Photo Restoration - - WWII Portrait Restoration - OPR - Page 2

Kraellin · #16 08-04-2006, 12:54 AM

candy,

tricky one, isnt it

i keep thinking this would have made a great image for the monthly contest.

i've put mine aside for now. let me know if you want any help.

craig

klassylady25 · #17 08-04-2006, 07:48 AM

Tricky....... Um is that understated? LOL

I've been working from the bottom up - layer after layer and piece by piece. It is the only way to do it.

I played with the colors last night but with a storm going here at home... I lost the pic twice.... I don't think it was the storm, it was a cashe problem........ I don't have the cashe for a bigger computer!!

But starting it in grayscale was better. As for help... thank you, all opinions are welcome. I think that this is my whale and I hope it's not Moby Dick!

Hugz

Kraellin · #18 08-04-2006, 02:10 PM

hehe, yes, i'm known in other circles for understatement at times

yup, layer by layer is the only way i see of doing it as well. i've started to develop a discipline of taking just one section and doing that on its own layer, then another section on another layer. sounds like you're doing the same. much better than trying to do it all on one layer and having to go back through 300 undos to fix

which uniform did you end up using?

grayscale, hmmm, interesting. might be easier that way for the cleanup and then go back and add color back at the end?

i'll also volunteer this; i quit working on mine because i felt this was one you really wanted to do yourself and that by posting one of my own it would be too much of a 'one-upmanship' thing and i didnt want to do that, regardless of if mine was 'better' or 'worse'. yes, i posted the one early on, but sort of got that this was 'klassylady's project' and that you didnt want other postings. so, the volunteering is, if you do want some smaller area specifically looked at and posted, let me know. sometimes you just want to do the crossword puzzle yourself, with no help

also, i mentioned in my first post that airbrush might be the tool of choice here, but after you posted the original, i think clone would be the right tool on that...mostly.

craig

klassylady25 · #19 08-05-2006, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kraellin

yup, layer by layer is the only way i see of doing it as well....

which uniform did you end up using?

grayscale, hmmm, interesting. might be easier that way for the cleanup and then go back and add color back at the end?

'klassylady's project'

Layer by layer is the only way to go and like you, I am learning to keep to a formula that will get the best outcome "consistantly". I've always loved your work but you are right, no matter what this is a project that I've got to work on for OPR. I've been frustrated because this is the first of "difficult" work that's got me stumped. I've learned to work in PS7 just but practice, practice and more of the same, not to mention reading a lot of good things and seeing/studying the things I've read here and other places. I'll get it even if I have to walk away from the puzzle every now and then.

As for grayscale, someone suggested it and it's working out well. Lastly, my dear, the uniform was the one of that day. It was called Tropical Worsted. I have a friend that served in the Army and that uniform was still used in the 50's.

I will end with saying this..... please don't stop teaching/communication. You might see something that I can use and don't know. You're very welcome to pitch in with a "have you tried"..... I promise I dont' know everything YET.

Have a wonderful day.

Kraellin · #20 08-05-2006, 10:19 AM

candy,

ok, you mentioned starting from the bottom and working your way up. i dont know if you meant that literally or figuratively but if you meant it literally you might try going a slightly different route. i wasnt too specific when i said i worked on a section at a time so what i meant was take a certain area, in this image maybe the hat, and work on that. put all your work on that on one layer. it's sort of like working on cell animation where they'll do one arm as a cell and then another part as another cell. there's a real advantage in this in that you can 'flip' through the cells and see how each affects the overall. for us in graphic editors the 'cells' are simply the layers and you just turn each on and off after doing some work to see how it affects things. i'll get 5 or 6 of these stacked up and just sit there and flip each on and off and try different combinations to see if one stands out as flawed more than another. it's a good way also to 'get a fresh look'.

so, you might have a layer that is the hat work, another that is the nose work, another the eyes and so on across the boards. if, somewhere down the line, you decide a given layer really isnt what you want you can either just turn it off and do another of that area or even delete it to get it out of the way. you can even fix a given layer by working into it again as if from scratch. i rarely delete them as there might be something i can still use but i think you get the idea. thus, your workflow and entire project becomes one of compositing all of your layers.

this is a discipline i still work on myself. i rarely, completely, 100% follow this, but i'm working on it

it's a lot less frustrating to reject just one layer than ALL your work.

Quote:

I've always loved your work...

boy, always love hearing that. flatter me some more and i'll follow you anywhere

thank you

re the uniform, i guess i asked that wrong. what i meant to ask was, what image did you get it from? what picture was your guide for the uniform?

Quote:

I will end with saying this..... please don't stop teaching/communication.

again, thank you

and one last thing i'll throw in here regarding this, we're working in different programs, you ps7 and me psp 10, so if there's ever anything i say, some term or something you dont understand, please let me know. i can usually translate that into photoshop if it's a specific psp thing.

and most of all, do have some fun while you're doing this. i find glueing my hair back in works for me

craig

klassylady25 · #21 08-10-2006, 08:58 AM

The final version has been sent to OPR, still because of all of your suggestions I wanted to share it with the best people I know.

Thank you all, especially you Kraellin, for your words and to my son for his military expertise. Daniel helped me position things properly on the uniform. And to my partner, Larry Edwards, for his knowledge and help.

Hugs to you all!

Kraellin · #22 08-10-2006, 09:05 AM

you're welcome. i hope they appreciate and enjoy it

craig

irshgrlkc · #23 08-10-2006, 03:11 PM

I bookmarked this thread because I'm from a long line of military veterans (so the restoration of this picture touched my heart) and I wanted to see how you progressed. Being a beginner at this sort of thing it was really informative to see how someone can go from point A to point B.

One of my biggest challenges is that I have a hard time seeing how things progress. I can't look at an image and say, "oh yes, I'll just add this layer and this layer, a few more steps, and viola a finished picture (it's also probably the reason I can't draw at all - I can't see the steps needed to get a final image with shadows, etc.." So anywho, what I wanted to say was, thanks for sharing your work as you progressed, it was really helpful for me.

I'm sure the owner of the image will be thrilled with your work. I love how you did the eyes, they really bring the soldier to life (and to me are the most important part of an image like this). Well done on this VERY tough image.

Kerry