The Illuminators was created from the images shown here on the left.

The first stage is to create a basic composite by cutting out and layering the elements - a kind of electronic collage. 

Once the raw composite is assembled, lighting effects and atmosphere are added in Photoshop by hand.

Although the techniques are utterly different, years of lighting movie sets has made the subjective part of this process very instinctive.

Click anywhere in the image to see just how dramatically the lighting changes it, bringing it alive and giving it credence. Click again to return.