PHOTO ART: Mini-Challenge #05

Here’s another “mini-challenge” to play with in the Photo-based Art category.

Unlike “official challenges” for this forum posted here (http://www.retouchpro.com/challenge/art/index.html), this one will be self-contained within this thread. It is intended as a souce of amusement until the next official challenge is posted.

The rules are more-or-less the same:
* It’s a challenge, not a contest -- intended to provide opportunities to experiment, share methods and/or techniques..
* Everyone who participates is a winner.
* There’s no expiration date.

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#5 – Bridge

Here's an image with gobs of Photo-based potential.

Guidelines:
1. Use any method, application(s), filters, plug-ins, style, whatever you like to convert this photo to “art.” Watercolor, oil, pastel, Art History Brush, sketch, van Gogh (eek!), convert to black and white, add a frame, hand-paint it, superimpose an image of Michael Jordan over it, animate it, etc. – Makes no difference. Whatever floats your boat as long as you follow guideline #4 in the process.

2. When done, reply to this thread and attach your work (don’t forget the 100K size limit). Note: Multiple entries OK if you’re so inspired.

3. By all means include some verbiage on how you achieved your masterpiece so others will benefit from your skills and experience.

4. Have fun.

The Sandbox is OPEN! Go for it. :)

~DannyR~

I was going to post an entirely different version, and then I tried something at the last minute and decided to post it instead. I can't quite believe how I got to this point from where I was. I think I'll post the "original" so you can see the difference, which is just one layer overlay changed.
:wavey:

I really like this image, Danny! This was a lot of fun to play with.

As a matter of fact, I got so engrossed in playing that I lost track of what I was doing.... This is basically it, although I'm sure I've forgotten a few steps somewhere...

:)

I duplicated the BG layer several times. I ran paint engine on one layer @ a strong Arctic setting. On another layer, I did paint daubs. Sat layers to various blending modes that I can't remember at this point. Did a Chroma Solarize (Flaming Pear) on one. I erased the sky on most of the layers except the chroma solarize one, and I changed the chroma solarized layer to difference which was what caused the darkened sky effect. I painted in a moon, and then added moon rays with Solar Cell (another trick in the Flaming Pear pack).

I added a layer and painted in some white highlights with my brush set to dissolve.

That's about it!

This version is what I was going to put up, and the only difference between this and the bridge 4 is I copied the green channel from the original and set the blend mode to difference (and a Splat! texture filter). Literally like night and day the difference difference made.
:wavey:

A sunny day at the bridge. Bright, ain't it!

I'm going to stop - really I am...
:wavey:

I said I was GOING to stop. I think I've stopped now, but I keep going back to guideline #4...
:wavey:

:)

Great fun, guideline #4 is a live and well.:) Duplicated, Style, orange gradient w/shadow, Exclusion. Then I don't know what happened, or how I got what I got, but I liked it. Exclusion again, then applied, filter, diffuse glow. That's about it. Thanks, Danny.:)

Wanda

I checked all the entries and all well done...

I reconstructed the bridge and some idiot tries to wreck it.
:)
tom c

That is just great, Tom! I wondered when I saw that it was a GIF why you had decided to use that format. I love it!
:wavey:

That is just toooo cute, Tom! :D

Children! Children!

I'm off RetouchPRO for a couple days while the site irons itself out. When I return I find You're having WAY too much FUN!

It makes my heart go pitter-patter.

~~~~~~~~~~
Tom:

Good thing you opened the door to animation. Cleverly done.

Perhaps, "A Bridge Way Too Far Out" is more like it. :)

Maybe you could craft a "Bambi meets Godzilla"-like bridge stomp on your next version.

~~~~~~~~~~

Well done gang.

~Danny~

:)

Tom, this is just toooo cool, very ingenious:) Excellent pilot too;) Love your animations!!!

