FIRST MINI-CHALLENGE -or- NEW TO PHOTO-ART?
See below for "Information and Guidelines."

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PHOTO ART: Mini-challenge #69 – Cedar Waxwing

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

The base image can be downloaded by clicking the link near the bottom of this lengthy introduction!


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This weeks’ mini-challenge is as another beautiful nature shot taken by forum regular, Alan Smallbone. ("Thanks, Alan!")

For the time being I’m going to cut back to one mini-challenge per week and depend on the “Forum Faithful” to populate the do-it-yourself self-service forum. So keep 'em coming.

Happy New Year, everyone.

~DannyR~

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LEGAL VERBIAGE
Alan Smallbone retains the U.S. and international copyright © not only for the original image, but also for any photo-art versions of it. Unauthorized distribution or use of this image without permission are prohibited.

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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 art form until the next major 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? Animated entries are definitely welcome. There have been some really funny ones submitted in the past. Fish jumping, leaves falling, wheels turning. You get the idea.
. * 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.


A special message to those who are new to Photo-art
… Who may be feeling a little uncomfortable about posting an entry.

If you’ve read this far, it means you’re at least curious. That’s a good sign. :)

But what if you’re feeling a little squeamish about posting your first image?

From time to time I hear from those who want to participate, but have considerable anxieties about posting their creations in these mini-challenge. “I’m just a beginner. My pictures don’t belong,” “I see the works of others and I know I’ll never get that good,” “How am I supposed to compete with those wonderful creations?” are typical expressions of concern.

To which I say: Put your fears to rest. This isn’t a competition. You will not be judged in the traditional “art critique” sense. Your honor isn’t on the line. This isn’t about who’s best.

Don’t hold back from participating and posting your creation because your initial attempts don’t measure up (in your own mind) to images generated by folks with more experience than you.

This is a no-fault, all-fun way to jump in the pool. Everyone started the same place: The beginning. Everyone who is more skilled and experienced than you got to that point by practicing, experimenting, asking questions, learning from others, and participating.

Can one learn without interacting with others? Sure. Can one learn as fast? Absolutely not.

When you participate, others get to know you. That makes it easier to ask them questions. Asking questions leads to learning from those with more experience than you. It just keeps getting better and better!

By all means give it a go. You’ll be glad you did.

The pep talk cheerfully brought to you by:

Danny Raphael
Photo-based Art Forum Moderator

Based on the "watercolor tutorial" at www.myJanee.com and modified pretty much by trial and error from there.

Beautiful picture, Alan! Waxwings are among my favorite birds. Here is "the usual."

Phyllis

Followed by something very UN-usual. It's a little bit of everything, including FPear India ink and hue and cry with KPT equalize and assorted Photoshop filters and blends in there somewhere too.

Phyllis

I followed DannyR's new Basic skills tutorial from here (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4770).

Attached is the result. I'm quite pleased with it!

Phyllis: I rather like the "UN" usual one, can't figure out why though. How did you do the "wavy" pattern on the background? was it a specific package?

As I've already posted this in the tutorial I thought I'd save a little space and just link to it. (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=40363)

And another, a watercolour effect this time.

Phyllis:

Both wonderful as usual; #2 is especially unique.

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Collin:

WOW! Looks like you nailed tutorial #4. Great interpretation -- and nice job on the links, too!

Seeing your results so soon after posting #4 does my heart good. Thanks for sharing your results -- in both places.

~Danny~

Thanks! I learn from the best!

:D

I think I must get just a little "too excited" sometimes!

two more, this one, a pastel . . . I hope

And this one a softer drawing. I just added a brightness/contrast layer and played with the settings.

I might stop, I might play more though :D

Hi,

Danny, Phyllis and Collin, great stuff. Glad you liked the picture Phyllis, I like waxwings also, tough to get them to sit still to get a good picture of them.

Here is my attempt, I sepia toned it and added the border.

Alan

Originally posted by collinf
Phyllis: I rather like the "UN" usual one, can't figure out why though. How did you do the "wavy" pattern on the background? was it a specific package?

