One of the past lessons that I greatly enjoyed in my Advance Photoshop class is Matte Painting. According to Wikipedia, matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit.

Below is the original photo of a very beautiful day in the mountain with an empty house. Our goal is to turn it into a night scene.

I matte painted this image into night using Photoshop various brushes and techniques. I first created the ambiance by darkening the photo then using gradient for the night sky. Next I put on details like the stars, moon and the shooting star. Lastly I put on light and shadow where I painted those beautiful bright fireflies that seem to be coming out of the house as well as the faded light at the windows.

We have created various other scenes using the original photo like a snow, underwater and a rain scene. It’s difficult to create a realistic environment. Familiarity of the techniques and tools is a great advantage.

I hope to be a matte painter someday. I am still learning and hope to be gentle about the process.

Have a great weekend everyone! Be happy!

Paint Party Friday