FIRST MINI-CHALLENGE -or- NEW TO PHOTO-ART?

New guidelines (subject to fine tuning):
* For each mini-challenge, post up to two (2) interpretations with attached images of your interpretation(s). **

* For each include enough step-by-step detail to give someone a reasonable chance to recreate (or approximate) your results. That way all of us can learn from each other. Obviously it’s impossible to explain things like “individual brush strokes,” but do include such details as filters used, plugins used, blend mode detail, etc.

* Preferred format: 1), 2), 3), etc. on individual steps vs. writing it out in paragraphs. Step-by-step is easier for newbies to follow.

* If you used a technique described elsewhere, include a link to the thread or tutorial.

* You may include an additional post with a screenshot of your Layers Palette if that’s easier than writing out the details.

* If you used one or more Photoshop actions, you can .zip the action set(s) and include in another post separate post or refer to the site from which you downloaded the action, with the applicable action set name.

Focus on quality, not quantity – and sharing your techniques. Unique and/or creative writeups will be preserved and noted in the "Best of Photo-art" forum.

** If you would like to do more interpretations, here’s how to do that:
- Post them at a public site, such as www.pbase.com and include as many links IN A SINGLE POST as you would like.
- You can edit your own posts after the fact if you create subsequent versions and want to include them. Do not add additional posts (beyond the first that includes links) to the thread for each link to a gallery site.

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PHOTO ART: Mini-challenge #135 – Vietnam

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 below the photo description.

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I thought this was a compelling image.

Let’s start a new era with some compelling interpretations.

Danny

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LEGAL VERBIAGE
Meir 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.

This interpretation was done using the Photoshop action available in this action collection (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=33145#post33145).

The name of the action is "ART-Cutout Jaseck Paint Effect."

1. Applied action
2. On a new layer at the top of the layer stack applied the Edit > Stroke command twice, 6 pxl white inside stroke followed by a 3 pxl black inside stroke.

Here is my contribution.

By the way, I love the textures in all of the previous submissions.

Created a Sepia tone, and a sketch.. Laid them on top of each other.. then cropped, burned, and painted white around...

There's a nice variety of submissions here today. :-)

1. Make a duplicate layer of the image.
2. Run buzz simplifier to blur lightly.
3. Run Flaming Pear's Melancholytron to get the brown tones and edge blur. Reduce opacity slightly to let a little color through.
4. Turn this layer into a mask and paint the color back into the people and basket.
5. Lower the red saturation on the original image--the red bag was glowing at this point.

Buzz can be found here http://www.fo2pix.com/
Melancholytron can be found here http://www.flamingpear.com/

My compliments to all for embracing the new format and spirit of detail.

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Chuck:

I was noticing while plowing through the mini's the past few days how often you included "how to" steps. A belated thanks for doing that so many times in the past, as well has here, too.

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Cheryl:

That's a very creative technique and combination of filters. You're already teaching us how to get more mileage out of our plugin collections!

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Fish:

Xaos Pa = Paint Alchemy plugin, right?

RE: Buzz simplfier
I'll jump in since I'm here...

The Buzz plugin comes in various packages (and prices) of which "PRO" consists of more filters (and prests) than the "Lite" package. Simplifier is among the filters and is what put Buzz on the map (I think).

You know how Photoshop's Glowing Edges filter is like an extension of Find Edges? Buzz Simplfier is in the same ballpark, but gives one much better control over edge selection and characteristics.

RE: Wanna replace an image?
That's no problem. Edit your post and in the Attach file box, choose "replace image" and point to your replacement.

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CHARITY:

To see if I understand, you have a layer setup something like this...

Color Fill (sepia tone)
Sketch version of the original

Then you did some buring on the sketch layer?

Yes.. I'm sorry for not following the guidelines... .Didn't notice the new guidelines until after I posted..

Note to self: work on attention to detail..:)

Photoshop 7.0
1. Duplicated layer and created a sepia toned image.
2. Duplicated Original again, Desaturated.
3. Duplicated Desaturated, Inverted and set blend mode
to "Color Dodge"
4. Guassian blur on Inverted Layer..
5. Flattened Desaturated "sketch layers"
6. Set flattened sketch layer blend mode to "soft light" (I think)
7. Cropped
8. Burned some of the lines in on the sketch layer
9. Created new layer and painted in white with a very large soft
brush around subjects.
10. Flattened and saved for web.

