OK...

You've opened this thread to see what it's about. I appreciate you taking that leap of faith.

Since you're here, I've got a no risk / can't screw it up opportunity to contribute to this site.

WHAT TO DO
* Go ahead and vote now if you have already checked out some of the "best of threads" and formed an opinion.

* If you opened this thread before having had time to check things out, return to the forum, poke around a bit, THEN come back and cast your vote.

- - - - - - - -

Your feedback counts!

ALSO: If you have suggestions or comments, please add to this thread. How can I make this forum MORE useful to you?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

~DannyR~
Photo-based Art Forum Moderator

I'm not a "newbie" but I still want to say thanks for putting all this info in one place...great idea and really helpful!

Phyllis

---------------
You're most welcome. It's a pleasure. - DannyR

I am not a newbie either, but I have to say a big THANKS. I had just begun trying my hand at Photo-Art when I found this forum. I have learned so much from the wonderful generous people willing to share their techniques.

Thanks to you all.

AND thanks to you Danny for doing a great job as moderator.

Lynda

-----------------------
I'm honored to have this opportunity. Thanks for the kind words, Lynda. - DannyR

I'm not a newbie either, I just ran across this and had to express my gratitude to all who have shared their techniques. I could never begin to tell you how valuable this forum has been to me. I have learned so much. Danny, what can I say, you are so generous with your time and energy. Just want you to know that it is very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

Wanda

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Wanda: Thank you both for the kind words. There's great joy in all I do thanks to nice folks like you, who make this forum what it is. Danny

I am so new that if I were a tractor I would still be in the barn with the dealer stickers on! this forum is/will be very valuable and useful. I learn best by reading how to do something and then doing (or at least trying to do it).

thanks very much.

bubba

I'm a half newbie and have learned more here that at college classes. We were not taught the things I have learned so far. I had never used all the filters and actions until you all showed me how. Everyone is so wonderful for all the support and help they have given me. And also Danny thank you for all you do.


- - - - - -

bubba & pjb:
You're both most welcome. Believe me, it's my pleasure.
~Danny~

While I am relatively new to this forum, I'm not really new to working with computer graphics. But I still find this to be a wonderful forum and a great place for learning new ways of doing things, and new ways of looking at things, even if most of you don't use the same program as I do. :D

;)

Tyeise

Great place for a newbie to feel comfortable and ask questions. I am so new I need a "See Jane Run" book to get started. In the mean time Amazon.com has lots of my $ for every book I buy is way over my head. I have printed out so many tutorials my printer ran out of ink - :tongue:
But, I am having fun and one day will be able to participate - thanks to eveyone who has helped me.
Jean:)

Valuable? It's fun... is there value to that? Useful? Will it make my teeth whiter?

It's fun! I like it. In fact, it's just what I been looking for.

There's good art here and fun stuff to do. You can't beat that! But valuable and useful, I dunno.

Jean:

Thanks for your kind words. If you're not quite ready for the big time, by all means post images in the PA 101 forum. That's one of its purposes... to give rookies a safe place to play, especially for those just starting out on the learning curve.

- - - - -
Lengo:

Appreciate your comments. Good points regarding "useful" and "valuable." Perhaps not the best choice of words for the poll; the intent was to gauge value and usefulness of this subforum in particular (having a place to help find some golden nuggets quickly), but since you're havin' fun, that's what counts.

Welcome aboard. Hope you'll join in on some of the mini-challenges.

~Danny~

Originally posted by Lengo
Will it make my teeth whiter?



yes....with the correct Curves or Levels adjustment in Photoshop. :D

Danny, I find the usefulness limited (only for me), because, I don't have time to go through all of the posts. I use PSP8 and there is no way to tell, without looking at all posts, if there is anything pertaining to PSP8.

I enjoy looking at all the wonderful art work, but, it is frustrating not to be able to use the information. I feel the same way about the Retouching Forum, it has some really wonderful effects. However, not having PS and not knowing what to use 'instead', I can't make the transition.

Are there enough PSP users on this forum, to, warrant a PSP category ?

Joy

Joy:

First of all, Welcome! As one born and raised in SoCal myself (Culver City), I can say it's especially nice to have a fellow Californian join us. :)

RE: PSP-specific topics, techniques, etc.
As you have already discovered, most of threads posted and methods described in this and the other forums at RetouchPRO are Photoshop centric. That's sure not a knock on PaintShop Pro, which is a feature rich and, compared to Photoshop, very reasonably priced piece of software. (I have PSP 7 myself, but did not reinstall it after a hard drive crash last Fall.)

