A good friend, Harry Ellerton, who was recently inspired by one of Duv's creations, had a suggestion: "How about a thread dedicated to creations rendered exclusively by the Microsoft Impressionist plugin (PC only) with the requirement that specific Impressionist setting details be provided..."

Sounds like fun!

Guidelines:
* No Buzz, Flaming Pear, Virtual Painter, Zero, etc. filters/plugins
* No arty or distortion filters
* OK to sharpen or use filters like Unsharp Mask, Find Edges or Smart Blur/Edge Only for edge definition. Adjustment Layers OK, too.

Include the Impressionist Category and Varient, e.g., Chalk-Chunk Strokes. If you make setting changes, please note them, otherwise default settings are assumed.

Go for it!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Use your own "before" picture. You don't need to use the one I used.

There's no time limit on this. Add to this thread whenever you're inspired to do so.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Details on mine (see Layers Palette snapshot). Image built from the bottom up.
* Layer A: Copy of Background. Impressionist Watercolor: Damp Translucent Wash. Setting changes: Background = Image. Pressure = 100.
* B: Copy of Background. (Pin Light) Pencil Sketch: Soft Detailed (default settings)
* C: Copy of Background. (Luminosity). Layer > Add Layer Mask > Hide all. Painted white around leg area to restore a little detail.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

OK... Your turn. Let's see some creative uses of Impressionist.

Thanks, Harry, for the idea, and to Tom Judd who inspired me to rewrite the instructions for my initial creation!

~Danny~

Style: Pointillist Sparse
Background: Dark Blue
Brush: 25%
coverage: 100%
Pressure: 200
Added Sandwater Silver frame.

Cheers
Dave

How could I resist this one. :happy: I read the directions as 1 pass of impressionist and nothing else, so here it is.

Custom preset 01 CH textured--crackled paint 1

General
background: sepia image
brush size 100%
coverage 98
pressure 105

Brush
brush--pain2c (use family)
smudge 0
pressure 105

Size
number of sizes 3
min 6
max 10

Color
Stroke color--from image
Jitter H 5, S 5, B 5
brightness 50
contrast 60

Paper
texture roughsto (might not be built in--I've made lots of custom paper) --edit--invert texture--
scale 50
grain 25
relief 2

You shouldn't have gotten me started. :ogre:

I wanted to share a technique I use in addition to settings.

Settings for custom a custom Impressionist brush I created ("02 CH non-textured--smudge 1"), which was used on both interpretations:

General
background--image
coverage 96
pressure 80

Brush
smud3c (use family)

Size
number of sizes-4
min 6
max 12

Stroke
H5, B5, S10

- - - - - - - - -

Before applying the settings above on the first (left) attachment, I created a selection using the following steps.

1. Image > Mode > CYMK
2. Duplicate black channel (turn it off so it looks normal)
3. Image > Mode > RGB
4. Load black copy as a selection
5. Run Impressionist

Applying Impressionist with this selection active preserves some of the image detail.

- - - - - - - - -

[For those into actions, I wrote one (attached below) that performs the steps Cheryl described above. - Danny]

- - - - - - - - -

Modified by DannyR to clarify steps and add PS action.

Take note of the 1st post: I tweaked the guidelines a bit. (Rank has it privs.!)

While Impressionist does some wonderful textures and stroke effects, on some images you need to restore some detail/line definition on top of what's been done with Impressionist.

Hence, the following:
* Duplicated Background
* Applied Impressionist Chalk - Chunky Strokes
* Duplicated BG again
* Applied Blur > Smart Blur > Edge Only and CTRL + I to invert the result. Changed blend mode to Darken.
* Added a Layer Mask and zapped unwanted lines.
* Added a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and boosted Saturation to about 40

For some real interesting results, try the Apply Image command on the layer created by Impressionist.

~Danny~

The image on the left (the clearer one) has the black channel loaded as a selection. I like this technique since I get the impressionist feel but still keep some detail.

Apply image looks interesting--I'm going to have to play with it this weekend.

Chalk-Detailed Opaque Strokes can be customized to render more or less detail by selecting different brush tips or adjusting options like brush size, coverage or pressure.