Wanda

Tom
Love it. :D Boy you sure can fly that thing. :lol: Really cool.
DJ

I gave this mini-challenge a try. :) I used PhotoImpact 7 and applied one of it's built-in natural painting effects, watercolor. I then copied and pasted another copy over the image and applied an emboss effect to that. In the merge method, I used overlay, to give the image a little depth. Now for the sky, it was pretty much washed out so I used the magic wand in addition mode to select the different sky sections and converted that to an object. I made two copies of the object and filled one with a two color gradient using two shades of blue. I then merged the other one to it using the multiply mode to maintain a suggestion of the clouds in the right hand bridge arch. I applied one of Paint Engine's effects to the sky object to give it some brushed texture, then merged the sky back into the picture. At last I appled an edge mask and drop shadow. The results are what you see here.

BK - I love the last version that you posted!! I opened it and an audible "Ooooooo" came out. ;) Very nicely done!

Jeanie

Jim that turned out beautiful

Danny..nobambi or godzill....just Duckzilla:)
tom

Tom...

Never has the LOL (laughing out loud) abbreviation been so appropriate. I just busted up when I opened this one. What a fabulous contribution.

You've definitely got the FUN spirit. This is great! :dizzy: :bow: :grin: :lmao:

I can already visualize the rowboat sinking in #6! :)

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Jim:

When I saw yours, I said out loud, "Wow! That's COOL!"

The 3D-ish / mosaic-tile-like effect is excellent. Had you achieved this effect before or did you discover it while tooling on this one? In any event this is a spendid combination of techniques.

Way to go, guys!

~Danny~

Originally posted by DannyRaphael

The 3D-ish / mosaic-tile-like effect is excellent. Had you achieved this effect before or did you discover it while tooling on this one? In any event this is a spendid combination of techniques.

[/B]

Danny, that effect is pretty much something I worked up some time back... you may see variations on that in upcoming challenges. :pleased: I know the folks on a certain PhotoImpact BB are probably getting sick of it. :rolleyes: :classic:

Danny you peeked :D
tom

Thanks Jeanie. I just got carried away with this "challenge" Glad somebody liked where it took me.
:wavey:

A lot of ideas flowing.
Blacknight: I loved the first bridge, save it.
The sunny bridge: more like a thermonuclear device.
Like the airplane too.
greg

Here's an attempt to use the technique outlined
by Etienne in the Tips section.

Woody
the Van Gough challenge was sunflowers:D :D
Nice work...
tom

Tom, do you really think the bridge looks
Van Goughish? I thought the strokes were way
too large but mabe not. Besides, I hadn't
learned the trick from the Tips section here
when I did the sunflowers :)

Here's my bridge.

Nice job on this Sanda......like the new colors
tom
:oldman:

I like it! A great rendition. It has a medievil
look.

Blacknight,

Looks like you had lots of fun with this challenge.

Bridge 4
I love how the bridge 4 turned out….especially the soft colors and the texture of the paper. Just lovely! It’s truly amazing the difference between bridge 3 and 4. Wow!

Bridge5
I need sunglasses or perhaps welder’s goggles to look at it…still way cool effect.

Bridge6
This one has a pen and ink feel to it. I really like the tonal qualities in this one, but bridge 4 is still my favorite!

-T

Jakaleena,
The moonlight bridge is way cool! Nicely done.

Wanda,
Lovely work as always. I like the soft texture you created with this one.

Tom C,
Too funny! I love the plane flying under the bridge! Also Duckzilla is too funny as well. I love his face in the last frame. I think you’ve got animation down pat! :lmao:

Jim,
The emboss look works great with the texture of the stone bridge. I also like your border. Well done!

Woody,
I really like the movement feel to your bridge. Nicely done!

Sanda,

Do tell how you accomplished your bridge. I love the strong lines in the bridge; they really make it stand out from the background. I also like the violet trees; they give the photo a dreamlike quality. Well done!

-T

Lately I’ve been taking some tutorials to better my Painter 7 skills so I decided to try doing this one mostly in Painter 7.
Here goes nothing. I was impressed with the thread on mosaics so I decided to give it a try with this image.

