We'll use this thread to launch the new forum.

Objective: Turn this into a painting, sketch or watercolor.

~Danny~

Here's the base image...

I thought I could come up with something for this beautiful model....

1. I used Flaming Pear "Glare" and faded a bit.
2. I followed up with a "Gothic Glow" and faded that layer a bit.

This may be one of those things that appear really cool on my monitor but don't really work. Lemme know! :question:

Wayne:

Sorry I'm a little slow to reply: I'm on 'jury duty.'

You're in the right place and you've got the right idea. Including the client's name on the print is a unique touch that I believe would be an attractive (and easy to apply) option.

- - - - - - -

Jeff:

Without feedback from a "real client," it's hard to get a feel for what works and what doesn't just by viewing a manipulated image on the monitor.

My approach is to strive for a look/result that's different enough/appealing enough that a potential client would consider purchasing it in addition to (or in lieu of) an original shot. I've actually printed up some variations (as samples) for client review. (If they buy one or two, fine; if not, I've keep them for future marketing samples.)

Since not many folks offer this type of thing at this time as far as I can tell, it's going to take time to get a feel for what works and what doesn't. Since I'm just beginning to do this myself I'm finding that my hunches on what I think "look good" and might sell are often very different than what appeals to a given client.

~Danny~

Since I'm just beginning to do this myself I'm finding that my hunches on what I think "look good" and might sell are often very different than what appeals to a given client.Jumping ahead here, but when you've been doing it a while longer I'd be very interested in your considered opinions on what does and doesn't appeal to clients versus what you thought would appeal going in to the venture.

I tried a pencil sketch on this one.

Two images (I always find it easier to make individual images of each effect, rather than layers. Just personal taste.)

One buzzed, sent to PMArtGallery for hand drawing, buzzed again, greyscaled, darkend contrast.

The other, buzzed, impressionist pencil sketch crosshatch softened smudges with 100% brush. Then made the lips and nose darker.

Merged together and redid the background on the left to cover up nasty jpeg artifacts.

AmyHutton

That could be a tough one Danny. One thing that comes to mind is the old little league templates but that is pretty standard.

I printed a 4x6 of the one I posted and it looked pretty cool, even if it was just printed on a HP Photosmart 1000. :wink:

I'm thinking that with portrait manipulation you are looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack but one way to present them without losing your margins would be to print up a "contact sheet" of 3x5's with the different versions, or maybe have some test portraits in a portfolio for customers to view. You could speed things up a bit by creating a "flavor of the month" action folder for the manipulations. This could turn into a real nice marketing angle for you to say the least!

Best 'o Luck man!

Just new and experimenting.

Well, I'd say you can experiment all you like. Wonderful interpretation. I especially like the unique edge treatment.

Welcome and I hope we'll see more of your inspiring work in the future.

~Danny~

It's been a long time since my last post. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch. Here is my try.

Hey, stranger... Nice you see you. I see you haven't lost one ounce of your touch.

Hope you'll be able to play for awhile. Your creativity has been missed -- and is always a joy to see.

Welcome back.

~Danny~

One of my standard methods. Use a combination of too much noise reduction and too much sharpening. Too much noise reduction simplifies, taking away the photographic look. Too much sharpening makes steep ramps in the local contrast. Then take several results, pick out which ones seem to contribute something, and mask the best parts together. Then touch up with smudge tool.

Wow. That's a very, VERY nice effect, Andrew. What method(s) are you using for the noise reduction?

Very nice renditions everyone! I tried to keep mine simple.
Cropped to place the eyes as close to 1/3 as possible.
Ran 3 levels of Stylize: Diffuse: Anisotropic
Unmask Sharp: 200/32
Xero: Mood Light
Image: Adjustments:Selective Color: Red: increase Magenta slightly
Stylize: Diffuse: Anisotropic
Texturizer: Sandstone: 52% 3
(After most effects, erased back the eyes to keep them clear.)

Cheers
Dave

Wow. That's a very, VERY nice effect, Andrew. What method(s) are you using for the noise reduction?
I use Smart Blur, but not the one in Photoshop. I use Photo-Paint's smart blur because it is much smarter. The rest are plugins set way too high. Sometimes I run them twice. They include Alien Skin Image Doctor Jpeg Repair, Focal Blade Selective Blur Pro, and Digital Gem. And if you see the pattern here, these are all edge protecting blur tools. And this gives the simplified surfaces.

