Play | Iron Throne

Today, winter is coming once again! (That means a new season of Game of Thrones for those of you who live under rocks.) Which is perfect timing to show a making-of of something I created featuring yours truly on the Iron Throne. As I made it last winter, I couldn't quite remember all the steps, so this is less detailed than other design posts I've done but shows the main bits of work.




The background for this piece is one of the numerous wallpapers of the Iron Throne that floats around the Interwebs. I cropped it into a more fitting shape:
 

As I'm out of the country at the moment, I don't have access to the original image of me, which is unfortunate for you because in it I'm balancing on an office chair while keeping my legs up and trying not to lose my grip on the combined works of Edgar Allan Poe. But here is the rough-cut of what was used in the final piece:

I cleaned up the edges of the layer and painted in some shadow behind it. I also added a Brightness/Contrast layer to increase the contrast:

Here, highlights and shadows have been added to create more drama in the picture and make it fit in better with the background. A High Pass filter added more detail:

Stages of the cuppa: Shadow on the floor and on the mug itself, inner shadow, steam, and tea bag tag:

To make the whole image feel a bit more gritty and interesting, a parchment texture set to Overlay was added:

Finally, a few Layer Adjustments. Vibrance to desaturate, Curves for more contrast, and a Photo Filter: Blue (creates a colder feel to it):

And I'm all set for Westeros.