Hi all, I'm an advanced photoshop user but since today I just used it to retouch all pics from a photographic point of view.
I've no problem with all the features of photoshop but I'd like to push myself a little further.
I'm interested in a little photo-art retouch cause I want to keep my pics still on the side of photo and not on the "too much art-ed" side (it's just a personal choice). I'd like to reach something like this (just examples)

susi1 (http://susilawsonphotography.biz/layout/0001/gallery_view_detail.cfm?setid=53&startrow=2)
susi2 (http://susilawsonphotography.biz/layout/0001/gallery_view_detail.cfm?setid=53&startrow=1)
trimoon1 (http://www.trimoon.com/lightbox%202/pages/lightbox%20(22).htm)
trimoon2 (http://www.trimoon.com/lightbox%202/images/lightbox%20(21).jpg)

I know that both Susi and Trimoon are great artists and for sure I'm going to buy their dvd.
I'm referring just to the style of the above links, not to the others pics on their site, which have other styles of photo-art retouching.

I've no problem with the good old dragan style or the so called dave hill effect, I use textures, work on channels, target desaturation like-lucis effect, dodge-burn PWL and so on.
I can understand that some of these manips have been used on the above pics, but this is not my problem.
For sure, I don't want a step-by-step (for this I'll get their dvd), just a "first step" in order to understand if this kind of style I'm searching for is based on oil effects, watercolors or smudged pics, I'd like to focus myself just on the style I'm searching for, nothing more. So, are they (besides all the others PS manipulations I can understand) based on oil, watercolors or smudge??

I'm off to work and will respond later. You can do a search on this site for what you seek. There is a lot of information. Also look up Corel Painter and Jeremy Sutton on Google.

Now you say you have no problem with dragan or davel hill or doge/burn PWL. Look up Dave Hill on this site...there is a long long forum...I'd like to see your results and your response on what you did.

Welcome to RP, Scorpio...

The "arty, yet smooth skin look" is frequently a product of "smudge painting," which generally looks pretty good on portraits of subjects with fairly smooth skin to begin with, e.g., kids and brides. Doesn't work as well IMO on wrinkled skin or beards. This look is frequently achieved in Photoshop using custom Smudge tool presets. It's doable, too, in Corel Painter by using brushes from various categories, e.g., Blenders.

While you're DVD shopping, look into the Photoshop-based offerings by Brad Buttrey:

www.mmkgraphics.com/ (http://www.mmkgraphics.com/)

Of the two he's offering at this time, the "oil painting" title looks better suited for where you want to go.

Another learning resource would be very reasonably priced online smudge painting classes offered by Scott Deardorff, who is really good at this method.

http://www.digitalartacademy.com/instructors/scott-deardorff

Example from his pBase gallery:
http://www.pbase.com/sdfp/image/64610791

Hope this helps... Good luck on this new dimension of your creativity.

There is always this collection of links. That may be of some use
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/photo-art-resources/20346-smudging-resources.htm

Palms

skorpio, welcome to RP.

i'll only comment briefly here by saying, never forget, photography, by itself, can be art as well. so, "...retouch(ing) all pics from a photographic point of view." actually can be photo art, ya know?