But you also need strong edges. So I oversharpen along the simplified edges. And there is only one sharpener that can handle this technique, and that's Focal Blade. It is the only one with enough power and enough control to pull this off.

The variety in the submissions on this one is amazing.

1. Ran through VP air brush
2. Made a couple of duplicates of the BP layer and ran different lucis art settings on them--blended together and merged
3. Ran through Nik midnight and blended with original
4. added some adjustment layers, a little dodge and burn, and a pattern fill layer in soft light with reduced opacity for a hint of texture.

Using multiple layers each with different effects and degrees of transparency gives you many levels of control. In portrait work I use "posterizing" and "conte crayon" to effect an enhanced image.

Duplicated background twice.

Bottom layer converted to black and white.
Secondlayer - changed hue to give a more magenta tone, ran xero line art in drawing mode -65 and line 2. Changed layer mode to overlay.

New layer on the top - Painted white over the background area - gaussian blur to soften the edges.

Christine

Hey, Bill:

Sure glad you found us and posted a creation. I like what you've done here. Hope to see more of you in the future.

- - - - - -

Christine:

That's a very unique approach (the BW on the bottom and building on that). Do appreciate the detail on how you did it.

- - - - - -

Amy:

Meant to ask... Do you have the PM ArtGalery standalone program or the plugin? I thought the results of your slicing and dicing on this one was outstanding. I really like this effect.

- - - - - -

Inspired by Amy's creation, I set out in one direction, took a sharp left turn and ended up with something completely different than I originally intended.

BTW: I sure didn't realize when I uploaded the base image that it was so doggone small. Sorry about that.

Basic layer stack (top to bottom) after resizing image to 10" high, 100 ppi:
* Curves Adjustment layer - tweak contrast
* Channel Mixer Adjustment layer - monochrome
* Clone over a few blotches
* Merge visible
* Duplicate of Merge visible + Emboss (Overlay) - Add depth
* Merge visible
* Duplicate of background + Impressionist: Natural - Gauze Underlay, selectively merged in with a layer mask
* Duplicate of Merge visible + Unsharp Mask (oversharpened)
* Merge visible
* Duplicate of background + Find Edges (Multiply)
* Duplicate of background + Fluff's custom Gouache style from his Impasto collection (click HERE (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=69462#post69462) to get Fluff's brushes.)

~Danny~

Thanks Danny, it is really interesting to see all the different techniques being used. Neve ceases to amaze me how many incredible variations on one picture can be done.

Christine

Just sharing my impressionist filters render

Just sharing my impressionist filters render

Very nice interpretation, Tony.

By impressionist you mean the Impressionist plugin, it would be great if you would add your custom style definitions to THIS THREAD (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8328).

In any event, it's always a pleasure to see your work.

~Danny~

Danny, you wrote: Amy:

Meant to ask... Do you have the PM ArtGalery standalone program or the plugin? I thought the results of your slicing and dicing on this one was outstanding. I really like this effect.

ANS: I have both :) There are more filters in the stand alone one. But not worth the extra $$ if you already have the plugins.

Amy Hutton

The two things that really struck me about this image is the hand and the eyes. I decided to accentuate the hand (larger almost masculine) and her left eye. Puckered the lips. Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer. Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. PS Angled Strokes, Direction Balance 81/Stroke 8/ Sharpness 5
Thomas Newman: Palladium
Cropped and stroked.

Cheers
Dave

smudge in photoshop

smudge in photoshop

This one is very nice too. If you'd care to elaborate on the steps you used to achieve this lovely result, I'm sure many would be interested.

Well done.

~Danny~

Nice picture, fun to play with...
Joy

Really nice Rendition Joy! As Danny has alluded to, we here to learn techniques. Do you remember your steps to achieve this effect?

Cheers
Dave

Hi Duv, thank you.

I honestly doubt that I could tell you if, my life depended on it. You would not believe how many steps and 'undos' (mostly Undos) this one had. I started out to do a sketch and it wasn't going very well, so, I started playing. I doubt that I could repeat it, myself.

I'm sorry, I promise, I will do better with keeping notes, next time.

Joy (PSP8)

This one is very nice too. If you'd care to elaborate on the steps you used to achieve this lovely result, I'm sure many would be interested.

Well done.

~Danny~

Thanks Danny

I followed 2 grate tutorials by Phyllis Stewart at innographx.com
http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=274
and then followed
http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18
with the coloured pencil layer, when you smudge it gives the hair effect
finaly created a white top layer>masked>brushed away from 20%.40% and 80%

hope this will help and sorry if there is any grammer or spelling mIsTaKeS! :grin:

If you didn't know, Phyllis was an active member here until she started her own photo-art forum at Innographx.

