The gondolier

The originals:

 

The brief:

I had a fantastic time in Venice last weekend, which must be the most spectacular city I've ever visited. Everywhere you look, the city is simply beautiful. 

Go round any corner and you'll come across a scene like this. Of course, this view would be greatly improved with the addition of a gondola. Luckily, I have one here. Those seats do look very empty, though... 

Finished work: (going rather off-brief for once!)

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March 2010 - The caveman cometh (HTCIPS)

The original:

The brief:

I had to do a job yesterday that involved a walking caveman. Curiously, even Wikipedia didn't have any photos, so I started from scratch by building this Poser model. After that, I went on to add... well, what needs adding? Can you turn this hairless ape into a convincing neanderthal? 

Finished work:

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March 2010 - a block of ice (HTCIPS)

The original:

The brief:

A technique challenge this week. Here's the word ICE, set in Myriad Bold. Can you make this look like the lettering is made out of a block of ice? 

There are several approaches to this one - I'll be interested to see what you all come up with. 

Finished work:

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February 2010 - appy Birthday, Photoshop

The original:

The brief:

You're probably all aware that it's the 20th anniversary of Photoshop. Those nice people at Adobe sent me this rather magnificent cake - far too good to cut open. 

To save me breaking the cake apart, can you show me how it would look with a slice cut out of it? 

Finished work:

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February 2010 - A load of tripe

The original:

The brief:

I photographed this derelict shop front near London's Smithfield meat market. What an interesting approach to selling bits of animal! Clearly, marketing wasn't their strong point. 

But how might this shop have looked in its prime? And what on earth does dressed tripe look like?

Finished work:

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February 2010 - Kami Kaze mission

The original:

The brief:

This plane is the A6M Zero, which was used in kami kaze missions in the Pacific in World War II. The 3D model I've used here isn't the best quality, but it shows the shape of the plane clearly enough. 

Can you breathe life into this rather flat model? 

Finished work: (those remote control geeks are a menace!)

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January 2010 - Aargh! Perspective! (HTCIPS)

The original:

The brief:

Several of you had problems with perspective in the last Challenge, matching the angle of view of the saucer to the viewpoint of the scenes you chose to place it in. So I thought it was time for another of those perspective Challenges that I know you all love so much. 

I photographed this locker room with a wide angle lens, and there's some significant distortion as a result. Here's what I want you to do: 

1. Open one of the doors on the locker. 

2. Close one of the doors on the changing cubicles. 

3. Add any other elements you like - but be sure to make them match the perspective of the scene! 

Of course, the forum being what it is, I don't expect any of you to stop there... 

Finished work:

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