5/6/10 UPDATE! CHANGES GALORE! tiki backdrop on the cheap needed for a photoshoot...

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions regarding how to achieve a tiki-look backdrop of either thatch, split bamboo, or palm trees on the cheap. I need this for a photoshoot and it will be somewhat obscured by various set dressings in the foreground such as plants and moody lighting.

I'm thinking of using a Scene Setter type of wall covering from Party City (or other big box party supply store) which, coincidentally enough, comes in a bamboo pattern. I know that's like heresy on these boards but the backdrop will be barely visible in the finished photo and I just need something there aside from a solid color or the interior of my garage poking through the palm fronds. I also don't need the backdrop to be permanent. If I did, and money were no object, you can bet I'd be building a real split bamboo wall! Sadly, this is only a temporary project.

I'm also toying with the notion of using one of those photo-realistic "palm trees at sunset" vinyl shower curtains instead. However, doing so means I'd have to rethink my lighting plan since the colors of the sky don't really mesh well with the colored lighting I have in mind for the foliage and carved tiki. They're the stars of the photograph I'll be taking so I just want something generally scene appropriate that'll make them stand out.

Any suggestions aside from what I've already mentioned? Has anyone used the "Luau" Scene Setters from Party City to great success?

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-03-23 18:10 ]

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-04-29 13:09 ]

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-05-01 16:54 ]

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-05-02 09:20 ]

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-05-05 09:28 ]

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-05-06 13:45 ]

I have no suggestions for you but I enjoyed reading your request for help. I'd love to see your photos when they are done. Good Luck, Wendy

On 2010-03-14 14:59, DejaVoodoo wrote:
it will be somewhat obscured by various set dressings in the foreground such as plants and moody lighting.

If you're going with moody lighting, Im guessing that means pretty dark with minimal/strategic use of light to acheive that? How about using some black velvet as the backdrop? Black velvet is the blackest black (thats why velvet painters use it!), and also means the viewers attention is solely fixed on your subject.

On 2010-03-17 01:10, hewey wrote:

On 2010-03-14 14:59, DejaVoodoo wrote:
it will be somewhat obscured by various set dressings in the foreground such as plants and moody lighting.

If you're going with moody lighting, Im guessing that means pretty dark with minimal/strategic use of light to acheive that? How about using some black velvet as the backdrop? Black velvet is the blackest black (thats why velvet painters use it!), and also means the viewers attention is solely fixed on your subject.

That's actually a fantastic idea! I'd planned to keep the background as black as possible without actually going all the way black. I'd like the lighting (and resulting shadows created) to be the "black" in the photo and still have some other kind of natural element besides the wooden tiki. Thatch, reed, and bamboo trimmed walls seem the norm and would read as "hut/bar interior" verses some generic blackness, however those materials are expensive and I'd only need something like a maximum 4 foot by 5 foot span to fill the right side of the composed shot as well as the "holes" between the plant leaves. Does that make sense?

But, because of your post, I'm thinking this whole photo could take on a velvet painting vibe and be totally cool, if not what I'd originally had in mind. Hmmm...

After checking out the myriad of natural fiber and sewn/woven grasscloth wallpapers available, I decided that, at $40 and up a roll, it simply wasn't worth investing all that money for a backdrop that is, essentially, a "2 second" set dressing and may or may not be seen in great detail. Still, I didn't know where to turn.

After the wallpaper store I made my way to my local JoAnn's Fabric & Craft where I found some awesome cotton print Indonesian batiks and some generic "ethnic" block print fabrics that looked a little too African and not enough south seas jungle. I almost settled on a small brown, cream, and orange tapa-esque print however I deemed it too busy and felt that all the textures and patterns in the photograph would compete with each other. So, I started thinking what if I just use plain old burlap as a textured wall behind the tiki. I'd get the woven look I was after and it was dirt cheap at $3 a yard.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized the burlap was just too blah. There were no color variations and I feared it might look too much like the inside of a sack of potatoes. It didn't help that the color of the burlap I chose was IDAHO. Needless to say, I kept looking. I almost settled on a rougher woven tan and cream printed cotton that was the right color, but it just seemed too safe and predictable. And then I hit the jackpot!

