FIRST MINI-CHALLENGE?
See below for "Information and Guidelines."

Here’s another “mini-challenge” to play with in the Photo-based Art category until the next offical challenge is posted here (http://www.retouchpro.com/challenge/index.html).

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PHOTO ART: Mini-Challenge #23 - Reed Point Marina

This scenic image was donated by RetouchPro regular, Lisa (OhThatGirl2001), who lives in British Columbia, Canada. Looks like a nice place to spend a summer day, doesn't it?

Enjoy.

~DannyR~

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INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

Unlike “official challenges” for this forum which can be found here (http://www.retouchpro.com/challenge/index.html), this one will be self-contained within this thread. It is intended as an opportunity to engage in this artform 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 and, most importantly, have FUN.
* Everyone who participates is a winner.
* There’s no expiration date.

GUIDELINES:
1. Use any method, application(s), style(s) you like:
. * Convert to sketch, grayscale, abstract, watercolor, oil painting, pen-and-ink, Conte crayon, impasto, van Gogh or any style of your choosing
. * Add elements from other images (collage) or replace the background
. * Hand painting? Tracing? Freehand? You bet. Always appreciate entries of this nature.
. * Apply filters from your favorite application(s) or tweak it with 3rd party plug-ins
. * Feeling animated? A few fish jumping, perhaps?
. * Any or all of the above

Bottom line:
How you create this masterpiece 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 100kb 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. Make it as descriptive as you like. Grammar and spelling will not be graded. Priority given to content, not how it is written.

4. Have fun.

Hard to explain the process since I don't take notes while I work. Basically, image was simplified by way of combination of photocopy filter, blurring, desaturation, and overlays of original and handdrawn color layers with intensified saturation.

VisualEyes, I only get a partial load on your graphic. Any one else have the same problem?

Originally posted by gland
I only get a partial load on your graphic. Any one else have the same problem?

Yes, I get only the top 20% or so. I like it so far.:)

Jim

Hmm, I'll repost it this evening when I get home. It looked ok when I checked it last night.

Re-upload of mini-challenge response.

WOW... This is very nice and definitely worth the wait for the fixed upload.

Simplification + color magic really works here. Stellar effort.

Visual Eyes,

Wonderful job. I like the posterized version. It's given me all kinds of ideas!

Lisa

Well, here's my version. I started out with 2 duplicated layers. Inverted the second layer and changed mode to grayscale without flattening. Then changed blend mode to color dodge and filter blur - gaussian blur until I like the effect. I actually found there was very little clean up. I sandwiched the sketch layer between my background and duplicate layer. Changed blend mode of the top layer to hard light and adjusted opacity. Then I used Nik Color Effects Filter called Midnight Violet to give the over all photo a dawn like effect. That's it!

Lisa

Brightened with Levels and Curves, coloured starting by running through the Virtual Painter Collage plugin and then a fair bit of masking and hand colouring of different areas, some crosshatching.

Now I just want to go there...

Leah

Reed Point

When I first started with the photo I was just playing around with it, therefore I did take notes. I did select major areas and put them in their own layer, Layer > New > Layer Via Copy and add filters. I just played around with filters until I was satisfied.

This is a good one to just play with … it’s a beautiful sea/landscape.

Don

These are all so good so far it's hard to pick a favorite. And...grrrr...sure wish Visual Eyes took better notes!

Phyllis :)

Visual eyes....nice image ...like a color sketch.

O that girl....excellent expansion

Leah...Very beautiful blue.... complemented with the boardwalk..

Siodhach...Sort of like a water color effect

Here is
my usual nonsense

tom c

Oh Tom that is SOOOoooooo silly you just have to love it! LOL!

Phyllis (still laughing out loud!)

Aimed for an almost surreal sunset. I used some gradients set to multiply to accent and add colors in the sky and water, along with some rippling and one of my favorite filters, diffuse-->anisotropic, to soften all the rough edges of the buildings.

Phyllis
www.innographx.com

Phyllis
You got a surreal effect alright...pretty colors...not silly at all:clown:
tom c

Beautiful colours, Phyllis, and I really like what you've done with the water. And I've made a mental note to try playing with the anisotropic filter in future...

Leah

At the end of the day ... beautiful ... I wish I had your vision.

Don

Tom c

VE:
Again, an especially nice job on this one.

Lisa:
Your version gave me a very relaxed feeling. Subtle application of effects comes across well.

Leah:
Your eye catching colors are simply vibrant as well as striking.

Tom:
You devil you! The 'Showoff' was cute. Reminded me in my (considerably) younger days. You outdid yourself with "The Squid." Exceptional work with the above/below water effect.

Don:
The texturing / oil-painting look really works in your rendition.

Phyllis:
Just gorgeous work on the sky and capturing the reflection in the water.

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Since you may not know how much I enjoy looking through th images you create, let me tell you again: It's Great! YOU ARE AWESOME!

~DannyR~

I started out trying to imitate VE's amazing effect but ended up with something entirely diffrent. I put a pencil-sketch layer on top of a blurred original, set to value. Or something like that.

I really liked the lines in this photo. I used the impressionist filter again, but the general results could be duplicated with a number of plug-ins or native photoshop filters.

1. Make 5 duplicates of the original
2. Turn off all but the bottom copy.
3. On the bottom copy run a filter that gives you a very vague shape (blobs of the right color in the right area).
4. On the next layer up, find a filter that gives you a more defined shape, but still vague (edges are starting to show but no detail--shapes are still loose)
5. On the next layer up, pick a filter that only gives mild distortion. You want to be able to recognize what you're looking at--still no real detail.
You have 2 copies left at the top at this point.
6. On the next to the top copy, I like Filter--Stylize--Find Edges. Try it in color first, but it may be better desaturated.
7. On the top layer I like the soft gaussian blur sketch.
a) desaturate
b) duplicate
c) invert top copy--set blending mode to color dodge
d) Filter--blur--gaussian blur (4-6)
e) merge down and duplicate
f) set blending mode to multiply and run gaussian blur again (4-6)
g) merge down

General notes: On the color layers I usually use blending modes to mix the layers--most often soft light or overlay. I do sometimes reduce the opacity of a layer--just to taste.
On the sketch layers I usually try all the blending modes to see what appeals. I also usually use the top 2 layers at either 100% or 33%--rarely in between. It depends on if I want a hard or a soft look.

Used Impressionist and Flaming Pear's Zephyr filters to create much of the effect that you see. Other steps are too numerous and subtle to outline here. :)

Ikroll, you are doing some nice work. I really like the light, artistic effect that you have done on this piece.

Cathy :bigthmb:

You know that I try to only use layer properties and filters (that's the challenge to me; let the computer do all the work; I'm just the puppet master), but I did have to do some selective erasing and smudging. Usually this is the case. I will, hopfully soon, get a Wacom and learn how to really smudge. :)

Loads going on here, There's definitely a bas relief overlay, a texture and obviously a frame added. Like LK I used Zephyr, to add some colour effects to the sky, that didn't turn out as I liked, I could not get the reflections in the water to look right, so blended it with Luminosity, this added some more depth.

Peter