Thats it.. Sorry again for not reading and jumping in before understanding the rules....

PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! :bawling:

Here's a pearlized version:

Start by duplicating the original layer, and lighten slightly (brightness 20). Duplicate this layer twice. You should now have 4 layers. The original, and 3 lighter ones.

On the very top layer, make the blend mode dodge (linear dodge, I think), and invert(negative) it. This leaves it looking white. Go to Gaussian Blur, and set it for about 50 or 55. This should change the white layer to a colored sort of haloed layer. Merge this layer with the one immediately beneath it. Set the blend mode for difference, and the opacity to 58%.

Let's rename the layers so we can keep track of them. Name the lowest one Original, the next up name lighter, and the top one that you just got when you merged, name it halo outline.

Now, move the "lighter" so that it is on the top. Duplicate this layer. You will now have these layers:

duplicate of lighter
lighter
halo outline
original.

Set the duplicate of lighter to dodge blend mode, invert, and then gaussian blur, this time with a setting of 2 or 3. Merge this layer with the one below it.

Rename the merged layer to Outline. Now your layers should be:

outline
halo outline
original.

Duplicate the outline layer. Your layers should now be:

duplicate of outline
outline
halo outline
original.

Make a duplicate of your original layer, and move this to the top.

Make a duplicate of your halo outline, move this to the top, over the one you just moved.

Now adjust and check your blend modes and opacities as follows.

Layers and blend modes as follows:
Top layer - duplicate of halo outline, set to Luninance, opacity 36
Next layer down - duplicate of original, color (legacy) blend mode, opacity 100.
Next layer down - duplicate of outline, set to exclusion, opacity 100.
Next layer down - outline, set to multiply, opacity 100.
Next layer down - halo outline, set to difference, opacity 85.
Bottom layer - original, set to normal.

Hi Chuck. You didn't miss the top layer, I didn't add it before. I did something a little different, as the original method didn't look right on this image.

Tyeise

Very nice submissions.

Don't have a name for this ...

1. Duplicate layer Back ground layer
2. On duplicated layer: Filter>Artistic>Cutout…. (No. of Levels = 7 Edge Simplicity = 4 Edge Fidelity = 2)
3. Open Oil texture (don’t remember where I got this, will post jpeg after this post)
4. On Oil texture document apply Filter>Diffuse>Anisotropic
5. Drag or copy Oil texture onto the image you are working on (make top most layer)– resize to cover the complete image.
6. Blend Mode = Multiply (you can try other blend modes to taste)
7. Emboss Oil texture layer
8. Duplicate Oil texture layer – leave both oil texture layers on top.
9. Duplicate Cutout lay
10. on duplicated Cutout layer -- Image>Adjustments>Desaturate -- then
11. Curves In = 110 Out = 161 --- then
12. Image>Adjustments>Equalize – then
13. Blend Mode = Multiply, Opacity = 27% Fill = 41%
14. Duplicate Cutout layer
15. On duplicated layer Filter>Stylize>Find Edges – then
16. Select>Color Range - used eyedropper to select the light and med grey areas --- then
17. Edit>Fill> White 100% opacity -- then
18. Blend Mode = Overlay Opacity = 71% Fill = 85% --
19. Then Filter>Brush Stokes>Angled Strokes…. Direction Balance=50, Stoke Length =12, Sharpness=5.
20. Flatten image
21. Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast - Brightness = +9, Contrast = +2
22. Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation – Saturation +29

Oil Texture

Made 3 dupes of the background, applied dry brush, smudge stick, and spatter (one filter to each layer). Changed blend mode to luminosity on each layer, then a levels layer. Merged them and then used a very light craqueler texter.

2nd submission

It's nice to see everyone including the steps they took to get their end result. My printer is busy again today :)

1. Made 2 duplicates of the background.
2. Ran Artistic--Palette Knife on the bottom copy.
3. Ran Texture--Photo copy on the top copy. Reduced opacity by half and changed the blending mode--I think I settled on color burn in the end.
4. Added a hue/saturation adjustment layer on top and reduced the saturation a little over half way down.
5. Painted with black on the hue/saturation layer to get the color back in the people.

E.B. ---

Very interesting results.

I'm trying to recreate, but am havig some difficulties. Something like


D. Levels
C. Copy of BG + Dry brush (Luminosity, ??%)
B. Copy of BG + Smudge Stick (Luminosity, ??%)
A. Copy of BG + Spatter (Luminosity, ??%)
Background

...then flattened and apply Craquelure.