1. Opened the image in Painter 7 and chose File > Clone to create a clone of the original.
2. In the color palette check Clone Color so the colors will be based on your cloned image.
3. Under File choose Make Mosaic and in the dialog box check Use Tracing Paper to allow the image to show through the grout layer.
4. In the grout box I chose a grey
5. Set the width, length, and grout to the desired size and I chose a pressure of 100%
6. I then started tracing the lines of the bridge following the flow on bricks on the bridge. I finished up with the sky and lowered my tile sizes to do the water and trees.
7. For the trees, I used a circular motion to lay the tiles for a better effect.
8. When the image was done I chose Render Tiles To Mask in the options list and hit done closing the Make Mosaic dialog box.
9. Next, I went to Effects > Apply Surface Texture and under Using I chose the Mosaic Mask and adjusted the lighting effects as I desired to give the tiles a 3D look.
10. At this point I saved the image as a JPG and opened it in Photoshop 7 along with the original.
11. With the mosaic image active I used the move tool to drag it to the original while holding down the shift key.
12. On the mosaic layer I changed the blend mode to Pen Light and lowered the opacity to 75%

DJ

Excellent DJ!!!

Thanks Woody,
After seeing your work and every one elses in these mini challenges I had some tough acts to follow. I have really enjoyed these challenge entries so much. Love all the talent you guys have.
DJ

I've got Painter 5, but I read somewhere here that this mosaic (which I was impressed with as well!) works with anything 4 and above, so NOW I'm going to have to try it, using your words here as a guide (because I don't know how to do it otherwise!)
:wavey:

:)

Just beautiful, DJ:) Glad to see you getting in on the action!! I'm going to scrutinize your directions that's for sure. Very pretty:) Hey, I can use smilies:) :D ;) :cool:

Wanda

very effective image .... mosaicaly speaking :tongue: :tongue:

tom c

:oldman:

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. :)

Blacknight,
Painter 5 should be the same. We don't usually get much for Painter here so that's why I really tried to make some detailed instructions. I'm taking the online classes in Painter 7 because I really needed it. Tried figuring things out on my own and was missing all the hidden goodies. The course I'm taking is through VTC Online University and it's $99 for 12 Quick Time movies. It's excellent value for the money. Check it out here (http://www.vtc.com/painter7.htm) if you're interested. There's many other software classes available and the amount you get for the money is fantastic. Plus you can work along side the Quick Time video. They offer 3 chapters free to try out and see if you like it.

Wanda,
It's nice to finally get back in action again. :) Thanks for the encouraging words. And you do smilies very well. :Lol:

Tom
Thank you. Seeing so many of your wonderful mini art challenges really got me eager to try my own. They're really fun and a nice diversion from the basic restorations.
DJ

After looking a DJ's fine mosiac effect, I went to Paint Shop Pro 7 and converted using effects/sculpture. Here's the result.

What a neat effect. It looks like it's been etched into a stucco wall.
DJ

This is my first attempt in the mini challenges......so be gentle on me.

Be Gentle???? Are you kidding??? That's fantastic!!! You definately know how to make color work for you in a cool way. Very creative use of bold colors.
DJ

Good effort for your first post Ken....looks like hooked rug or latchwork?(not sure of name)
tom c

Great chalk media job Ken. It looks like
you could put it under blacklight. :)

Another FINE set of additions to this challenge...

WOODY:
#1 is killer! You're really getting the hang of the Etienne method.
#2 - talk about a variance in technique. From vibrant colors to subtle shades of gray. Nice job merging the textures.

-----------
SANDA:
The colors in the sky and the leaves really make this one stand out; a very effective combination of warm and cool.

-----------
DJ:
WOW! Gonna have to call start calling you Ms. Mosaic! I've fiddled with Painter's mosaic function, but haven't come remotely close to the results you're getting. Keep fine tuning this method and you'll have yet another desirable option to offer your customers.

-----------
KEN:
A belated WELCOME! to RetouchPRO. (I've been off the net for about a week.) Glad to see it didn't take you long to get into the spirit and we're honored you dove right into the fun pool.

Hope to see more of your work in the future!

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You guys inspired me so much that I thought I'd take a swipe at this one myself. Used the action posted in
this (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2767#post26645) thread.

Remember: It's YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS that make this forum (and this site) a success. My sincere thanks to each of you for taking the time and making the effort.

~DannyR~

Thanks Danny. Hey for taking a swipe you got some cool results. I think I definately have to try that filter. It worked great on this image with all that stone work. I like how it outlines it.
DJ

Qom, by the photo next to your name, I can only assume you named yourself after a cereal...cute.

