need help improving this picture

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

GIMP Version: 2.6.11
Operating System: Windows
OS Version: XP - SP3
GIMP Experience: Beginner Level

Hello, I am a newbie at photomanipulation, and can anyone helps me to improve this picture:

http://hanciong.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4ome93

any suggestions and advices are highly appreciated. Especially I am thinking, maybe I have to change the sky (right now it doesn't look like one). and also, maybe I need to put a castle or something so that the ship has some destination. Thank you.

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

Very nice, You can change the sky many ways by using a layer mask or quick mask, or even a selection, but You will probably need to take out the rainbow also. I can see a nice little misty island far off into the horizon with a castle or even some palm trees on it.

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

molly wrote:

Very nice, You can change the sky many ways by using a layer mask or quick mask, or even a selection, but You will probably need to take out the rainbow also. I can see a nice little misty island far off into the horizon with a castle or even some palm trees on it.

Thanx molly

nice idea with the palm trees

ZWard117 · **Joined:** Jan 20, 2012 **Posts:** 583

You could also add some current and some wake to the clouds.

ofnuts · **Joined:** Oct 25, 2010 **Posts:** 4812

OK, I'm a science nerd but the rainbow yells "fake!" in so many ways:

1) it's too small (the visual angle of a rainbow is 2x42 degrees)
2) the red should be on the outside
3) to see a full rainbow, you should have the sun right behind you. The shadows on the ship tell a different story.

2-ton · **Posted:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 2:51 pm **(#6)**

Also, the rainbow should be more etheral, more transparent. I think a wake in the clouds would look great, too, and a castle way off in the distance would work, but it would probably need to be faint and misty looking. And perhaps the clouds could be sloshing up around the bottom of the boat more so it looks a wee bit sunken into them. After all, boats are heavy, even sky-bound boats on their way to castles in the sky!

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

molly wrote:

Very nice, You can change the sky many ways by using a layer mask or quick mask, or even a selection, but You will probably need to take out the rainbow also. I can see a nice little misty island far off into the horizon with a castle or even some palm trees on it.

thanx for the suggestion

. should I make it manually, or do you know a suitable brush?

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

2-ton wrote:

Also, the rainbow should be more etheral, more transparent. I think a wake in the clouds would look great, too, and a castle way off in the distance would work, but it would probably need to be faint and misty looking. And perhaps the clouds could be sloshing up around the bottom of the boat more so it looks a wee bit sunken into them. After all, boats are heavy, even sky-bound boats on their way to castles in the sky!

thanx for your suggestions

I think I will add castle and remove the rainbow

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

ofnuts wrote:

OK, I'm a science nerd but the rainbow yells "fake!" in so many ways:

1) it's too small (the visual angle of a rainbow is 2x42 degrees)
2) the red should be on the outside
3) to see a full rainbow, you should have the sun right behind you. The shadows on the ship tell a different story.

it is not a real rainbow of course

actually I intend to make it as some sort of "gate", but I think I will remove it. thanx for the suggestions

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

hanciong wrote:

molly wrote:

Very nice, You can change the sky many ways by using a layer mask or quick mask, or even a selection, but You will probably need to take out the rainbow also. I can see a nice little misty island far off into the horizon with a castle or even some palm trees on it.

thanx for the suggestion

. should I make it manually, or do you know a suitable brush?

These are Castle brushes below, there are plenty more, just type in castle brushes.

Castle Brushes
Here are a few of them.

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

molly wrote:

hanciong wrote:

molly wrote:

Very nice, You can change the sky many ways by using a layer mask or quick mask, or even a selection, but You will probably need to take out the rainbow also. I can see a nice little misty island far off into the horizon with a castle or even some palm trees on it.

thanx for the suggestion

. should I make it manually, or do you know a suitable brush?

These are Castle brushes below, there are plenty more, just type in castle brushes.

Castle Brushes
Here are a few of them.

God, sorry, actually I intended to ask this question the one who suggests wake/ripple in the ship trail. sorry again

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

ZWard117 wrote:

You could also add some current and some wake to the clouds.

thanx for the suggestion

. should I make it manually, or do you know a suitable brush?

molly · **Joined:** Apr 07, 2010 **Posts:** 14182

You can always use the smudge tool for dragging your clouds or wake around. Their are several ways and whatever works best is the way to go.

2-ton · **Posted:** Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:38 pm **(#14)**

I warp might work to make a wake, using the move option

hanciong · **Joined:** Oct 31, 2011 **Posts:** 112

2-ton wrote:

I warp might work to make a wake, using the move option

you know what, I actually thought the same way after I sent the question to you :-D