Tried another tutorial

[photobobbie]

I'm haveing lots of fun with this. I tried another tutorial on my grandson's photo. The tutorial was Artistic Filtering (Jay Arraich) from Tutorial: The BEST collection of Photo-Art tutorial links. I used the impressionist charcoal for a layer filter.

Bobbie

[DannyRaphael]

Wow... You are "getting this" fast. This is a most impressive result, Bobbie.

The face detail looks just right and I especially like how you did the edges.

A couple suggestions...

(a) Sometimes filters tend to exaggerate areas you don't want emphasized. See that black blotch on (I'm assuming) her forearm? Kind of distracting. I'm also assuming you've got a flattened image (background only) at this point. If not, create a new layer at the top of the layer stack, then (while holding down the Alt key) Layer > Merge visible. (This merges the layers into a single layer without collapsing them.)
* With the Lasso I'd draw a selection around that area plus a little extra. It doesn't have to be a perfect selection.
* Alt + Ctrl + D - Feather selection. 2 or 3 should do it.
* Ctrl + J - copies the selection onto a new layer
* V - to engage the Move tool
* Drag the new piece of arm over the black blotch
* Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All
* Airbrush black on the Layer Mask near the edges to blend in the replacement area (switch to white to "undo")
* When you're happy with the result (it might take another layer or another selection to get it right), Layer > Merge Down will combine the layers.

(b) To me the combination of that bright green background and its texture are a little distracting -- taking focus away from our little star. Here's one approach to tone it down a little.
* Create a new layer at the top of the layer stack
* While holding down the Alt key, Layer > Merge visible
* Noise > Median and use a radius of 2-3. Don't worry if it looks like "too much."
* Layer > New Layer Mask > Hide all (black thumbnail)
* Set foreground color to white
* Airbrush with opacity ~ 40%, flow ~ 40% in the green background area. You don't need to soften it a lot, just a little.

.02 from the peanut gallery.

Far as I'm concerned, consider yourself a 101 graduate. Don't hesitate to try any of the other projects, challenges, etc. You're definitely ready.

~Danny~

[photobobbie]

I tried to implement a form of your suggestions - I have PSE 2 with the hidden power add ons. I like the results, and appreciate your pointing out things I had not noticed and thought of.

Bobbie

[andrea31419]

I'm interested in this tutorial. I'm looking for a tutorial for PS CS to learn to "paint" photographs.

Andrea

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by andrea31419

...I'm looking for a tutorial for PS CS to learn to "paint" photographs.

Andrea

Hello, Andrea:

By itself the tools/filters within Photoshop can perform practically unlimited manipulations. Unfortunately when it comes to achieving truly "painted" or "sketched" looks, in my opinion Photoshop falls pretty short -- especially if your intent is to sell the resulting photo paintings.

In Bobbie's example above she used a plugin called "Impressionist" to render the textured/arty effect.

If you're not a Mac user (PC-only), send me an e-mail (click my name above) and I'll reply with info you'll need to get started with this plugin.

~Danny~

[Bob Mc]

I'd like to refer anyone new to the impressionist plug-in to a document I created a while ago that provides examples of all the (default) effects that can be created. It's a large file (originally a word document - but now a smaller PDF file thanks to Mike Warren). I'd suggest downloading it at off-prime hours if your connection is slow - or - you might try downloading a smaller file from a different plug-in just to see if the style of the document is useful to you.

I use a single photo - and apply each different effect - so that the results can be compared to the results you might like. In addition to an image, I provide information about all the default control settings used for the effect.

If you're diligent in reviewing these control settings, you will see where relatively minor changes in settings can have a major impact on the results.

There are a series of documents available for different plug-ins/filters - which became my starting point to develop the styles that I like - a work still in process

It's not the final impressionist destination - just a starting point since there are almost endless adjustments you can make to the controls. The defaults are just a starting point to guide you as you get started.

Many thanks to Jim Lewis for hosting these documents on his amazingly useful site -

http://www.atncentral.com/tutorials.htm

Danny, of course, is an impressionist Master and graciously helps the rest of us discover the "hidden" capabilities of a really excellent piece of Microsoft software - which, naturally they stopped distributing - go figure?!

Enjoy!

Bob Mc

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by Bob Mc

I'd like to refer anyone new to the impressionist plug-in to a document I created a while ago that provides examples of all the (default) effects that can be created.

Bob Mc

I can confirm Bob's Impressionist examples document comes in quite handy, especially for new users overwhelmed with the 160 default styles.

It's a terrific resource.

[Neve]

Hello Photobobbie, Glad to see you at RP and already posting great results.