Photo Art Challenge

The client: A mother has brought you this photo of her daughter and wants it turned into a graphite pencil sketch.

This month the challenge is to turn the provided photo into a digital graphite pencil (grey tones not color) sketch on white paper.

You will be judging which entry is the best digital pencil sketch.

Please take the time to read the rules carefully to avoid your entry from being disqualified-- such as not putting your name in the file, or submitting a background with a color when the rules call for a white background. I will PM and post a warning in the Contest Discussion Thread to those not meeting the rules — so you might want to review it every so often. One draw back is that those that submit their entries at the very last moment might not have enough time to change them, so be sure to read the rules carefully. Once the contest deadline is up...the contest is over.


The File
outdoors3.jpg - 371 KB (http://retouchpro.com/contests/source_images/outdoors3.jpg)

Special thanks to Anita Patterson (http://www.morguefile.com./archive/?author=anitapatterson) for the photo use. If you would like to use this photo for purposes other than this contest please contact Anita for permission.

The Prize:
Digital Collage and Painting: Using Photoshop and Painter to Create Fine Art by Susan Ruddick Bloom (http://books.elsevier.com/focalbooks/default.asp?mscssid=G88XQG4DL05T9GE4FFBF7FNES4TF8J34&isbn=0240807057), donated by Focal Press.

Discover how the computer can be used to paint on photographs, incorporating other visual materials into images. "Digital Collage and Painting: Using Painter and Photoshop to Create Fine Art" explores technical aspects of aesthetic concerns of the new digital media as a medium for creative and imaginative work. Basic knowledge of Painter and Photoshop is needed. This book is both Mac and Windows based. Digital artists are looking to take their imagery to the next level and this book speaks to this hot topic.

THE RULES:

1. Contest will run from 1 May to 24 May 2006. Deadline for entries is 6pm EDT 24 May 2006.

2. I will not answer questions concerning the rules, interpretation of the rules is as important as execution.

3. When you submit your entry put your username in the filename (ie: tpaul.jpg). This is so users can save the images to a local directory and remember who did what--important when it comes time to vote.

4. Your entry is suppose to be a digital graphite pencil (grey tones not color) sketch on white paper.

5. Your final image size must be exactly 800 pixels high and 600 pixels wide.

6. Post your entries to this thread. Links will not be accepted. Please restrict your comments, questions or discussion to the May 06 Contest Discussion (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13470) thread. Inappropriately placed posts will be deleted.

7. Only one entry per person. You can change your entry up to the deadline.

8. Voting will run from 25 May to 31 May 2006. Only those with entries may vote. You will vote for the 5 best entries in order. Note you cannot vote for your own image. Also once you vote, you cannot change your votes.

Finally, please remember that this is a friendly contest and suppose to be a learning experience. Tips and suggestions to help others are highly encouraged. Also please don’t limit your comments to just the top 5 when you vote. Most members are eager for feedback about their images, so remember to help each other out.

Note: RetouchPro Moderators are allowed to enter

If you have a question check out the Contest FAQs (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13446) first...

Quick Links

May 06 Contest Votes (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13469)
May 06 Contest Discussion (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13470)

Here's mine

Hopeless at anything "Arty", but thought I'd have a go anyway. (please look at it at 100% or texture looks lousy).

Here is my attempt.

CarolB

Thought I'd take a stab.
Teri

Here's my try at it. Great contest!

An Attempt. Please view full size.

my try at it

never tried to post here before...hope it works. :square:

Here's my try.

Bart

Quite like doing sketches :D

there was nothing about frames, either legal or illegal, or if they could be color. i chose not to go color, but i did use a framing. hope that's ok. overall image size is still 600 x 800 so seemed ok.

craig

edit: ok, i liked my original entry, but i just couldnt convince myself that it really looked like a pencil sketch. i suppose it could have passed as such under some circumstances, but i wanted a PENCIL SKETCH. so, i've changed my entry.

edit: changed again due to some color still in the picture.

Not good at all.. :jaguar:

here is mine :)

Here's mine
~Nancy~

mine - still had to compress it 41%.

Hello, by the way! This is my first post.
Missy

Strictly into "retouch/restoration" until now. This is my first attempt at Digital Photo Art. There is still something wrong with this but I can't figure it out yet. : :ditsy: I'll try to improve this before the deadline.
---
5/05/2006 Update: Emphasize shadows and highlights
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5/16/2006 Update: Distorted/blurred the details on hair, mouth & eyes and shaded some more. I may have improved or ruined it but this is it. :happy:
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5/23/2006 Update: Begging your forgiveness everybody :bow::bawling: but I just have one more update. I've forgotten to add highlights to the eyes and lips. The previous upload looked dead. I also added shading to the right side of the pic to give it more balance.

kept it purposefully smudgy - I know when I was working with grpahite pencils, it got all over my hands and was very dirty and smudgy heh

For whats its worth here mine - not a simple as it looked this one

"Adaptation" of a Tim Shelbourne tutorial...

