Add the background image
- In the Utility Panel, click on the 'File Browser' tab.
- Navigate to the location of the downloaded sunset image (Red Sunset.jpg) and drag it into the Canvas.
- Position the sunset image in the center of the Canvas.
- Move the sunset image behind the hand by choosing Object->Send to Back (or pressing 'Cmd+{').
We'll need to place the hand image so that the cropped edge is offscreen, and we'll blur the background to crudely simulate depth-of-field.
Position the hand
- Select the hand image and view the 'Properties' tab of the Inspector.
- In the Position parameter, set the value to (180, -140).
Blurring the background will help to make the finished product more convincing. We'll use the Gaussian Blur filter, but you can use Defocus for a slightly more accurate result, though it processes much more slowly than Gaussian Blur.
Blur the background
- With the sunset image selected, go to the 'Add Filter' toolbar menu and choose Blur->Gaussian Blur.
- In the Gaussian Blur filter settings, change the Amount to 3.
- Enable Crop (check the checkbox).
Our last step before building our lightwrap will be some basic color-correction of our hand. The sun is nearly set in our background, and the sky is awash with reds and oranges. Also, the sun is located behind the hand, so it should be in near-silhouette.
Color-correct the hand
- With the hand image selected, go to the 'Add Filter' toolbar menu and choose Color Correction->Contrast.
- In the Contrast filter settings, set the Contrast to 0.65.
- Set the Pivot value to 0.35.
- With the hand image selected, go to the 'Add Filter' toolbar menu and choose Color Correction->Gamma.
- In the Gamma filter settings, set the Gamma to 0.30.
- With the hand image selected, go to the 'Add Filter' toolbar menu and choose Color Correction->Color Balance.
- In the Color Balance filter settings, set the Midtone Red to 0.15.
We reduced the hand's contrast to tone down the highlights, brought down the gamma to darken it, and boosted the reds to reflect the color of the sun and sky.
Our foreground's color is now appropriate to the scene, but the harsh contrast between the hand and the glow of the sunset keeps them from feeling integrated. This is where the lightwrap technique comes into play.