PHOTO ART: Mini-challenge #69 – Cedar Waxwing

[DannyRaphael]

Goldcoin: A+ on pushing the envelope on yours! Well done.
Wanda: Happy New Year! Always glad to see your beautiful work.

My contribution to the WONDERFUL efforts so far.

The image...
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/att...=&postid=40283 - pic

from this tutorial:
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/sho...0283#post40283

Great way to start the new year looking at these.

~Danny~

[BigAl]

In keeping with Wanda & Steve's birdbook interpretations.

[Wanda Schwind]

Goldcoin - Nice! I really like it. A different approach that turned out to be quite BEAUTIFUL

Trimoon - Just wonderful as usual. I never tire viewing your work.
All those views, they're mine

Danny - Thank you I LOVE your entry, so soft, muted, and VERY inviting. Appreciate the tutorial very much, thanks! How do you find the time

BigAl - What can I say except you can't improve on perfection. Just beautiful

Wanda

[d_kendal]

here's my try at this challenge. I was mostly following the watercolor tutorial that Cricket posted, with a bit of tweaking.

- David

[d_kendal]

Hi Chuck,

thanks, yeah I couldn't decide on what kind of blue to use as a background. I didn't use buzz pro, instead I tried using the filter Other>Mininum instead which got an interesting result.

- David

[jerry]

Wow Wow Wow
You guys have been really busy working on this picture..There are so many beautiful results that I am just amazed..

I have been busy trying to learn to use my new tablet (this has not been really intuative for me a mixed up left hander) I am getting used to it and also have been wading through the Painter instructions..

I used Linda's sketch routine to create a ink sketch.. Then imported it to Painter and Hand Airbrushed some color back into the birds..

Wanda, any tips for a Painter challenged newbie..

Thanks
Jerry

[Wanda Schwind]

David, really nice your image to me appears to have a water fall behind the birds which gives it depth. It looks handpainted!!

Jerry, wow, that's really impressive I don't think you're going to have any problems with Painter. Tips: All I can do is tell you what I did. I practiced for hours using the brushes, pens, pencils, etc. to become familiar with which one did what. I practiced, praticed, practiced brush strokes. Geez, Jerry, look what you did right off the bat. I guess some of us are just slow learners

[pjb]

cut out birds put on new layer
layer 1 edge finder
lighting effects(cut out)
layer 2 aetherize(cut out)
layer 3 (full) put a pencil2 adjusted color and put a grain texture
on layer 1&2 put sharpen edges more

[pstewart]

CJ, I like the rough glass look you achieved...but I think I'd have erased those distracting black spots left along the edges.

Chuck, your Paint Engine version is wonderful. Guess I'll have to get the whole package...I think I just have a few of its filters that came with PSP.

BK, nice color effects, and the bright narrow edges are a pleasant change from black outlining.

Jim, smoooooth. You are going to be a Painter Pro in no time!

Al, I like the delicate simple look of this drawing, but perhaps it would show up better with more contrast and less overall brightness. Then again, my Mac tends to show pics brighter than Windows does, so I guess I'll just download it and adjust it myself.

PJB, looks like you painted it on homemade paper...what a deep texture! Nice framing too.

Trimoon, the second attempt is IT! BINGO! Love it!

Schwartzie, don't know how you did this watercolor, but it really looks great. I like the way the outline fades in and out...in fact, I'd like to see it even softer, less pure black if possible.

Goldcoin, I couldn't pick either! First I thought I liked the second one (and I do!) but then I looked again at the bright primary colors in the first...and ...well, I like them both for different reasons I guess. In both cases, the texture you chose goes well with the birds.

Wanda and Al, yours look like they came straight from an Audobon Bird Book!

Danny, nice job on that sketch technique...works well with this subject since it's not a very cluttered pic so the blacks on the branches and around the eyes fit in just right!

David, that technique is perfect for this pic! Good choice, and good job. Sometimes art is not just knowing how to do something, but knowing WHEN and WHERE to do it.

Jerry, good job on Linda's sketch technique...daring background color change, but I like the way it blends with the birds.

PJB, daring treatment! What texture and depth! What shine and shimmer! Fun to look at!

Phyllis

[semara]

This is my first Mini Photo Art Challenge, and as I was kind of stuck with what to do with the winter farm scene, I combined the two and came up with this. I was trying to make you feel like you are watching these two birds out your window on a frosty day. (Please excuse me...I don't know whether they are winter birds or not, but they are now) It is also my first attempt at making the window from scratch which I made in Paint Shop Pro.....
Thank you for letting me post my finished product.
and thanks for the Challenge !

Sheryl

[semara]

I don't know where my attachment went. If someone can let me know how to do it....I will try and repost it....

Thank you

Sheryl

[GOLDCOIN]

Semara .....

How interesting, like what you did with the frame work. Welcome

[pstewart]

Sheryl, welcome! What a wonderful idea...looks great...you even put snow on the window! Well done.

I did a couple with PSP filters and PS7 finishing touches. Tried to make this one look like colored pencil, using a weave texture pattern adj layer that came with PS7.

Phyllis

[pstewart]

This one is done with Virtual Painter Collage combined with a Paint Engine filter.

Phyllis

[BigAl]

Phyllis, I really like your colored pencil rendition. It fits well with the birdbook images.

[T Paul]

Playing around in Painter this is what I came up with...
Wanted it to look like an incomplete sketch/painting.

Steps:
1. In Painter, cloned image, selected all, deleted image, changed paper to tracing paper.
2. Using the Pencil tool I sketched in portions of the image
3. Used color overlay and surface texture to create the background texture
4. Used the impasto clone brush to fill in the sketch and create the heavy brush strokes
5. Saved the image and brought in into PhotoShop where I used an emboss layer to further emphasize the brush strokes.
6. Saved for web.

