golden retriever smudge - how'd i do

[johnnieB]

so far, i've smudged a couple of flowers which were just okay -- this is my first attempt at a dog. how'd i do?

this was done for a friend of mine -- she has an LCD screen and on it, she said the smudge looks very blurry -- but on my screen it looks okay -- is it her screen?

i've attached the original and my "smudge" version -- feel free to play with the original -- i'd love to see what others can do with it.

[Britsdad]

Yea I like your interpritation, and I think a smudge is supposed to be slightly blurred, to me that's the idea, isn't it? Here's my humble effort (yea, it's my first try with anything other than flowers) hope you like it....John

[lkroll]

So easy; 90% filter (this case was over 96% filter; furry animals really lend themselves to this technique). Here's and outline.

[johnnieB]

britsdad, that is awesome for your first animal smudge -- keep up the great work! how did you get that so perfect?

ikroll -- another great version! and i have read the link you posted and will give that a try.

i will be going back to the drawing board after seeing your versions -- i need a lot more work without a doubt.

[palms]

JohnnieB and Britsdad you have done really well with your first "animal smudge" Although i will say that this photo wasnt that good for a smudge and that makes a lot of difference normally i would of give up on it but i kept on have done one soft/smear smudge and one with a bit more definition with a different crop not to be artistic but to cut down on all the smudging of the background
Ikroll your technique is coming on great although a bit involved for me

Palms

[Britsdad]

johnnieB....Glad you like it, as for being "perfect" I don't know about that, take a look at this http://www.innographx.com/forum/view...28ce2bcdb91ea4 and this http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3870 There's some awsome images on that and lots of tips and brush downloads for you to play with.
palms1....thanks, coming from you that is a real compliment, and I agree with your point of it not being the ideal photo for a smudge.....John

[johnnieB]

palms1, thanks so much for the response and your nice nice comments as i value your input and opinion. i really like your two versions alot.

britsdad, okay maybe not "perfect" but really, really good -- i am going to save those links for future reference -- maybe in a year or two i'll have just some of the talent shown in those images -- they are terrific.

as far as good "smuding" images -- what types of images tend to be better -- obviously flowers are good -- how do you determine this? i don't have a clue

[palms]

JohnnieB
In my opinion it is not the subject but the compositon ( big word for me) look at Northernshadows post here to see what i mean
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/sho...2&page=1&pp=15
the subject should be the main part of the photo.
also good colour as smudging dulls it and needs correcting after as well as before
not to much detail ( like the leaves on your photo although they could be masked out )
Also i found the sharpening blocks ( learnt that here as well ) where hard to over come, is it a scan ?
Another subject that i like to smudge and see smudged is water ( either a waterfall, beach etc prefably water that is moving !)
Britsdad
you are right Alan's work is brilliant and Phyllis's but you have missed out Scott Deardoff have a look for his work he also has a few tutorials. I wish i could be anyway near as good as they but i couldnt spend hours doing one smudge i would get bored and give up
Here is a link to a tutorial/ forum post that i found recently that is very good for begginners but you can always pick up tips, have a look sooner rather than later
http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=74448
Sorry to have written so much hopefully i havent bored you
Happy Smudging

Palms

P.s. There are a few brushes recommended try them all and see which ones work for you, i got on a lot better once i had worked that out

[lkroll]

Haven't quite figured the best way to get the wavy smudge; maybe if I play with EyeCandy, I can add that to the procedure. Anyway, though the steps seem involved, they really are not that hard. The longest step is the GREYCstoration (since my computer is so so slow; this one took around 5 minutes; bigger ones can take longer {took over 25 minutes on one recently; could definitely smudge faster. lol}). I'll keep play, but at least I can enter into the smudge arena now (you all know I try to get the computer to do all the work and hope that art comes as a result).

For the purest, the simulation technique can be used as a backbone for a better smudge. Work smarter not hard is my motto. You still are not going to beat a true hand painted/smudged rendering, but why not get a little help from the tools available to you.

[palms]

Thank you Ikroll
i do like your technique and think you are getting some excellent results

Palms

ps not into all the hard work myself, i do look for easier ways although maybe they are not as satisfing

[johnnieB]

palms1, thanks for the pointers and the links . i'll be studying all weekend!