In this one...
* Layer A: Duplicate Background. Apply Impressionst Chalk-Detailed Opaque Strokes. Brush settings: Size, Coverage and Pressure to 60, 100, 100.
* B: Duplicate A and apply Unsharp Mask
* C: Duplicate Background again. Apply Impressionst Chalk-Detailed Opaque Strokes. Changed brush to chak6b.tif. Added Layer Mask and blended with layers below.
* D: Duplicate Background again. Apply Crayon-Short Choppy Strokes. This setting "breaks up" solid color areas like the background wall and some of the umbrella panels. I then applied Charcoal-Default to give it more of a brushed look. Added Layer Mask and blended with layers below.
* E: Added Hue/Sat adjustment layer to boost colors.

Are we having fun yet?

~Danny~

Used the action I wrote and posted above in Cheryl's post to create a selection based on the Black channel from a CMYK version of the image. (Pretty slick method, CH!!)

Then Impressionist - Chalk: Detailed Opaque Strokes was applied to a duplicate of the Background. The selection resulted in the retention of detail in several important areas of the image, e.g., tree trunks and larger limbs and people.

Deselected and duplicated the layer just rendered. Applied Impressionist - Chalk: Detailed Opaque Strokes again changing the Brush/Coverage/Pressure settings to 166, 90, 96 for a different look. Blended this layer with the layer below with a layer mask.

~Danny~

This is the most fun I've had in a while. Thanks, Harry, for suggesting this thread.

On this one:
* Layer A: Duplicated the Background and applied Impressionist Crayon: Short Choppy Strokes.
* A: Changed the layer blend mode from Normal to Hard Light.
* B: Duplicated layer B and applied the Charcoal: Default variant 4 times to "rough up" the water a bit. Used a Layer Mask to selectively apply the effect.

~Danny~

Here's another variation on the boats...

Layer A: Duplicate Background.
A: Blur > Smart Blur (Edge Only). Experiment with the settings.
A: Ctrl + I (invert) to get black lines on a white background.
A: Blur > Gaussian Blur (~ 1 pxl or so)
A: Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Experiment with the settings.
A: Stylize > Diffuse > Anisotropic
A: Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Experiment with the settings.

The result you get will probably be somewhat different than what I got due to setting variances. Not to worry. It'll be okay. :)

B: Duplicate layer A. Paint over "the black lines in the water" with white.

C: Duplicate B. Apply Impressionist's Pencil Sketch: Detailed Monochrome variant.

C: Immediately afterwards Edit > Fade (60% opacity) was applied to back off the effect a bit.

D: The original background was duplicated an dragged to the top of the layer stack.

D: Impressionist's Crayon - Short Choppy Strokes variant was applied.

D: Blend mode changed from Normal to Hard Light.

Optional (not shown), but I like this A LOT:

E: To the top of the layer stack, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Saturation = -100, Lightness = +50. This gives it a gray/pencil-like look.

Are we having fun yet?

~Danny

This isn't a killer tip, but is something to try as a novelty.

1. Duplicate image and desaturate.
2. Save grayscale version as a tif file (it's not necessary to put it in the papers folder, but keep track of where you saved it).
3. Load impressionist and choose a favorite preset (don't run it yet). In the paper section set relief to around 20 (I set the grain to around 20 too but it shouldn't be necessary). Click on the thumbnail of the paper and choose your grayscale image. I find inverting the texture worked best on the sample images I tried. Make sure scale is at 100.
4. Let the filter run. You get an embossed image.

You can also choose an alternate image to use--for example use butterflies for one and flowers for the other.

This is a Yellow Lotus; I used the Impressionist Tutorial (http://www.pbase.com/image/29293699) on this one.
I did some smudging, layer blending and texturing.




Larger Image (http://www.pbase.com/image/31065694.jpg)

Photo is mine. I opened image, duped background, Impressionist setting:
Marker-opague strokes at its default setting, changed opacity of duped layer to 72 % , merged layers, duped again, used Impressionist Chalk-Detailed Opaque strokes at its default setting, changed opacity to 65%.

opened image, duped background, impressionist-chalk-medium coverage-settings brush 100 %, Coverage 100%, pressure 86%, reduced opacity to 67%
merged layers, duped again, changed blend mode to soft light.
Photo is mine :)

Photo is mine. Opened image, duped it, Impressionist: Crayon Distressed Fresco2: settings : Brush size 47% , Coverage 63% Pressure 90%
Opacity on layer changed to 85%

Diane:

A wonderful trio of Impressionist images. Well done. I especially like the butterfly.

Thanks for sharing your creativity. Keep 'em coming!