In the remnant red tag sale bin, Sandwiched between two larger bolts of fabric, I found a dark tan, jade green, and cream upholstery fabric that was actually made up of long horizontal strands of rather wide chenille sewn together much like the woven grasscloth wallpapers have the little threads holding everything together. When I unrolled the fabric from the bolt, the remnant piece was the perfect size for my photo. It even had little bits of black running through it and if you didn't know it was fabric and NOT grasscloth wallpaper, I doubt you'd ever be able to tell the difference! At $6 a yard, the bolt claimed to contain 2.8 yards so I started doing the math...hmmm almost $18 - that's better than the wallpaper option, but still a bit pricey for what I needed it for. I asked the lady cutting the fabric how much was actually on the roll and turns out it was a few inches over one yard. $6 for this amazing fabric that would work perfectly for my photoshoot? SOLD! Talk about tiki on a budget! Mission accomplished!

Now I can't wait to actually take the picture. And when all is said and done, I'd be happy to post the final product here for all to see. Thanks for all the great suggestions and encouragement!

In addition to finding my tiki backdrop cloth today, I got to thinking about other props I could/want to include in the photo. I've had Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room on my mind as of late and I'm wondering if a parrot perched on top of, or near, the carved tiki in the photo would be cool? Birds were everywhere in the Enchanted Tiki room so why couldn't they work for my purposes? There are some awesome prop parrots available. Hmmm...

Still, part of me wonders if the parrot would send my photo into Jimmy Buffet, Caribbean Islands territory.

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-03-20 11:49 ]

Make sure you share the pics :D

On 2010-03-20 03:13, hewey wrote:
Make sure you share the pics :D

Oh I will! You can bet on that!

Well, I had a change of heart and decided against the green chenille upholstery fabric background. It's just too darn plain, as interesting as it is, and I decided that tapa cloth is the way to go, after receiving the Ken Darby & Alfred Newman "Ports Of Paradise" album (the artwork is covered in tapa).

Since I can't find/buy/make some bamboo poles on the cheap in MARCH (if it were closer to summer, I'd just behead a bunch of Tiki torches and be done with it!) I figured, as long as I'm staging a Tiki photo, I might as well have something authentic looking that's without a doubt Polynesian. The brown tapa print bark cloth I found online is awesome!

As it is, the background I'm designing is going to be a mash up of traditional artifacts with a nod towards the more commercial side of Tiki that everyone goes crazy for at backyard BBQs. I'm confident that I've figured out a way to pay homage to both and STILL come up with a final product that is dark, moody, and respectful to the origins of Tiki. We'll see, though. Stay tuned. I'm planning the photoshoot for sometime in April. Until then...

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-03-20 11:47 ]

ARGH! So the tapa print cloth I bought online is discontinued and out of stock! Oh well. Now I'm gonna try to paint/draw my own. At least I saved nearly half of what I planned to spend on a commercially available piece of fabric. We'll see how this all turns out.

There was a REALLY good thread somewhere here where someone made some great looking fake tapa with just butcher paper and watercolor paint.

My first thought was burlap, landscapers buy boat loads from Lowe's or Home Depot for almost nothing. The next thought was to buy some reed bamboo fencing from Home Depot and then return it after you photograph it. you could also paint a tapa style look on the burlap with any old brown paint or stain. Good Luck! :)

On 2010-03-20 19:56, 4WDtiki wrote:
There was a REALLY good thread somewhere here where someone made some great looking fake tapa with just butcher paper and watercolor paint.

Sure is! TIKIVILLE did a real nice job creating one. Here's the link:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31694&forum=18&hilite=tapa

Also, Howland made some stamps and created his own tapa cloth as well (scroll down a bit on each link to see the tapa stamps):

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20343&forum=18&vpost=298281&hilite=tapa

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=20343&forum=18&vpost=332005&hilite=tapa

I don't know what your budget is, but you can get 4x8 lauhala matting pretty cheap

http://www.franksupply.com/tropical_matting.htm#lauhala

Good luck!

So, here we have the humble beginnings of homemade tapa.

I took ordinary 3M brand brown postal wrapping paper and cut about a five foot length from the roll. Then I brushed both light and dark brown acrylic paint across the surface in wide, sweeping strokes with a rather large brush. The first pass was thinned with water and once that dried, I followed suit with a mixture of paint and glaze in a dark brown color. Next I drew some preliminary guidelines with a pencil and straightedge, such as the band at the bottom and the triangle pattern, and then using an acrylic paint marker, I went to town first freehand tracing the pencil lines I'd made earlier and then adding what little decorations you see in the picture below.