Thanks for sharing the links. Phyllis does some wonderful work and has a terrific site.

~Danny~

This is my first try using the following tutorial....the hair was hard to do, it goes so many directions. Had it fake the brushes, as, it's not a PSP tut. Hopefully, I'll get better with practice.

Joy (PSP8)

Smudge Paint Tutorial (http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18)

If thats your first try I can only look forward to seeing what you produce when you've practiced a bit more.

Really stunning work.

Christine

Wow--there's a lot of great stuff on this one. It's nice to see new (and old) blood here.

Something a little weird?

This is done with PSP8 rough leather texture, custom #1 with the effect toned down a lot. Then the eyes are pasted back in and softened a lot.

AmyHutton

It's been a long time since my last post. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch. Here is my try.
hi lynda,

i'm new to this forum and want to take my photography to the next level. i went to your homepage and love the styles you have, the oil emboss, watercolor flowers, and roses color sketch as well as this new picture. do you mind my asking, what program beside photoshop do you use?

thanks very much,


idyllwilder

idyllwilder,

I mostly use Photoshop, but I like BuzzPro for watercolors. The oil emboss is Photo Brush 1.7. Unfortunately, the oil emboss filter is not in the newer versions. For my sketches I use Photoshop.

I hope I have answered all your questions. Fell free to email me if you would like any more information.

Saycheese,
Lynda

I get so many great ideas looking and all the great work posted.
My first post to this board.
I wanted to do this all in PSP and the only filter I used was Xero Illustrator.
I like it because it also lightens the image.
Using Dodge, Burn, Smudge and Soften of different layers, different transparency, then combining. I used the Sculpture effect for more dept, adjusted transparency, then back to the Dodge, Burn, Smudge and Soften.
Then copied the layer twice for two different texture, adjusting transparency again.
trolljenta

trolljenta:

A belated welcome. I'm glad you were inspired, but I can see we'll be inspired by your works in the future, too.

Look forward to seeing more of creations.

~Danny~

Here's my contribution. The watercolor effect is what i aimed for. Used psp 6 coupled with photoshp 7.

A very effective watercolor look, indeed. Nicely done.

This can be done on a previously smudged image however I didn't have time to do any smudging with this. I'd kept a note of this for doing what I call "Glamour Posters" and tried applying it to this however it had a different outcome as my first image attempt was working on a blond and the effects were quite different. Anyway ... here are the steps for this one....

PSP8.01

Buzz Simplifier
Dupe Bottom Layer
2nd Layer - DC Special Filter/Outliner/Neon 1/17/100/70
Dupe 2nd layer
3rd Layer - Dodge 70% ?
BACK TO BOTTOM LAYER - dupe and apply
namesuppressed/Autochromatic/I use my own preset
Place this duped layer at the top of your layer stack - Mode/Saturation 70%

At this stage experiment with your layers to get different effects.
Merged all layers. (at this point I lightened the white of her eyes again)
Dupe this layer.

2nd Layer - Luminance Legacy - 5% - experiment.
Apply Aim/USM filter - experiment
Final Buzz.

Painted effect?

Isnt she gorgeous!! I used the art history tool combined with the history tool a lot, also added a sketch layer and another layer created by reducing colors to just a few.

Loved all the renditions here! I decided to try it...my favorite thing is taking a photo and making it art.

Here's what I did: I wanted to change this from warm to cool tones and make it more melancholy. So, I kept going into adjustments/replace color and changing the colors to my liking.

I then did some posterizing to bump up the intensity a bit.

Ugh, should have kept it open while I typed this...now I'm forgetting the filters! I remember adding the waves filter and an unsharp mask. I think I also did a dark brushstroke filter.

If anyone needs more details, I could do it again with another photo and try to retrace my steps. Sorry about the sloppy details :P

Donna

Duped background copy and desaturated it. Created three threshold layers, one darkened, one at midtones/default, one lighter. This is better than posterization for what I wanted to do. Played with the blending modes and opacity until I got an image I liked. Created snapshot and did filter>median to even out the edges a bit. Created a snapshot and accidently hit equalize instead of what I was aiming at (oops). However, I liked what I saw and used the eraser at 50% opacity to put some definition back where I wanted it. Created snapshot again, smoothed out some rough areas with the smudge tool. Added a canvas texture; adjusted hue/sat and viola.