[Britsdad]

palms1...Glad you put on the link, I've never seen that tute,thanks, it's a good one with loads of tips. And I'll have a look for Scott Deardoff's work. As for not having the paitience to "fiddle" I think it could be in my "makeup" or my "pigheadedness" (more to the point) that makes me keep at something, no matter how long it takes,(could be the stuborn Yorkshireman mentallity, ie no pigging inanimate electronic gadgit is going to beat me) untill I do it to my satisfaction, but saying that I don't do this for a living, (thank god) therefore, it's not the be all and end all. However, it does really get me annoyed when I can't get the result I want......John

[Steve Conway]

I looked at this tutorial...being a beginner smudger...and found that it involves many brushes that I don't have, plus it's for Photoshop, which I also do not have.

I did not gain much from it. Can you suggest how one might begin using, as I do, Paint Shop Pro for my basic software and utilize the smudge brush or push brush which come as standard tools?

This would be more what this poor beginner is looking for.

Steve

Originally Posted by palms1

forum post that i found recently that is very good for begginners but you can always pick up tips, have a look sooner rather than later
http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=74448
Sorry to have written so much hopefully i havent bored you
Happy Smudging

Palms

P.s. There are a few brushes recommended try them all and see which ones work for you, i got on a lot better once i had worked that out

[Britsdad]

Steve, Try taking a look on here:--- http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3730

[Steve Conway]

Picked up the brushes from this site. Will play around with them and see if I can come up with anything worthwhile.

Thanks for the tip.

Steve

Originally Posted by Britsdad

Steve, Try taking a look on here:--- http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3730

[palms]

Sorry Steve but cant be of much help here i havent actually seen any tutorials for psp and smudging although i have seen some work done in psp but if i see anything you will be the first to know

Palms

[patriciakay]

Johnnieb...Think you are doing great with your smudging...its just to practice and now we are all graduating from flowers... ...

Britsdad...You are doing great too..nice work on that one...


Lyle...Your filter work is great...more and more new ones from you...

Palms...Lovely ...I like your first one best...

Here is my version...done in Painter IX with the blender brushes..

Patricia...

[johnnieB]

patriciakay, you've done another great smudge -- and i like what you did with the background also.

thanks for the kind words -- i think i'm gonna go back and practice more with flowers, they are much easier!

[Janet Petty]

I admit that this is my very first smudge painting. I've always been bothered by the seemingly too smooth, too slick feel of smudged paintings and wanted to see if I could smudge and still keep a semblance of reality. This was a great picture to work on and try my experiment. My only problem was that when I finished the dog looked as if it was floating in a sea of green. It looked so funny I had to laugh and go back to the drawing board (errr....mousepad) and try again.

My hat goes off to those of you who accomplished great work on the dog. I found out smudge painting is harder than it looked.

Janet

[johnnieB]

janet, i am certainly no expert, but i think you did a fine job for your first smudge.

[palms]

Janet great first smudge hope it wont be your last

Johnnie funny thing i think flowers are harder ! !

Palms

[Britsdad]

Hi all,
Is everyone going smudge crazy? (I know I am!) Love playing!!!
johnnieB, download these hair brushes http://www.innographx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3666 and have a go at this pic http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/photo-based-art/13902-my-romulan.html you'll see mine near the botom of page 2, to me this was easier to do than yours...I used the the larger brush, number 2, at 60-80% strength, about 20-30 pixels in size......John

[patriciakay]

Janet...Great for a first smudge...think its a fun way to paint....

Johnnieb....Glad you liked my version...thanks for your comment...what program are you smudging in???

Patricia...

[Britsdad]

Oh yea, good call Patricia, johnnieB which program are you using?....John

[johnnieB]

patriciakay and britsdad, my program of choice (cheapest on the market) -- photoplus10 -- britsdad -- i don't know if i can download the brushes but thanks i'll give it a try and will give the image a try. smudging is extremely addictive!

p.s. to britsdad, great job on the german shepherd!

[patriciakay]

Hi Johnnie...

A new program to me.....Twisted Brush and Deep Paint are really good...they are both free and have lots of brushes...i got them from download.com

Patricia....

[johnnieB]

patricia,

thanks, i will definitely try those out later today.