I haven't quite figured out what I want to draw in the rest of the blank areas (any ideas?), but so far, I think this looks pretty good! I think when all the black is finished, I'm going to further age/distress the entire piece with a lighter glaze wash to simulate the woven fibers of fabric. Then again, I might not. It all depends how brave I'm feeling at that point!

Looks great!

Here's an updated progress shot

Still lookin' good? Sorry for the glare.

Now that the top triangle is finished, I have no clue what I want to do in the blank triangles on the left and right of the design. I'd really like to not repeat a pattern if I don't have to but I'm thinking I might have to. :(

This is a lot of fun, if a bit time consuming. And I decided I'm definitely gonna wash the whole thing with a dark glaze to decrease the contrast and make it look old. More to come...

Looking great!

Just another progress shot to keep you all updated before I apply the glaze.

I think I went a little too bold with the left and right portions of the design in my haste to finish. It doesn't read as well in a photograph as the center, downward pointing triangle section does. Oh well, it's too late now!

What I do like about my design is that I didn't really repeat any patterns outright. I may have used similar patterns but they're all unique and different enough to keep the eye moving around the image.

Saturday, I glaze over the entire thing. That should be fun! :)

Today was the day! For the photoshoot, that is. With my faux homemade tapa cloth in hand I set out for the darkness of the garage. There I assembled my cheap backdrop, thanks in no small part to Big Lots! As you'll see in the following pictures, I used my tapa cloth on the top and two faux grass table skirts on the bottom to give the backdrop some variety and interest. It was more economical for my purposes than any bamboo I could find in my area and truly suited the needs of this little project of mine perfectly. Once the backdrop was established, I began building my scene in front of it. First I positioned the large plants, then the carved tiki and dollar store torches, and finally the lighting that would make everything look like it all belonged together.

Here's the scene at its crudest. You'll see, as the pictures progress, that I added and subtracted plants as necessary, including some bright salmon colored hibiscus garland I also bought at Big Lots! It's between the tapa and grass skirting if you can't find it. The garland chair rail doesn't add much, but it does help to make the line between the two materials softer and less contrasty.

Here's another angle of the above picture. That styrofoam cooler in the foreground is my makeshift camera tripod. God bless TV snack trays. Where would we all be without them?

OK. Here's where things start to get interesting. As you can see, I've refined the arrangement of the scene and finally managed to achieve a lush jungle atmosphere. Moving on...

Lighting is EVERYTHING! The scene is still zoomed out too much at this point, and it's a tad blurry. However, of all the sots I took, this was the only one with the lighting where you could see the rough edges of the photoshoot. I continued refining my lighting and composition in take after take and ultimately arrived at...

With minimal Photoshop enhancement (you didn't think I was crazy enough to light those torches in the house, did you!?), here is the final (almost) shot. It was so cool to capture 90% of the detail and color saturation you see in the above photo live in the "studio." Doing so makes the finished product that much more real and believable.

Anyway, from this point I'm going to add some text in the top right hand corner and call it a day, although I'm sure I'll continue to tweak the small details over the next week or two. I'm quite pleased with the results so far and hope you all enjoyed seeing the process. Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions along the way!

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-04-29 16:58 ]

LOVE IT!!! Great depth, great lighting and colors!

Yeah, with that lighting, your photo looks like a Parker painting. Cool!

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Lookin' at the photo now, you may wonder why it's severly cropped. Well, I'm using it as the base image for a CD label I'm designing. The blank space in the upper right hand corner is where the title text will go. And the cropping is tight because a good portion of the image gets hacked off when the square design translates to a circle during the printing process. It's all good though. I'm just having a difficult time picking a title font and color. I'm thinking orange will work well, but I'll have to test out a few options.

I'm glad you enjoy my work! :)

Perfect for the Porno you are shooting, wink wink!

Great job!

Just keeping everyone updated on the progess of my CD label project...

With the photoshoot finished, I'm now choosing font options for the title text. Here's what I've come up with so far:

and

I like the skinnier font, however I think it looks a little wimpy when combined with the other, more bold, elements in the photo. The thicker font may be the way to go in this case. Plus, with it's interlocking characters, it pays homage to Disney's "The Enchanted Tiki Room." Which do you prefer?

