Tutorial: Watercolor, Sarah Swartzie method II (link)

[Schwartzie]

This is done with psp 7 (Photoshop) but you could probably come close with earlier versions brushes

http://members.fortunecity.com/schwartzie/WC%20tut.htm

[Mike Needham]

lol When I first noted the title of the thread it piqued my interest. I thought "a toilet tutorial - now this I have to see!" - doh!!

Still I think I prefer the outcome of this to the alternative.

[GOLDCOIN]

Wow... Sarah.....You are so good to us, thanks. Your tutorial is wonderful.

[Dizzy Art]

Hi Everyone,

Sarah was so wonderful to take the time to put together a tutorial about her watercolor style. I am stumbling with it.
Please help me determine where I am going astray...

After creating a mask layer the next step is: "Choose a watercolor brush and paint the picture back in."

My brush is having no effect.

If I make the "angled strokes copy layer" active, (which is filled with white) I can paint black on it

However, when I make the mask active- absolutely nothing is happening. I see my brush shape outline moving with no effect.

What did I miss this time?

Thanks in advance!
Ron
Dizzy Art

[Schwartzie]

Ron im not sure what is wrong. Do you have the filled layer active and have clicked on the mask part of it? You should have your tools set on the brush and then a black and a white swatch should show. You want to use the black.
Check that your settings all look like this picture. The layers palette here is pretty abreviated because i whipped this up just to show the filled layer and mask


LOL Mike, if I had thought of that I would have used a toilet for the photo

[Dizzy Art]

Hi Sarah and Everyone,

I finally managed to use the mask layer. Don't even want to admit what I was doing wrong. Suffice it to say that sometimes I have to really wonder about myself!

Thanks again Sarah for taking the time to put the lesson together and then following up with my difficulty. Now I'm even more addicted to PS and editing.

Here's a hug and pat on the back to ya! The print looks fabulous.
Anyway, please take a look at my first effort with Sarah's tutorial.

http://www.pbase.com/image/13033342

Cheers!
Ron

[Schwartzie]

Ron I wont admit either to how long it took me to figure out layer masks. Your Jay looks good. This method can give you, as you did, other media looks than WC depending on brushes and textures.

And dont forget to play with layer modes and opacities too

[DannyRaphael]

Very nice creation, Ron.

So nice that I hope you don't mind that I've uploaded a copy of it as an attached file to this post. That way when you (someday) revise your pBase gallery (and the link you posted no longer works), the image will be preserved (as an attachment here) for others to appreciate for years to come.

Some sites are OK with pBASE URLs. We prefer attachments for the reason above.

Excellent results. Hope to see more.

~DannyR~

[DannyRaphael]

Sarah:

Thanks VERY MUCH for crafting this tutorial and sharing it with us. Couldn't wait to try it on Photo-based Art Mini-challenge #88.

Here's my result.
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/att...=&postid=44703

I like this method a LOT!

~Danny~


(Ron: In case you're wondering, in this post I'm linking to an image already uploaded to RetouchPRO. It ain't goin' anywhere!)

[Dizzy Art]

Hi Everyone,

My work kept me late today. Couldn't wait to get home to my desk and try my hand at another photo using Sarah's methods.
I am leaning towards a mixed media look. However, the tutorial steps could lead one anywhere- depending on which filters used and layer style, opacity, etc.

Big thanks again to Sarah.

Dave, thanks for making an attachment of the blue jay. Any sharing I can do is great.

Here is tonights effort....

Cheers,
Ron

[DannyRaphael]

Ron:

Yer 2-for-2 on this method. Another winner.

I'd say many of us will be sleeping less, having more fun now that we've discovered this method.

Keep 'em coming. (A+ on the attached image, too! )

~Danny~

[BigAl]

There you had me getting all excited:

This is done with psp 7 but you could probably come close with earlier versions brushes

it's not psp 7, it's ps 7

[Dizzy Art]

Sorry about the "Dave" Danny, its time for beddy-bye.

Although I might have trouble sleeping, My 70-200 2.8 L IS comes tomorrow! Saved my pennies and now I'm counting the hours.

Wanted to mention to anyone viewing the watercolor/painting examples in this forum - they should view them as large as possible.

Bigger is better with this style. I plan on printing the bird heads at 11x17 soon. The 8x10's I have look great - but its obvious they'll look even better at a larger size. The "brush strokes" become more evident.

Cheers,
Rick er I mean Ron

[DannyRaphael]

Rick-Ron:

Not to worry. I been called a lot worse! (LOL) Besides at least 2-3 times a week, one of my kids refers to me as, "Mom," so I'm used to it.

The important thing: Keep stayin' up until 2:00 A.M. cuz yer havin' fun on this stuff.

Yours,
Marge-Dave-Danny-Sarah-Jessica-Parker -- Oh, you know what I mean.

[Schwartzie]

Im sorry about that psp. I am never sure what abbreviation to use for photoshop! If paint shop pro has layer masks it would work I think.

Dizzy, your female redbelly looks great. As you mentioned it does look some like a closeup I have of one. I have not had good luck getting a shot of the male. That new lens is a good one, you should have fun with it.

Danny that black and white looks good. I think I will fine tune my tutorial a little and if you want you can put it up here. I think that it does give results that are attuned to whatever style media you like to work with. Maybe we could add some pics of work done by others like you and Dizzy.

[DannyRaphael]

Fine tuning and including a couple "what's possible" images would make an even more terrific tutorial, Sarah... and posting it here at RP would be a crown jewel.

Before you more work into the next version, give Doug Nelson an e-mail heads up. Doug will be the person who does the "behind the scenes" tutorial posting (under the Tutorial menu selection), and would probaby have some pointers on how he needs it formatted or whatever. Click
HERE to get to the page where you can send him e-mail.

Thanks for making this happen.
~Danny~