Pencil Sketch help needed please

[moonchild64]

Okay, I tried making a pencil sketch and am happy with it for the most part considering how new I am to this. However, I can't seem to get the area at the top of her hair to look right.

Will someone please see if they can fix it, and if so ... would you PLEASE tell me how you did it. Just doing it for me won't teach me anything and I truly want to be able to get it right so I can correct future probs like this myself.

Thanks for any and all help.
HarleyPencilWEB.jpg

Btw, the picture is from a recent photo of my oldest g-babe, Harley.

[BillFrey]

It's harder to do a pencil sketch/high key with a photo that lacks detail. That's when I cheat

I used the smudge tool with a 'hair brush' (just a bunch of dots) and then added a little grain.

[palms1]

Moonchild you have done great
as you may of noticed the problem is where her hair is the darkest (as well as her dress at the shoulder ) i have tried a few things but settled for smudging her hair with the smudge brush set at 20% strength and the dry brush (from the default brushes in ps)but you will need to do all the hair ,Not sure if it is any better or not

It may be better to start again and try lighting those areas before you do the technique you are using

Another options is to post your photo and a link for the technique you are using ( there are a few around this way we will know which one you are using ) and see if any one can come up with a answer that way but it is a common problem with this sort of technique ( one of my favorites and one i havent done in a while )

Palms

[palms1]

I never noticed your post Bill
you get a better outcome than i did ( it was quickly done )

Palms

[moonchild64]

Thank you Palms and Bill (sorry I didn't notice your post at first Bill). Smudging was the only thing I could think of to help. I tried it but didn't like it (yours is much better than my attempt).

Posting the original and the method sounds like a good idea. Sorry, but even the original was less than 100 kb

Original photo:


h02.jpg

[moonchild64]

Bill ... what do you mean by smudge with a "hair" brush? That picture looks wonderful! Whatever that technique is ... it will certainly come in handy with all the low quality pictures!!!

oops ... I forgot to mention ... the tut I had used is here:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read....essage=3842725

Of course, mine is nowhere near the quality in the tut.

Wow ... the hair looks so great in that picture that I will have to learn how you did it so I can make matching sketches of all my g-babes and put them on my wall. I thought I wasn't going to be able to give presents to my children at Christmas but now ... if I learn how to do that hair .. I know for certain I will be giving them all portraits of their children. Except my youngest daughter ... portraits of her puppies.

[BillFrey]

Thank you, Palms and moonchild,

You can probably make a hair brush, but here's the kind I used. They're just a series of random dots. I guess one could do the same thing with a tiny single brush, but these brushes save time.

http://market.renderosity.com/mod/bc...wProduct=34321

[moonchild64]

Bill, thank you for the link. I am unable to purchase them at this time, but they are definately placed in my faves to get as soon as I can.

Thank you, thank you, thank you both for being so helpful!!!

[BillFrey]

Hi moonchild,

Do a search here at retouchpro. I believe they have links to free hair brushes.
LindaBrushes.abr
SarsaHairBrushes.abr

Hope they help.

[moonchild64]

Just now got them. Thank you again. I am about to go practice and hope to have a decent one to post here after a while. Wish me luck!

Also, I found the simplest tut ever for making my own hair brushes. This appears to be written with newbies in mind ... even I understood it.
http://pokefreak.deviantart.com/art/...orial-35260534

[BillFrey]

Good link! Thanks, moonchild. I'm going to give it a try myself

[moonchild64]

Originally Posted by BillFrey

Good link! Thanks, moonchild. I'm going to give it a try myself

Oh yay ... I am so glad to be able to give a little something back ... even though it was just a link to someone else's work. LOL

If anyone writes me with more tips or anything, PLEASE do not think I am ignoring you if I don't answer right away. This hair thing is going to take a LOT of practice and I plan to get it right! I am in total awe of you folks that make this stuff look so easy!

[moonchild64]

Time to take a break and prepare some dinner. I will definately keep practicing but wanted to show you what I did this try. No where near as good as yours, but I plan to get better with much, much practice. I think I achieved a better look already compared to my first one.

HarleyPencilPractice.jpg

[BillFrey]

Looks better, moonchild64, good work. Try using the brush in a smaller size so that the brush strokes are smaller. Just keep on working over the same area. Think about how many hairs there are on our heads... you have to brush that many... well, not all of them but lots!

[palms1]

I admit defeat on this one, I have tried a few different ways that i know of and i cant get pass the hair problems, so for now i am calling it a day

Palms

[BillFrey]

I played a little and ended up with something a little different.

[lkroll]

So I like to cheat.

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by moonchild64

Okay, I tried making a pencil sketch and am happy with it for the most part considering how new I am to this. However, I can't seem to get the area at the top of her hair to look right.

Will someone please see if they can fix it, and if so ... would you PLEASE tell me how you did it. so I can correct future probs like this myself.

Thanks for any and all help.
Attachment 62385

The following is from the site you referenced:

adjust it again after removing the background since the white might make the subject's skin and hair appear dark by comparison.

Use the dodge tool set with a large soft edge brush at about 200 at 30-50% to sweep across the hair to lighten it up. Try setting the dodge tool to midtones first to see if that makes enough of a difference. I find that setting it to shadows is too dramatic. Lower the opacity to about 50% and do a light over the hair, especially if it is dark.

Adjust the brightness or curves if still not light enough. Set a set point for the black and then adjusted the mid greys. Use the curves tool to isolate the darker colors of the hair and lighten it up just a bit.- finding the point on the curve that corresponds to the hair. Adjust the curve lighter at that point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My try at your beautiful GD

[gholmes1936]

Here is my attempt, using an action I found a long time ago.

[moonchild64]

Sorry it has taken me so long to check back here. Dad (actually my FIL) had surgery today. I am going back up to the hospital after lunch but will be back again later.

So many nice interpretations! I love seeing so many! I still wish I could get Bill's technique down. Like Palms, I have tried over and over again and have yet to get it. I love it so much though that I will continue to practice.

This isn't like his, but it is yet another interpretation:
HarleyPencilWEB3.jpg