At the moment I believe one of our members who posts images fairly often (jch71566 [aka: Jeff]), uses PSP for some of his photo-art creations, so you might search on his posts. He's usually pretty good about leaving enough useful breadcrumbs to follow.

I just did three site searches using keywords "psp", "paintshop pro" and "paintshoppro" and got quite a few hits, so that might make your efforts a little easier. Click on "Search" in the gray bar at the top (choose advanced search) or just click HERE (http://retouchpro.com/forums/search.php?).

It sure can't hurt to start a PSP-only thread in the photo-art forum and see what happens (I'll do that in a couple minutes). Could be there are some lurkers out there itching for such an opportunity and that's all it will take for them to jump into the pool.

Thanks for waving the white flag. I hope it stirs some interest.

~Danny~

Hi Danny, I live in Long Beach (born and raised here).

Thank you, for the informative answer. I am looking forward to a PSP thread in the Photo art forum. I hope all PSPer's will jump on. I am looking forward to learning new effects. I also have a few painterly methods I could share.

Joy

I find this sight fasinating. I know little or perhaps more accurately nothing about photo art as represented here. Over the years my interests have mostly been oriented towards photos in a jounalistic sense as recording something I saw. If you came to our house you would find a great percentage of the art we have collected is photo-realistic even in paintings.

I stumbled onto this forum and to this area of it and have watched with fasination for months now. I have even thrown a couple of my shots in to see what other folks would do with them.

I must say, what was done would never have been dreamed of by me even if I had the knowlege of the how. I say that in a delighted way. I didn't vote above 'cause I don't know what I think but I do know I keep coming back here like a penniless kid to to the candy counter.

Not sure exactly where I fall on the "newbie" curve, as I have been hacking away at PS6 for a couple years now. But I recently decided to get serious and learn to take full advantage of the program, and this forum has been a great place to start! I mostly lurk for now, but check in every day to see what's happening with you talented folks! Thanks!

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Welcome, Frannie...

Thanks for adding your comments. Look forward to having you post your first art one of these days!

~Danny~
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Hey my first post!!!!

Love the site, I have got most of my knowledge from this site.

A big thank you to all those that have posted anything and everything.

- - - - -

Reg:

I feel like I know you already through our PMs.

Great to have you join us and I'm happy to hear you're learning from this little gold mine of assorted knowledge nuggets.

~Danny~
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My mother says I was born with a camera in my hands. BIG LAUGH. Just because I'm nearly totally lacking in the draw it with your hands category, photos have been a creative way of expressing myself. However, it is to the artsy side I'm really drawn. I've been playing around for a couple of months in the art forum. I have learned a lot. I am still learning a lot. I will continue learning a lot. It is great to have this forum and this site where those of us with the same photo/graphic bug can hang out together. :bow:

I've learned the most thing in this forum and 've got ideas to use methods other ways. My work is retouching so sometimes its make me free to do some foto based art. :D I've got to know Others, what their or Ur "perspective" of art. And i like it

Saby

I've learned the most thing in this forum and 've got ideas to use methods other ways. My work is retouching so sometimes its make me free to do some foto based art. :D I've got to know Others, what their or Ur "perspective" of art. And i like it

Saby

Using this definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary...
Decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter. Synonyms ART, SKILL, CUNNING, ARTIFICE, CRAFT mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. ART implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power <the art of choosing the right word>. SKILL stresses technical knowledge and proficiency <the skill of a glassblower>. CUNNING suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing <a mystery plotted with great cunning>. ARTIFICE suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature <believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice>. CRAFT may imply expertness in workmanship <the craft of a master goldsmith>.
...I would say manipulation of any kind that one applies to a photo is an artistic endeavor. But the debate of whether the result is "art or not" belongs in a separate thread, so I will leave it at that.

I'm glad you are learning here at RetouchPRO. Thanks for posting your comments.

~Danny~

My vote was just shy of top notch mostly because I have encountered a couple minor annoyances:

1) Broken links in many places (example: watercolors & oils tut. by Phillis Stewart)
2) Almost every link, is actually a link to a link, slowing me down getting to the good stuff. :wink:

Trimoon's brush & lighting effect presets seem to give awesome results.:bow: Do they work in Elements 2? If not, does anyone have suggestions how to emulate them? I'm kind of echoing Joy_CA's frustration on this.

