[Daryl Pritchard]

Hello All,

After I posted two of my images in the Gallery, showing the before (http://www.retouchpro.com/gallery/sh....php?photo=337) and after (http://www.retouchpro.com/gallery/sh....php?photo=338) results I obtained in using Photoshop's Fresco filter on a park scene in Holland, Danny asked me if I might post a simple tutorial on how I achieved the end results.

Quite honestly, I don't remember all the details since this image is at least a year old now, but I did attempt to recreate it today. Here's my best shot at recreating the effect:

1. First, apply the Fresco filter with brush size, detail, and texture settings all at maximum values.

2. I think this is really the key....I often find that the effect a filter yields, is often overdone and yet tweaking the filter options still fails to provide what I'm after. So...FADE. Selecting the Fade Filter option from the Edit menu, I faded the Fresco filter to 50% and found that changing the mode to Luminosity gave me the effect I was after.

3. Since the Fresco filter has a tendency to block up some colors, depending upon the distribution of the colors in the image, I next reduced the contrast by 10 points.

4. Now, with the reduced contrast flattening the colors a bit, I boosted saturation by 10 points. I tend to this the contrast reduction and increased saturation may actually offset one another in general, but it seemed that there was a little more separation of the edges of leaves in the darker purple areas of the image.

5. Finally, I resized the image to my intended print size of 11x14 inches at 180dpi. I didn't push the resolution any higher since I wanted a somewhat coarser look to the print, being that I was going to print it on artist canvas and thought a slightly lower resolution migh impart more of the "painted" quality to the print. I was pleased with the final result.

One thing I discovered in today's exercise was that the "blockiness" of the colors introduced by the Fresco filter appears to be more exaggerated if the image is first resized and then filtered, rather than the reverse. I can only assume that the additional interpolated data results in providing perhaps some additional dark colors to the Fresco filter when the image is first resized. So, I opt fo resizing afterwards.

Hope this info is useful,

Daryl

[DannyRaphael]

Daryl:

In all seriousness this (for me at least) is a huge breakthrough. Using FADE + Luminosity blend. Ingenius. Can't wait to revisit a couple other filters (read: Sumi, Dry Brush, Watercolor, et al) that I'd previously written off as useless, despite promising texture effects.

Many, many thanks for stirring up your memory braincells and sharing your insights in such useful detail. Just terrific.

~DannyR~

[Ed_L]

"Fresco-Filtered Foliage Fun For Fotoshop"? I can't even say that slow ! Very nice effect. Thanks for sharing.

Ed

[Daryl Pritchard]

Hi Guys, thanks for the compliments...I'm glad to be able to contribute my "genius", as it were. While one's genuis, as in my case, is simply a matter of trial, error, and exploration, what continues to blow me away is the true genius of folks such as those who write books on Photoshop. Deke McClelland being a prime example, some of his tutorials at accomplishing a task will take a person through all sorts of image manipulation that I'd never have dreamed of. Obviously that is the difference between years of experience vs. years of tinkering around, but it's always gratifying to know that even the most experienced probably began as tinkerers.

While I haven't saved any other variations on this image, I think it is perhaps its relative simplicity, theme, and limited range of colors that finds me enjoying seeing the effects of other filters being applied to it. I have a sister who once was a painter and now works in an art gallery but who is pretty much clueless when it comes to computers and what one can do with Photoshop. When I showed her this image and a few alternate versions, it really amazed her and inspired her with other ideas to suggest. I dare say that if she ever spent the time to learn how to use Photoshop (or any other good image editor for that matter), she might well rediscover her more artistic side and have fun seeing what all she can do in so little time relative to taking an actual brush to the canvas.

Daryl