The wavy colors are from the "hue and cry" filter in a package made by Flaming Pear. The wavy basketweave texture is the result of embossing the India ink filter, also from Flaming Pear.

Collin, excellent work on all versions! I can't pick a favorite, but I must comment on the satiny smoothness of the watercolor one...gorgeous.

Alan, they look great in sepia, and I LOVE that border! Where did that come from? And what camera and lens did you use to get that wonderful picture in the first place?

Chuck, you passed with flying colors! It's lovely. Must have taken some time to get that realistic painting effect. I have tried art history brush a few times but really lack the patience to do it right. Nice work.

Phyllis

Alan -- wonderful image! You've given everyone a great starting point, and there are many wonderful renditions here.

This one is trying to emphasize the feeling of winter -- used glowing edges, sprayed strokes, a neutral layer with spatter and other filters...

Collin...

It never occurred to me to include B/C adjustment layer as part of the standard 'pencil sketch' (non-color) method. You've just added your own personal touch!

Chuck:

Very nice results with History brush on this one. I like this interpretation a lot.


Phyllis:

Embossed India Ink? Who'da a thunk it. Now I gotta dust that one off and give it another look. Trouble-maker! :)


Alan:

Nice work + great frame. The sepia effect really works here.

How 'bout sharing your frame method in THIS THREAD (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4688). Curious minds (mine, especially) would like to know. I've not seen one like this before.

~Danny~

Chuck - I can see I'm gonna have to get this paint engine thing and play too!

Your image first made me think of fibreglass, I know not why. I like it though!

Thinking of printing out the original of this for my Mom - she loves birds!
Auto levels on original, dupe.
Invert, blend mode to Darken.
Copy original, put on top layer. FP Chroma Solarize, blend mode to Hard Light.
Hue/Sat and sharpen to suit.
:wavey:

Same as previous, except ran anisotropic diffuse on it, and then the Sketchy action, copied, reverted, pasted and set blend to multiply.
:wavey:

Painter 7 was under the Christmas Tree this year. Here's my first posting. I simplified the picture with Buzz Pro before switching to Painter.

Jim

Hi Everyone,

Boy there has been some great stuff posted. I am slowly learning a lot.

The specifics of the photo are as follows. It was taken at the Los Angeles Arboretum with a Canon D60, with a 400mm lens and a 1.4x extender and with the D60 crop factor works out to a 35mm equiv. of a about 896mm of lens. The other details are ISO 100, 1/200 at f8. The D60 is a fairly new camera for me, I got it at the end of Sept. before that I had an Olympus E-10 and I still have my Nikon CP990, and my film cameras.

The edge in my version was from a freeware edge collection, I downloaded it off the Adobe forum, the disclaimer for the actions say that they can be freely distributed, the web site no longer exists for the author, so here is the zip distribution of the Edge collection action.

Have fun!

Alan
:)

Using PSP7:
duplicate layer.
applied pencil filter (white) to duplicate layer.
set blend mode to luminance.
decreased opacity of duplicate layer slightly.

put frame on picture
put a lighting effects on birds top layer
put grain filter top layer
put pencil on bottom layer

Everybody's post are great but Alan I really like your touch. /what did you use for the frame.


Anyway I tried a water c9olor for the first time.

Filter water color
recolor to get the effect
curves to l;ighten and add contrast.
Rice paper.

Hope I would get a painted look.

Its getting harder to come up with new quality stuff to keep up with you guys.

Thanks phili, if you look a couple of messages up you can see the post where I attached the edges action files. They are freeware actions I picked up from the Adobe forum.

Alan

I’m still working on a watercolor technique.

I think you are there, really very nice Trimoon.

This is a supurb shot of Waxwings in its own! Heres my art try

A Very Happy New Year to all.....

Schwartzie.....just love your watercolors. This one is a bit darker and more colorful.
.....

I just couldn't decide which of these worked the best....

And then came this one.....

Hello everyone:) Some really fantastic entries, I can't stop looking at them!!

This is such a beautiful image. My first interpretation...perfect for an Ornithology book. So that's the direction I worked from. The information came from the Encyclopedia Americana, and Usborne Science & Nature Ornithology. Here's my contribution. Thanks for the opportunity. Thanks, Danny for all your hard work!!!!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year:)

Wanda

Still at it.