Overall, I'm finding this forum very stimulating & educational. Great job Danny!

-Mark

My vote was just shy of top notch mostly because I have encountered a couple minor annoyances:

1) Broken links in many places (example: watercolors & oils tut. by Phillis Stewart)
2) Almost every link, is actually a link to a link, slowing me down getting to the good stuff. :wink:

Trimoon's brush & lighting effect presets seem to give awesome results.:bow: Do they work in Elements 2? If not, does anyone have suggestions how to emulate them? I'm kind of echoing Joy_CA's frustration on this.

Overall, I'm finding this forum very stimulating & educational. Great job Danny!

-Mark

Mark:

Thank you for your kind words (they are sincerely appreciated) and for taking the time to share your observations on broken links and occasional navigational frustrations.

As of now there are going on 900 threads in this forum and > 10,000 posts, so it would be nearly impossible for anyone -- especially a newbie -- to visit every nook and cranny. As you've discovered there are some pretty juicy tidbits to be found if you're lucky enough to find them. I've posted many links that lead to other threads, posts or posts with URLs for the purpose of helping folks find (IMO) "some good stuff" that they might have otherwise missed. If the road gets a little winding sometimes, know in my heart the intent isn't to slow you down. :)

Like you, I find broken links frustrating and annonying. Unfortunately 98% of the time a broken link in this forum comes about as a result of something I did. As the forum that chews up the most disk space at this site (due to all the attached pics), I do on occasion do some pretty aggressive thread pruning, resulting in dead links. Talk about self inflicted foot wounds. Without a backend database utility to automate the detection and reporting of dead links, I have to depend on folks like you to wave the flag and point them out when you find them.

Whenever I get a broken link report, I step on the gas to repair it (if I can) or make adjustments so people won't wander down a dead end. In the future if you (or anyone) discover a dead link I'd appreciate any information you can provide, e.g., a copy/paste of a string of text from the thread and send it to me via e-mail or PM, as would the thread or post URL (link). A text string can be used as a search argument. With a link or text string I can apply Band Aids fast.

Thanks again for adding your .02.

~Danny~

This forum, with its multitude of topics and levels of expertise, is awesome and that is a word I reserve for things like Mt St Helens' eruption. Thank you to everyone for sharing information. :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb:

I am a novice at image editing and can use all the suggestions I can get. What I don't use today gets filed away for future reference and I know where to come when I have a problem. I have also told people in my computer users group about this site. Some of them are very adept at computers, others are not. All of us are new to digital imaging for genealogy purposes.

I notice that there are knowledgeable people frequenting this forum who are nearby geographically. Would I be out of line to suggest a gathering here in south King County, Washington? I'll bring snacks!

MaryLynn

This forum, with its multitude of topics and levels of expertise, is awesome and that is a word I reserve for things like Mt St Helens' eruption. Thank you to everyone for sharing information. :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb: :bigthmb:

I am a novice at image editing and can use all the suggestions I can get. What I don't use today gets filed away for future reference and I know where to come when I have a problem. I have also told people in my computer users group about this site. Some of them are very adept at computers, others are not. All of us are new to digital imaging for genealogy purposes.

I notice that there are knowledgeable people frequenting this forum who are nearby geographically. Would I be out of line to suggest a gathering here in south King County, Washington? I'll bring snacks!

MaryLynn

Hi MaryLynn:

When I saw your ref. to Mt St Helens' eruption, it brought back vivid memories: I was living in Vancouver, WA -- about 50 miles from the mountain -- when she blew her top in 1980. I had to chuckle at all the press & hoopla the recent rumblings garnered.

Anyway, a gathering would be lovely. I'd enjoy meeting the local folks whom I've gotten to know online. With the onset of the holidaze and all, doing something "soon" would be a good thing to shoot for, otherwise after the first of the year when things settle down would be more practical. When/where does your computer group meet?

~Danny~

p.s. Snacks would be good! :)

When/where does your computer group meet?

~Danny~

p.s. Snacks would be good! :)[/QUOTE]

Hi Danny,

Thanks for your reply. The next meeting of our group is Nov 16, 6:30 pm, at Auburn Public Library, 1102 Auburn Way S in Auburn. Topic is "Editing and Printing Digital Images". We'll be introducing tools in PSE 2 to show how to go beyond cut/paste and brighten/contrast actions.

