The Christmas Miracle

F E A T U R E D

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Happy holidays to everyone!

Some details can be seen closer here and here.

Well, this time let me tell you a little more than I usually do in the write-ups.

The inspiration. The evident answer would be of course And yes, he is. But not necessarily in the way you might think. Or not just that way. He is wonderful and breathtaking, however, for me the best service he did was, to remind me again and again of one of the most peculiar and fantastic artists I have ever met, Arnold Gross. You might not have heard of him (even Hungarians don't know Gross too well; yes, he is Hungarian), so let me show you what I am talking about:
[link]
and here...
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and here...
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Since appeared in my spectrum I have been toying with the idea of creating something Arnold Gross-ish. One of the results is my 'New Moon Rises' picture - and now this one. Can't even deny that this one is... well... a bit gross (bad joke, I know).

So who was the real influence? I am afraid that's a question you have to answer...

I think this was the largest file I have ever worked with in the photomanip genre; I like to work with at least 3000 px/300 dpi anyway but this was more than 5000 px (shorter side). So I ended up with a Photoshop file of about 1.3 GB (!) in the end with 250+ layers, etc. My new comp handled it like a dream, no delays, fast, effective. Was fun! Oh, and I LOOOOOOVE the Puppet Warp tool! Would not have even started this without it!

And now the credits:

model

background (partial)

smoke brushes

snow brushes

spanish moss brushes

creepy tree, tassels, pine trees, decorative bush, mushroom 1, mushroom 2

fence

mist brushes

The other elements (plenty of them!) are from these places:

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[link]
[link] (windows)

Disclaimer:

I hereby declare that, to the best of my knowledge every element that is not listed above (there is hardly any) is from my legitimate personal resources or painted by me.

Let me know if I have forgotten anything.