Goldcoin: A+ on pushing the envelope on yours! Well done.
Wanda: Happy New Year! Always glad to see your beautiful work.

My contribution to the WONDERFUL efforts so far.

The image...
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=40283 - pic

from this tutorial:
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=40283#post40283

Great way to start the new year looking at these.

~Danny~

In keeping with Wanda & Steve's birdbook interpretations.

Goldcoin - Nice! I really like it. A different approach that turned out to be quite BEAUTIFUL:)

Trimoon - Just wonderful as usual. I never tire viewing your work.
All those views, they're mine;)

Danny - Thank you:) I LOVE your entry, so soft, muted, and VERY inviting. Appreciate the tutorial very much, thanks! How do you find the time:question:

BigAl - What can I say except you can't improve on perfection. Just beautiful:)

Wanda

here's my try at this challenge. I was mostly following the watercolor tutorial that Cricket posted, with a bit of tweaking.

- David :)

Hi Chuck,

thanks, yeah I couldn't decide on what kind of blue to use as a background. I didn't use buzz pro, instead I tried using the filter Other>Mininum instead which got an interesting result.

- David :)

Wow Wow Wow
You guys have been really busy working on this picture..There are so many beautiful results that I am just amazed..

I have been busy trying to learn to use my new tablet (this has not been really intuative for me a mixed up left hander) I am getting used to it and also have been wading through the Painter instructions..

I used Linda's sketch routine to create a ink sketch.. Then imported it to Painter and Hand Airbrushed some color back into the birds..

Wanda, any tips for a Painter challenged newbie..

Thanks
Jerry :D

David, really nice:) your image to me appears to have a water fall behind the birds which gives it depth. It looks handpainted!!

Jerry, wow, that's really impressive:) I don't think you're going to have any problems with Painter. Tips: All I can do is tell you what I did. I practiced for hours using the brushes, pens, pencils, etc. to become familiar with which one did what. I practiced, praticed, practiced brush strokes. Geez, Jerry, look what you did right off the bat. I guess some of us are just slow learners:(

cut out birds put on new layer
layer 1 edge finder
lighting effects(cut out)
layer 2 aetherize(cut out)
layer 3 (full) put a pencil2 adjusted color and put a grain texture
on layer 1&2 put sharpen edges more

CJ, I like the rough glass look you achieved...but I think I'd have erased those distracting black spots left along the edges.

Chuck, your Paint Engine version is wonderful. Guess I'll have to get the whole package...I think I just have a few of its filters that came with Paint Shop Pro.

BK, nice color effects, and the bright narrow edges are a pleasant change from black outlining.

Jim, smoooooth. You are going to be a Painter Pro in no time!

Al, I like the delicate simple look of this drawing, but perhaps it would show up better with more contrast and less overall brightness. Then again, my Mac tends to show pics brighter than Windows does, so I guess I'll just download it and adjust it myself. :)

PJB, looks like you painted it on homemade paper...what a deep texture! Nice framing too.

Trimoon, the second attempt is IT! BINGO! Love it!

Schwartzie, don't know how you did this watercolor, but it really looks great. I like the way the outline fades in and out...in fact, I'd like to see it even softer, less pure black if possible.

Goldcoin, I couldn't pick either! First I thought I liked the second one (and I do!) but then I looked again at the bright primary colors in the first...and ...well, I like them both for different reasons I guess. In both cases, the texture you chose goes well with the birds.

Wanda and Al, yours look like they came straight from an Audobon Bird Book!

Danny, nice job on that sketch technique...works well with this subject since it's not a very cluttered pic so the blacks on the branches and around the eyes fit in just right!

David, that technique is perfect for this pic! Good choice, and good job. Sometimes art is not just knowing how to do something, but knowing WHEN and WHERE to do it.

Jerry, good job on Linda's sketch technique...daring background color change, but I like the way it blends with the birds.

PJB, daring treatment! What texture and depth! What shine and shimmer! Fun to look at!