This is a very eclectic group with all levels of computer expertise represented. Digital imaging is new to all of us. To you this session will probably seem like a couple of first graders teaching the ABCs to a group of pre-schoolers, but we have to start somewhere and keep it simple enough to get people started.

If you are not able to make it to the November meeting, our next will be the third Tuesday in January, same time and place. Meanwhile, a meeting with other RP folks and some of our more adept people would be a lot of fun.

MaryLynn

Trimoon's brush & lighting effect presets seem to give awesome results.:bow: Do they work in Elements 2? If not, does anyone have suggestions how to emulate them?

I'm kind of echoing Joy_CA's frustration on this.

-Mark

Mark:

I meant to reply to the above, too, and spaced out -- so here goes.

re: Your Elements/Lighting Effects setting question
I did some Internet surfing and from what I could see it appears Elements does not have this specific filter. I suspect that's because as I understand it Elements restricts manipulation of individual color channels, which this setting file tries to do.

Here's something you could try that will get you in the neighborhood, but not the exact results:
* Duplicate your arty layer
* Apply the Emboss filter (experiment with settings)
* Change the blend mode from Normal to either Overlay or Hard Light and tweak the opacity
* Possibly go back and apply some sharpening to the Embossed layer

re: Joy_CAs frustration ...it is frustrating not to be able to use the information. I feel the same way about the Retouching Forum, it has some really wonderful effects. However, not having PS and not knowing what to use 'instead', I can't make the transition.

Are there enough PSP users on this forum, to, warrant a PSP category?"


It's been my observation in the 2+ years I've been privileged to moderate this forum that the preponderance of RetouchPRO members use Photoshop. That's not a judgment about non-Photoshop programs. It's simply a fact.

The good news: Tutorials and methods described in Photoshop terms usually translate to Elements without a lot of modification. You ran into a dead end with Lighting Effects and that's gonna happen now and then. I encourage you to post questions (like you did here) when you need an Elements' translation or workaround. Some folks have both programs and I'm sure would be happy to assist.

There are some folks who participate in the photo-art forum use Paint Shop Pro and for the most part share their PSP-specific steps (or are willing to post them when asked). At Joy's suggestion I did start a dedicated PSP thread, but it did not get much participation. That should not be construed as PSP being bad, inadequate or inferior to Photoshop in any way, shape or form. They are just different programs with many common functions, but often very different terminology. (The same can be said of Corel Photopaint, another feature rich program with too-few users.)

I welcome members to write and post tutorials and methods for non-Photoshop programs.

From the perspective of moderator of the photo-art forum I would have absolutely zero objection if anyone wanted to approach Doug Nelson, the site owner and admin, to volunteer to moderate non-Photoshop photo-art forum. I fully support creative diversity in this regard as does Doug. Unfortunately I'm not able to contribute much in this area because PS is the program I use 98% of the time.

If others are interested, further comments/discussion welcome on this topic.

~Danny~

11/16 sounds promising. If you wouldn't mind me sitting in the back row and not making much noise, I'll start laying the groundwork.

re: 1st graders teaching A-B-C's to pre-schoolers
Believe me, I'm a kindergartner in many dimensions of digital imaging and relish the opportunity to learn from others whenevern possible. While much can be learned by surfing and participating in online forums, you sure can't beat face-to-face interaction for establishing personal relationships.

If opportunities happen to come up where sharing some of my own experiences (many painful, I might add) could be useful, I'm happy to do so from the perspectives of "No one is 'born' with these skills", "Everyone starts at the same place" and "Learn from the mistakes other people make. Life's too short to make all the mistakes yourself."

~Danny~

You are most welcome and we look forward to seeing you on the 16th if you can make it.

You are also welcome to participate in future activities. We never pass up the opportunity to share information!

Anyone else in the area who might be interested in attending is also welcome.

MaryLynn

On each section of the forum, we need a chat thread, so we can all have TIMEOUT from are artwork, look out of the window and chat with our new friends.

"Meeting Place"

Hi Neve

Hi Janet

Plus with the privat message thing its only a one to one not a full scale chat...

Timeout is in the Salon :wink: .... pop on over there and we'll come as soon we hear the kettle boiling... :wink:

Where you all went...New kid on the block i feel like now!

