Sometimes I can’t find a miniature or an artbook to photograph. So instead of not posting a symbol at all I compare it to the game asset.
I prefer comparing the symbols to real objects like an illustration in an artbook or a miniature.
But while I do own some Dark Souls items e.g. the Cloranthy Ring or the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring, some items are either not available or too expensive for me to buy.
In those cases I photoshop an in-game asset onto a photo of the book showing the symbol.
These are the steps I take to make the game asset blend into my photo:
1. Photo: Camera focused on the scene in general
2. Focus stacking: Overlay a second photo with they symbol in focus to make sure that’s nice and crisp
3. Original asset: Layering the masked original asset on the photo
4. Asset AI upscale: Asset resolution isn’t always sufficient (Dark Souls is an old game)
5. Integration: Matching asset and photo color palettes, painting shadows, reflections etc. to make the asset blend into the photo
6. Color Correction: Grading the whole image to make the colors come out in the best way