Phyllis

This is my first Mini Photo Art Challenge, and as I was kind of stuck with what to do with the winter farm scene, I combined the two and came up with this. I was trying to make you feel like you are watching these two birds out your window on a frosty day. (Please excuse me...I don't know whether they are winter birds or not, but they are now) It is also my first attempt at making the window from scratch which I made in Paint Shop Pro.....
Thank you for letting me post my finished product.
and thanks for the Challenge !

Sheryl

I don't know where my attachment went. If someone can let me know how to do it....I will try and repost it....

Thank you

Sheryl

Semara .....

How interesting, like what you did with the frame work. Welcome:)

Sheryl, welcome! What a wonderful idea...looks great...you even put snow on the window! Well done.

I did a couple with Paint Shop Pro filters and PS7 finishing touches. Tried to make this one look like colored pencil, using a weave texture pattern adj layer that came with PS7.

Phyllis

This one is done with Virtual Painter Collage combined with a Paint Engine filter.

Phyllis

Phyllis, I really like your colored pencil rendition. It fits well with the birdbook images.

Playing around in Painter this is what I came up with...
Wanted it to look like an incomplete sketch/painting.

Steps:
1. In Painter, cloned image, selected all, deleted image, changed paper to tracing paper.
2. Using the Pencil tool I sketched in portions of the image
3. Used color overlay and surface texture to create the background texture
4. Used the impasto clone brush to fill in the sketch and create the heavy brush strokes
5. Saved the image and brought in into PhotoShop where I used an emboss layer to further emphasize the brush strokes.
6. Saved for web.

This was a really quick experiment with Painter. I am starting to really like the program. It has so much potential...I just have to learn it now.

~T

Wow that is awesome, the feeling of depth to the textures is amazing. Great job.

Alan

TPaul, if I didn't know better I'd suspect you of cheating...of painting a picture in acrylics then scanning it in! You have Painter nailed! Lately, so many folks here have been turning out great pics with Painter, while mine sits uninstalled on its lonely CD. I am left to eat your dust!

Phyllis<--suffers from Painterphobia

this is my pensil version. Dunno why.... but think I'm stuck with everything black and white, either pensil or infrared versions. comments are appreciated. :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid48/p9ad724a5892a93351ed6eb03bc5ddd6d/fcba4f06.jpg

T,

very nice job on this one. I realy like it. I love Painter too but, as you say, 'It has so much potential' wich means that there's a lot to learn and, as a french canadian, just the vocabulary is a big obstacle to me (those dab, well, bristle, rake... !). But with time... Bravo again.

T Paul That is outstanding. Love the colors

Phyllis, your color pencil version is top shelf..REALLY like that one..

T.. REally like your impasto entry..That effect in Painter has a lot of possibilities..Painter has so much to offer and is hard to learn but with more and more folks posting, I think it will get easier as time goes by..

Jerry :D

Nice one T, but why on earth did you want to leave it unfinished? ;)

Anubis, you really have a knack for b/w...this one shimmers and glows, the shading is superb! Personally, I prefer b/w sketch looks to color or sepia. And many photos look more dramatic in b/w also, so keep up the good work! Have you tried working with separate color channels after turning each into b/w?

Phyllis

WOW...truly blushing on my end. Thanks everyone for the great compliments.

Phyllis..."left to eat your dust", that's quite the compliment coming from you. Thanks! I felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by Painter too so I am just starting with it slow and easy...baby steps. You should experiment with it's cloning tools as they make a master painter out of anyone. So in a way I am cheating as I am just cloning. When I produce an image on my own and not from a tracing...then that truly will be a wonderful feat!

BigAl,
I must admit it was hard to leave unfinished. Orginally I had planned to leave more of it unfinished so that everyone could see the steps I took in Painter, but I was having so much fun and was so impressed with the impasto brush that I completed more than I intended to. I am just using all the default settings right now, but when I really learn this program and start playing with the settings, layers, filters and so on...look out! ;)

~T

WOW! Such great entries in this challenge.

Danny,
Nice watercolor effect. I also like the torn edges border.

CollinF
Great entries. The watercolor is my favorite though. It has a very soft look to it.

