Mar-Apr 2011 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.

[Veralisa]

Joeven, yours is positively delightful!

[Joeven]

Thanks Veronica. I'm probably going to change it though. Just wanted to get something entered this time.

Joe

[raquel]

Joeven, really like the placement of the kitten- a sweet little surprise !

[aartist]

Is there a way to download the larger required photos without having to register?

[CathyH]

aartist, I don't think you will be sorry if you register, we have used this site many time for these contest.

[CaptainObvious]

i've recently uploaded mine.... just wanted to know if i was OK to just use the head of the kitten, and put it on another cats body, as i didn't like the pose the cat was in....

[Lorraine]

CaptainObvious,

Hi and welcome. Questions about the specific contest rules are not answered. It's up to the entrants to decide individually how to execute the given material.

In this instance, all I can do is give you my opinion. Since this is a retouch/painting contest, I feel that more artistic liberty can be taken. Since each of the entrants will judge the contest, changing the cat's body could pose a problem for some, but others might think it is fine. Not much help, but that's all I can advise.

Nice work, by the way.

Lorraine

[Nasturtium]

what a fun exercise!
My first impulse was to get rid of the bare light bulb but then I decided to use it for atmosphere. It was hard to decided what to do with the yummy looking vegetables in the background but since they were so far away I decided their details had to go.

mlmaxey - I like the 'night' color theme
renata - that's so cute! Of course the kitty would shred the table decoration
palms - the shadow under your coffee cup is perfect
CaptainObvious - well this was all about creativity and making a 'frankenkitten' certainly was original
Lorraine - gorgeous shadow work and clever kitten placement
Veralisa - love your color adjustments
Loona - very nice work of integrating the cat
Joeven - your kitten looks so forlorn. I really like your coffee steam effect
Pherbis - you did a terrific job of simplification. Yours came out very cheerful.
CathyH - Very nice. Really clever what you did with the coffee cup.
Andy625 - great shadow work. The kitten is the perfect size for it's placement.
dkcoats - great virtual painting work. I like the thick textured painting look.
LonK - Really good balance between enhancing the details and making painterly texture.
TonyW - Nice depth.

[Tony W]

I really enjoyed this - a complete change to retouching and colour correcting images.
I also enjoyed looking at the very different interpretations by all.

mlmaxey - Loved the 'vibrant' colours and the overall feeling of early morning
renata - Nice feeling looks like an early start to what promises to be a pleasant day. Kitten destroying flowers a nice touch.
palms - What a bright and pleasant look - makes you want to sit down and take a cup.
CaptainObvious - Nicely done. The idea about line drawing fade in to colour inspired.
Lorraine - Loved the kitten hiding thinking you may not see him/her
Veralisa - Really liked the big and well fed kitten and your choice of colour change
Loona - Excellent spot for a kitten to hide
Joeven - Loved the 'punchy illustration' look of this
Pherbis - Lovely bright morning feel to yours
CathyH - Cute kitten poking its head out for a better view
Andy625 - I can smell the coffee here
dkcoats - Very nice painterly effect
LonK - Enjoyed the added extras, saucer milk for kitten, paper on the table and the lens flare effect
Nasturtium - A very pleasing effect - like sitting in the car in light rain and seeing an inviting place for a break and a coffee

[CathyH]

One thing I thought might be nice is to see the composition image before it was painted.
Could be used as a way to help with the voting. Or possible to have 2 winners.
Thanks for the comments, Tony and Nasturtium.

[Nasturtium]

Originally Posted by CathyH

One thing I thought might be nice is to see the composition image before it was painted.
Could be used as a way to help with the voting. Or possible to have 2 winners.
Thanks for the comments, Tony and Nasturtium.

You're more than welcome.

I agree - it would be nice to see the composite before painting so I've made an image of the five layers I used and attached it to my previous comment.

[Veralisa]

Well, this way has helped me choose in a large and expert field. I guess you'd say it's by process of elimination. I decided any artist who would sucessfully complete the assignment for the intended customer would need a rudimentary understanding of perspective. The scene as we were given was in proper perspective, eg, tile floors, tables, architecture. Okay. Therefore, the extra ingredients to be harmonious would be, also, no?

1st, the field of 15laid out and I used PS Window>Arrange>match zoom & location with the zooms all on the cups. Easy to eliminate any cup out of perspective. After that, the remainders were screened for the progressive size of the flowers, whichever is approprate to the tables. More eliminated.
Then I just continued through the cats, and this was a pure judgement call on my part. Love cats, no problem with the perspective (just mine, ha-ha).

Cats were followed by the final selection based on the quality of light as this was to be an AM scene. Final placement shuffle, done.

I realize this sounds so-o-o anal retentive, but hey, I lost myself in this work for a whole evening & enjoyed myself!

[renata]

Just wanted to say thanks for having the contests, and to recommend them to anybody who wants to learn and improve. I'm a little embarrased to admit some of the things which I should have known and now appreciate better (like, um, making use of nondestructive techniques?). Thanks again.

[palms]

Originally Posted by Veralisa

Well, this way has helped me choose in a large and expert field. I guess you'd say it's by process of elimination. I decided any artist who would sucessfully complete the assignment for the intended customer would need a rudimentary understanding of perspective. The scene as we were given was in proper perspective, eg, tile floors, tables, architecture. Okay. Therefore, the extra ingredients to be harmonious would be, also, no?

1st, the field of 15laid out and I used PS Window>Arrange>match zoom & location with the zooms all on the cups. Easy to eliminate any cup out of perspective. After that, the remainders were screened for the progressive size of the flowers, whichever is approprate to the tables. More eliminated.
Then I just continued through the cats, and this was a pure judgement call on my part. Love cats, no problem with the perspective (just mine, ha-ha).

Cats were followed by the final selection based on the quality of light as this was to be an AM scene. Final placement shuffle, done.

I realize this sounds so-o-o anal retentive, but hey, I lost myself in this work for a whole evening & enjoyed myself!

Funny how different things gave us pause for thought mine was the light, i felt it should be removed or at least the light made white ! ! !

Palms