~Danny~

Photo is mine. I don't remember every step for this, I was just playing around with Impressionist. Opened image, duped it, find edges, inverted, blend mode was pin light, merged, impressionist: crayon short choppy strokes, rought bleached fresco, last thing I think was reducing opacity to 21 %.
I liked the final result tho it probably could be a little lighter.

Diane, regarding your comment about the picture being a little lighter...
I for one like the dark just the way it is. Sure pics are great when the sun is shining brightly; but the color saturation is poor when that happens and things end up looking washed out. Your flowers really pop the way they are.
Your technique is good. I like the slightly blurred edges; yet one can tell what kind of flowers they are and feel the exuberance of so many of them clustered together. The only thing I might add to the Black Eyed Susans is their black "eye". I'm missing the dark centers.

Cheryl, the image of the cart is stupendous. I know we aren't supposed to just say WOW and let things go; but I can't add anything else. So WOW! Keep up the good work. I'm going to try that particular combination and see what I can come up with.

Danny, your work is inspiring as well. I'm definitely going to have to learn to use painter (in another thread) so that I can achieve some of your special effects. So far, the learning curve is more than I've been willing to tackle this summer. :) Oh, and p.s. I especially liked your screen shots of your actual layers.

Great job guys.

Thanks Janet. My presets are available for download. You can find the link in this thread http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8328
It's the third post down.

I'm very much still learning about painting. I know what I like when I see it; but I can't duplicate it onto paper. I'm so glad to be learning about extracurricular photoshop capabilities. I might even learn how to paint someday. Here is one of my first tries at "painting" the photoshop way.

The entire description is listed in the screenshot.

I'm very much still learning about painting. I know what I like when I see it; but I can't duplicate it onto paper. I'm so glad to be learning about extracurricular photoshop capabilities. I might even learn how to paint someday. Here is one of my first tries at "painting" the photoshop way.

The entire description is listed in the screenshot.

Good for you, Janet! This is just how you learn. Experiment with various styles and combinations and stop when you get something you like!

Over time I think you'll appreciate having named layers as you go as a creative roadmap/reminder. Speaking from experience, it's real frustrating to look at something you created six months ago, wanting to achieve similar results on another image and not remembering how you created the original.

Well done. Keep 'em coming.

~Danny~

I've just started playing with Impressionist (thx Danny) and thought I'd share my first serious attempt with the RP community. The steps taken were as follows...


Duplicated background four times, then from the bottom of the stack upwards...
Impressionist - Pencil Sketch: Soft Detailed (layer opacity reduced to 80%).
Impressionist - #djrOil24 (Hard Light blend mode).
Smart Blur (High Quality/Edges Only) - Inverted - Stylize/Diffuse/Anisotropic (Multiply blend mode & layer opacity reduced to 80%).
Created a Merged Visible layer.
Applied Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
Applied creative border.
Then, finally, I flattened the image, converted the profile & saved for web.

Hope you like the result. :happy:

Number 2. This is based on the early B&W Edges stage of Danny's above post (#10), with Impressionist: djrOil24 (modified: Brush Size 100, Coverage 100, Pressure 100). The B&W Edges layer was placed above the Impressionist layer and the blend mode was changed to multiply and then the layer opacity was reduced to 50%. Finally a 3px stroke was applied to a blank layer and Gaussian Blurred (2.0), before flattening and saving.

Hope you like it. :)

...I thought I'd share my first serious attempt...


You mean your other posted pics haven't been serious? LOL :) (I'm just jerking your chain.)

I'd say you're off to a great start, Steve. The more you use this plugin, the more your eyes will open to its possibilities. The fun has just begun.

Thanks for sharing your breakthrough creation & steps. Here's to many more in the future.

~Danny~

I don't get much chance to play with the Impressionist Plugin and now have a new dig cam too. DH bought me some flowers for our 41st anniversary on Tuesday so I took a shot or two of them. It is quite clear I'll never be a good photographer :ditsy: so I'm entirely thankful we can transform a bad photo into something which is more pleasant to view...!

