Hello. I am not very good at this whole GFX thing yet, but I’ve come to realise that the reason most my GFX looks so bland boring is because of the post-render editing. I don’t really add any effects or particles to my image after rendering.
So i was wondering if anyone had any particle packs, or maybe a guide on how to get good particles/dust in your image.
I am primarily wanting like embers (fire embers), smoke and dust. But I want it to be subbtle.
An example of what I want:
I am also interested in how the lighting on the west point academy was made. Let me know.
On google look up particle overlay, smoke overlay, lens dirt overlay or anything really. Look for the ones with black backgrounds and then change the blend mode to screen
You can find lots of free dust, particle and smoke overlays on free image websites like pixabay and pexels. Then like the other person said, change the blend mode to overlay or screen. Most editing programs have the ability to set a layer’s blend mode which changes the way it interacts with the layers below it. Screen mode will only show the light colored pixels so anything that’s black will be invisible. I’m not sure which program you’re using but just search for “how to set layer blend mode in [whatever program you’re using]” and you’ll find something.
Sometimes images just don’t work. I would keep trying other images and see what works best. In your case, I think a sun flare coming from the right would look best based on the harsh lighting on his face
To take it even further, we can color correct the sun ray image to match the scene better. Since the light reflecting off of the soldier and trees is more white, we can add a recolor adjustment to the photo to desature it. I use affinity photo so I’m not sure the equivalent in whatever you’re using so you might have to research that one.
Something so simple can add so much. If the overlay is too much or draws away from the image do not be afraid to erase or lower the transparency of it. Hope this helps