Jeannie superimposed.

Cheers
Dave

Used selective desaturation, vignetting, diffuse glow, gaussian blur, healing brush, noise addition.

nice techniques, Exclam- I think it adds the right touch of noise and softness while still maintaining the integrity of the image. And the touches of 'true' color are enough to keep her from looking ghostly.

The only thing that puzzled me is how her neck got so big- then I went to the orginal and realized it was because I could no longer see that her arm was raised. Perhaps either excluding the arm information altogether or giving a less subtle hint that it is there would help with the interpretation?

dslinger --

You're absolutely right. I think in my hurry, I didn't give enough attention to her neck, arm, etc.

exclampt

I've really enjoyed looking at the various ideas with this image. Everyone has a unique thought attached to it.

I realize there aren't strong art strokes or textures with my submission. I thought I would paint with light and shadows for this one and try to preserve the innocent look of this attractive lady.

Adjusted curves.
Color balance/hue and sat adjustment.
Removed clothing and reshaped the breast and neck area.
Applied Nik midnight.
Used Nik skylight/sunshine to help with the skin tones.
Xero clairity to enhance contrast.
Painted in some shadows and highlights.
Kodak Gem was used to soften the skin.
Contrast adjustment.

LQQKER,

Beautiful work!

Truly fantastic, LQQKER. Would love to give this technique a shot, would convert some of my family photos into works of art!!

Created a snapshot and accidently hit equalize instead of what I was aiming at (oops). However, I liked what I saw....
Funny how some of the best things happen by accident!
Really liked the result and I'm going to try it when I get home.
(I have an "Equalize" action button right next to the "Delete Layer", takes 5 seconds to have a look, often an equalized layer at 15% opacity will put in that little extra)

I thought this pretty young lady would look nice in b/w high-key.
Not a very original idea, OK, but as I haven't seem anybody using my method, thought I'd post it:
1) Make b/w: Selective colors with gradient layer b/w;
2) Put values in range 127-255: Levels (this is the 'original' layer);
3) Make contrast layer: Copy original, USM 50 / 100 / 0;
4) Make detail layer: Copy original twice, High Pass 3.0, Overlay, Merge;
5) Make sharp layer: Copy original, USM 300 / 1 / 0;
(Now have 4 layers: Original; Contrast; Detail; Sharp)
6) Put all four layers in the range 192-255: Levels;
7) For the three sharpened layers; Blend = Linear burn, Masked black
(Hard work's over, now the fun)
8) Paint white on the contrast mask where you want some shadows - soft brush, white;
9) Paint the detail mask where you want detail;
10) Paint (sparingly) the sharp mask where you want a lot of detail;
11) Top it all with a levels layer to do a final tone adjust;
12) and finish with a white layer, masked and mask painted to do a 'vignette'.

Took a long time to write, takes about 15 minutes to do (with actions)
[Blending the result back into the original as Luminosity looks good too.]

Very nice creation, byRo, and excellent instructions.

On behalf of the many who are still learning from thoughtful artists like yourself who provide such terrific detail, a BIG "Thank You." Keep the great work coming.

~Danny~

My pleasure, Danny. I've taken so much from this site - just trying to even up the score a bit

Thanks for your comments byRo. I especially liked what you did with the portrait. I'm definitely going to try it. I have just the picture your technique would look terriffic on. I second Danny's kudos for your description. Good descriptions make all the difference.

Don't ask how I did these as I didn't start with any intention to upload them, however, they came out better than I expected!

First off I used a series of tips from Scott Kelby's book to whiten and brighten the eyes, soften the skin and I also boosted the lip colour. Then I decided to change Niki's top colour. I was pleased with the result, but it wasn't exactly photo-based art. So I then started fiddling with a few filters, actions, and opacities. On the first example I played with lighting effects to complete the look.

Any thoughts/comments? Be kind, this is my very first post on RetouchPro.

ATB
STEVE

Don't ask how I did these as I didn't start with any intention to upload them, however, they came out better than I expected!

Any thoughts/comments? Be kind, this is my very first post on RetouchPro.

ATB
STEVE

Steve:

Let me say congrats on your creation and 1st post. I hope it's one of many we'll see in the future. We're (almost) aways gentle at RetouchPRO! :)

My suggestion would be to continue experimenting and having fun. You get a free pass on the "how to" details every one in awhile - including this time.

I'm glad you jumped in the pool.

