Aug 09 Contest Discussion

[T Paul]

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

Most members are eager to hear comments/suggestions about their entries, so please take the time to help each other out.

[Cupcake]

Good work LONK.

[T Paul]

Don't forget to check the rules before posting....

For instance:

Final image must be exactly 800 pixels high by 600 pixels wide (portrait format)

[LonK]

Thanks Cupcake for the compliment and TPaul for reminding me about my oversight. I'm surprised to be the only entrant so far. Come on folks, do your thing and show your stuff!

[Nasturtium]

I found the different elements not too difficult to mask but it took me a while to figure out how to combine the body and tail mask that I did separately. I got that all done, reread the rules and then I had to paint it! lol. A clipping mask with this texture did the trick. I'm wondering if the dearth of entries is due to the school holidays.

[MiningArt]

Nasturtium, I tried to mask the horse about 5 times before any halfway good results. I had never thought to use two and then combine :-)) I'll give it a try to see how it goes.

[Veralisa]

Hi folks...your work is awesome. And I plan on submitting my version shortly. Today I had gall bladder surgery, had it removed, and will be spending the next few days recuperating. Don't know why I'm leaving a msg but am trying to stay up so, hopefully, will get a long night's rest.

I love looking at your work. Lonk, you set the bar so high, and when this is all finished please share your displacement map secrets. MiningArt, I love the Native Art theme...truly. OlBaldy, looks great...and looking at your entry, I suppose a pole is allowed. Quite authentic and well done. Sweet Nasturtium. I love yours, too. Ride A Painted Pony is unique and eyecatching.

S'all for now, the meds need updating. Tomorrow should be more manageable.

[Nasturtium]

Get well soon Veralisa! Looking forward to your entry. Yes, I think LonK set the bar VERY high (as did the others) but the point for me was to learn something new.

[LonK]

Oh my, Veralisa, I hope you recuperate with ease. I found editing a relaxing way to pass time when I was recovering from my heart surgery a few years ago.

As to my entry, I didn't use displacement mapping at all, secret or otherwise. Once I found a suitable carousel pony online, I merely used transform/warp/liquify and masking to fit it to the subject horse and applied a contrast blend mode to pick up the underlying luminosity. I made my subject mask with channel manipulations and the shadow with the help of the alien skin perspective shadow plug-in.

Again, I hope you feel better soon and I look forward to seeing your entry.

[Kraellin]

these are delightful, folks enjoying this very much!

[jcalandr]

Hi Y'all
Ok, i've been able to extract horse faily cleanly, and put it on a white background. However, this is where it all stops. Where are all the nice saddles and such coming from?

Regards,
Joe

[Veralisa]

Hi Joe, hope you made your way over here

Anyway, I was intrigued by your question. It sounds like you've got a good grip on photoshop, at least to be able to say that your extraction was fairly clean. That was a real toughie. Anyhow, just to show you what I did & how I came up with embellishments, well, it was mostly brushwork & cut & paste. That's all. Other people have their special techniques, boy are they great! Knock my socks off, they do. Some have even shared their method here on this thread. My source for what I use come from my own image files. Hope this helps.

[NirvanaBliss]

Hi can you help please,

My problem is uploading, how can i get 800 x 600 and less than 100KB

Seems impossible to me...

HS

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by NirvanaBliss

Hi can you help please,

My problem is uploading, how can i get 800 x 600 and less than 100KB

Seems impossible to me...

HS

Welcome to RetouchPRO Hope you enjoy your stay here and make lots of friends.

Size to the final size you want then save using the save for web function in Photoshop as described here:
Size, Quality and/or Format your Attached Images.. (Click here)
This may also help some... How to attach Files/Images to your Posts or Threads?(Click here)

[NirvanaBliss]

Thank you Olbaldy

[NirvanaBliss]

I could kick myself, i did the tail wrong, but i guess its all a learning curb and i am new to retouching, i do more digital paintings than retouching, but it was fun to do, so thank you for adding the contest.

Best Regards, HS

[MiningArt]

I don't think you can do it right or wrong, just differently. I was thinking it looked pretty good.

[NirvanaBliss]

Thank you John, bit confused, because i am in the contest do i get to vote, or everyone that hasn't, doesn't take much to confuse me i am afraid, think it must be an age thing.

HS

I worked it out and now put in my votes.

[MiningArt]

I would like to mention 0lBaldy's horse mouth and bit work, nice job.

[NirvanaBliss]

Personally i think that the contestants votes should have been secret, sent to TPaul via email, rather than be on a public board.

I also feel that it would have been cool if the contestants were the ones who did not vote but the viewers who did not join the contest did.

But my opinions, and nothing against anyones judgement, just how i feel i guess.

[MiningArt]

I think some contests here allow anyone to vote. Open votes may influence perception/judgment somewhat I guess. I try most things on the forum as a way to learn and practice, winning or honorable mention is nice though.

[MiningArt]

How are the votes tabulated?

1=5 points
2=4
3=3
4=2
5=1
??

[T Paul]

Contest frequently asked questions

[MiningArt]

Thanks I found it.

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by MiningArt

I would like to mention 0lBaldy's horse mouth and bit work, nice job.

Thanks for the mention... glad you liked it..

[T Paul]

Results should be posted later today.

[T Paul]

I hope everyone had fun with the contest. Thanks to all those that voted! We had a good turn out for voting this time.

The winner of August’s contest is….LonK!

Prize: Topaz Vivacity and Topaz Adjust, both donated by Topaz Labs

Prize Description: Topaz Vivacity is an advanced Photoshop plug-in suite that uses the latest in wavelet-based image enhancement technology. It is jam-packed with the best image enhancement tools on the market and is an integral part of any image enhancement workflow.

Topaz Adjust uses advanced algorithms to achieve unique exposure effects and adjustments in seconds. It offers the user full control over creative exposure, color, and detail effects, and has the ability to save and reuse presets for maximum convenience. It is also highly capable of noise reduction.

Top 5:
LonK – 35
Veralisa – 19
Ruzzez – 17
Mining Art – 16
NirvanaBliss - 14

[0lBaldy]

Congratulations Lonk.. Well deserved!!

[MiningArt]

Congratulations Lonk, nice work.

[Cupcake]

Congrats Lonk!!!!!
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