OK. I really did try to find a handsome man for this weeks portrait pic, but no luck.

I'm open for suggestions.

In the mean time see what you can do with this one.

~Danny~

OK -- first I was just going to change her hair color, but then I got a bit carried away. I thought a bit of texture on her so-smooth skin would make it a bit more realistic..., and once again I got a teeny bit carried away.... with a bit of leather texture PLUS the Extrude filter. So then I decided to add a mirror frame look so that the extruded areas could be mirror pieces instead of her skin..... hmmm, but what about that skin color? :lol:

Curves layer to enhance.

Posterize layer.

Gradient Map - multi colour.

Merge visible to new layer.

Duplicate of background moved to top - Xero line art in sketch mode, monochrome. layer mode changed to multiply to add dark outlines to facial features.

Way out stuff is not usually my sort of thing but trying to get more adventurous.

Christine.

Christine,

There's something about her that brings out the urge to ... be adventurous with her likeness. I think you've managed to incorporate several "Warhol-esque" versions into one image. :)

Started out with general skin tone and luminosity corrections.
As usual divided into four luminosity ranges, did a chunky background (impr. Sumi-e) and ended up blending just about everything else (impr. chalk pastel) as screen.
Lost the eyes along the way, so I brought them back from the original.
Used white outlines to texture the hair and a PS Burlap canvas to hold it all together.
(Pencil sketch also attached - takes 10 seconds to run the action, sometimes it works!)

Are you having as much fun as I am? Hope so!
Ro

Great rendition CJ.

Ro yours is fantastic, the pencil sketch really worked well on this one.

Christine

Thanks Christine. :blush:
I was following your "way-out" tracks :cool: and got sort of side tracked...
I have some gradient maps that I use for other purposes and combined three of them to get something new...
Hey, you make it look like I'm coloring inside the lines. :surprise:

There's something about her that brings out the urge to ... be adventurous with her likeness.
Uh,huh, adventurous.... now where's that good-looking dude??
Just kidding ladies.

Have fun,
Ro

Everyone else went for elegant. I wanted something different. My object was to make a high key, abstracted version of the model, sort of cartooned but not really. I supposed if I pushed it a little further, I would have crosshatched the lines; but I didn't. So here she sits...errrrr...reclines in her glory.

Having fun here folks,
Janet

P.S. I did not change the saturation once the cartooning began. I left the skin yellow on purpose for effect.

This pic just seemed to shout at me for another go. This time I chose to turn her upright as if the wind was blowing or she was brushing the hair out of her face. I also made some other subtle changes just for grins.

I sure enjoy this forum.
Janet

So here she sits...errrrr...reclines in her glory.
Hi, Janet. That came out nice, now she's blond all over..
Thanks for posting the layers. Don't know about you, but after I started doing that, I found I was getting more organized in my work ('cuz somebody's going to be reading the stuff later)
Just a tip, if you save and post the layer palette as a GIF file, it's quicker and the download more readable.

Ro

Here's another watercolor effort using Trimoon's Watercolor Preset Brush. Added Dave's Simplifier action to smooth out a little more and to soften focus.

Cheers
Dave

Been remembering stuff I did at school....
Aimed for a sort of pen and wash that I did then - blue washable ink!

Rô

"The Blonde on one elbow" spoke to me about my "teal version", and I decided that she deserves a more straight-forward image. So here's a color illustration - usual abstract outline method (Add Gaussian blur to top of 2 unsaturated layers [top copy inverted] set to Color Dodge layer blend to elicit outline), then multiplied duped layers of result to add to effect, place copy of resulting image over copy of original with layer blend set to Vivid Light -- run Graphic Pen on original copy. Bring copy of original above this result with layer blend set to Hard Light and another copy of original above that layer with layer blend set to color to correct skin tone.

I realized it had been weeks since I've done any photo art and decided I deserved a play session. :classic:

1. selected the eyes and mouth and ran USM
2. inverted selection and ran a little buzz
3. virtual painter--air brush
4. lucis art exposure to bring back the eyes
5. played around a little with nik midnight and virtual photographer (lots of fading) to fine tune.

Selected face and arm: PS Artistic: Cutout: 8/0/2
Inverted selection: PS Artistic: Cutout: 4/0/2
With inverted selection: Exclusion
With inverted selection: Intellihance Pro 4: Vivid Enhance.

Nice reditions by all. Keep 'em comin!

Cheers
Dave

Thanks for the lovely photo Danny! Wonderful submissions, each one as inspirational as the next - a joy to view! A pleasant diversion whilst I redo a restoration.

PSP8.01

Without knowing where I was headed....

Copied the image.
2nd image - Split RGB. Retained the blue.
Added a new layer and filled with a "Cafe" gradient.
Layer Blend Mode - Col (L) - Merged.
Copied and pasted 2nd image and added as a new
layer to the original photo. Mode/Screen/Merged both layers.
(I was pleasantly surprised by this "brighter" result...)