~Danny~

Here's one from me done purely in Photoshop7. Firstly, image auto-color. Then using fill layers, painted out the background. Using magic wand, g'blurred unwanted parts, keeping eyes and mouth in focus. Added highlights to hair, lightened image with fill layers and soft brushes. Selected lips and eyes (cut and paste) and multiply-blend to darken color. Smudge tools for blending.

Spurred on by such a fantastic subject and Danny's welcome, I thought I'd try playing around with PS's 'art history brush'.

Using the base modifications I mention above (i.e. whiter and brighter eyes, softer skin texture, boosted lip colour and new top colour), I did the following...


Took snapshot in the history pallette (camera icon).
Clicked in the box next to the new snapshot.
Selected the 'art history brush'.
Settings: 50px Soft Brush, Blend: Normal, Opacity: 100%, Style: Tight Short, Area: 40px, Tolerance: 0%.
Painted over the entire picture.
Changed brush to 10px Soft.
Painted over the detail areas (eyes, nose and lips).
Saved the masterpiece!

Works great and so simple. Just alter the brush size to correct any errors (large for low detail areas and small for fine detail).

Steve:

A+ on the writeup! :) The Art History Brush has always has seemed to be a tool with so much potential. Your subtle touch proves it.

Something to try when you're feeling wild and crazy: Create a new layer and fill it with white and a blank layer on top of it. Turn down the opacity of the Art History Brush brush very low (10%-15% or so) and keep the radius fairly small (5-15 px) and paint in some strokes on the blank layer. Then create a new layer on top of that one and set the layer Blend Mode to Multiply and paint some more. You'll get kind of a watercolor-like effect from the overlapping strokes. Keeping things on separate layers gives you flexibility in the end

Anyway, glad to see you're on a roll.

Question: Are you running Windows by chance?

~Danny~

I did this in an older version of corel painter, fractal painter4. Used some artists clone brushes. Took surprisingly little time. (I quite like the unfinished look!) Its a great program.

Very painterly effect. Painter's clone brushes are very powerful.

For the benefit of those who don't have Painter, its "Cloning" brushes work conceptually like Photoshop's Art History Brush, drawing color from the equivalent of a snapshot and applying it to a new layer according to the brush settings selected. Big difference: Painter runs circles around Photoship in this regard. The brush options and controls are plentiful and you don't get all the weirdness stroke directions like you do with the PS Art History Brush.

Nicely done, jakita...

~Danny~

Question: Are you running Windows by chance?
Thx for comments Danny. Yes, I'm running on Windows (98SE).

Thx for comments Danny. Yes, I'm running on Windows (98SE).

Windoze = perfect. You'll be the second recipent of Impressionist as a reward for bravely posting your first pics on the forum and quality detail writeups.

Congrats and keep on having fun. :)

~Danny~

Here's a good tutorial on the Andy Warhol effect, for those who havent found this ... http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1313 written by Jeffrey Rolinc. Couldnt find his site, however.

hmm, am I missing something? where's the art history writeup from steve? thanks...

never mind... just having a senior moment... : )

I'm working out some pencil sketching actions, and this is what I've got so far ......
Comments welcome.
When it's all set up, I'll post it here, OK?

Have fun,

Roland

(action added - Do a good, full-range, grayscale first. Execute in sequence. Layers left open to play around with blending, opacity etc...
Have lotsa fun! - Roland)

Whadda ya mean you'll sharpen the pencils and I can draw? Looks to me like you are doing just fine...fine indeedy. GREAT JOB!

Share your actions???

Janet

Put the action above :thumbsup: , together with the 'sketches'.

Janet: new signature, OK?

Roland

Really nice action. Thx byRo :bow:

Niki was made with various blends ( one layer was g'blur, one was screen blend )and superimposed with a leaf texture image from ps7. Lastly cloned in Painter.

that's a great stuff i see in this thread, ppl!!!


------------
i tried to do some "wood-carving" style... well, colourized wood-carving ;)
judge for yourself if i got any close to it (huh)

What i'd like to know is why my 98.8 kb image of niki turned up so SMALL?? What seems to be the problem? Any explanation for this?
Thanks in advance.

It's a little smooth (lacking depth and dimension) to be a woodcarving. Even pro woodcarvers have a bit of grain in the wood as well. It adds character and flavor to a project and gives a carving more of its own life. Now that said, I'm NOT a wood carver; but my husband's best friend is.

Other than that, you did create quite an exotic interpretation for an already exotic photo.

