July 2009 - Classical architecture

The original:

The brief:

Here's a classic Ionic column from the British Museum, with a section of pediment and a chunk of wall. Not a huge amount to go on, I admit, but is there enough raw material here to build something magnificent? The choice of building is up to you.

Finished work:

Click to view larger.

July 2009 - Five years on

The original:

The brief:

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Friday Challenge, and I thought we'd mark the occasion by repeating the first-ever Challenge.

The task was to take the lid off this boiled egg. The question is: five years down the line, are our Photoshop skills any more proficient? Have advances in Photoshop versions made the job any easier?

This is the original text:

Here's your first challenge, Photoshoppers. I placed this raw egg in an egg cup, and I want it boiled. I'd like the top sliced, cracked or broken off - whichever is your preferred method of opening eggs. What you do in the way of runny yolk, bits of shell and even toast fingers is up to you! You'll find a high res version of the egg here. Good luck!

You might like to include objects or people that could not have been in the scene five years ago - or, alternatively, things that we saw five years ago but which are no longer in evidence. How you mark the passage of time is entirely up to you.

Finished work:

Click to view full.

June 2009 - Shade and texture

The original:

The brief:

I was walking through a graveyard recently (the way one does) and I was struck by this impromptu still life. Not so much the arrangement of the miscellaneous items, but by the way the elements - the headstone, the watering cans, the pipe box, the statue - have all taken on the same texture and hue, almost as if they were all cast from the same substance.

So I'd like you to add a few more items to this group. The only consideration is that they must blend into the scene: I should not be able to tell at a glance what has been added and what was there originally.

Finished work:

Click to view full size.

June 2009 - The staircase problem

The original:

The brief:

Here's a shot I took in a French chateau last year, which I've just uploaded as part of an update to thefullmontage. I photographed this during the day, of course, and it's just occurred to me that the scene would look very different at night: darkness on the ground floor, with a light coming from the top of the stairs.

Is this too difficult a task for the Friday Challenge? And what might be lurking behind that mysterious curtain?

Finished work:

Click on pics for full size.

June 2009 - Bring him to life, part 2

The original:

The brief:

We haven't done one of these for a while, and I always think it's an interesting technique to master.

One of the things I saw on my trip to Norway a few weeks ago was the Stalinist-inspired City Hall, a monstrous red brick building. The facade is decorated with statues of working men (men only, as it happens - the statues of women are in the park in front, carrying children). Here's one of the statues.

This is the first time I've seen a statue of an overweight, shirtless boatman. What must the original model have looked like? Can you bring this statue to life?

Finished work:

Click images to view full size

June 2009 - Boy meets girl

The original:

The brief:

There was an interesting discussion last week about building bridges - in particular, how to make the reflections work. It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up - so sorry for yet another aquatic theme, but this one has some points of interest. 

Can you help this boy to reach his girlfriend, on the opposite bank? The style of bridge is up to you, of course. 

Finished work:

Click to view full.

May 2009 - Mine all mine

The original:

The brief:

I'd never seen a nautical mine up close before I passed this one, on a museum ship in Oslo. It's a strange looking device, and it looks oddly lacking in danger in this mounted location. 

How would this explosive device look to a terrified sailor, adrift in the high seas? Can you make the museum exhibit look threatening again? Or alternatively, can you come up with a more peaceful use for it? 

Finished work:

 Click to view full.