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davescm
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 9, 2026
Question

Something for the Weekend - Part 269 - Off the cuff!

  • October 9, 2026
  • 7 replies
  • 63 views

Thanks to all who took part in our ‘mystery’ challenge. It is amazing to see the variations explaining what might have happened in the woods.

Those who regularly take part in these challenges will know that sometimes we start with an object and sometimes a scene. This week it is the turn of these handcuffs. They are from Adobe 3D assets and were textured in Substance Painter, along with the other objects, then rendered in Blender 3D, before finishing in Photoshop. How will you use the cuffs? Will they appear on someone in your image or will you turn them into something else completely?

The “rules”:

  • Use the starter image as at least part of your own image entry.
  • Anything goes, as long as it meets the forum rules on decency, copyright, etc.
  • Anyone, and everyone, is welcome to have a go, whether you are a complete beginner or a Photoshop expert. This is not just for our forum “regulars”.
  • The challenge is not limited to Photoshop. Any Adobe software can be used. 
  • There are no prizes apart from the chance to practice, show off your skills, or bring a bit of humor and fun. Don't be shy, join in and have a go!
  • The starter image is made available for you to use in this forum challenge only.

To download the starter image, click it, then, when the image opens in its own window, right-click and choose “Save Image As/Save Target As” (or similar, depending on your browser).

 

 

When posting back your image, please use the reply button in this first post and use the 'Insert Photos' icon at the bottom of the reply box. If posting a comment on someone else’s entry, then please use the reply button next to their image post.


Have fun!

 

Dave.

    7 replies

    Greg_S.
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    Hello, hello, hello!!!

     

     

    bebarth
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    Wait… WHAT?! Inmate 269 escaped this morning — and he left his getaway bike on my desk! Sprint for the woods indeed…

     

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    Now that’s clever.  I love the details like the blue light and paper-clip seat riser.  The newspaper is a nice touch as well, right down to the date.  I feel like there is too much going on to have done this with a single AI prompt, but at the same time, some of the details are better than we usually see with manual composites.  The shadows for instance.  They are taking height from the newspaper really really well.  The pedal has the most offset, and biggest shadow offset to match. The wheels are closest to the newspaper and have the least shadow offset.  I’d be seriously impressed if that was down manually?

    So was it a single Prompt, or a mix of generative AI and manual compositing?  I do a lot of mine in stages.  Rasterize the GenAI layer to lock in the details, and use a new prompt to add new detail.

     

    Jacob Bugge
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

     

    Click to get closer, Click again to get closer still

    JR Boulay
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    For those interested I took the picture in Shin Forest, Scotland a few years ago. The spade and boots are Adobe 3D assets which I textured in Adobe Substance Painter before rendering in Blender 3D and compositing in Photoshop.

    Oops!

    😉

    Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
    davescm
    Community Expert
    davescmCommunity ExpertAuthor
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    Oops indeed. Thanks JR, I’d copied it in from last week. I’ve corrected it now.
    Dave

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    October 9, 2026

    The person I would like to see wearing those cuffs would merge into that orange background.