Enjoy,
Janet

What i'd like to know is why my 98.8 kb image of niki turned up so SMALL?? What seems to be the problem? Any explanation for this?
Thanks in advance.

What I do in Photoshop (generally speaking):
* Crop a portrait oriented image to 9-11" tall, about 8" wide and about 80 ppi
* File > Save for Web & adjust quality sider until the file size comes in under 100 KB (then save it)

That seems to work out most of the time.

Could be your image was smaller (dimension-wise), but higher in resolution, so you 98KB was used up in resolution (more tightly packed pixels).

Hope this makes sense...

~Danny~

It's a little smooth (lacking depth and dimension) to be a woodcarving.
yeah, you're right... it was more like i didn't know how to call it ;) [JK]

maybe one copy of the pic, emboss, USM, overlay-blend would do a bit... the cut-like bits are there, but smoothed out...

i might give it a try later...

I just registered tonight . Insominiac out of meds :( .
This looked like fun and I love all the different ideas!
Here is my contribution. I currently use PSP 8. New to photo editing but becoming addicted.
I cut and pasted her onto a white background - used feathered selecting delete to fade her into the background - made a duplicate layer with screen mode to lighten her up - merged - softened - erased over the eyes.

I just registered tonight . Insominiac out of meds :( .
This looked like fun and I love all the different ideas!
Here is my contribution. I currently use PSP 8. New to photo editing but becoming addicted.
I cut and pasted her onto a white background - used feathered selecting delete to fade her into the background - made a duplicate layer with screen mode to lighten her up - merged - softened - erased over the eyes.

Hey, I-B:

Welcome to the fun forum. Glad you registered and gave this one a try.

Apprecate the how-to steps you included. That helps others learn who are following in your footsteps.

No "rules" on how you create your art -- just have fun while you're doing it! :) Hope to see more in the future.

~Danny~

A new take on an older thread...

Danny so inspired me with his line art in the airplane I had to try it on something else. Thanks Danny.

Steve L. (Trimoon) so inspired me with his watercolor tutorial with the Art History Brush I had to try it on something else as well. A BIG thanks for FINALLY clearing up the mechanics of the Art History Brush for me.

The rest is just my version of playing around.

1. Duplicated background, increased contrast a lot to make her high key.
2. Used smart blur, edge only and inverted once I got the settings about right.
3. Duplicated the layer and set it to multiply then merged those two layers twice to get the right line width.
4. Turned off that portion of the project
5. Duplicated the background layer
6. Filled the duplicate with white
7. Created a snapshot and set the origin to original
8. Filled the duplicate with white, selected a funky Art History brush and painted her back in. I used about 35-50 percent opacity and a low tolerance setting so the squiggles wouldn't overstep their boundaries.
9. Created a Merged layer from the Art History portion and tweaked using the smudge and eraser
10. Created two blank layers below this merged copy. Filled one with Filter>Render>Clouds. (Colors set with points picked from around the model). Reduced opacity until I was happy with it. Filled the bottom one of the newly created layers with a radial gradient, again picking colors from the model.
Making sure the highlight of the gradient was on the model's face and in the right place necessitated making several gradients. I wanted her face highlighted and the color to spread from her in this manner rather than have her backlit.
11. Duplicated the merged and tweaked copy of the model and changed the opacity to about 25 percent to bring her out of the background a bit.
12. Put the line drawing over the top of the whole thing and changed the blend mode to overlay with about 75 percent opacity.

Lastly, I'm hoping that the reduction in file size doesn't obliterate the detail. :)

I greatly admire how you took a little of this technique, a little of that technique and added some spice of your own. This is a wonderful example of creativity. Thank YOU for inspiring the rest of us.

~Danny~

Hello,
Not posted here for a long time. The ideas I have posted have been shamelessly robbed from what I have seen others do over the years. The combinations are mine but the techniques are all borrowed. Thank you to everyone who ever shared an idea with me.

Here's hoping that I managed to handle uploading this correctly.

Indigo

Hello Again,

Flush with the success of managing the upload proceedure correctly I am having another pop.

Made a mistake on previous post by adding method as an attachment. Got the idea now.

Method

1 Duplicate Background

2 Load luminesence. Control x to cut.

3 Open Threshold layer - click OK. Hold down Cltrl key and move cursor between
Threshold and Background copy. When the cursor changes - left click. This will apply
effect to the copy layer only. Blend to Overlay. Play with Opacity. Duplicate layer if needed.