I just now decided that I don't like the subtitle font. Maybe something with a bamboo look to it? Hmmm...

Looks great!

I vote for the skinny font.

Second one is hard to read. I vote the first, just beef up the lines a little.

Overall looks great!

Thanks for the tips so far. Still more font options and other tweaks...

and

I actually like the second font a lot. It has a playful, retro vibe to it without being too cartoony and still looks exotic.

I'm torn between picking more elegant/classic fonts or totally playing up the kitsch factor of my design. The lighting is cool but with all the different colors, I fear the background photo suffers from a case of "Batman Forever" over-the-top comic book syndrome. Stay tuned as I'm sure there'll be more samples to peruse in the near future.

I like the first type option

I like the first of the last two. Nice work :D

I agree with hewey.

I like this font best:

To me, it has the most vintage tiki graphics/design feel to it of all the choices so far.

Love the behind the scenes shots! The final image looks awesome! And your homemade tapa came out great - glad it shows in the final photo!

So what is this CD project? If it's half as cool as the CD art, it will be pretty darn amazing!

Thanks to everyone who replied and offered their advice and glowing words of encouragement. :) I must confess I had a minor artists crisis recently...you know, the one where you think your work is sh!t and should be destroyed in a violent hell-fire. I considered scrapping the entire project and reimagining it from the ground up. Luckily, I came to my senses and realized that I could make what I'd already completed work...somehow. I just needed to tweak it further and address the challenges I was facing head on. Anyway, with all that being said, there've been MORE changes made!

I've now retitled the project (hopefully it'll stick!) to "In The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room: The Enchanted Sounds Of Poynesian Pop." I love the song and even though it technically isn't Exotica, per se, it's still a heck of a lot of fun to listen and sing along to. Let's call it my homage to Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.

I've also reconfigured the text to better fit the shape of my "canvas" and get rid of a lot of the negative space I originally had going on in my design. I know some negative space is a good thing, but the background image was so detailed, it just looked silly to have such a short title and all this space around it. Plus, the scale of the type, compared with the scale of the Tiki and torches, looked odd and disproportionate. So, here's what I've got so far:

First you'll see the design as it fills the entire square canvas followed by a "matted" version that only reveals what will actually be printed on the disc.

Now, I need your help, oh wise members of Tiki Central! I've narrowed my font options down to two (maybe three, thanks to the kind words of tobunga in the previous post!), however I'm not sure which one I prefer in conjunction with the subtitle/secondary font, Chinese Rocks, I've chosen (which ISN'T changing). The main font in the photo above is titled Motel King. Here's how it pairs up with the subtitle sans all the fancy text effects.

And now here's option #2. It's called Hideaway.
Honestly? I like 'em both, although I think Hideaway is too tall and similar to Chinese Rocks whereas Motel King is low slung and wider offering a nice contrast to the condensed caps of Chinese Rocks. Still, Hideaway ain't bad. Too much contrast could be bad.

I'm also slightly troubled with the Liberty Records logo. I like the shape of it in the overall concept of my design, however, a vintage Exotica collection titled "In The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Room" would never appear on Liberty Records - not if Uncle Walt had anything to say about it! Perhaps the Disneyland Records logo might look better?

Please keep the comments and suggestions coming. I feel this project is nearing completion. I just need to square away a few more details...

More subtle but necessary changes...

So, I thought using a Disneyland Records versus a Liberty Records logo would make the concept of this design a little too wholesome. After all, The Enchanted Tiki Room soundtrack only makes up a small portion of the music I'm including on my compilation. The rest is pretty much "hardcore" exotica with a few Hawaiian songs thrown in for good measure. However, after seeing the vintage Disney logo in conjunction with the title text design, it just flat out works and makes me smile! :) Much more than I ever thought it would!

Another change you may or may not notice in the new sample above is that I detatched the white stroke from around the title text and set is slightly askew. There's also subtle drop shadow on the stroke that makes it seem to float. Now the title text treatment is unique and lively looking. Exactly what was missing before!

What do you think, though? Liberty or Disneyland? Should I keep the title font as shown or use font option #2 from my post above?

[ Edited by: DejaVoodoo 2010-05-06 13:42 ]

Any thoughts on the semi-recent changes, guys? :-?