That was quite difficult task for me.

A first attempt ...

Stosh

Sort of the way I would have done it with real pencil. Base shades with lots of smudging and eraser touch up, and finished with heavy outlines.

wonderful picture to work with.

Here's my quickie version of it.

This was a tough one. Thanks for the challenge. I'm learning from each one!

Well I know nothing about doing photo art, but I've already spotted an entry I love and want to vote for, so I had to put an entry in!

My try. This was so fun to do. I wish I could submit more with different techniques and not enter the contest.

Janet

I also thought i would enter for the first time.

Palms

I attempted to get a "hatching effect" in the shadow areas... I've always admired traditional sketch artists who did this well.

After falling out of love with Painter for a long time - here I am doing a pencil sketch!
Sequence (as always):
- in Photoshop, do an arty / glamourish retouch;
- in Painter, paint :rolleyes: ;
- back to Photoshop, put in some Wow.

This was my first try, maybe I'll update this before time is up.

** Entry changed, 09 MAY 2006 **

Rô

Here is my entry.

Allan

my entry - photoshop and impressionist

Here is my try... Good luck to everyone :classic:

Nice change of pace - and easier than turning a sketch into a photo.

Here is mine.

Cathy :D

First entry!

Here's mine.
MargaretM

A really lovely photo to work from! I had a lot of fun experimenting with this! :happy:

...so this was very fun for me! I've learned more than I thought...

Here is my entry

Gave it a go...

Here is mine-- I feel another tough judging coming on! What has gotten into us the last few months?! :dizzy: -Kate

HI
I redid my entry. After reading the discussions I thought I would try to make mine look like they way I would have really drawn the protrait.

This isn't the version I did in Gertrudis Pro, which didn't work out, or either of the ones I tried to do in Deep Paint, or the two or three I did in Impressionist. This is the one I did in...I forget.

dc

Here's Mine

It's good to see so many familiar names in this contest,
and there so many great descriptions.

Lorraine

I always wanted to learn how to do this really high-end. Hopfully I'll pick up a few tips!! :nod:

Here is mine. Some nice work you guys.

This contest entry does not meet the rules and as a result has been disqualified.


From the Rules:

5. Your final image size must be exactly 800 pixels high and 600 pixels wide.

7. Only one entry per person. You can change your entry up to the deadline.

From FAQs… Note you are not allowed more than one entry so you will have to replace your original entry or delete it. If there are more than one entry per person at the end of a contest, all entries for that person will be disqualified.

One more time.

This contest entry does not meet the rules and as a result has been disqualified.


From the Rules:

5. Your final image size must be exactly 800 pixels high and 600 pixels wide.

7. Only one entry per person. You can change your entry up to the deadline.

From FAQs… Note you are not allowed more than one entry so you will have to replace your original entry or delete it. If there are more than one entry per person at the end of a contest, all entries for that person will be disqualified.

thought I'd give it a try :)

Here's what I did so far.. (it may change here and there until deadline)
Completely done in Artrage2 :)

:!: UPDATED :!:

sneaked this in between jobs

Here's my submission to a fantastic challenge. :)

and I will try .. :happy:
I used Gimp

My experience... Good luck all of you!

First post on the board. :) Thought I'd jump in trying the challenge. This was fun.

Here is mine...

First time here ^^ Lots of fun!

Here's mine. Haven't done any sketching since school, and that was a long time ago! :dizzy:

That was fun! ......where's my pad?

Been a while since I played around with charcoal. Used to love it, but always managed to get more on me than the drawing. Wasn't convinced at how effective it was going to be, but I guess that's up to you guys! lol
I hope you guys had as much fun as I did.

heres my entry :classic:

long time no post...

What a great contest this month! And some GREAT entries so far!!

Lots of great entries this month. I went for a subtle high key look...

My first attempt at turning a photo into a sketch....

More of a pencil portrait than pencil sketch, but that's my vision.

I adjusted my entry...thought that it didn't look finished, in the sense of being 'sketchy'...

Here is mine...

Wasn't sure if i was to add signature, but i didn't anyhow!

This contest entry does not meet the rules and as a result has been disqualified.
5. Your final image size must be exactly 800 pixels high and 600 pixels wide.

Looks like a fun challenge!

Doug

Thought I would give it a try...

Okay the votes are in and we have a winner…..

Congratulations Peth!

The Prize:
Digital Collage and Painting: Using Photoshop and Painter to Create Fine Art by Susan Ruddick Bloom (http://books.elsevier.com/focalbooks/default.asp?mscssid=G88XQG4DL05T9GE4FFBF7FNES4TF8J34&isbn=0240807057), donated by Focal Press.

Top 10
Peth – 61
TPaul – 55
Soleah – 52
Tie…InfiniteMonkey & NancyJ – 34
NorthernShadow – 33
Mseydel – 28
Bob Down – 23
Tie byRo & DannyRaphael -22