4 New layer - Hold Alt go: Layer/Merge Visible. All previous layers now on new layer. Lock
other layers to avoid mistakes.

5 Load luminesence. Apply noise. Using this method the noise is added to the highlights only.

6 Load luminesence. Apply Crosshatch filter to taste.

7 Load luminesence. Cltrl- J to put on seperate layer. Gaussian Blur - about 80. Blend Soft Light
This blurs the hard line between the shadows and the highlights.

8 New layer - Hold Alt go: Layer/Merge Visible. All previous layers now on new layer. Lock
other layers to avoid mistakes. Lasso lips. Open Hue/Saturation Layer. Saturate lips.
Merge down.

9 Lasso eyes. Open Curves Layer. Brighten eyes. Merge down.

10 Load luminesence. Open Curves Layer. Click on Curves Mask and Invert. Use to lighten
shadows.

11 Duplicate Background. Use Quickmask to select only the hair. Go Filter/Artistic/Cutout and play.
Set Blend to Luminosity and play until happy.

Indigo

...Flush with the success
And you should be pleased... These are lovely. I especially like #2, which is a dramatic and bold approach.

Now that got past the upload process, I hope we'll be seeing more of your creations in the future. Welcome back, Indigo.

~Danny~

Just for the fun of it.

Duv your first rendition here is gorgeous!

Joy CA that picture also looks lovely and very natural...Great work in PSP.

Janet that is nicely done!

Tiger Steve those two are very nice...Great lip color do you know the shade?

ByRo i shall try out the pencil sketch action tomorrow...Great work...

itty bitty welcome to the group and that picture is just beautiful! Nice to see you use psp.

Indigo - Two faced girlie now that is funny...well done!

Just experimenting.....

Not too happy with it, but decided to post it anyways.

Legacy. With all the wonderful renditions here, I'm flattered. Thank you.

Dave

1. Started off in Photoshop
2. I decided to remove the arm
3. Next I did some retouching: added more hair to cover up shoulder (it’s so close to the camera that it looks unnaturally big), transformed the lower half of the body to slim angle, slimmed the nose a tad with liquify filter, turned up a corner of the mouth with transform tool, removed the necklace and did some general skin smoothing)
4. Added a little make-up, brightened eyes and added a few lashes
5. Saved Image
6. Opened image in Corel Painter
7. Working with Artist Pastel and Grainy Water added paint strokes to image converting it to a painting
8. Saved image
9. Opened back in Photoshop
10. Applied NIK gold reflector filter to add a warm glow

Some very lovely entries on this one and quite the range of techniques! Great job by all, but I wanted to mention a few:

Andrew B: Very interesting technique using a extreme combination of noise reduction and sharpening. The results are quite artistic and pleasing. Excellent job!

Manjumena: Very nice smudge technique!

Joy CA: Excellent results following the smudge tutorial. I really like the highlights you added to the photo.

Jaykita: Nice abstract watercolor look!

Donna (Dslinger): The cool tone and waves filter really creates a “Lady of the Lake” feel. Very nice abstract results!

Janet Petty: I like the three layer threshold approach. It simplifies the colors and the subtle canvas texture gave it the final artistic touch. Nice job!

ExclamPt: The desaturation, vignetting, and diffuse glow created a powerful image. I love how the focus is on the face now. It really emphasizes the facial expression. I can see this is a mystery novel cover. Very nice results!

LQQKER: Nice job turning this into a nude portrait. I like the soft skin tones and the additional highlights. Lovely results!

byRo Beautiful black & white high-key!

I used a well known sketch recipe. Duplicate the layer;desaturate; duplicate that layer and invert; set blend mode on that (top)layer to color dodge; G Blur the top layer until outlines show up;merge the top two layers dupe and set top layer to multiply eventually set a blend mode of luminosity. Oh well.

DIY cut-out

- Lumosity, Posterize(5), Separate into 5 layers - lightest on top, dropshadow;
- Colorize;
- On top some outlines multiplied in.
(times up, gotta work now!)
Rô

I used a well known sketch recipe...

Nothing wrong with "well known," Phil. If you had fun, it works for me. In this case, subtle manipulation is a good thing.

- - - - -

Excellent, Ro. Separating the layers and the shadowing was a great idea.

Serial Killer??
(I gotta buy my new computer quick and stop watching TV)
Rô

Flipped her around since she looked better to me that way. Then just some basic softening and tonal blending.

