Ageing the Face.
This brainstorm was all of my initial ideas on ways that the face can be aged or altered, both physically and afterwards through photoshop manipulation.
I initially came up with the idea of physically drawing on wrinkles to try and create this effect by using black and brown eyeliners, or using string to imprint the details onto the face before photoshop manipulation. Additionally, other ideas which I came up with were to use photoshop techniques to age to skin, hair and all-round appearance of the face (such as desaturating and widening the chin). Furthermore, the other ideas which came to mind were to combine both old and young faces; keeping in theme with my previous topic of manipulating the face, I could combine two faces in certain places and create a strange and surreal outcome. |
Research.
Don McCullin- London's Homeless.
Don McCullin focused mainly on the idea of the homeless people in London; capturing images which reflected visually their neglected backgrounds. This image stood out to me in particular for my idea of working with aging the face because of the gritty and real way the age of the man is shown- the wrinkles and creases in his face are apparent to the viewer (these are what I noticed first when looking at the picture). Another feature which I would like to encorporate into my own work from this image is the use of the heavy contrast between the light and shadows on the mans face. This makes him seem even older and withered as the skin and hair seem dirty and neglected. The facial expression too, reflects the overall feeling of the image- he seems upset, which reflects the colour scheme of dark grainy colours (black, grey and white).
Working in the style.
To re-create the gritty style that McCullin works in and to show the way that face ages in my own work I intend to use a young model that I can create wrinkles on.
To do this, I have decided to use black eye-liner to draw on the dark lines across the forehead and around the eyes and mouth- I will smudge it in areas to make the image seem slightly dishevelled and dirty just as McCullin' work is. Additionally, I have decided to use 'Talcum' powder in the hair to mattify it and make it appear gritty and grimy, this will also allow me to make the hair seem whiter and therefore causing the model to look older. In terms of the lighting technique I have decided that I will use a single light angled down towards the face as McCullen uses natural light but it seems to be hitting the face on the forehead and the shadows are created further down the face. The dominant colour of the background in this image is black so I will use a black backdrop but I will also experiment with using the white one to see the effect of it. |
First Attempt; Drawing Wrinkles.
To create the wrinkles on my model's face I used simple black and brown eyeliner pencils. I observed where the wrinkles were formed on my inspirational image and tried to replicate the most apparent ones; forehead, eyes and mouth.
I used one large soft light to the side of the model's head because the more shadow that engulfed the mole's face, the more realistic the wrinkles seemed to be- with full-on lighting, the wrinkled looked as though they had been drawn on.
I found this photoshoot quite unsuccessful as my first attempt, I will move on next to using a clear shot of a model's face with no drawn-on wrinkles and attempt to transform a young face to an old one using photoshop manipulation.
I used one large soft light to the side of the model's head because the more shadow that engulfed the mole's face, the more realistic the wrinkles seemed to be- with full-on lighting, the wrinkled looked as though they had been drawn on.
I found this photoshoot quite unsuccessful as my first attempt, I will move on next to using a clear shot of a model's face with no drawn-on wrinkles and attempt to transform a young face to an old one using photoshop manipulation.
Second Attempt; Photoshop Manipulation.
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To create this transformation after my unsuccessful previous attempt, I used a simple, well-lit image of my chosen model, and created all of the ageing factors on Photoshop. I began by using the 'Liquify' settings and the 'Forward Warp' tool to create a sag in the jawline and to pull the eyelids downwards; creating the illusion that the skin has lost its elasticity and therefore making it look aged. I also used the 'Bloat' tool to increase the size of the nose. Additionally in the 'liquify' settings, I contracted the size of the lips, making them appear thinner. I then used a different layer under the 'colour' settings, selecting the brush tool to make the hair grey and colourless. In a new layer, I used the 'saturation' settings to reduce the colour pigment in the model's skin, therefore making her appear lifeless and older. To add a further effect of the skin looking lifeless and worn, I used the 'Burn' tool to increase the darkness under the eyes and around the mouth area. |
Experimenting Using Aged Skin.
Planning.For this idea, I decided that the images may be more successful if I used skin that was naturally aged; rather than trying to recreate it myself and running the risk of it looking fake again. I intend to capture two images, one of a young child, and one of an older person; then later using photoshop to apply the skin/features of the older model onto the younger model. Additionally, the models that I plan to use are father and son; hopefully showing the contrast between similar faces that age has created. |
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Photoshop Manipulation.To further enhance the skin of the older model and make it seem more aged and textured, I desaturated the image slightly and used the burn tool to darken the lines around the forehead, mouth and eyes.
To contrast this, I brightened the image of the younger model and removed any imperfections from the skin to make him seem more youthful and flawless. I then layered the two images and began to erase parts of the younger model's face to reveal the older skin underneath. The main areas where this was most effective was; around the eyes, the nose and the forehead. I decided to erase one of the younger eyes to show the older one beneath, I did this to create a further contrast between the two ages and show the difference in the skin and the features to show what effect age has on a person's features. |