PSP8.01 and Impressionist

Duped BG Layer
L2 – Screen Mode 50%/Merged
AIM/USM
Duped Layer Twice
L2 – Impressionist/Watercolour/Damp Transluscent Wash
BG =Image/Brush=137%/Cover=84%/Press=70%
Layer Blend Normal 100%
L3 – Impressionist/As above
BG=Image/Brush=400%/Cover=100%/Press=70%
Layer Blend Luminance (L) 82%
Merged all
AIM/USM
Duped Bottom Layer
Edge Dilate-LayerBlend Soft Light 62%
Merged all.
Resized for upload.
PSP/USM twice. 5/25/5

PPS8.01 and Impressionist No. 2

Auto Contrast to Lighten
AIM/USM - Duped bottom layer
L2 - Impressionist/Conte Faithful/ 200/78/100
Mode Luminance (L)/Merged layers/Duped Layer
L2 - AIM/USM Mode Normal 50%/Merged layers
Duped layer
L2 - Mode Screen 25% - Merged all.

The image is taken from http://gal.mvc.ru/gallery/ as shown below.
The impr plug-in settings were as follows:
Style - waterchalk smudged modified.
General - Backgr - image, brush size 100%, coverage 90, pressure 100.
Brush - watr5a modified (i g'blurred the image), smudge 10, pressure 100.
Placement random-90%
Size - No. of sizes 3, width min 4, max 12, ht 2.04, 6.13, distribution about even.
Color- stroke color-image, Jitter H-0,S-8,B-5, brightness 50, contr 50.
Using a layer mask and fill layer white, isolated the 2 flowers, and used the impr plugin, then the text, lastly the border.

The image is taken from http://gal.mvc.ru/gallery/ as shown below.
The impr plug-in settings were as follows:
Style - waterchalk smudged modified.
General - Backgr - image, brush size 100%, coverage 90, pressure 100.
Brush - watr5a modified (i g'blurred the image), smudge 10, pressure 100.
Placement random-90%
Size - No. of sizes 3, width min 4, max 12, ht 2.04, 6.13, distribution about even.
Color- stroke color-image, Jitter H-0,S-8,B-5, brightness 50, contr 50.
Using a layer mask and fill layer white, isolated the 2 flowers, and used the impr plugin, then the text, lastly the border.

Wow... This is exceptional.

On the settings...
* "waterchalk smudged modified" = Your name for the modified style, correct?

If so can I ask another favor? :)
* In the Impressionist dialog choose this style, as though you're going to apply it
* Click Save (Category name=#jaykita, variant name=waterchalk, file name=jaykita waterchalk.set)
* Go to the Impressionist \User Settings folder and Zip file "jaykita waterchalk.set"
* Add a post to this thread (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8328) and upload the .zip.

This is a really neat style. :)

~Danny~

Hello Danny. Thank you for the appreciation.
I'd also like to tell you that I MUST GIVE CREDIT where credit is due. Originally the "waterchalk smudged" style was taken from "Fluffbutt All Settings.set" which i downloaded from the "Impressionist plugin: Custom styles (member posted)" thread. Those are very good.
Of course, the change that i made was to modify the brush, like i said.
So if you still want me to upload the zip file with my name on it, i sure will, gladly. Please let me know.

Trying to be a bit more specific -- when i said i modified the brush, i meant that i changed the image file i.e. the brush tiff file. Got it?

Jaykita - You brought a tear to my eye, that is beautiful! Printed it off and have it next to my computer. A lovely thought and much appreciated. I've been fiddling with Impressionist for hours today and now decided that I'd better give it all away, even though I'm enjoying it...my processor is way too slow tackling "some" of the settings. Keep up the great work everyone, your results are stunning!

Cheers

Jaykita - You brought a tear to my eye, that is beautiful! Printed it off and have it next to my computer. A lovely thought and much appreciated. I've been fiddling with Impressionist for hours today and now decided that I'd better give it all away, even though I'm enjoying it...my processor is way too slow tackling "some" of the settings. Keep up the great work everyone, your results are stunning!

Cheers

Neve:

Impressionist will be really slow on high resolution images. On lower resolution images, e.g., 8 in x 12 in @ 80 ppi, it chugs along (for me anyway) at approx. the same rate as Smart Blur/Edge Only. Acceptable, but not speedy.

~Danny~

Trying to be a bit more specific -- when i said i modified the brush, i meant that i changed the image file i.e. the brush tiff file. Got it?

Ah... so you used Fluff's Waterchalk custom style (settings) and applied them with a brush you modified. (You applied Gblur to the .tif?)

That's awesome.