What opaicty %'s (approx) are you using on the Dry Brush, Smudge Stick and Spatter layers?

Thx/Danny

Originally posted by TwinbNJ
Open Oil texture (don't remember where I got this, will post jpeg after this post)

You got it from me. (How soon they forget... sob-bbb-b--b-b-bb...) ;)

It's one of the oil paint textures I made a while back. Chuck likes to use the Van Gogh one (a lot...hehe). This one came before that.

You can find those two and one more here:
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4839&highlight=textures

And the original texture in vertical format here:
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=41012

Jill, you've done an excellent rendition here...very nice indeed! :bigthmb:

Phyllis

Danny,

Reverse layer A and C...spatter should be just under levels.

Dry Brush: Brush Size 2, Detail 8, Texture 1

Smudge Stick: Stroke 2, Highlight 0, Intensity 10

Spatter: Radius 10, Smoothness 5

As I've said before, I'm still experimenting with this. One thing I don't understand is that with Spatter as the next to the top layer, turning of the other filterd layers doesn't seem to have any effect, at least that I could tell. It's possible that you could eliminate the dry brush and smudge stick layers and get the same result.

I'll have to check that out.

E.B.

I need to fix the instructions I forgot a color change on one layer and a few ohter things.

Dup org.
Curves 165 - 213
Dup lightened copy
turn off bottom (orig. layer)
top copy - find edges layer mode color dodge image- adj. -invert filter - gaussian blur 4.5
merge visible layer
turn org. back on and copy
move to top torn edge 25- 11-17 (color pallete needs to be front B7AOB5 background color 92877F) - luminosity
copy orig move to top - filter artistic -cutout 4-4-2 multiply opacity 100%
copy cutout layer - poster edge 2-1-2
layer mode - luminosity - opacity 65%

Jean

Beautifull submissions so far!

desataurate, adjust levels and playing with the lighting to get this dreamy effect.

Getting dark on the river

Hi Herman:

What did you do to achieve the results in your second version? (We're trying to provide enough detail so rookies can follow along, too.)

Thx/Danny

Yes, indeed I forgot to post the steps for my second submission!

I used Paint Shop Pro for this one. I copied the image without the air on a second layer, used the aged newspaper effect on both. Adjusted the levels to make the top layer a bit darker. On the first layer I used the lighting effect on the upper left corner with a color I picked from the picture. Adjusted the opacity on the second layer.

This is my first time participating in a challenge here, and I would appreciate any comments (good/bad.)

The steps I took in Photoshop:

1. Duplicate > overlay / opacity 40% > gaussian blur 20.
2. Duplicate the overlay layer > lighten > op. 25%
3. Erase selectively with soft brush, 20% / 30% flow, to retain some detail in the water.
4. Duplicate the lighten layer > darken > op. 80%
5. Erase unwanted halos with soft brush, 20% / 30% flow. Also use clone tool if necessary to blend tones.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 so there are two darken layers.
7. Flatten
8. Select and use curves to darken hat on person on right
9. On entire image, increase red and yellow curves to warm image slightly
10. USM 20% - 50% rad - 4 threshold (increases general contrast)
11. Hue/sat: master +13 sat, red -18 sat, yellow +4 hue -10 sat
12. Apply "van gogh soft" texture (thank you for making that available!) to a new layer set to overlay, 100%
13. On the texture layer, filter - artistic - underpainting, small brush setting. Fade 50%.
14. Again on the texture layer, clone selectively to increase texture where needed
15. Flatten
16. Vignette edges: lasso tool, select rough circular area, feather 25, invert, curves - reduce midpoint to darken.
17. Select people and baskets, feather 5, increase contrast with s-curve
18. Entire image: USM 20 amt - 50 rad - 4 threshold (yes, again.) Then USM once more, 120 - 0.3 - 0.
19. Save for web, jpeg level 40.

Thanks Fishboy. I appreciate your candor. I mostly do portrait touchup so this artsy-fartsy stuff is fairly new to me. I think I tried too many techniques at once, but have learned from your comments.

It's good to see such a robust community here!

I’m in the process of developing an action under Photoshop 7 that was used to render this image. (I believe it will run OK under PS6.)

This action, which is still under construction, can be downloaded via the attachment in the post following this one.