This was a really quick experiment with Painter. I am starting to really like the program. It has so much potential...I just have to learn it now.

~T

[Snoleoprd]

Wow that is awesome, the feeling of depth to the textures is amazing. Great job.

Alan

[pstewart]

TPaul, if I didn't know better I'd suspect you of cheating...of painting a picture in acrylics then scanning it in! You have Painter nailed! Lately, so many folks here have been turning out great pics with Painter, while mine sits uninstalled on its lonely CD. I am left to eat your dust!

Phyllis<--suffers from Painterphobia

[Anubis]

this is my pensil version. Dunno why.... but think I'm stuck with everything black and white, either pensil or infrared versions. comments are appreciated.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...d/fcba4f06.jpg

[retpmikl]

T,

very nice job on this one. I realy like it. I love Painter too but, as you say, 'It has so much potential' wich means that there's a lot to learn and, as a french canadian, just the vocabulary is a big obstacle to me (those dab, well, bristle, rake... !). But with time... Bravo again.

[pjb]

T Paul That is outstanding. Love the colors

[jerry]

Phyllis, your color pencil version is top shelf..REALLY like that one..

T.. REally like your impasto entry..That effect in Painter has a lot of possibilities..Painter has so much to offer and is hard to learn but with more and more folks posting, I think it will get easier as time goes by..

Jerry

[BigAl]

Nice one T, but why on earth did you want to leave it unfinished?

[pstewart]

Anubis, you really have a knack for b/w...this one shimmers and glows, the shading is superb! Personally, I prefer b/w sketch looks to color or sepia. And many photos look more dramatic in b/w also, so keep up the good work! Have you tried working with separate color channels after turning each into b/w?

Phyllis

[T Paul]

WOW...truly blushing on my end. Thanks everyone for the great compliments.

Phyllis..."left to eat your dust", that's quite the compliment coming from you. Thanks! I felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by Painter too so I am just starting with it slow and easy...baby steps. You should experiment with it's cloning tools as they make a master painter out of anyone. So in a way I am cheating as I am just cloning. When I produce an image on my own and not from a tracing...then that truly will be a wonderful feat!

BigAl,
I must admit it was hard to leave unfinished. Orginally I had planned to leave more of it unfinished so that everyone could see the steps I took in Painter, but I was having so much fun and was so impressed with the impasto brush that I completed more than I intended to. I am just using all the default settings right now, but when I really learn this program and start playing with the settings, layers, filters and so on...look out!

~T

[T Paul]

WOW! Such great entries in this challenge.

Danny,
Nice watercolor effect. I also like the torn edges border.

CollinF
Great entries. The watercolor is my favorite though. It has a very soft look to it.

Phyllis,
“The Usual” Another nice simplified filter entry. I really like the strong, simplified shapes it creates. Definitely a really nice technique. As for the “un-usual”…very bizarre almost psychedelic man

Alan,
Love the sepia results and the border works great with the image!

Chuck,
Nice results. I like your techniques of using a large brush on the outside and decreasing the size of the brush as you worked in. The results are more details in the center where the subject matter is and thus where your focus should be. Nicely done!

CJ,
The splatter strokes created a lovely texture, almost like you are looking through thick textured glass. I like the glowing edges too. Overall, the image has a very nice look to it. Well done!

Chuck,
Paint Engine hmm….very nice results! Think I will have to experiment with it too. Looks like fun!

~T

[T Paul]

Blacknight,
WOW! Love the results! The colors are vibrant making the image just pop of the page, yet still soft. I am going to have to try this technique out. I like both entries, but I like the crispness of the first. Very cool!!

Jim,
Very nice Painter results. I like your technique of simplifying the image before working on it in Painter. I will have to try that one out for myself. Nicely done!

BigAl –Very soft tone almost like using pastels and painting with light. Your second image is great as well. It does look like it could be a bird book cover.

PJB,
I like the dark tone and the rough edge border. The black outer border really makes the image “pop”.

Phili1, Schwartzie, Goldcoin, Wanda
Very nice entries. Looks like the waxwing has been a great subject and inspiration to everyone.

Trimoon,
Very lovely results. Soft, delicate, and a very nice border. Very well done! Love the watercolor entry as well. Simply beautiful.

David,
Love the bold brush strokes in the background!

Jerry,
I like your ink sketch results. It’s very similar to what I did with the impasto brush in Painter. Looks like we had very similar ideas.

~T

[T Paul]

Semara,
Great results for your first Photo Art entry! I like your concept of looking out at the birds through a snowy window. Nicely done.

Phyllis,
Two more great entries. I don’t know which I like better. I like the crispness of the color pencil entry, but I like the fluidness of the one done with Virtual Painter Collage.

Anubis,
Very nice B&W pencil entry. You created some very realistic pencil results down to the smudging. The birds really stand out against the blurred background. Nicely done.

Really great work by all!

~T

[Anubis]

Originally posted by pstewart
Anubis, you really have a knack for b/w...this one shimmers and glows, the shading is superb! Personally, I prefer b/w sketch looks to color or sepia. And many photos look more dramatic in b/w also, so keep up the good work! Have you tried working with separate color channels after turning each into b/w?

Phyllis

Errr.... no. Actually, I've not givien it any thought till now. Will try it out tonight. Thanks Phyllis.


And T Paul,
thanks for your comments. Am trying to figure out a way to get the exact effect of your background with PS7 (I do not have the Painter software). Any tips that you can offer?

[DannyRaphael]

T...

Positively jaw dropping. Awesome and inspirational.

~Danny~