If I'm reading you right, I'd say, zip the waterchalk-only .set file & the modified brush .tif and upload 'em to that thread. You could give Fluff credit for his contribution, while taking a well-deserved bow yourself for having so creatively modified the brush. :)

That would be a real golden nugget contribution.... sort of a 1 + 1 = 3. :bow:

~Danny~

Ah... so you used Fluff's Waterchalk custom style (settings) and applied them with a brush you modified. (You applied Gblur to the .tif?)
~Danny~

That's right, Danny. I used Fluff's "waterchalk-smudged" settings, with the exception of his chalk brush. Instead I used the watr5a brush which i think is an original impr brush and modified that (.tiff image) by g'blurring it.
Here's an entry from "Creative interpretations: Flowers - Lavender/Purplish" using my brush.

I've been playing with some pics from other Creative Interpretations threads and just having fun combining Impressionist effects. Here are a couple I'm pretty happy with. I'm still trying to get a hand-painted effect. I apologize that I don't have the exact process I used, but I was just playing around.
The profile pic was several layers.
The bottom is a color layer with about half a dozen default Impressionist filters, each faded.
Next is a black and white layer with about 3 or 4 Impressionist filters, also faded.
The third is an Edge layer, also with 2 or 3 Impressionist filters, faded.
Then stamped visible and slapped a texture on.
The frontal portrait was the BG layer left untouched.
I used a Black and White duplicate with about half a dozen Impressionist filters, all faded, and set the layer to Luminosity.
Then I used an Edge layer.

I'm sorry about the sparse details, I'll be better next time, I promise.

I've been playing with some pics from other Creative Interpretations threads and just having fun combining Impressionist effects. Here are a couple I'm pretty happy with. I'm still trying to get a hand-painted effect. I apologize that I don't have the exact process I used, but I was just playing around.
The profile pic was several layers.
The bottom is a color layer with about half a dozen default Impressionist filters, each faded.
Next is a black and white layer with about 3 or 4 Impressionist filters, also faded.
The third is an Edge layer, also with 2 or 3 Impressionist filters, faded.
Then stamped visible and slapped a texture on.
The frontal portrait was the BG layer left untouched.
I used a Black and White duplicate with about half a dozen Impressionist filters, all faded, and set the layer to Luminosity.
Then I used an Edge layer.

I'm sorry about the sparse details, I'll be better next time, I promise.

You've achived two very unique effects here.

As time goes on you'll discover combinations of Impressionist settings (plus other effects) that you like. These will evolve into methods you'll be able to reproduce on demand for different pics.

Sometimes the euphoria of achieving exciting, new results overtakes the discipline of keeping track of details. That's understandable, especially when you get on a creative roll. Anyone who has done this type of photo-art tinkering has gone in that mode -- many, many times including yours truly.

Keep in mind keeping track benefits not only those who view your work, it's sure nice to know "How did I do THAT?" days, weeks, months down the road if you ever want to recreate an effect (or at least go in a general direction). With so many possible combinations of settings and filters and plugins, if you ever want to "do it again," then a few notes "how" sure come in handy.fd

It comes with patience and practice... No rush. You'll get there.

Glad to see you're experimenting and having fun. Keep on doing that.

~Danny~

Photo taken by me at a re-enactment.
Used Paint-Guoache texture, then lightened the image using color palette in Impressionist

Pointilist Sparse color
Background sepia
Brush 25%
Civerage 100%
Pressure 200

Duplicated the background layer and brought it to the top and used a layer mask to bring back the sign.

Pointilist Sparse color
Background sepia
Brush 25%
Civerage 100%
Pressure 200

Duplicated the background layer and brought it to the top and used a layer mask to bring back the sign.
Good for you, David. Glad to see you lept right in with Impressionist.

You've just begun to have fun! :)

Style Eggshell
Background Image
Dupe Layer
Blend Overlay

Hi to all,
Just a very simple change to my photo in impressionist....
Duped the photo and added pencil sketch...detailed colored.

Kind regards Patricia Kay...

Hi there,
Please disregard the above post as i did it wrong.....warned you i was a bit dizzy.....I hope i have done it right this time....

My own photo again of a poppy from my garden...

I duplicated it..
brush size 33 percentCant find the percent thingy on my keyboard as it a swedish one changed for english use and nothing is where it should be...must write to santa...
coverage 97 percent
pressure 62

it gave a gentle effect to the photo...

Kind regards Patricia Kay....

a question...how many bytes can i use to send all the attachments???????

Where's this post been hiding its great, I have impressionist and never use it because not sure how or what settings to use so i have bookmarked this page and will dig into it over the xmas holidays

Thanks
Palms

could a similar thread be started on other plug ins/filters ?

