Creating Illusions/morphing

Purpose:

• To learn about the career of a visual effects artist;

• To learn how mythology inspires a variety of designs;

• To use Photoshop tools to alter and morph animals in a number of ways that build upon basic skills.

The first thing I did to make my artwork appear professional, convincing, and believable was making sure I picked animals that were similarly colored and textured. I picked a panda and a toucan, both of which were predominantly black and white. I then used the eraser tool at around 30% opacity to blend the edges together. I also used the clone brush tool to move the fur higher up the animal to further blend the piece. I zoomed in close and used a “grass” brush on black to get the fur edges of the animal. Finally, I used the smudge tool in small quantities at a low opacity to make sure the colors were right.