Photomanipulation: Surreal Desert
I understand, now, why people say it’s hard to stop getting tattoos once you start. Because that’s what I felt while I was making a surreal desert scene using photomanipulation, using only images freely available under a Creative Commons licence at Pixabay.com.
I’ll just add one more thing, I kept telling myself, and then I’ll stop. Except after about ten things I realised I couldn’t stop. I was helpless under the momentum of creation, and all I could do was internally scream like a pterodactyl who’s just discovered the brake’s not working. Y’know. If pterodactyls drove cars.
There comes a point — somewhere between a whale breaching the sand, and a hi-tech spaceship being on a collision course with a steampunk hot-air balloon — where you stop worrying about getting perspective details right. I mean, that’s either the world’s smallest Blue Whale, or the largest Rolex I’ve ever seen.
And obviously, the ability to depict realism is significantly restricted when one is limited to using only free images — especially for an active desert scene, when Pixabay only had one image of a sand burst, and the burst wasn’t even formed in the way I needed! But, with no other Pixabay options, I made the best of it, and the same kicked sand was used nine times.
(The above is a downsampled version for screen display. The original file, at full resolution, fits a 24″ x 16″ poster print.)
There are 30 image ingredients in this composite cake.
Can you see where I used them all?
(Bonus challenge: my signature appears twice — can you see both?)
01 Oct 2018
You should get a tattoo, though.
01 Oct 2018
My fascinations are too changeable to get something as permanent as that! When I was mid-teens I wanted to get a barcode tattoo on the back of my neck, like the x-5 transgenic super-soldiers on TV series ‘Dark Angel’. Now, though, I can’t even look at one episode of D.A. without cringing at the tackiness.
01 Oct 2018
Nooooooooooooooo Eve. Don’t get a tattoo. Stick with what you do best. Very clever work. I have only found one signature so far but I will look deeper when I get a little time. What a beautiful talent you have for graphics. I can see your boys learning so much from their mum. What assignments they will be able to do. The more I see of your work, the more in awe I stand.
01 Oct 2018
I found the second signature! Took my 3rd look to spot it.
02 Oct 2018
I still haven’t spotted it! After more than three looks. 🙁
On the subject of tattoos, though, I got one nearly eleven years ago (a Canterbury cross on my right wrist) and I still haven’t had the urge to get another. I am, however, battling the urge to get “just one more” fountain pen.
04 Oct 2018
Ha! I found it! I had to blow the image up to full screen and get my nose right up close before I spotted it, though.
03 Oct 2018
I have two tattoos, my next two planned, and a vague intention for a fifth. I can only recommend them. I’ve had my tattoos just slightly less time than Deborah has, as she managed to beat me to it.
Personally, I associate barcode-neck tattoos as being from the Hitman series, but I don’t suppose that will do much to rekindle your interest in them.
The second signature is cunningly hidden. It brought a smile to my face. I don’t remember how many times I had a proper look before finding it, tho, I wasn’t counting.
05 Oct 2018
The guy who replaced a couple of my car’s tyres this week had a plethora of tattoos — one of which was a barcode on the back of his neck. I wanted to ask him for the reason behind it, but couldn’t think of a way to ask without things getting weird. (I might have elaborated on my thoughts behind the question, and if the words ‘Dark Angel’ came out it would have gotten embarrassing. He didn’t look like a kitsch-sci-fi drama kinda guy.)
07 Oct 2018
Some people with tattoos do hate getting asked about them, which I’m kind of in two minds about, personally. Still, maybe better to err on the side of not asking if you’re not sure.
I think there is a whole transhumanist thing with tattooed barcodes as well, and probably a lot of other reasons that I’ve not heard of besides.