Hi Palms

Theres a pugin one on the go just now for autofx FREE dream suite...dreamy plug in...i really love it and think its worth a try...if only the once...love your idea...lets do it...being nosey but where in England are you from??

Kind regards Patricia Kay

Thanks for info Patricia , will go and have a look at dream suite , i am from right in the middle of England, Birmingham. What part of yorkshire did you come from ( there are a few here from "up North " )

Palms

Hi again...I hail from Leeds...been here almost 14 years....have put a Free program link into a thread ...think its the Art modern art. its called Merge and i would love to see what anyone else can create in it...i think its fun merging images together..

Have to think what plug ins or filters we can start with...

Kind regards Patricia Kay

Hi Me again...dizzy as ever :classic: The merge link is in the free autofx dream suite and mosaic plugins thread...
Bye....Patricia Kay.

Hi Patricia again Sort of know Leeds usually in passsing to friends in Heckmondwike and Bradford, have you been back at all since you left ? and will you be able to post some landscape photo's of sweden for us to have a go at painting, manipulating etc
I agree will have to have a think about some plug in/ filters etc i have a few, but will wait to see if Danny answers as it might be better to pm him the links and he starts the threads spaced out other wise we will get inundated with them and wont know which way to turn :ditsy: ( not that i ever do, know which way to turn that is )

Palms

Hi Palms....I have some lovely views of where i live in sweden and am happy to share them with anyone who would like them...is there a special place for them...i have a few views here in the gallery at this moment...
Yes i go back home usually once a year, i miss fish and chips wrapped in newsapaper...even after all these years...but thanks to email i have constant contact with family and friends...
Sending you a view now for starters....
Regards patricia Kay.

Hi
Patricia You have been away a long time we no longer have fish and chips wrapped in newspapers, they have gone a bit soft here and probably think its unhygenic ! ! ! ! !

The Photo looks beautiful and not what i expected Sweden to look like ( snow snow and more snow probably) the best place wil probably be the photo based art forum but hopefully again Danny will come to the rescue as i think they would love the photo you have already posted.
Not sure of your time zone there but its getting close to time to turn computer of here but hey will be back tomoz

Palms

Hi, time is almost 9.30 here....i am allowed more computer time tonight as Peter is watching a motor bike program on discovery..ha ha...
shame about the fish n chips...
Its really snowy here just now...i took the one i sent mid october on my walk to the local shops...
Sending a snowy one now....

Goodnight then, i need to play in photoshop now and maybe a little in paint shop pro...

regards Patricia Kay.

:nod: Hi Palms,
just to let you know i sent some pics to archive, some views...snowy ones and a couple of flower ones...i think they are in line waiting to be approved...next time i will send from other times of the year,i am really into lovely sunrises and sunsets..have them here in winter...summer time its light all night just gets a bit dusky for a couple of hours..waiting for a nice day to take the camera to Stockholm as its a city with water everywhere you can take great shots and the buildings in the old town are lovely...
waffling again...just thought i would let you know...hope its the right place..
Kind regards Patricia Kay :wavey:

Cedar Key, Florida and Grand Canyon scene. Impressionist only.

Steve

Very nice Steve.

Impressionist is great isn't it?

Janet

Thanks Patricia will look forward to seeing them, Like the Grand Canyon painting Steve very nicely done.

What i love about being a member here is not only do i learn a lot about retouching images, but improve immensely my geography which is poor to say the least, i have a atlas here where i look all the places up, but the photo's posted add just that extra touch, and the added info is interesting, I now know not to go to Sweden in the summer, as i wouldn't know when to sleep if there is no darkness ! ! ! ! ! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Palms

Steve, your grand canyon is quite special. Nice work.
Alan

Thanks much to Janet and Alan.

Both of you do such nice things that your comments are very appreciated.

Steve

Also thanks to Palms!

Steve

Patricia
have waited a few days, so thought i would post a link for you to look at if you havent already there is quite a lot there, the ormente filters though are plug ins !

http://www.photoshop-filters.com/html/ormente.htm

Palms

Hi Palms,

Thanks for the link i have already got them...they are good...i think...i didnt get your mail as i am not the only Patricia here so you need to put the full title...sorry...

Flaming pear do lots of free plugins heres the link...www.flamingpear.com

Think they are worth a try...do you want me to tell you what i have then we can compare????

