[Kraellin]

fill with 50 percent gray…

butch, when you say this, do you mean fill with a gray that is 127.5, 127.5, 127.5 or do you mean any old gray that is 50% opacity or even something else?

[Kraellin]

Kraellin at first glance I thought your method wouldn't work very well for this project but I see now that if I do it on the "after" version I posted it could work very well for removing the cracks over large expanses (in the full size original her arm, neck, etc would be perfect for this!)

well, bear in mind, andi, that there may well be differences in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. i believe you're using ps where i'm using psp. so, this does work in psp exactly as i described but may need tweaking another way in ps.

[Dave.Cox]

In Photoshop, to add 50% gray, go to edit>fill, and in the contents box select Use:50% Gray. The color that Photoshop uses when you do this is 128, 128, 128, or #808080.

[Neillo]

this is mine. colours are a bit weak, but just tried to get the texture out. probably blurred too much on each channel too...

n.

[Kraellin]

dave, thanks. so, it's a gray that is half way between pure black and pure white and has nothing to do with opacity. thanks

[Dave.Cox]

Exactly. Except 50% gray is totally removed when the layer is set to overlay, and almost totally removed when the layer is set to soft light. That makes is handy for special effects such as water marks, D&B, etc...

[Kraellin]

ah, good tip, dave. thanks

[andihazelwood]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone in this thread for the tips and tries. I am still working on the image when time permits- between when I posted this thread and now I've moved to a new city! The original I'm working on is really large and takes a lot of processing power to make changes (particularly things like using a large brush, etc) so I've been postponing working on it till I have time to wait for it to crunch. Hopefully in the next few days I'll have something to show here!

Thanks again.