Gertrudis Question

[mikajomc]

I hope this is the right place for this question.
For any of you who have used Gertrudis, do you have any tips or hints or suggestions?
Has anyone played with it much?
Have you made your own Styles or Brushes or Textures?
Have you gotten a decent watercolor?
What is your favorite way to use it?
What sort of post processing do you like in Photoshop?
I think there is a lot more power and flexibility there that I haven't discovered yet. And rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought I'd see what you all know.
So whatever thoughts you have, please post them here.
I was hoping Steve & Vitali, in particular would answer, since I think you both have used it.

Thanks so much!!

[plugsnpixels]

Hi Jordan,

I'm a Mac user using Gertrudis via Windows emulation (see here for a few examples of my efforts).

I tend to use the auto approach combined with quick manual strokes as needed. I'm not one to do Corel-Painter type manual painting, so I enjoy Gertrudis' ability to quickly convert an image into a decent piece of artwork quickly. It also allows for hi-res output for great detail in the stroke effects.

Mac users may also like the similar Studio Artist while Windows users may also enjoy PD Pro Digital Painter. There are lots of choices for this type of work, and the better you are at traditional art, the more you will get out of them.

[pavel123]

I used Gertrudis in the past. What I ended up doing is to paint a pic in Gertrudis and then saving it and taking it to PS for additional work (sharpening, combing with sketch layers and so on). I've seen excellent renditions done in Gertrudis but in my case I finally switched entirely to Corel Painter.
All in all, Painter so much more versatile and powerful software (at a price, though).
There is a shareware version of Painter, don't remember the name.

Pavel

[Steve Conway]

Originally Posted by mikajomc

I hope this is the right place for this question.
For any of you who have used Gertrudis, do you have any tips or hints or suggestions?
Has anyone played with it much?
Have you made your own Styles or Brushes or Textures?
Have you gotten a decent watercolor?
What is your favorite way to use it?
What sort of post processing do you like in Photoshop?
I think there is a lot more power and flexibility there that I haven't discovered yet. And rather than reinventing the wheel, I thought I'd see what you all know.
So whatever thoughts you have, please post them here.
I was hoping Steve & Vitali, in particular would answer, since I think you both have used it.

Thanks so much!!

Just thought I would tell you that I have used Gert for some time and have altered and saved many of the auto paint settings in the program. I too am still climbing the wall to get decent work in Painter Essentials. With Gertrudis you can make your first painting from a photo in less than 5 minutes right out of the box.

I would say just keep adjusting the sliders and erasing things you don't like until you get effects you like, then save them. That is what I did after playing with the default styles. Also if you haven't, try the tutorials on the site. They work well and you can adjust as you work with these. I'd say it's a bit like the Impressionist plugin, you can make pretty good stuff with the default settings, but really good stuff if you adjust things as you work.

I will let everyone here know about the new version, due to be released soon. Lots of really nice new ways to make some good looking art.

Steve C.

[mikajomc]

Thanks for the info guys!
Pavel- yes, I am trying out Painter Essentials 4 which is a lite version of Painter. I have zero artistic background, so it has been a bit of a struggle for me so far. Yes, I have been importing my Gert works into Photoshop. Just looking to see how others did it

Steve- I knew you liked Gert better. Just curious about what settings you prefer, or if you do any post processing in any other program. I will keep playing with it.

Thanks!

[plugsnpixels]

Steve, are you referring to a new version of Impressionist or Gertrudis?

[Steve Conway]

Originally Posted by plugsnpixels

Steve, are you referring to a new version of Impressionist or Gertrudis?

Gertrudis.....no date set....but soon.

Steve C.

[Steve Conway]

Originally Posted by mikajomc

Thanks for the info guys!
Pavel- yes, I am trying out Painter Essentials 4 which is a lite version of Painter. I have zero artistic background, so it has been a bit of a struggle for me so far. Yes, I have been importing my Gert works into Photoshop. Just looking to see how others did it

Steve- I knew you liked Gert better. Just curious about what settings you prefer, or if you do any post processing in any other program. I will keep playing with it.

Thanks!

Difficult to give you the settings I prefer. It depends on the image. I have over time adjusted most all of the styles to some degree to get the look I want.

And yes I do use it in combination with other plugins, software etc. I seldom will use only one on an image.

The attached was done using Gert style "oil-small size" at default settings. I then saved it into Paint Shop Pro and applied Buzz Pro simplifier at a setting of 133.

Steve C.

[pavel123]

I believe there is an earlier thread (couple of years back) at RetouchPro discussing Gert as well as plenty of examples.

I never used Painter Essentials but my feeling is that it offers very limited options

Pavel