Worked in Brum in the late 60 s, bet its changed a lot since then...

Kind regards Patricia Kay

Hi PatriciaKay (whoops) yes let me know what you have got then we can compare ( probably better to do it through the pm system so as not to hijack the thread to much ! ! ! ! ! ! )
And boy has Birmingham changed I have lived here all my life and i don't know the city anymore especially the Bullring area, but hey that's progress so they say ! ! !

Palms

Hi Palms...will PM to you tomorrow as its time to hit the sack..

Goodnight....Patricia Kay

Hi,
Thought it time to send to this impressionist thread as its such a good one and i fear my chatting with palms had stopped it.....sorry....

Here is my photo of a rose..

i used chunky strokes
brush at 42percent
coverage 62percent
heaviness 100 percent
plus i sharpened in photo shop

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!!!

Patricia Kay

This is a photo I took of the botanical gardens in our area in Florida. First increased the saturation.Did PS ink outlines,blended as color dodge and 59% opacity. Then, on initial image used impressionist pointilist small daubs and moved layer above the ink layer. Added a mask and painted back the "inked" details of the grass. Then finished with a impressionist water color spatter, faded quite a bit. This is the first time I've used impressionist and certainly enjoyed playing with it.
MargaretM
PS - I am really excited about my new setup. I now have two monitors and love this. Keep the original picture on one and the "work in progress" on the other. I highly recommend this!

Wish I'd seen this thread before - it's a treasure trove.
I took this photo of my younger daughter a looong time ago (she's 19 now :aghast: ). A while back I colorized it just for laughs. Thought I'd try to "impressionize" it.

Cat's favs watercolor soft & loose
General: brush 100, coverage 100, pressure 147
Brush: fing1a (set to family); smudge 2; pressure 147
Size: #:4; min 4%, max 12%, way more small
Color H2, S4, B3
I used a paper texture, forget exactly which one
I duplicated the Impressionist layer, gauss blurred it, set opacity to 65, hard light.
Photoshop find edges, blurred a bit
That's about it, I think

dc

Here's another picture of the botanical gardens. For the most part I did the same thing as with the first.
Love yours DK - she is a cutie.
MargaretM

Steve Conway, I like your rendition of Cedar Key and The Grand Canyon with Impressionist Filter.

Do you remember how to did them ? They look quite painterly.

Here's another picture of the botanical gardens. For the most part I did the same thing as with the first.
Love yours DK - she is a cutie.
MargaretM

Thanks, MargaretM. She's quite a person these days, well on her way to running the world, I think. (She has your name, btw, but goes by Maggie.)

dc

Straight application of my Van Gogh Impressionist preset. Check this link (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showpost.php?p=109946&postcount=24) for additional info and the preset.

This is a picture of my sister's dog Suzy by the way. :)

Some more examples of my sewing preset (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?p=111135&posted=1#post111135) for Impressionist. Hope you all have some fun with it. Don't forget to play with the pressure settings too. I said it before and I will say it again, Impressionist is just too much. :)

I am new to this forum and have been experimenting with the plug-in. Is there a way to remove the black or colorless "flecks" for lack of a better term, that often litter otherwise excellent Impressionist renditions ?
These can be seen on a number of the examples shown here.
Are there settings to prevent these areas- especially the black "soot-like" stuff
that gets spread all over ?
Thank you.

Stuart

I am new to this forum and have been experimenting with the plug-in. Is there a way to remove the black or colorless "flecks" for lack of a better term, that often litter otherwise excellent Impressionist renditions ?
These can be seen on a number of the examples shown here.

Are there settings to prevent these areas- especially the black "soot-like" stuff that gets spread all over ?

Thank you.

StuartFirst of all, welcome to the forum, Stuart, and thanks for posting your question. When we get to the solution/suggestions, many will benefit down the road.

The results you describe could be due to a number of factors. Without an example to view, it's hard to be sure. If you could post a couple of the Styles that you're having problems with, for example,

Charcoal > Default or

Conte > Faithful,

that would help narrow things down considerably.

If you could also upload an example image or two with these undesirable characteristics, that would be even better. See the threads below my sig if you need assistance in this regard.

