Space And Depth In Landscapes

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I've written more than one tutorial on the topic of how to get the "look"  of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface in the digital world (i.e., photomanipulation). It's those tutorials I refer members to so that they can find out how to get space and depth into their photomanipulations.  And I can always tell when a member has taken the information to heart. Kudos to  you who are already familiar with atmospheric perspective!

However, since there is a new landscape challenge for the members ( Fields Of Spring ), I thought I present the same topic differently in hope it helps makes everything clearer.



Space is an Element of Art, therefore, there are rules to follow in order to create the illusion of 3-dimension on a 2-dimensional surface.

:bulletgreen: Three-dimensions cannot be touched by human hands, but it exists in the real world. If you go outside your house right now, look one direction or the other down the street, you will see and experience the three reasons why Space and Depth appears in your view.


1. By Overlapping: When objects overlap, the first object is the closest object.

2. With Linear Perspective: Using the horizon line as the focal point, invisible parallel lines move towards the horizon appearing to go from wide to narrow. Large objects appear smaller as they move towards the horizon line, and larger as they go away. Objects above the horizon line appear smaller and lower as they move towards the horizon.


3. With Atmospheric Perspective: Objects in the nearest foreground are always the largest, clearest, and has the most detail. As objects move back into the furthest background, they become smaller, fuzzier, with less detail.


For more information on Overlapping and Linear Perspective, go here:
manipulatethis.deviantart.com/…  



Atmospheric Perceptive: How To--Laying Out A Landscape

Look at Figure 1 below.

This photo shows the six basic levels of Atmospheric Perspective .  Notice how, even though we are only looking at a shot of the ground without seeing the sky, the areas of the landscape still slowly lose detail from Nearest Foreground to
Furthest Background. In addition, colors become a little fuzzier as the we look from the front towards the background.  They are subtle changes, I admit, but that's how to create the illusion of space, the way it appears in Nature.

:bulletgreen: Speaking of  Nature, the rules of Atmospheric Perspective is used for anything in the sky or flying around as well. If we do not have the sky going from bright with clouds and other  details in the foreground, to very light and fuzzy in the furthest background, our image (no matter the media) will look flat.

Fig. 1

Creek-smple atmsphrc prspctve by TheFantaSim


The Foreground and Middle Ground is usually where all of the activity takes place, therefore, together, they are going to be the largest areas.

Remember that this is only an example to help me explain Atmospheric Perspective, not what I expect the "Fields Of Spring" challenge entries to look like.


Atmospheric Perceptive: How To-- Objects  In The Sky

Birds, bats, dragons, etc., are often added to a photomanipulation without much thought. Now you know that everything, every object, falls under the laws of Atmospheric Perspective

I found some old stock on a CD, and it says that this original stock from from Della-Stock, but I can't find it at her website. Oh, well. At least I gave it credit. :heart:

We all know that birds flock together with their own kind, and only a few birds live in solitude. Either way, this walk through should help you understand how to add birds to the sky.

Fig. 2 Nearest Foreground

Each of these figures below are exactly the same size, and I added the same swans to each. The size and detail of the swans will change to indicate that set of swans position in the sky.


Example-atmpprspctve-sky6 by TheFantaSim
These swans are very close, don't you agree?


Fig. 3 Foreground                Fig. 4 Middle Ground

Example-atmpprspctve-sky5 by TheFantaSim  Example-atmpprspctve-sky4 by TheFantaSim

In the Foreground, we can see the entirety of the two swans, however, the detail is a little blurry. The swans in the Middle Ground are not only smaller, but, also has very little detail. Still, our brain tells us they are birds; (I know now that I shouldn't have change the tone of the swans to blue)  they're in the sky, and we recognize the shape of the body and wings. They, therefore, must be birds.


Fig. 5 Furthest Middle Ground   Fig. 6 Nearest Background

Example-atmpprspctve-sky3 by TheFantaSim  Example-atmpprspctve-sky2 by TheFantaSim
In the Furthest Middle Ground and Nearest Background, we can see only shapes. Once again, we rely on our experience to tell us that those objects, blurry and without details, are still birds.


Fig. 7

Example-atmpprspctve-sky by TheFantaSim
Here are the 5 layers when merged together. I had to do some rearranging with one or two wing layers to get this arrangement.

Just for fun, take a look at this:

Fig. 8

The Dragon Catcher by TheFantaSim



Atmospheric Perceptive: How To--Small Things That Fly Or Crawl


Insects do not behave as birds do, they do not always "flock together". They are individualist, usually with wings, and they go where ever they please, when ever they please. Therefore, they are not always taking up the exact same space as another insect at the exact same time. And, insects are small. Not as big as a bird, etc., so you have to be careful and plan your insects  in a more believable manner as you're adding them to your image.

Fig. 9

Mushrooms And Fireflies by TheFantaSim

This is a floral image created with 3D rendered stock.  Notice how you can easily see the fire fly in the Middle Ground, Background, and Furthest Background and how they change size and lose detail. This helps give the illusion of space.

Since I see so many photomanipulators who love to add butterflies (I'm raising my hand saying, "me, me!" ) to their image, let's look at how to include them the right way.

First of all, I lied above. Since butterflies are attracted to certain plants or trees, you will see many of the same butterflies interacting over the same flowers.  Still, they do not take up the exact same space at the exact same time.

Fig. 10

E=ex-atmprprspct-butterflies by TheFantaSim


There are 5 butterflies in the image above. I marked them in white so that they would be easier to see, but I forgot to mark the fifth one. Still, you should be able to see how the largest butterfly is in the Nearest Foreground, and how the butterflies get smaller as they move towards the Elven maiden.

Below are three other examples of the addition of butterflies to an image.

Remember, butterflies are small!


Fig. 11                          Fig. 12
Nymph In The Meadow by TheFantaSim   Morning Nymph With Butterflies by TheFantaSim

Fig. 13

In The Air by TheFantaSim



That's all.
(and boy, am I tired   :sleep: )

If you ever have questions, unsure about something, or would like for me to look at any deviation to help you with it, you may send a note to me at ManipulateThis, or even to my deviant art account.
Okay?
:blowkiss:

TheFantaSim

© 2014 - 2024 TheFantaSim
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Della-Stock's avatar
Very awesome and helpful!