As with much digital work being done today, the basic program that I used was Adobe Photoshop. I worked in a fairly straight forward approach relying heavily on the multiple layer function of this program. This allowed me to create my images in segments while maintaining control over subtle nuances of each creation.
Each image had its beginning as a humble silver gelatin photogram made from using the individual components of a child's erector set. From the individual prints, black and white scans were made using an Agfa StudioScan II flatbed scanner. After a TIFF file was created and cleaned up, a master "template page" was assembled containing one of each part. I would then select and copy appropriate items as needed for each construction.
The android forms are the compliments of Terminator 2 and X-Men action figures -- eat your heart out, Arnold. This is where the flexibility of the StudioScan was very nice because it was possible to do a direct 3-D scan of the arm.
After the construction was completed, the Adobe Gallery Effects "plastic-wrap" filter was used to give a sense of dimensionality to the "flat" photogram and to also add a sense of illumination. The background was the final step since it was now necessary to work with the larger RGB color files. Wallpaper samples obtained from a local building supply store allowed for the creation of a "pattern" to fill the needed area without scanning a large sample.
Output is an Ilford IDI print with a resolution of 300 dpi.
Hardware: Macintosh Power PC with 40 megabytes of ram and 512 cache card, APS 540 external drive, APS Syquest 105 drive, and AGFA StudioScan II flatbed scanner.\
Dallas Walters