~Danny~

How to upload attachments
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7933

Resizing images to 100KB or less
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4398

Danny,
Thank you so much for the reply. I am in my office now so that I cannot post
a pic. However, I have linked to one that you posted ( a man walking into a building.) In this case, it is white "flecks" , almost like snow. Other filters in the plug in give black flecks, like soot.
My guess is that the creator thought it was artistic. I will try the 2 filters you have mentioned. However, many of the otherwise fine filters in the plug -in are,
in my opinion, difficult to use due to this problem.
Can you remove the white flecks from your posted pic by changing the settings ?
Stuart

Here is the link

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12412

Stuart,

That looks to me as though the coverage was less than 100% and the background was set to something other than "image."

dc

Danny,
Thank you so much for the reply. I am in my office now so that I cannot post
a pic. However, I have linked to one that you posted ( a man walking into a building.) In this case, it is white "flecks" , almost like snow. Other filters in the plug in give black flecks, like soot.
My guess is that the creator thought it was artistic. I will try the 2 filters you have mentioned. However, many of the otherwise fine filters in the plug -in are,
in my opinion, difficult to use due to this problem.
Can you remove the white flecks from your posted pic by changing the settings ?
Stuart

Here is the link

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12412Pic worth 1K words sometimes. Ya done good. :)

I'd say DC pretty much nailed it...

If the "Coverage" setting is < 100%, Impressionist will leave random areas of an image "untouched" by the selected effect, just as a traditional artist might not paint every square inch of a canvas. So this is a feature, not a bug! :)

The option selected in the Background dropdown menu tells Impressionist what to do with these unrendered areas. If Foreground or Background, or Custom Color is in effect and your image editing program's FG/BG color at the moment is black, that would account for black flecks. A Custom Color setting of black would get the same results.

As DC suggested a Background setting of "Image" might be what you're looking for -or- try setting the Coverage to 100%.

~Danny~

Thank you all for the reply. Using "Image Color" solves the problem. The plugin is now tremendously useful.


Stuart

This is a new pic I have been working on and I need some feed back. You can be honest. I don't know if it is too busy or not some people like it and some don't (they don't tell me why).
This was done with three layers original on botton steve's watercolor middle and al's water 3 on the top with lightening ans sm on all three layers.

I love the colors and the technique/style you have achieved. IMHO, the picture lacks a center of focus or a flow that directs the eye thus giving it a busy type feel.

Don't quit. And share the technique. It works really well.

Janet

Ydelle i both like it and don't like it and i would be hard pushed to explain why i dont like it but Janet has hit the nail on the head.

Palms

I would like to try al's watercolor set but can't find it. Can someone post it or post the url for it? thanks in advance.
Diane

I would like to try al's watercolor set but can't find it. Can someone post it or post the url for it? thanks in advance.
DianeHi Diane:
You will find the ones I believe you're looking for attached to the last post (as of the moment) of this thread:

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8328

~Danny~

I have worked on this so long that I can't find the center of focus in it. I don't know what to cut out of the picture since it was a photograph of mine taken last year and i have worked on it off and on for months.
If any one can help I would be greatful

Not much for helping find a focal point I know. But I liked this crop more than some of the others I played with. Does this help?

Janet

Thank you Janet - I just don't know it is hard for me to loose anything but I must.
Can anyone else come up with another idea the more the better -It helps an artist grow with the help from people who do such good work as the ones in this group.

the problem with the crabapple image is indeed one of focus. everything done to it seems to have the effect of reducing focus. the blur/smear, the ghosting and so on all lead to less focus. this has the overall effect of making the image too busy.

the solution is to cut back on the effect. i did a quick example here and it's by no means meant to represent the best possible rendition; it's just an example. and at the end i ran a light high pass sharpen just for good measure.

there's lots of potential there and i'd love to see the original photo.

craig

I will try the highpass if I find a good one -which did you use? Your rendition was great, thank you. I came up with this crop because I worked so hard on the leaf I had to keep some of it in. Let me know what you all think. I always put about a 1-2 inch border around my work.
ydelle

I found the high pass in photoshop7 -here is my new version.

ydelle,

thank you :)

i dont use photoshop, so the high pass sharpen is from paint shop pro 10.

i see you chose the small block. there were two basic blocks in your image, the long, vertical, rectangular one on the left side and the square one in the upper right. it's still pretty busy, all those pinks running into each other, but certainly better. if you could isolate just one main flower where the petals on it didnt run into any of the others, i think this might help.

craig

I came up with two paintings instead of one -thank you.
the rectangle on is my second I have to see what it looks like printed because it looks fuzzy but it could be my eyes at this point.

These are all great. Thank you for all the information.
Carrie