June 05 Contest Discussion

[T Paul]

Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the June Contest entries as well as the contest itself here. This is also a great place to share your techniques or ask others about theirs.

[CJ Swartz]

T Paul -- are there any restrictions as to methodology for this month's contest?

My question is wide-open, but let me throw in a couple of specific questions to start it off.

May we use parts of the image rather than the whole for the illustration?

May we use any filter effect that we choose, any brushstroke technique we choose, etc. to create our chosen result?

[T Paul]

Photo Art: taking a photo and turning it into art.

I thought long and hard, but Photo Art just isn’t easy to develop guidelines for. So the main restriction is that your entry should not be the sole result of running a single filter…i.e. just push a button and voila instant results!! Now I’m not saying you can’t use filters, just make sure that your steps are not just one step of applied such and such filter, end of story.

So… cut, paste, combine filters, add layers, experiment with brushes, textures and so on. The goal is to create a Children’s Book Illustration. Maybe it’s a graphic, pen and ink, watercolor, marker, color pencil, or a combination of medium...there are so many options! This is where you can really create your own style!! Need some inspiration, do a Google search, check out your local bookstore, etc.

I’m hoping that this contest produces some very creative results!

Now for the question of do you have to use the whole image...no you don't. You can use parts of the image.

[cazubi]

I also have a question. Is this to be illustrated as if it were, say, one page, or part of a story in a children's book?

Cathy

[T Paul]

You can design your entry as a single page such as the Front Cover Design, or as a scene from within the book. You can add other characters, backgrounds and so on. This is where that creativity comes in.

[Janet Petty]

Almost totally off the subject but not quite:

Does anyone out there remember a series of cute "Ladybird" children's stories from about 20 years ago? I used to have several of them as educational materials for my young children. The books are long gone from my home; and this thread has reminded me how adorable they were.

Janet

[T Paul]

Not sure if they are the same thing, but Amazon.com has several children's book by Ladybird Books.

[Flora]

Boy, voting for this is going to be much harder than for the previous contests!!
All the entries I've seen are simply terrific!!!

[Kraellin]

i totally agree, flora. i think the contest is 'easier', technically, this time, but the voting is going to be far more difficult. the level of creativity around here is incredibly good. i already find myself wanting to see the entire books

K.

[Ms Bay]

I am still having problems with the quality of my pictures when I upload them. I create them in sRGB and the colors are bright and crisp, but when I save them to the web I am still loosing some of that color crispness. Could it be my monitor settings and every one else sees the rich colors that I see in my CS program? Everyone else's posted pictures are beautiful color!

[Marthig]

Ms Bay !

I loved your scene, it is so nice ! I am preparing something too but I think yours is a winner !

Rgds - Martha


Haven't noticed the other entries, one prettier than the other, all winners IMHO

[Ms Bay]

How sweet, thank you for the compliment!

[MargaretM]

What fun watching all these great entries roll in. ALL GREAT! Have a question for Cazubi or anyone else who might know. I just invested in Painter 9 and am looking for some tutorials on it. I see a couple of good books on it, but only available in July. Any ideas would be welcome.
Margaret.

[Racc Iria]

Ms. Bay... I used to have the same color problems as you're having. I design graphics for video and web and would always get the color shift thing happening. It looked great in Photoshop, but wasn't the same when it got to video or on the web. Then I read the following in the Photoshop help file:

Color Management Off

Does not turn the Photoshop color management system off (the color management system cannot be turned off entirely). Instead, this option tells the color management system to use passive color management techniques to emulate the behavior of applications that do not support color management. Although working space profiles are considered when converting colors between color spaces, Color Management Off does not tag documents with profiles. You can use this option for content that will be output on video or as on-screen presentations. Do not use this option if you work mostly with documents that are tagged with color profiles.

Turning off color management is not a good idea when printing is the goal, but if you're just going to the computer screen (or to video) then turning it off and creating images with it off will save you a lot of headaches. I know it sounds crazy, but it works.

--Racc

[Ms Bay]

Thanks Racc for your help. I uploaded again using your suggestion, but it still looks the same (it looked good in save for web). Are the key words here "when creating", because mine was already done? I'll try it on the next photo project.

