Photoshop hints (trees, shadows, grass)

[Matt W]

First off, let me just say that I'm a double-noob or a noob squared (to this site and Photoshop Elements).

 

The attached PDF is of a parking garage and the surrounding site. The parking garages (new and existing) were modeled in ACAD MEP 2008 and the site was modeled in ACAD Civil 3D 2008. The sky is a layer in PE as are the trees and shrubs and the two dudes. One of the things I'm struggling with in particular, are the shadows for the trees. I'm using the dodge/burn tool with the leaf pattern and just moving the mouse around. It looks *okay*... not great. Is there a more elegant way of creating the shadows for the trees? And what about the "grass"? Any suggestions as to how I can make it look mo' real?

 

And if you have any general suggestions for improving the look and feel of the image, I'm all ears. And no... MAX is NOT an option

 

All I have to work with is AutoCAD Civil 3D, MEP, Architecture and Photoshop Elements. Yay, me!

 

 

Thanks!

Matt W

[MrCAD]

hey matt,

 

thanks alot for your tips..grass / trees tips is always a need

 

Meher

http://www.mr-cad.com

[Tom Hamelrijckx]

Hi Matt,

 

-Ben Willmore's book 'PS Studio Techniques' explains four very good shadow creation techniques for Photoshop. It's too extensive to explain here, so go and have a look at that book, you'll find there what you need...

 

-For the grass, it lacks some saturation in my opinion, but a first and very easy trick already, would be to paint along the borders with a tiny grass stamp on a new layer, with the same color. (Also the geometry is quite square, it could be a bit smoother...)

 

Tom

[Matt W]

Thanks for the heads up on the book - I'll have to check it out.

 

And thanks for the comments about the image - I'm always looking for things I can improve upon.

 

Thanks again!

 

Matt