smoke effects, but I needed a way to hide not-even-not-Bonecrusher and the far end of the shuttle. Both sets of smoke were drawn with my custom Smoke brush.

I may redo Scavenger and Bonecrusher and add in Long Haul once I get a hold of the Toy World figures.

Direct link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwxl1QbH6hwVRHFfblIyN1hsaTg/view?usp=sharing

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