[cazubi]

Margaret, I have been useing the "Painter 8, and Painter IX Wow books by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis. I like these books because there are step-by-step instructions on how to get the effect that you see in the examples. Brushes and technique are also covered, as well as the different filters and styles. The books also include CDs that are packed with goodies like brushes, textures, patterns,and paper. There are some older Wow books on Amazon that are selling for as little as $3.00., as well as other Painter books.

Cathy

[MargaretM]

Cathy - thanks for the tip. I just picked up the Painter 9 book with CD that you suggested and will work with it. "Packed with goodies" is always a good thing!
Margaret.

[Racc Iria]

Ms Bay...

You're right, the color management has to be off when you create the image. If you turn it off after creating the image, it will have the same color shift. Also, make sure you don't embed a color profile when you save the image.

--Racc

[Legacy~Art]

I have already upto now choose my winner, i think that this person can do illustrations for wallpapers, i shown my neice and she said it be lovely on her son's bedroom, so you being the one i am not going to name yet, do great work!!!

Infact i find this quite hard to choose from.

[pictureman33]

Originally Posted by MargaretM

I just invested in Painter 9 and am looking for some tutorials on it. I see a couple of good books on it, but only available in July. Any ideas would be welcome.
Margaret.

You might try this link, it has some pretty good tutorials on it.
http://div.dyndns.org/EK/tutorial/

[MargaretM]

Pictureman33 - thanks for the link. These look quite good. I find the Painter layout deceptively simple, compared to Photoshop but the depth is there.
Margaret.

[cazubi]

Margaret, I also have found Painter difficult, and when I can't figure something out I just switch back to PS. Since I have been working on pieces from this site, I have really been having fun with Painter and I have been taking more time with the tutorials. Now it's not so confusing.

Cathy

[Ms Bay]

Racc, thanks again for the great advise. I just experimented with it to see if creating would do the job and it worked! Since I have time, I may (or may not) create my picture again using those settings.

[Racc Iria]

Thank you. You're quite welcome. Glad I could help.

--Racc

[Sean2]

margaret,

How on earth did you manage to incorporate so many bugs into the picture so quickly. Did you draw them all using a template or freehand ??? Marvelous.

I can see where some entries are based on photographs, and a fewa re done from scratck, but i can't tell what yours is based on?

My own was from scratch and based on the Dune series (Giant worms, blue eyes and desolation - the escape from WHAT :-).

I would truly like to know how you approached and made your piece- FANTASTIC!!

Sean

[T Paul]

So many excellent entries...keep them coming! Just a friendly reminder that there are only a few more days left to get your entries in!

Deadline for entries is 5pm EDT, Wednesday 22 June 2005.

[MargaretM]

Sean2: Thanks so much for your comments. I wasn't going to submit to this contest since the ladybug left me totally uninspired. But started a folder and threw in some bug and leaf images I have in a royalty free collection. The inspiration came when I found the grasshopper playing the violin. Then I looked for a suitable background picture with a focal "stage" in a natural setting. Found the attached photo in a freebie collection, did some cloning to remove distracting items and resized, then used the ink outline filter in Brushstrokes to do away with the photo effect. Each bug was cleaned up, given poster edges and some noise added, for a cohesive effect with the background. Then arranged leaves for a frame, so the viewer would feel they were peering in, and added the bugs. I was shooting for a rich colorful picture with plenty of details to amuse children. So glad you like it.
Margaret.

[Sean2]

Hi Margaret,

Lovely!. Thank you for responding. You did a truly mavelous job.

Sean

[CathieT]

Hi everyone,

I've just joined, and the first thread I open is the Contest Entries for June!!

I think this is going to be a wonderful place to hang about and learn stuff, I don't know that I'm going to be able to offer much in the way of teaching to start with ...

I downloaded the ladybird photo and then laughed in my own face, there's only hours to go until it closes!!

Cheers,
Cathie

[MargaretM]

[QUOTE]Hi everyone,

I've just joined, and the first thread I open is the Contest Entries for June!!QUOTE]
Hi CathieT and welcome. You are right that this is a great place for learning and enjoying. Look forward to seeing your entry. (Sometimes the best work is done under pressure.)
Margaret.