Smudged her hair a lot.
psp/Art Media Effects/Brush Strokes/Water Colour
Layer Mode/Luminance (L) 68%
Merged both layers.
Darkened the outside edge
(i.e. Media Spark Filters/Darken Edges)

Cheers

Another attempt.

Posterize layer levels 5
Merge visible
smudge stick
duplicate layer blur slightly and change mode to screen
Xero line art sketch of background layer - multiply mode
TM watercolour layer
Texture

Christine

Lovely lady. Very nice renditions by all. Here's mine with one find-edges layer, 2 vp, 2 impressionist layers watercolor and painting both modified all of which i merged of course.

This one was fun, wasn't it? I used a heavy dose of VP watercolor, xero improver, and PSP8 sepia toning. She screams out for an unconventional treatment.

Amy Hutton

This screams out to me " Job well done!!"

Cheers
Dave

This screams out to me " Job well done!!"
Hey, Dave, you didn't say which one - and rightly so!
Three wonderful versions on this page alone..
Congratulations Christine, jaykita and Amy.

Rô

Ya know, I think this is one of the most outstanding threads I've ever seen in 2+ years of this forum. This is just a fabulous collection...

CJ: Just an awesome modern art piece to start out and set the pace for the rest of us to follow. You follow up color illustration is lovely, too.

Christine: Your "Busting far outside the lines" absolutely ROCKS! ("wild & crazy is good" sometimes) and your last one (the posterize + smudge stick) is one of the best I've ever seen you do.

Ro: Just about every time I look over one of your layers palette snapshots, I'm amazed at what you bring to the table. You use layer combinations and effects like no one I've ever seen before. You hurt my brain sometimes - in a good way! My fav: The purplish graphic pen-line effect!

Janet: Speaking for all of us, I'm delighted you're having fun. It shows in your creativity. The crop and rotate was brilliant.

Cheryl: Welcome back... Glad you found a few minutes to play. You sure haven't lost a step.

Dave: You're really getting the hang of Trimoon's method. This is one of the better ones I've seen. I like the cutout x2 version, too. Very avante gard.

Amy: Hard to find a more creative effort than yours. Simply a marvelous creation. You outdid yourself here.

Jaykita: The combination of VP + Impressionist = very artistic rendition. I don't know what I'd do w/o Impressionist. I like your version very much.

Neve: Your soft and gentle touch on this one is just right.

It's an honor and a pleasure to hang with such a talented and nice group of folks.

- - - - - - - -

Having struggled lately trying to make sense of the Trimoon WC method and being a little disappointed in my 1st Wow WC attempt, I fell back onto something that was comfortable and predictable.

I started out by applying an action that came with the PS 7 Wow book called Wow Watercolor. See LP snapshot for the next several additional layers of which Impressionst rendered two.

I flattened the stack and saved a copy that was opened in Painter 8, where I applied "Grainy" Bender brush strokes. Saved stroked version and back to Photohop to finish up: Oversharpened with Unsharp Mask, applied Levels and added stroke frame.

~Danny~

Nice work everyone!

This is with my new found toy:

OPTIPIX > Select Edges > Fine Detail

Click HERE (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=74944#) for more information on this plugin.

So many interesting entries on this image.

Corrected color and hue.
Embossed lightly.
FP lacquer
Multiple contrast adjustments.
Nik midnight.
Xero clairity.
Nik Skylight.
Virtual painter watercolor.
Lightened face.
Darkened edges slightly
layer styles.
Several different dirt brushes to create border.
Color solarization using several masks.
trim

Used the image to define a pattern stamp. Added a white fill layer above the BG and set opacity to 50%. Added another layer above that to "paint in." Selected the Pattern Stamp tool and used various sized brushes to paint in the image. Flattened and added some sandstone texture.

Catia

Used the image to define a pattern stamp. Added a white fill layer above the BG and set opacity to 50%. Added another layer above that to "paint in." Selected the Pattern Stamp tool and used various sized brushes to paint in the image. Flattened and added some sandstone texture.

Catia

I sure like this method. It sure opened my eyes to some interesting possibilities. Did you use Wow pattern stamp brushes or some of your own? This one turned out especially nice.

I was glad to see your post. Your creativity is always welcome.

~Danny~

Thanks for your comments Danny. Yes, I used the Wow PS Watercolor brush. A tutorial and brush downloads can be found here http://www.software-cinema.com/wow/ .

Catia

Well, I just followed Trimoon's Portrait Tutorial. Not much of my own creativities... :happy:
But love to hear what do you think...

Celestine

Well, I just followed Trimoon's Portrait Tutorial. Not much of my own creativities... :happy:
But love to hear what do you think...

Celestine

Welcome back, Celestine...