I really like the painting of the bridge you did...love the way the bricks just pop out...looks better than the real thing!

Phyllis :)

Fall is coming, and it gave me an idea for the bridge challenge.

I used cutout filter, anisotropic diffuse, a swirly texture for sky, and the PS7 leaf brush.

Phyllis
www.innographx.com

Oh that is really cool. It gives it a feel of swirling autumn winds. I really like that filter Phyllis. The effect was really made visual by the flying leaves. That would be a good one for your gallery.
DJ

Better late than never.

This image started out as an attempt by me to duplicate an effect that Toad posted (http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=3506219/) on dpreview.com. (Apparently, one cannot link directly to a message in dpreview. Look for the post "Another Black and White Treatment".) This picture was not as visually engaging as Toad's so I decided to add some color rather than leave it in B&W.

I used Find Edges, Smart Blur Edges Only, Poster Edges, Ink outlines, Smudge Stick, and Graphic Pen all faded quite a bit. Then I put the original photograph on the top layer and faded to create the color wash. I then put a new layer filled with a pale tan on the top of the stack, added a layer mask and revealed the image beneath using a brush set to Dry Bush on Towel.

Basically, I was just foolin' around.

Jim

Looks great JB. Looks super in color as well as B&W.

Almost Famous...
Toad

Ditto Toad's comment, Jim. Another winner.
~Danny~

I know I used a gradient map and that four diferent sections were selected to add the effect - a Ulead Particle plug-in. Also used gradient dark/lighter blue for sky and water.
I did this a few weeks ago and haven't been able to upload it 'til now so forgive me the lack of details.
I hope you like it.

Jim, great job on the bridge and thanks for that link...lots of good stuff there! You seem to have a handle on his technique, though yours is softer and more subtle, a wise choice for a color rendition in my opinion.

Mamagator, I just love your snowy scene. The way you have simplified the coloring and exaggerated the snow gives it a fairy tale look which makes it seem better than real, like an illustration in a child's book. Almost makes me look forward to winter (I said "almost"). :)

Phyllis

Kinda spooky.

I removed the rowers from the secene, made a copy on a new layer, exclusion. Copy is lightened and desaturated. I use the palet knife on the copy.

PSP7.04

Using a tip from BigAl at this site re Masking Overlay:-

Duplicate layer/Colors/Colorize - Hue0 Saturation0
Colors/Negative Image
Effects/Blur/Gaussian 5.0
Blend mode to overlay
THEN
Merged visible
Duplicated layer/Blend Mode-Screen-Reduced Percentage
Merged layers visible
Applied Xero/Lineart Filter (options for colourising too)

Have a good day everyone::hairbow:

Apologies!

Jade....

very nice black & white sketch.



Tried a new oil painting action and another for the frame.....

Nice work Jade!

I did this one a while ago, but then couldn't find the thread again.

Tyeise

Hi Tyeise and thank you....nice work. Did you do that without external filters?

Thanks Goldcoin - must say I like your version, looks realistic!

JADE:

Nice sketch result.

FYI: If you post an incorrect image or want to replace one, go to the post, click the EDIT button (bottom right). In the Attach file: box, specify the path to the replacement image.

You're doing great on these. Keep it up!

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GOLDCOIN

Is the action you mentioned something you wrote? You'd be welcome to post it in THIS THREAD (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2653) (zipped) if the mood strikes you.

You got some very painterly results from it.

~Danny~

Hi Jade,

To be honest, I really couldn't tell you. I was just playing around, and it was a while ago, so I don't remember.

Tyeise

Everybodys submission is great, to many to comment on each and as I read two more pages came up.

But Toms action ones are awsome.

Phyliss I love the falling leaves, super picture.

And Jims your is great like everybody elses.

I did about three undid them, one was a gig saw with a missing piece but that would have bee a copy cat one.

So in sadness of the past days and some towns disasters, I thought I would do this in remeberence.,

Thanks Danny for your encouraging comments re my pic and your wee tip...I should've known:D

Used PI to b lock up the image. Pulled it into Photoshop, rebuilt right end of bridge (I live in Oklahome - we do quick bridge rebuilds - i.e. I-40 bridge collapse Memorial day last year), futzed with blend modes and darkened result so the fishermen would not have to fish in the bright light of day.

bubba

Very nice Bubba I like the look!

