What really makes a composite fly? Not the extraction, the edgework, the merge, the interaction of the ‘players’, the common tint, the over/under in/out of the shapes … though all of these have to be perfect.
It’s the light (and therefore also the shadows). Below is the image from a previous posting but with all of the lighting removed. It’s flat, it’s dull, it’s does not work. This is often as far as many compositors get with a picture, but it’s not far enough. You absolutely have to be able to work the light to make the picture sing.
