Step 1 – Choosing the Subject Matter

For this exercise i chose Kristanna Loken, which some of you may remember as the TX from Terminator 3 fame. Personally i always thought she would be just perfect as an older version Supergirl.

Step 2 – Removing Excess Material

Although there are many elegant ways to cut out images depending on the program you’re using but for this part, I just used a combination of channel mask mapping and a little free hand selection when it was required. Then it was just a simple matter of placing her onto a nice space background.

Step 3 – Creating a Base Costume

Ok most people just paint by hand over the top of a separate copy layer. However I figured for speed, it was just as easy to color grade the whole layer to the color of my choosing. In this case a kind of Iridium Blue tone for the costume. Then it was just a simple matter of roughly painting over the areas of her original clothing that I didn’t need.

Step 4 – Adding Costume Accessories

This part just involved roughly painting in parts of the cape and belt onto separate layers once again. For easy positioning but not only that, it’s just good practice to create new layers when adding new elements. Especially if you make a mistake, its much easier to remove that layer section without ruining the rest of what you have created thus far.

Step 5 – Adding  More Features

Here I just added a new layer of the face cut out of the original layer in step 1. So that I could overlay her image over the top of the cape and newly added S shield logo.

Step 6 – Adding Additional Tonality

This part just involves painting in more shaded areas to simulate the direction of the light shining on her face. It also makes the suit look more believable and less painted on. Again this step is also done on separate layers for each area of the costume to avoid mistakes, you can of course merge all shaded areas once your happy with the results.

Step 7 – Adding Background Material

So by now if you have done it right, you will have a whole bunch of separate layers to create your masterpiece thus far. However we still need to add some images into the background to make our picture look more complete. Here I added a city scene and planet earth into the backdrop and using the city scene, I just changed its layer mode to Hard Light so that I could use a faded edge eraser to blend the city into the space background. Then using another color grade layer and setting its mode to Burn, so that i could better match my model into the added scenery. You may also need to play around with light and contrast as I have done here to make it work.

Step 8 – Adding Titles and Overlays

Now the final stage is probably the most easiest but is still no less easier to stuff up, so again making sure you add new layer when adding your overlay effects such as titles, color grades or even electro energy as I have done here. This stage is of course not always necessary but for this image, I felt it needed a more complete look to properly sell her as being part of the image. (Click image below to see a larger view)

Ok so obviously there are some things I’m not quite happy with in this image but, it at least gives you a good idea of the kind of process involved when creating digital works such as these.  However this is just like anything else! Quality takes real-time and practice.

All Artwork remain the properties of NSG Productions.
For Personal Use Only, No Copying, Editing Or Redistribution of Images.
Copyright © North Star Genesis

This is film idea that both myself and my good friend Scott came up with, about the meeting of ones self at the cross roads kind of deal. It was deliberately conceived to be both annoying and frustrating while at the same time, try to be a tad atmospheric and hopefully surreal.

The film was shot and edited in two days because of my very tight media studies schedule. I had no less than five simultaneous assignments left to complete for my final portfolio. However, it was not without problems, due to this video being shot on location outdoors on what was quite a very windy day. I ended up having to quickly edit and re-voice the entire video myself before turning it in the following day.

Despite that, I think the film came out pretty well!

All images & concepts relating to The Long Journey
Copyright © North Star Genesis Productions

Here is yet another one of my final year digital media studies videos, a robot animation I designed in 3D Studio Max. My Assignment for this was to design and create a simple character, which also had to perform three separate body movements. So I shaped the model itself starting with just a simple sphere prim and then added some extra prim spheres for eyes and joints. This model took approximately 6 weeks to both make and then animated frame by frame. The results of which can be seen in the video below.

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Copyright © North Star Genesis Productions

Here is my little foray into the realms of Machinima, I did it during my final exams of my Media Studies. The idea for this video came about during a funny and quite random conversation with one of my friends, where at the time we were laughing about many online players in such games as Halo, whom try to hide and snipe other players from a far. Well of course most cases this tactic hardly ever works but despite this fact, it remains a most popular technique among many a new gamer.

Hence, we had named them DeckChair gamers, on the account of that their seemingly similar nature to some idiot sitting in a deck chair and beer in hand trying to use a scope weapon to shoot other players. However, the main concept with this video was more to do with the editing, titles and voice overs. As I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before but also something i could have a little bit of fun with and this was the final result.