This action generates oodles of layers. For this particular interpretation only the layers shown in the Layers Palette screenshot are visible. All others are turned off.

Layer “Overlay,65%…”
A copy of the original Background. Used to restore color.

Hue/Saturation:
Used to desaturate the Find Edges layer below it.

Levels:
Used to affect the Find Edges output. Note the extreme value in the 3rd parameter.

Layer E (the Find Edges “E”):
Layer masked out a lot of the Find Edges detail. Kept it mostly to outline the people and highlight a few items in the background.

Layer “E-D+Spatter”:
I just noticed I’ve got two layer E’s (I told you this action was under construction!). The “E-D+Spatter” was a result of applying numerous filters to a BW version of the image.

If anyone has questions about the action, feel free to ask.

Cheers...
~Danny~

Attachment includes the action an a snapshot of the Layers Palette.

No, I do not know the photographer, but I know the place this was taken very well. I think that often knowing more about a photograph can influence artistic interpretations, so even though I was not able to join in the fun when this image was posted I'm hoping that someone might be interested in the legend of the place this photo was taken.

The pagoda that is blurred in the background is known as the "Turtle Pagoda". It is located in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake which is situated in the middle of Hanoi. The pagoda is very famous and has pretty much become the "symbol" of Hanoi.

The legend goes like this (taken from the Lonely Planet Guide Viet Nam):
In the mid-15th century, Heaven gave Emperor Ly Thai To a magical sword, which he used to drive the Chinese out of Viet Nam. One day after the war, while out boating, he came upon a giant golden turtle swimming on the surface of the water; the creature grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of the lake. Since that time, the lake has been known as Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword) because the turtle restored the sword to its divine owners.

I have spent countless hours around this lake at all hours of the day. It is fantastic for people watching, though it's impossible to sit "quietly" without dozens of postcard sellers trying to get you to buy something. :( The morning is my favorite time because everyone is out exercising - different groups doing different forms of exercise all with their own (different) music (on boomboxes): Tai Chi, western-style aerobics, fans, swords, etc.

OK, enough of the geography lesson. ;) I still hope I can find time to work on this image.

Jeanie

Please don't ask the steps (because I did a lot of playing; :lmao: ). I used a Script-fu called Invert Colours and using various layer properties in GIMP, created a watercolor that I ported into Photoshop. I used Impressionist and Flaming Pear's Pixel Trash along with Photoshop's Chrome filter to get the majority of the oil texture. I ported the file back into GIMP for additional bumpmapping and added the canvas texture on just the lighter colors using Cybia's Alphaworks eliminate black filter. I attached a crop just in case Imageshack ever removes the original photo, but the details have to be seen full res (http://img499.imageshack.us/img499/8894/135vietnam7df.jpg). :)

Outstanding! Just wish that tut worked with Paint Shop Pro.

Steve



I need to fix the instructions I forgot a color change on one layer and a few ohter things.

Dup org.
Curves 165 - 213
Dup lightened copy
turn off bottom (orig. layer)
top copy - find edges layer mode color dodge image- adj. -invert filter - gaussian blur 4.5
merge visible layer
turn org. back on and copy
move to top torn edge 25- 11-17 (color pallete needs to be front B7AOB5 background color 92877F) - luminosity
copy orig move to top - filter artistic -cutout 4-4-2 multiply opacity 100%
copy cutout layer - poster edge 2-1-2
layer mode - luminosity - opacity 65%

Jean

Watercolor for water image.

Steve

very nice, steve :)

and as for this: Outstanding! Just wish that tut worked with Paint Shop Pro.

Steve amen, brother! (we need to start a secret forum here just for us poor Paint Shop Pro'ers where we can plot and complain and put matches between the toes of those nasty Photoshop'ers ;) )

craig

and as for this: amen, brother! (we need to start a secret forum here just for us poor Paint Shop Pro'ers where we can plot and complain and put matches between the toes of those nasty Photoshop'ers ;) )

craig

Craig and i thought you were a friend ! ! ! !
and as been proved as late the Paint Shop Pro'ers are doing some very excellent work :bow: ( not that they didn't anyway oh heck getting myself in trouble again :scared: )

Palms

And good health and a prosperous new year to all even Paint Shop Pro'ers

palms,

hehehe, you are a dear :) and of course there would be exceptions to the above ;)

and happy new year to you too and to all :)

craig

Here's my water color version !

Chance