Exit
  • Global community
    • Language:
      • Deutsch
      • English
      • Español
      • Français
      • Português
  • 日本語コミュニティ
  • 한국 커뮤니티
4

Something for the Weekend - Part 249 - Poison Pen!

Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2025 Sep 12, 2025

Thanks to all who took part in our previous 'What goes up' challenge. 

This week something a bit different. I heard the phrase 'Poison Pen' in a TV drama recently and my thoughts arrived at the image below. Made in 3D, the objects on the 'desk' are from Substance 3D assets, which I textured, along with the desk, in Substance Painter.  The background was AI generated in Photoshop, using Firefly, and blurred to match the image before taking into Blender prior to rendering. Finishing was in Photoshop.
 
So we have our starter image, what will you do with it? You could use any or all of the objects, or make something using the entire scene. 

When you post your response can you add just a few words on how you went about it. It may help others see the potential of different approaches, software, and tools to such a challenge.

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, hover over the image and click on the circle with the arrows at the top right. 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).

 

SFTW249PoisonPen.jpg

 

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

 

Have fun!

 

Dave

TOPICS
iPadOS , macOS , Windows
3.9K
Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Adobe
replies 162 Replies 162
Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2025 Sep 12, 2025

Beautiful render, Dave 👍

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2025 Sep 12, 2025

Thanks Ged, I have to credit Adobe 3D team for the pen and bottle models. I just textured them. 🙂
Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 12, 2025 Sep 12, 2025

SFTW The Butler Did It (corrected).jpg

 

The butler did it!!

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 13, 2025 Sep 13, 2025

The butler, in the library, with poison. We'll have to add it to Cluedo. 🙂 Thanks for getting us started, Greg.

Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 25, 2025 Sep 25, 2025

It's got a James Bond vibe. 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 13, 2025 Sep 13, 2025

 

                                  THE ONE NO ONE MENTIONS

 

 

Click to get closer

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

Was that from one of our driftwood challenges, Jacob?

Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

It was from the streets of Warsaw, Dave, one of the challenges by Jane, and already applying coloured fluids to absorbent surfaces back then.

 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 25, 2025 Sep 25, 2025

Is that a horn? lol

 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Oct 11, 2025 Oct 11, 2025

Nick, it is as much as can be seen of a tusk and the trunk of the one in the room that no one mentions let alone suspects.

 

Some more of the same can be seen in (this link to) SFTW 83 Streets of Warsaw,

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 13, 2025 Sep 13, 2025

 

 

Click to get closer, Click again to get closer still

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

A snake in the pen! Keep you fingers away from the nib!

Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 15, 2025 Sep 15, 2025

Dave, to add how I went about this, oftentimes I use very simple means to merely show what I already see, as here:

 

A golden entrance
to a cave with a dweller:
a wee beauty snake,
who can slither out and in
as the guardian of the pen

 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 25, 2025 Sep 25, 2025

I was like What was changed. Then the snake popped out. Spooky!

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 13, 2025 Sep 13, 2025

Donny.gif

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

Brilliant compositing of this week's pen, Trevor. I like the grip in the second one. 🙂

Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

An interesting point about this is that it did not compress very well.  At 1000 pixels wide and 64 layers (I think) it exported at 20Mb!  To get under the forum's 10Mb max size limit, I had to drop the pixel size to 800 eide, and reduce colours to 64 (from 256).  I was surprised as there are large areas of similar colour in both still images.  They look surprisingly OK for having so few colours. I could have run the Oil Paint filter to flatten it making it a wee bit cartoon now I think of it.

 

Blimey, I tried with all Oil Paint settings at minimum and Lighting turned off, and the Gif came down from 20Mb to 1.2Mb.  It is back to 256 colours, but definitely a bit softer.  I think the 64 colour version looked a wee bit better, but that's a heck of a file size saving.

Donny-Animation.gif

 

I initially started reworking the pen to orintate it to a more conincing writing angle, and then had a Duh! moment and simply flipped it.  It's too small to see that the text on the clip is flipped.   

 

 

 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 24, 2025 Sep 24, 2025

Oh! his is brillant! Made me laugh a lot! 🙂 

 

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 18, 2025 Sep 18, 2025

Oh! Excellent!

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 19, 2025 Sep 19, 2025

Since I am neither a federal employee, nor a journalist, nor a comedian, so I can freely laugh about it!
Well done!

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 25, 2025 Sep 25, 2025

Wicked awesome!

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 14, 2025 Sep 14, 2025

"Hello, Sunshine""Hello, Sunshine"

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 15, 2025 Sep 15, 2025

Very dark James. Very moody.  I'm waiting for the glowing red eyes to rise up out of the water like the creature from the black lagoon.

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 16, 2025 Sep 16, 2025

It looks like the pen has been used to produce some ancient hieroglyphics, James. I like it.
Dave

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines