Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 5:02 pm Post subject: Lightsaber Images
Hey guys! IMHO, I've perfected a classic lightsaber effect that can easily be placed still images or video. My challenge to anyone interested is: take any image, preferably a Star Wars one, and either replace or add lightsaber effects. If there are already lightsabers in the picture, please do two things: before adding your own lightsaber(s), paint out the original(s); and, post the original picture along with your version.
The effect I'm most interested in is the photorealistic lightsaber look seen in a few shots from the original trilogy. I'm looking forward to seeing your results!
Not bad, not bad. Very nice choice for a source image! If anyone is interested in participating but doesn't feel terribly attached to any particular source pic, use this one. The nice dark background brings out the lightsaber glow nicely. I think I'll post mine soon.
Anyone interested, please do post. The more the merrier! But don't post fifteen-second Outer Glow pics. Those have been way overdone. I'm looking for realistic effects--like if someone told you they had a real lightsaber, the photo would be almost believable.
Also, I'd like to encourage you guys to only use red, blue, and green lightsabers. Use purple if you really feel the need, but I'd rather not have any orange or yellow or multicolored lightsabers.
And here's another example using the same technique. The two lightsabers near the middle of the image look the best because they're over dark backgrounds.
Please don't hesitate to post your own lightsaber images, people!
Episode-III.jpg
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 2:12 pm Post subject: Wooo
My stickman owns lol
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_________________ Dialog box's are trouble,
Cliking yes will shut everything down,
Clicking no will freeze everything your doing,
Clicking cancel will just get you another one.
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 4:18 pm Post subject: How??
How do you make lightsabers lol _________________ Dialog box's are trouble,
Cliking yes will shut everything down,
Clicking no will freeze everything your doing,
Clicking cancel will just get you another one.
There are a variety of ways to do it. The basic concept is: create a pure white core and a colored glow around it. I've developed my own method that very closely mimics the effect seen in a few shots of the original trilogy. I've even created a way for the lightsaber to flicker in movies, just as it should.
The best way to do it is to closely examine the lightsaber effects that YOU like and experiment in Photoshop until you discover a method that delivers the results you want. Keep in mind that any glowing object is optically complex; it's not just a matter of creating a feathered selection and filling it with color. That's an important element of many lightsaber techniques, but by itself it won't suffice. Real lightsabers would have a more subtly complex appearance.
My technique uses three layers, all of which are essential to the effect. Merging layers changes the effect. Some people pull it off in one layer, just creating the white core and applying the Outer Glow layer style. This invariably results in an unrealistic lightsaber. I don't suggest using this, since much more realistic methods don't take very long to implement.
To illustrate my gripe about modern lightsaber effects, I've attached a comparison of three frames. The top frame has the original lightsaber effect from A New Hope. I like this effect a lot, and I've tried to emulate it in the middle frame. This middle frame is my effect--I completely took out the original effect and put in my own. It looks very similar, and I like it that way.
The bottom frame intentionally looks horrendous. Here, I've emulated the effect seen in the prequels. It's not too pretty. Much too dark, too compact, and the hue value is too high.
Which effect looks best to you? Or do you think a better one is possible? Please post your own!
(By the way--I did make the prequel effect on the bottom frame, if there was any confusion. I examined the blue lightsabers in Episode III and within about 30 seconds had a method to re-create the effect. It uses Outer Glow with Hard Light for the blending mode. And it doesn't look like an energy blade at all. More like a white rod with some color around it. )
Episode-IV.jpg
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