Raindrops (and Shadows)
Photo is inspired by the Regina Spektor song “Raindrops”
This photo was taken on a little project I have started, and I hope to have more details to share soon! I built this little street corner to test my new computer’s ability to render shadows, very cool (and details on how to enable below).
Enabling Shadows: I am using the new SL viewer, which was so strange to figure out when I came back. But am used to it now, so I think I will stick with it! In order to enable shadows, you will need to bring up the Develop Menu by selecting ctr+alt+q
- select Develop > Rendering > Lights and Shadows
- select Develop > Rendering > Shadows from Sun/Moon/Projectors
- select Develop > Rendering > SSAO and Shadow Smoothing
- now you can move your Sun/Moon Position and East Angle in the Environment Editor (World > Sun > Environment Editor)
Adding Rain Effect: I followed this tutorial. This rain effect adds some interesting atmosphere to the photo using noise and motion blur. Very easy to do!
- create a new layer (Layer> New> Layer). Select the new layer in the right menu and use the Fill Tool by selecting Edit > Fill
–> Use: 50% Gray
–> Blending: Normal
–> Opacity: 100%
- add noise by selecting Filter > Noise > Add Noise…
–> Amount: 12.5%
–> Distribution: Uniform
–> have Monochromatic selected
- emphasize the noise pixels by selecting Image > Adjustments > Auto Levels
- open the Filter > Blur menu and select Motion Blur
–> Angle: 52
–> Distance: 15 pixels
- to adjust the density of the rain, open the Levels tool (Image> Adjustments> Levels). In the Levels tool, drag the left and right sliders towards the center.
- Open the Filter > Blur menu and select Gaussian Blur. In the Gaussian Blur tool, adjust the radius slightly until the pixelation disappears (I used 2)
- If you look at the edges of the image, you may find a white glow. To remove this, simply use the Transform Scale tool by selecting Edit > Transform and selecting Scale. Drag the corners of the scale box outwards until the white glow is hidden.
- To finalize the effect, reduce the Opacity of the layer. I used 37 here.
What I Am Wearing:
Outfit: Amerie’s Naughty – Stripe Rocker
Shoes/Socks: Maitreya Gold – Moxie (Coal)
Skin: PXL – Linda G3 SK (NudeLips)
Umbrella: Mika – Animated Classic Umbrella (Anthracite)
Pose: Diesel Works – Groove 8
