[pstewart]

FIRST MINI-CHALLENGE -or- NEW TO PHOTO-ART?
Click here for "Information and Guidelines."

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PHOTO ART: Mini-challenge #98 – Lighthouse

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

The base image can be downloaded by clicking the link below the photo description.

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Thanks to Phil Sampson (alias Blacknight) for this great photo of a well-kept little lighthouse in Mukelteo Washington, at the end of the ferry run that goes from Whidbey Island to the mainland.

Phyllis

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LEGAL VERBIAGE
Phil Sampson retains the U.S. and international copyright © not only for the original image, but also for any photo-art versions of it. Unauthorized distribution or use of this image without permission are prohibited.

[pstewart]

I kept it simple since the little lighthouse is so simple and neat and tidy. First ran high pass to darken sky and put bright glow in center of sky behind house, then colored sky and grass to late day colors. To simplify it I used smart blur with rather high settings. On this layer I overlaid an outline layer set to low opacity to define some edges a bit better. A few little tweaks here and there, but that's the basic process.

Phyllis

[TwinANJ]

simple did 3 layers glowing edge, noise lighting effect.
simple!
Jean

[TwinbNJ]

Phyllis - love the effect - the sky is wonderful---great! Very attractive to look at.

Jean - ooooo that is wierd and cool! I like the way this turned out.

[pstewart]

Jean, wow, what an effect! Looks like the house is frozen and a flying saucer is the cause! Freaks me out!

I drew this one with my crayons.

Phyllis

[pstewart]

The lighthouse is so shiny and new looking, it got me to thinking how it might look a few decades from now when the wood is rotting and the paint is peeling and no one uses it any more. Pretty sad, eh?

Phyllis

[charityk]

Lighthouses.... they just aren't lighthouses unless it's night.

Removed that silly mast blocking the view.. and cropped in a bit to remove some of the other clutter

Added a blue layer on "Multiply".. (I think).. I really should take notes....

Added a yellow gradient for the light.. and voila!

Not what I had originally envisioned....

Charity

[charityk]

O.k.. maybe lighthouses are lighthouses.. when it isn't night..

Here I removed the mast and cropped to remove some clutter. I removed the background and moved the windows onto a seperate layer. I added in my own background and changed the opacity on the windows to let the background color through. I flattened and added a "light" fresco.. not that a fresco can be light..

[Pam]

Phyllis -
Excellent renditions all three, but the first one is stupendous! Gorgeous color and the simplification suits the image perfectly.

Blacknight -
This is a great photo, but it's fantastic in b+w. I took a look at the green channel...wow, it really pops out of the monitor! Thanks for posting this...

Jean -
Very creative, it looks to me like a neon sign with a spotlight washing the wall behind it with light.

Charity -
Good work on both! The gorgeous blue twilight color on the first one is my favorite though


Here's the first of two, just a simple sketch in keeping with the simple lines. I thought it would look good in b+w...


Pam

[Pam]

While working on the previous version, I stumbled on to this...

I started with a sketch, then ran ink outlines on the top layer, faded in exclusion mode by about half, inverted the layer and set blend mode to multiply. Then added a textured pattern, duped, and kinda lost track after that I do remember more difference/exclusion layers and inverted masking, if that helps any...


Pam

[tyeise]

Phyllis -

You do some really incredible work. I had to look a couple of times! Nice touch on the sunset to add the reflection on the window!

It's funny how you notice things in the altered image that you don't see in the original the first time. In your crayon version, the flowers out front stand out so much more, and I noticed the triangle hanging in the very front. I wonder if that was used to call people to dinner

Charity, your night version is very striking!

Pam, I wouldn't have thought of trying b+w. That looks very nice.

Tyeise

[TwinANJ]

Phyllis The crayon is magnificent allows you to see the detail.

Charityk I agree with you a lighthouse is at it’s best at night and you captured that feeling.

Pam The sketch is brilliant !

Jean

[LactoBeeZor]

Had a "Dark" night at work....

[Bill M]

All are beautiful! Thought I'd go with a just-before-night version called "Time for work".

[DannyRaphael]

Wow... Another image from "home": Mulkilteo Lighthouse. Been there many times.

This version is based on a creative tutorial at www.myJanee.com --
http://www.myjanee.com/tuts/paint4/city2.htm

To restore some of the line detail I went back to the original layer and placed a Threshold adjustment layer over it. I then created several individual layers, based on various threshold settings, which generated black-on-white silhouettes highlighting various "lined" portions of the image, e.g., handrails around the light, siding detail, widow sill detail, etc.

Portions of each of these black-on-white layers was merged into the main image by changing the blend mode from Normal to Multiply, then creating a layer mask, inverting it (CTRL+I), and finally using the tried-and-true airbrush technique (white on black layer mask) to gradually restore the line detail.

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PHIL: Another wonderful pic to work with. Keep 'em coming.

PHYLLIS: Your "crayon" method is very cool. Have you described that technique before? (If so, I don't recall.)

CHARITY: Very nice touch on the 'fresco.' Really like this one.