BTW - nice to see you back on the board, I always enjoy your work!

Gotta keep this thread going, I guess. Decided to keep experimenting with oriental looking art.

Bill

Bad day on the river.

Background Made in adobe illistrator.
Using the gradent tool.

KayakBob - is that an attack of the aliens? ;)

Tyeise

This is a great bridge shot--it almost falls in the castle category looks wise. I'm working on fine-tuning my flaming pear dark paint look, so the directions are getting clearer.

Flaming Pear Dark Paint

I like this look, but it’s almost more trouble than it’s worth. I wish I knew layer sets, I think they’d help.

First group

1. Make a dup of the background and run flaming pear’s Mr. Contrast. I just hit random until I have a nice, contrasty black and white image.
2. duplicate this layer and put a copy of the original in the middle.
3. Set the original to Color for blending mode and 50% opacity
4. set the Mr. Contrast dup (on top) to Hue.
5. Merge all this to a single layer and name it Mr. C

Second group

1. Make a dup of the background and run Flaming Pear’s Melancholytron.
2. Duplicate this layer and put a copy of the original in the middle.
3. Set the original to Color Dodge for the blending mode. Opacity 60%
4. Set the blending mode on the Mel dup (top) to color.
5. Merge all this to a single layer and call it Mel

Getting there

1. Put the Mel layer on top the Mr. C layer and set the blending mode to color
2. Put another copy of the original on top. Set this to Color blending mode 65% opacity.
3. Merge all this to a new layer
4. Make a duplicate of the new layer and run flaming pear’s lacquer. Set the blending mode to darken.
5. Merge to a single layer.
6. Add texture
7. Dodge and burn if desired.

Could not retain the details that I wanted to keep at this forums designated size limit, so I decided to only provide a link (http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/9725/minichallenge05bridge2gy.jpg). Hope you all like it anyway. Used Little Ink Pot's Chalkaholic filter set to Luminosity with adjusted opacity to give the wc/sketch look. Did some additional saturation adjustments before using GIMP's Clothify Script-fu for canvas texture. :)

splush! ...ups? :blank:

i like lasso tool. i really, really, reaaally like lasso tool ;)

So many great ideas. You people blow me away. This is a great picture and really doesn't need additions, but if it's a challenge, why not?

1. Duplicated the background

2 Used Selective color (highlights) to select the sky and refined the selection in quick mask mode. Copied the sky to another layer above

3. Ran a lighting effect (omni light with blue highlights) on the new sky layer. Set the blend mode to darken.

4. Adjusted the curves on the bridge layer below the sky to darken the bridge.

5. Selected the sky layer, then moved to the bridge layer and inverted the selection. Ran a texture filter on the now selected foreground to contrast with the smooth sky background.

An impressionist version.
Alan

Nice Thana!

thana,

i love that. it really packs a whallop!

Craig

Swampy, Craig,

thank you!
someday i'll learn how to use all those filters and stuff you're so good at, but for now i'll stay with just playing. oh, well... whole life before me! ;)

Played around with the art history and a few filters


Palms

Using the impressionistic filter

Glad to see this thread get some action again... :)

Chance... Welcome to RetouchPRO. Nice to have another Impressionist enthusiast join us. :)

Palms... I like this effect. Besides AHB, which other filters did you use?

Alan: Did you use your WC method on this one? The colors are great.

Danny, I used a modified Crackled Paint 1 style. I painted in some color on the sky and water and ran the style again, this time brushed in on the new colors using a mask.
Alan

This took from a trimoon tutorial cd.

Danny
Thank you, the filters i used (as well as a edge effect layer and ahb)
were Custom ( i do not know anything about this filter except on some paintings it does give a good effect so i try it on most to see what happens ) obviously usm and then maximum ( same as above, but i had not tried this before just tinkering around )

Palms

p.s after more tinkering i do not think the maximum makes any real difference to picture must of been seeing things

Very nice Alan, Legacy, Palms and Chance 1.

Cathy
:bigthmb:

Thank You Cathy! :blush:

Used Shadow/highlight, removed noise, simplifier and cloned out some imperfections.

Peter