Put that kettle on!

Danny,

Wow :eek: , I too was raised in Culver City (a humble duplex on Jefferson Bl)

Valuable, useful? Value in the case of the forums is based on intangibles. Yes I consider it valuable because the forums entertain me. They do contain a lot of information, tips, and nuggets that can indeed be valuable. However, they are of no use to me unless I decide to apply them. :rolleyes:

I am a newbie so they are both valuable and useful. :bigthmb:

I am extremely pleased that I fell upon this website/forum. Being able to view what I deem to be professional level work inspires me to continue studying and learning from the lot here.

I was trying to involve myself in another forum prior to this one and it seemed to be a bunch of kids talking about how cool their ipods were. No forum management and way to much slang and broken sentences for me.

Thanks for the forum!

T

Well I didn't really need to post here as you all know how much I've been enjoying this forum since I decided to jump in. Now I'm addicted!:lol: You'll be seeing much more from me!

Fizz we hope so, your a breathe of fresh air to the place :)

Very, very useful. I'm still reeling :dizzy:

There's so much to take in, I think I could spend a week here and still only scratch the surface of what there is to see and learn :dizzy: I wish I'd found you ages ago, cos I could have done with knowing I wasn't the only person who didn't know one end of a pencil from the other, but who craftily used Paintshop Pro or Photoshop :)

Gilly

This forum is highly motivating, educational, inspiring, and worthwhile. I only wish I could come here more often. I learned about it over a year ago through reading Eismann's retouching book.

Vicki

This site is my new home, as this site is the most fun , and informative of all
the sites I found so far.

When I search for tutorials, I find how to make a holiday snowman, or christmas trees. Here you learn how things, work. I thought know how
layers, masks, and smoothing worked, but here I'm getting the "rest of
the story"

I started out with a 8008 based computer (Digital-Robin), no graphics,
but Basic, Visicalc (spreadsheet), and word processor.

Next came my first PC a 16bit 8086, (a Leading Edge), with MS-DOS,
again no graphic's. My next PC still with DOS, but now with a color
display. I now found a public domain graphic's software, from a writer
from Cal. I think it was called IMP, maybe not, it only ran on DOS,
He had some good filters, incorporated, and the one I liked most was
called plasma, and could generate good cloud effects.

Next I went out and bought one of the early versions of painter, and
was promptly over my head, also the computer was under powered.

After that I have had several comuputers, and versions of PSP.
Regards, Dick

Hi I am a Newbie and am starting out in Photo Art as a hobby in my retirement years.
There is some excellent advise here,and I am spending so much time just looking.
I live in Hampshire in the UK
Thank You
Another great forum :bigthmb:

Hi I am a Newbie and am starting out in Photo Art as a hobby in my retirement years.
There is some excellent advise here,and I am spending so much time just looking.
I live in Hampshire in the UK
Thank You
Another great forum :bigthmb:Welcome, Ronnie. We are honored to have you join us.

~Danny~

I think this is a great place for eveyone...not just the newbie, the experienced person as well. It is very informative and useful.

I have really only had a quick look at most of the forum but there is one post which I am following now that is really helping me to dvelop my skills as a photo artist.

Thank you DannyRaphael and everyone else who has shown their skills in this forum. I can't wait to learn more and develop my own.

This whole place is quite simply, "the nuts!". I especially like the sort of sub parts of each category that list resources and useful hints and tips - it's kept me amused for a few months now and also encouraged me to do more and more things.

Thanks everyone for making this such a brill place.

x

This whole place is quite simply, "the nuts!". I especially like the sort of sub parts of each category that list resources and useful hints and tips - it's kept me amused for a few months now and also encouraged me to do more and more things.

Thanks everyone for making this such a brill place.

xThanks for your kind words. Glad you're enjoying yourself.

This is indeed a fun place to learn thanks to many talented people who enjoy helping and inspiring others. Now you're among us. :)

I find this forum extremely useful, and have it one my bookmarks toolbar so I can keep checking it. I know I don't post much, but I read a lot! I do photo repair, rather than glamour retouching, and often find the answer to problems I'm having. I've bookmarked quite a few of the threads in my 'techniques' folder. Just this week, I had to change a car from white to black and it just wasn't working. I found the answer in a thread about changing the colour of boots.

I really ought to post more!