Phyllis,
“The Usual” Another nice simplified filter entry. I really like the strong, simplified shapes it creates. Definitely a really nice technique. As for the “un-usual”…very bizarre almost psychedelic man ;)

Alan,
Love the sepia results and the border works great with the image!

Chuck,
Nice results. I like your techniques of using a large brush on the outside and decreasing the size of the brush as you worked in. The results are more details in the center where the subject matter is and thus where your focus should be. Nicely done!

CJ,
The splatter strokes created a lovely texture, almost like you are looking through thick textured glass. I like the glowing edges too. Overall, the image has a very nice look to it. Well done!

Chuck,
Paint Engine hmm….very nice results! Think I will have to experiment with it too. Looks like fun!

~T

Blacknight,
WOW! Love the results! The colors are vibrant making the image just pop of the page, yet still soft. I am going to have to try this technique out. I like both entries, but I like the crispness of the first. Very cool!!

Jim,
Very nice Painter results. I like your technique of simplifying the image before working on it in Painter. I will have to try that one out for myself. Nicely done!

BigAl –Very soft tone almost like using pastels and painting with light. Your second image is great as well. It does look like it could be a bird book cover.

PJB,
I like the dark tone and the rough edge border. The black outer border really makes the image “pop”.

Phili1, Schwartzie, Goldcoin, Wanda
Very nice entries. Looks like the waxwing has been a great subject and inspiration to everyone.

Trimoon,
Very lovely results. Soft, delicate, and a very nice border. Very well done! Love the watercolor entry as well. Simply beautiful.

David,
Love the bold brush strokes in the background!

Jerry,
I like your ink sketch results. It’s very similar to what I did with the impasto brush in Painter. Looks like we had very similar ideas.

~T

Semara,
Great results for your first Photo Art entry! I like your concept of looking out at the birds through a snowy window. Nicely done.

Phyllis,
Two more great entries. I don’t know which I like better. I like the crispness of the color pencil entry, but I like the fluidness of the one done with Virtual Painter Collage.

Anubis,
Very nice B&W pencil entry. You created some very realistic pencil results down to the smudging. The birds really stand out against the blurred background. Nicely done.

Really great work by all!

~T

Originally posted by pstewart
Anubis, you really have a knack for b/w...this one shimmers and glows, the shading is superb! Personally, I prefer b/w sketch looks to color or sepia. And many photos look more dramatic in b/w also, so keep up the good work! Have you tried working with separate color channels after turning each into b/w?

Phyllis
Errr.... no. Actually, I've not givien it any thought till now. Will try it out tonight. Thanks Phyllis. :)


And T Paul,
thanks for your comments. Am trying to figure out a way to get the exact effect of your background with PS7 (I do not have the Painter software). Any tips that you can offer?

T...

Positively jaw dropping. Awesome and inspirational.

~Danny~

My cats think all of the entries are "tastfully" done!

PI colored pen then into Photoshop for lighting and greylayer to tone down the brightness

bubba

NIce effect bubba. HOw the little cowpoke doing.

TRied to create a wall paper effect.

Bubba, great job! Looks like a book illustration.

Phili, wow...love that background!

Phyllis

Hi guys just tuning my brush tech with the Wacom. I starting to like the control for han d painting. I find that it is awsome for those who are thinking of it for facial retoucvhing when reducing skin highlights.

Wow, what a fantastic gallery of styles and techniques. So many excellent renditions of this subject! Here's mine. It's mostly just a jumble of filters...

Pam

Don--glad you dug this one up. It's a nice image to work with.

I used one of the new actions (craq--difference tiles) but turned off the layers (G and H) that gave the tiled look. This is my favorite ( I haven't tested all of them yet) so far.

PSP8. Edge preserving smooth followed by brush strokes. Applied Texture Effects - Old Paper.

Catia

Hopefully this looks something like a water colour.


Peter

Peter, I wouldn't know about water color; but I do like this one and the style you did it in works well with this pictures. Good job.

Janet

Peter, I wouldn't know about water color; but I do like this one and the style you did it in works well with this pictures. Good job.

Janet


Thanks Janet.
I am never quite sure what style is what anyhow, I get confused very easily.

Peter