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  • How'd They Do That? :: Chess Anyone?

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    Chess Anyone?
    by timj351


    The idea for 'Chess Anyone?' came about from doing a search on the internet for illusions. I liked the idea quite a bit and felt like I could recreate the illusion photographically. My intention was to create the same illusion with other objects instead of a chess set in order to be more original with the idea but after trying many different objects from wine glasses to figurines I came to the conclusion that the effect would be best conveyed with the use of a chess set. The long chess pieces and the squares of the chess board are very effective. In retrospect, I think I may have been able to pull off the illusion with a conventional chess board but I wasn't sure at the time so I settled on the fairly elaborate method that resulted. I wanted to work on a flat surface but have some room behind the chess board to set up the top chess pieces in the illusion. The diamond shape of the chess board profided a good middle line where it could transition from a 0 degree angle to a 45 degree angle unnoticeably.



    I have a lot of experience with Photoshop so creating the chess board was fairly straightforward. As you can see from the image the top half of the chess board was reduced vertically by 50% so when the top half of the chess board was tilted at a 45 degree angle and the board was viewed at the correct angle it would give the illusion of lying flat at a 45 degree angle to the camera. A marble texture from clip art was used for the texture to make it look more realistic. I printed two smaller boards that would fit on 8 1/2x11 paper to experiment with to see if the illusion would even work and the best way to set it all up. When I was satisfied that it would work I printed the chess board out in 4 sections that were assembled to create a chess board that was large enough to match the chess pieces that I had chosen. The heavy weight paper was divided along the edges of the squares to help hide the seems.



    The area of most concern was the 45 degree angle in the middle of the chess board that had to be hidden. It created a fairly difficult lighting challenge which I was able to resolve by positioning my primary light so that it was close to the camera and about 50 degrees to the chess board. By playing with the angle of the light as well as turning on various lights in the room I was able to get some pretty good even light that eliminated any unwanted shadows. The chess board was positioned on a piece of glass about 1 1/2 feet above the floor which was covered with a dark blanket.



    I originally intended to show the chess pieces with a reflection in the glass but I felt that it made the scene look too busy so instead, by using my polarizer filter, I eliminated the reflection. This created a totally black background and made the chess board look as if it were floating in space. Setting up the top chess pieces was a little tricky. I ended up using some thin pieces of card board, some tape, and some nickles for weights. Then it was just a matter of experimenting with the right positioning that looked the most effective. My decision was based primarely on the visual design and not on any gameplay stratedy. I took numerous photos and settled on this one. By reducing the image down to 640x480 it further reduced any visible seams and created what I felt was a convincing illusion. Some people disagreed with my cropping out the left and right corners but I felt that it helped to emphasise the chess pieces which were the main elements in the illusion. And there you have it. Chess Anyone?






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