[DannyRaphael]

FIRST MINI-CHALLENGE?
See below for "Information and Guidelines."

Here’s another “mini-challenge” to play with in the Photo-based Art category until the next offical challenge is posted here.

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PHOTO ART: Mini-challenge# 45 – Japanese Garden

Remember the butterfly image that so many seemed to enjoy last week? This gorgeous picture of a Japanese Garden was taken by the same photographer, Alan Smallbone, my colleague in the DPReview Retouching Forum Action collection endeavor (see http://www.geocities.com/kafuensis/).

Same old legal stuff: Alan retains the copyright © not only for the original image, but for any photo-art versions of it. Unauthorized distribution or use without his permission are prohibited.

Thanks again, Alan, for letting me use another of your wonderful images.

Good luck and have fun.

~DannyR~

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INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

Unlike “official challenges” for this forum which can be found here, this one will be self-contained within this thread. It is intended as an opportunity to engage in this artform until the next official challenge is posted.

The rules are more-or-less the same:
* It’s a challenge, not a contest -- intended to provide opportunities to experiment, share methods and/or techniques and, most importantly, have FUN.
* Everyone who participates is a winner.
* There’s no expiration date.

GUIDELINES:
1. Use any method, application(s), style(s) you like:
. * Convert to sketch, grayscale, abstract, watercolor, oil painting, pen-and-ink, Conte crayon, impasto, van Gogh or any style of your choosing
. * Add elements from other images (collage) or replace the background
. * Hand painting? Tracing? Freehand? You bet. Always appreciate entries of this nature.
. * Apply filters from your favorite application(s) or tweak it with 3rd party plug-ins
. * Feeling animated? Flying fish?
. * Any or all of the above

Bottom line:
How you create this masterpiece makes no difference. Whatever floats your boat as long as you follow guideline #4 in the process.

2. When done, reply to this thread and attach your work (don’t forget the 100kb size limit).

Note: Multiple entries OK if you’re so inspired.

3. By all means include some verbiage on how you achieved your masterpiece so others will benefit from your skills and experience. Make it as descriptive as you like. Grammar and spelling will not be graded. Priority given to content, not how it is written.

4. Have fun.

[omeyas]

My attempt.

[DannyRaphael]

CHUCK...

Textures work well here... Thanks for breaking out of the gate early on this one. You got this thread rollin'.

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FRANK...

Can I transplant some of your "vision cells" into my brain? You see things I can't even imagine (until I see your creations). Mirroring the image to double the real estate... and tweaking the fish count to disguise it.

Excellent. Sure glad you found this site.

[pstewart]

Used graphic pen, distort-displace with diagonal brush texture, color adjustment, KPT equalize to mold shadows a bit, and finally render-lighting to give it a bit of depth.

Phyllis

[ecurbh]

Ran a couple filters (spatter, and I forget the other), added a paper texture background, and ran an action for the edge effect. Then added the original back on top to restore a little detail, and put in a few subtle japanese characters.

On further reflection, it seems a little too busy. I'll take another whack at it tomorrow.

Bruce

[omeyas]

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FRANK...

Can I transplant some of your "vision cells" into my brain?


Thanks, I would regard myself as one of the least artistic persons going! Can't draw, can't paint. Neither this one nor the book started out with any preconceived ideas, I just started doodling! Never done a book before. The japanese one is, as you said, duplicated, inversed, then the bottom half was copied and inversed, then some cut out of the bottom to allow the pond to continue around.
But most importantly, I'm adhereing to rule number 4(?), I'm enjoying myself!

[pstewart]

I tried to make this look like a Japanese drawing without doing any drawing, just filtering. It's not exactly what I was aiming for, but it's "sort of" close.

I needed some Japanese words to put on it, so I looked on the web and found that the first two symbols together here spell "peace." I wanted three in the column, so I took pieces of the others and made a third symbol. I sure hope it doesn't say something dirty or threatening. If it does, it was purely accidental!

Phyllis

[arthill]

First I decreased the blue and increased the green in the foreground. then I created two layers. Applied sume filter to one and smart blur edge only to the other and inverted it. Applied Soft light blending mode to both layers then a spatter edge frame effect.

[phili1]

AS usual everybody entries are just great. I did like Danny said did mine first and then looked.

This is my first try at water coloring.

I used my Art History brush oil paint sys with no heavy emboss(texture) after that I used what I called selective foucus to bring up those elements that I wanted the picture to emphisiz and then I adjusted the water colored filter till I got what I wanted

[phili1]

I used the same history brush system and selective focus but this time I used MIke F Misty action and adjusted curves.

I just tried something different. I added Texure/sandstone and it came out really great. I would like to post all the images tries on my pbase but Danny do you think that would be ok.

[phili1]

I am soory to hit you with a third one, but this one I need opinions.

This is my Oil Paint system with the addition in this case of a sandstone texture. Does it add to it or detract.

[phili1]

Thanks Chuck.

I developed an Oil Based Painting with Danney and I am trying different things with it. It was developed for people and works great but now I am trying it on landscapes. The great thing about it is you can adjust the texture to your liking. The sand stone was an add in, and I think I used about 4. I will try it with 2.

BY the way down load Mystic and add sandstone to it, I just did and printed it on Pictorico canvas to see the effect and all I can say is wow it looks great. I did that one with 2.

[pstewart]

Phil, I like the last one a lot. The texture really does the trick!

Phyllis

[VisualEyes]

Here's a visitor from another challenge.

[JBCaffrey]

Trying for a Japanese wood block effect. BuzzPro, a heavy dose of unsharp masking, and a water paper texture.

Jim