Characters relating to Codename Deckchair
Copyright © North Star Genesis Productions.

The main purpose of this video was to demonstrate the simplicity of using Linux and debunk some of the common myths most newbies complain about when using Linux. So the video is obviously aimed at those new to the system and explains how to both install applications and customize your new Linux Operating System, using nothing but the graphic tools provided. Now because the video ended up being about 40 minutes long, I have split it up into the 4 segments that you see below. So hopefully by the end of this video series, you will see that Linux can be and truly is a user-friendly system.

No copying, editing in whole or in part
Copyright © North Star Genesis Productions

Well now that im officially settled into my new home, I thought I would start with one of my old film script ideas which I never ended up using. However, I still think it has a reasonably good basis for a story and hence why I kept it around. For the purpose of this article, I’ve adapted the script to more of a short story form. To give you a some what better understanding of where I had originally intended to go with this project–the idea being to leave the viewer with a slightly ambiguous ending, although I’m sure some folks will come up with their own perceptions.I hope you enjoy reading.

Legacy of Shadows A short story by Mark J. McClinton

Jade Taylor, a star reporter for the evening news, lies slumped upon a couch in a seemingly endless sleep. Locks of her generously sleek blonde hair gently sways across her beautiful face from the cold night air, which blows in from the open window nearby. The darkened apartment room is filled with strange trinkets and are positioned in a deliberate fashion all around her. With the scene appearing almost sacrificial or ritualistic by design. A violet-blue emanates from a display clock indicating that the time is now a quarter past four in the AM, with nothing but the sounds of faint street noises to break the room’s deafening silence. However, this deathly calm is abruptly interrupted by the telephone ringing. Jade awakens to blindly reach for the phone, eventually finding the receiver. She slowly places it over her ear…

“err… hello!” Her slurred speech is only matched by her distinct irritation. “Do you know what frikken time it is?”

On the other end of the line is her station manager ringing about a breaking story. “Jade, I need you to get down to sector six to cover the story,” he exclaims.

“What story?” she says.

The station manager seems surprised. “Huh, what do you mean what story? What the hell have you been doing for the last two days?” Jade barely begins to answer just as the voice quickly replies, “Never mind! Just get your ass down there asap! Valerie will fill you in on the details. We need a crew down there pronto and I want my best reporter on it.”

Jade begrudgingly accepts the assignment. “Ok but you’re gonna owe me big time for this one! I’m sick of chasing your god damned shadows!”

She slams the phone down as her eyes slowly search the room. It’s just now that she realizes that there is a cold chill which fills the air; a shudder creeps up her spine as she notices the open lounge room window. “Funny, I don’t remember leaving that open.” she mutters.

Jade curses as she cuts her leg on the corner of the glass top coffee table. “arrrgh… Bastard!” She kneels down to wipe the trickle of blood from her leg. She pauses for a moment, gazing at the small drop of blood which now rests upon the tip of her index finger. Her mind suddenly focuses on fragmented memories from the past, which also seem strangely unfamiliar to her. Visions of bodies scattered through the streets and random unconfirmed news reports of a shadowy figure apparently linked to unexplained deaths.

Now frustrated by the task that was given to her; she thinks that this latest news story will lead to nothing more than just another dead-end. Although complaining about it never did anyone much good, especially considering the fact that there is still all those unpaid bills which are piling up on the kitchen counter…

Finally she decides to get up and heads over to the bathroom and as the light is turned on, it reveals some more of the scattered trinkets in the apartment. The room is a mess with obscure hieroglyphics painted on the walls–some similar markings are also adjoining on the floor. Jade seems completely oblivious to her surroundings and walks over to the sink to run the hot water. Steam rises while she stares intensely at the bathroom mirror.

“This is the last time I put myself on the line for you,” she says.

Before Jade has even finished the sentence, a shapely image materializes in the mirror before her, an image which is no longer her own, a dark and menacing figure with no shape or distinguishing features. As it begins speaking, a resonating sound can be heard with ear-piercing clarity.

“You can not escape your destiny! It was always preordained.”

“NO… This can’t be! That’s impossible!” Jade screams.

She slams her fists on the mirror and it cracks across the figures face, as if by some cruel twist of fate drawing a crooked smile. The image all but begins to fade before parting a final message.

“I will always be with you Jade. I am you and you are me!”

“We are immortal…”

No Copying, Editing in Whole or in Part.
Copyright © North Star Genesis