Trimoon has written a number of tutorials and I can't keep all of them straight. Which one did you follow? In any event, I'd say you socked a home run on this one. Nicely done.

...and don't stay away so long next time!

~Danny~

Great Job!!! Celestine, you hit this one right on the mark.


Which tutorial?

Gave Painter 6 watercolors a try with this lovely lady....

Had lost so much of her hair & eyes ...decided to try again. The foundation of the pix was using a version of Trimoon's history technique and a version of SW Engineer http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9114

then back to Painter 6, to use watercolor brushes...mostly from 5.5 default.

Thanks Danny! Thanks Janet! It feels good to be validated...:)

Here is link for Trimoon's Portrait Tutorial:

http://www.trimoon.com/html/portrait.html


Celestine

Wow! I see a lot of good renditions here. Here's my try.

Method:
1. Increase color (mostly saturation)
2. Remove surface detail (mostly smart blur).
3. Add edge, increase contrast, and add chromo surface texture (mostly done with extremely high levels of very focused sharpening).
4. Rearrange hair to conform more to gravity (liquify, cut-paste-blend, clone, and smudge.
5. Reduce/remove jags and distractions (blur, clone, heal)

Andrew

Wow! I see a lot of good renditions here. Here's my try.

Method:
1. Increase color (mostly saturation)
2. Remove surface detail (mostly smart blur).
3. Add edge, increase contrast, and add chromo surface texture (mostly done with extremely high levels of very focused sharpening).
4. Rearrange hair to conform more to gravity (liquify, cut-paste-blend, clone, and smudge.
5. Reduce/remove jags and distractions (blur, clone, heal)

Andrew

Hey, Andrew:

Nice to see your post. This is an OUTSTANDING interpretation. I especially like how you did the hair.

Well done.

~Danny~

Thanks, Danny.

I just realized I forgot to mention one step. Before I started the rendering, I changed her facial expression to make it a little less stern. I used FaceFilter Studio for that.

See http://www.facefilter.com/

Photoshop CS:
Painter IX:

Copied the original layer
Converted to a sketch ( any method acceptable )
Opened file in Painter and using the clone tool and Camel Oil Brush, converted to an Oil Painting
Imported back into Photoshop on a new layer, set blending mode to Soft Light
Copied onto a new layer and set blending mode to Luminosity

Painter 8: Blouse: Van Gogh Cloner Hair: Straight Cloner Skin: Smeary Camel Cloner

Imported to PS, smoothing of skin. Selected background and ran default Impressionist.

Cheers
Dave

Another fun pic to do today! Changed colors and used pointed stump as cloning brush in painter 8.

Another fun pic to do today! Changed colors and used pointed stump as cloning brush in painter 8. In a word: Outstanding. Totally awesome.

Thank-you, Danny!

Here's a happy accident. I was supposed to be bringing out the brush strokes, but got detoured into "What if..." mode.

Duplicate layer;
Emboss and apply auto levels;
Duplicate the original layer and put on top of this, mode color;
Hue/Sat layer, with Sat at +40
and there you go - a painted bas-relief.

Rô

This is what I was supposed to be doing..

definitely some very talented folks in here. i love the various looks.

and i'm going to have to work on my discipline a bit also. i tend to not mark my layers and forget all the steps i've taken. psp 7.xx doesnt have a visual command history, and i tend to wipe that history out when i do certain things. but basically,

new layer with high contrast, low light
new layer with low contrast, high light
new layer with clarity, edge enhance, and fade reduction
new layer with 3 noise reductions on same layer
merged the first 3 layers
adjusted opacity of all layers for effect
new layer with mask over face and illumination highlights applied
merged all layers
new layer with no mask and more illumination effects, especially around the eyes

i wasnt really trying to do this, but the overall effect seemed to age her by about 5 or 10 years, and in my mind, gave her more appeal.

K.

What else can I say. Just a simple watercolor for your enjoyment. :)

Ikroll - What else can I say. Just a simple watercolor for your enjoyment.
And I enjoyed it ;)

Kraellin- ..and i'm going to have to work on my discipline a bit also. i tend to not mark my layers and forget all the steps i've taken.
You're not alone there! Part of the reason I waited to post this, forgot how I did it! Going to be add to my New Years resolution list! NAME LAYERS!!

The best recollection of how I got this-
screen blended a couple of layers, copied the merged result, pasted as new layer, duplicated, then that's where I did some things that I don't remember the exact order.. :bawling: somewhere in there I converted one of merged copies to greyscale and blended as screen, then inverted one of the layers and set as luminance blend, For the life of me I can't remember what I did then, a few more blends and merges.. only know I wound up with the first image and I liked it, then played some more (Impressionist?)and got the second.. forgive me for lack f details, I promise to pay more attention next time I do something like this.

Chester

Nice pic for this style.


Peter