Great result Sidis and welcome! :wavey:

Flipped her around since she looked better to me that way. Then just some basic softening and tonal blending.

Very interesting doing the flip. I see what you mean.

I like the way you applied the lighting effect on her face and gave emphasis to her eye.

Made the veil in Illustrator.

In England there is a racecourse called Ascot. On 'Ladies Day' the ladies compete for the most outrageous headgear money can buy. My tribute to Ladies Day.

Made the veil in Illustrator.

Very impressive Illustrator work. To my knowledge you're the first person to have used AI in any of the photo-art posts. Well done, Indigo.

Nice work Indigo - this reminds me of the Sinedot Filter folks like to use to great effect:-

Filter link and tutorials:-

http://moonsdesigns.com/SinedotsAddicts/

Median filter to remove JPEG artifacts
Unsharp 15/50/0
Color blend to "coffeefy" it (lots were tried)
Dodge and burn

Got out the virtual scissors...

.

Thank you for your kind words about ladies' day.

Neve: thanks for the link. Will have a play in the near future but time is tight at
the moment.

Sidis: power to your scissors!

byRo - Thats a totally awesome rendition, and very well laid out.

Great Job !!!

sidis - I myself often flip the subject around as i also beleive that a subject can look better. Very nice work.

Yet another Art-History effort....

1) Make b/w: Selective colors with gradient layer b/w;
2) Put values in range 127-255: Levels (this is the 'original' layer);


Hi byRo:

Magnifique reditions of bw and color hi-key. You have some outstanding Hi-Key pictures with your method, and I would like to make this as the standard procedure if you will for such an effect, however, I was unable to duplicate your instruction in PS, so your clarification by reducing it to simple steps would enable those not so competent in PS to duplicate your brilliant efforts.

However, I do not understand the first two lines. Exactly what is needed to to be done. Are you saying, take the original image and make it black/white with desaturate ? Also what is Selective colors with gradient layer b/w mean ?

This post has been a while ago, and I hope you remember it hehe ! I only saw this last night. Thanks !

I remember this pic from a while back. Still nice to work on.

Steve

... I do not understand the first two lines. Exactly what is needed to to be done. Are you saying, take the original image and make it black/white with desaturate ? Also what is Selective colors with gradient layer b/w mean ?

Thanks for the nice words, Chance!
You're right, it is rather confusing - even I don't understand it too much!
The idea is just to get a good greyscale image. You can do this with any method you wish, doesn't need to be the way I had described.

Here's another way to do it (just to confuse a bit more)..
1) Change mode to LAB;
2) Duplicate (<ctrl><J>) the layer and Desaturate (<shift><ctrl><U>);
3) Change back to RGB;
4) Duplicate the greyscale layer and do Image>Adjustments>Equalize, set the opacity to (more or less) 15%;
5) Add a Levels adjustment, auto adjust
(see image and palette attached)

As for "Put the values in the range 127-255", that means...Using levels (<Ctrl><L>) apply auto adjust (to make the image full-range, 0 to 255) and then move the output slider from 0 to 127 (so 127 will be the darkest point and 255 the lightest).

I didn't have the original any more. So I did another version and included a palette shot.

Hope this helps.

Rô

byRo:

Thanks, You have a winner !

Ditto what Chance said, Ro. What will you think of next? I can't wait to see.

Janet

So here's my attempt at a watercolor. I think it looks more like an oil?

bbuttry,

i like that! and yes, it does look like an oil. very nicely done!

Craig

So here's my attempt at a watercolor. I think it looks more like an oil?Definitely more oil-like IMO, and quite a nice interpretation, too.

Well done.

Too many steps to remember (Impressionist and other filters with some mouse smudges). GIMP bumpmap at the end. :)

Here's my go. Used Painter for an oil clone with camel brushes. Added French paper texture. Then pulled into PHotoshop, smudged some and saturated eyes and mouth some for a smoky, sexy look.
Wonderful mixed interpretations so far. I have learn't from all of them.
MargaretM

Had another go at this in duo-tone with Impressionist charcoal filter and Photoshop diffuse filter. Then Nik sunlight filter.

pencilish..
Lasa

Sort of a soft focus thing with an experiment with the texture

Peter

...I stippled none the less. :)

this was done with a modification of 'Impressionist Paint', a Filter Forge filter by CF&M.

Boy this one has been around a while.

Here's a third try for me.

Steve

Original post 2004? This lady may be a grandmother by now ! :)

Steve C.

OK Steve you forced me to have another go at this one too.

Peter