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April Fools


Binkmeister

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While some people thought this year's April Fools prank on BZP was weak, I would disagree. And not just because I thought of it. But I think it worked for several reasons.

  1. It wasn't expected. Everybody's grown used to huge, forum-wide pranks. This was just a simple little story.
  2. It was plausible at first, then increasingly unbelievable toward the end. You've got to set the hook before you reel them in.
  3. It was a gentle type of humor - it wasn't mean, it didn't promise anything and then yank it back, it didn't set up unrealistic expectations. For example, a news story that said, "LEGO plans to give away free solid gold kanohi in every other canister" would set an unrealistic expectation that would disappoint people when it was announced it was a joke.
  4. Not everything was incorrect in the story, but you won't find out about exactly what for a while yet.
  5. A lot of people started their reply post with, "You got me at first", or "You almost had me". That's the hallmark of a good prank.

So, because many people commented on the Photoshop work, I present below the stages in building a prank. And I coincidentally get to show off my mad Photoshop skilz.

 

Step 1: Get the idea. My youngest son is a huge fan of the Food Network, and watches altogether too much of it. That kid knows more about how to get the most out of your food dollar than anyone I know, and Alton Brown is his hero. (Well, why not.) After getting an Antroz set last week, he started dreaming up weird Food Network shows, including "Cooking With Makuta". Step 1: Complete.

 

prank_rachael_1.jpg

Step 2: Find a suitable picture on the Internet of an unsuspecting celebrity. I looked for Alton Brown first, but there were surprisingly few embarrasing images of him. So I settled for the lovely Rachael Ray.

 

prank_rachael_2.jpg

Step 3: As appealing as Teri Hatcher's butt is (to some of us), it had to go. A quick clone job in Photoshop got rid of most of the offending appendage.

 

prank_rachael_3.jpg

Step 4: Insert the Makuta of your choice. I liked this pose from Antroz, and the colors blended in with the background very well, so in he went. (Handy tip: When placing artwork into another photo, you can either spend countless hours outlining the object with Photoshop's pen tool; or, preferably, get yourself hired by LEGO and simply download the full-resolution, pre-outlined artwork from the image bank.)

 

prank_rachael_4.jpg

Step 5: Add ridiculous apron with rude motto, just small enough so nobody can read it and complain.

 

prank_rachael_5.jpg

Step 6: Take some parts of the table, sauce, and bowl from behind Antroz and his spiffy apron, cut it out, and then paste it back over on top of the subject.

 

Voila, you have a picture good enough to eat.

 

27 Comments


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Really nice, Bink! Antroz fits right into the picture. And nice job editing in the apron, too --- I really thought it was a picture of an Antroz set wearing a Barbie apron. :lol:

 

Hurrah! Now we know the secrets to revealing Gadunka on Trading Spaces and Vezon on Emeril!

 

Turakii

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Bink, can you, uh, lend us a few of those full-resolution, pre-outlined artwork images from the image bank? :rolleyes:

 

Anywho, nice job on the picture, I really got a kick out of it. Did Black Six request that you create said prank photo? Or was the whole plan conjured up by you?

 

BTW, I bet the real thing within the prank was the "Art of Bionicle" Coffee Table Book.

 

~Articus

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I may be out of line, but IMHO, the hallmark of a good prank is being able to take in people for a given amount of time--for BZP, the day. I think that shutting down LGD and COT was a good prank; it was outrageous yet perfectly believable, and the truth wasn't revealed until the next day. No one could prove that it was a prank until the makers came out and said it.

 

And all those people who live in COT got to come and enjoy what BZP is really about. =P

 

:w:

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Now that you point it out, I can spot that clone tooling behind Antroz.

 

I think the slowly-getting-ridiculous articles are nice for a change every now and then.

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Now that you point it out, I can spot that clone tooling behind Antroz.

Yeah, I notice that now too. But since parts of the picture were initially blurred, it doesn't really stand out.

 

What's the rude motto that we can't make out?

 

:music:

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As appealing as Teri Hatcher's butt is (to some of us), it had to go.

That sentance made me double take. :blink:

 

Anyways, I was wondering where that Antroz image came from, cause I've never seen it. Now I know that you got it straight from the source while the rest of us suffer with those JPGs. :(

 

~Doctor! Doctor!

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(Handy tip: When placing artwork into another photo, you can either spend countless hours outlining the object with Photoshop's pen tool; or, preferably, get yourself hired by LEGO and simply download the full-resolution, pre-outlined artwork from the image bank.)
[influence]Those things would make great Kanoka Club prizes, especially for those who like to make their own wallpapers.[/influence]

 

:D

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Yeah, that picture was great! Good job. Nifty prank idea too, it was fun seeing a Bionicle Cookbook out there. (I got my dad a Star Trek Cookbook (cover shows Nelix) for father's day. It's amazing what franchises can do!)

 

Hmm...get hired by Lego and you can get pictures that have a pure white background without any fuzzies. I've got to remember that.

 

Any chance you can get our hands onto some of those pre-outlined artwork from the image bank? (Or will that get you fired?) Please?

 

-CF

 

Edit: Shine does have a great point there.

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You don't need to outline it with the pen tool, I NEVER outline it with the pen tool, I stink at Vector.

 

Just use the Quick selection or something.

 

BTW, what is the rude motto?

 

~:t::m::n:

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Alton Brown is his hero. (Well, why not.)

 

Mine too!

 

This was by far my favorite April Fools prank, I did believe it at first, then the whole food thing totally made since to me, bravo.

 

T

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You don't need to outline it with the pen tool, I NEVER outline it with the pen tool, I stink at Vector.

 

Just use the Quick selection or something.

Since I spent a dozen years in the prepress field, I'm particular about how to cut things out. I used to do it for a living, so I know all the tips 'n tricks on making it go quickly. Relatively quickly, anyway. I probably could've cut Antroz out in about an hour. Photoshop CS3's selection tool is better now that it used to be, and I'll use it for quick and dirty outlines (especially if there's a decent differentiation between the object and its background), but for quality work, you really need the pen tool to avoid the halo effect.

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Step 3: As appealing as Teri Hatcher's butt is (to some of us), it had to go. A quick clone job in Photoshop got rid of most of the offending appendage.


Why did you do that?

Anyway great job, almost fooled me.


~S~L~
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(Handy tip: When placing artwork into another photo, you can either spend countless hours outlining the object with Photoshop's pen tool; or, preferably, get yourself hired by LEGO and simply download the full-resolution, pre-outlined artwork from the image bank.)
[influence]Those things would make great Kanoka Club prizes, especially for those who like to make their own wallpapers.[/influence]

 

:D

*influence check failed*

 

Ahh, so that's how you did it...

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