The demystification of dave hill! let's all help!

[superkoax]

Originally Posted by prizo

I'm pretty sure he was joking.

hehe...I think more and more of in the direction of "maybe" he is joking...COuple of months back I would say yes he is, but now I'm not sure...Maybe he generates HDR of his pictures and then uses LUCISART as a final effect???

Anyone with LUCISART care to try?

[subxaero]

Originally Posted by superkoax

hehe...I think more and more of in the direction of "maybe" he is joking...COuple of months back I would say yes he is, but now I'm not sure...Maybe he generates HDR of his pictures and then uses LUCISART as a final effect???

Anyone with LUCISART care to try?

well i think lucis gets pretty close.

if you take a pro shot, play with it, run lucisart seperatly for cloth, skin and background and then play again (especially with manual coloring, d&b and stuff), you really can get pretty close.

(despaite the fact that if you run ANY crappy image in lucis, the preview already gets kinda hill'ish)

[qubic]

I do not think he was joking. Keep in mind that his photos look pretty unreal from the moment he shoots due tot the lighting he uses( many,many lights). The original photo and lighting is pretty important. I think he uses lucisart as a basic step in creating the effect. There is a group on flickr called lucisart and some people got close to the dave hill effect by using it. Some of them even got the effect to look more unrealistic like this one I found http://www.flickr.com/photos/pizzo/529342377/
Pretty cool, eh?

[subxaero]

this one's quite nice: http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/v...ative_edgy.mp4

(works only with special good lighted images, but gets a nice selective contrasting in the ways of mr hill)

[nightcatcher]

yes, it goes also in Photoshop RAW properties.

[keiserjohn]

Here is my atempt.

Heres the link to a big one.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/...5f9b37e3_b.jpg

[superkoax]

Originally Posted by subxaero

well i think lucis gets pretty close.

if you take a pro shot, play with it, run lucisart seperatly for cloth, skin and background and then play again (especially with manual coloring, d&b and stuff), you really can get pretty close.

(despaite the fact that if you run ANY crappy image in lucis, the preview already gets kinda hill'ish)

I wish I have LUCISART, but sadly I don't have it! That's why I can't experiment with this nice plugin!

Originally Posted by qubic

I do not think he was joking. Keep in mind that his photos look pretty unreal from the moment he shoots due tot the lighting he uses( many,many lights). The original photo and lighting is pretty important. I think he uses lucisart as a basic step in creating the effect. There is a group on flickr called lucisart and some people got close to the dave hill effect by using it. Some of them even got the effect to look more unrealistic like this one I found http://www.flickr.com/photos/pizzo/529342377/
Pretty cool, eh?

I agree to that! Maybe he uses LUCISART...I have seen picture from semipro's and amateurs that look very "HILLISH" and I have been more and more convinced the last couple of months...So maybe he uses this! I would love to see how it looks like combined with a hdr/tonemapped picture...then maybe he's style surface

Originally Posted by keiserjohn

Here is my atempt.

Heres the link to a big one.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/...5f9b37e3_b.jpg

GOdt jobbet! Nice work! Didi you do this with LUCISART?

[qubic]

Originally Posted by keiserjohn

Here is my atempt.

Heres the link to a big one.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/...5f9b37e3_b.jpg

I also think you did a great job! Can you please tell us how you did this by detail and if you used Lucisart, how did you use it and how many times. I tried applying Lucisart and indeed it gives the hill look if you have the right photo but still the details look real bad to me.

[cli]

Originally Posted by keiserjohn

Here is my atempt.

Heres the link to a big one.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/...5f9b37e3_b.jpg

hey impressive and the style of light is not so close the light of Hill... Tell us, tell us

[superkoax]

try working with Shadow/highlights plugin...It gives nice results on good lighted portraits...

Does anyone know what basis or inspiration they made LUCISART from? Is it S/H? Maybe to learn S/H gives you more control...I've seen that the Lucisart layout is based on preset buttons and a fader? That's not control in my eyes...maybe I'm wrong...

[subxaero]

Originally Posted by superkoax

...maybe I'm wrong...

you're not.

control is something lucis missed implementing

[snook305]

It takes a lot of work but you can use Lucis.. Lucis really is harsh on skin gradients and shadows and highlights on the face or Skin area.
I usually run it a couple times and mixing a Noise reduction inbetween to smooth the skin a little. actually before I run Lucis also...
Then you have to rework the skin a little as lucis roughs it up too much for my work.
Do not know how to post images here but here is one done really quick:
http://homepage.mac.com/ekphotograph...Arg%20copy.jpg
Snook

[qubic]

Originally Posted by keiserjohn

Here is my atempt.

Heres the link to a big one.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/...5f9b37e3_b.jpg

You really don`t want to tell us how you did it?

[keiserjohn]

I can post the workflow monday, tuesday. With an example picture.

I did not use lucis art.

[superkoax]

Originally Posted by keiserjohn

I can post the workflow monday, tuesday. With an example picture.

I did not use lucis art.

Thanks!!
Looking so forward to read Feed our brains! We have been trying to crack the code for ages

[plugsnpixels]

Originally Posted by superkoax

Does anyone know what basis or inspiration they made LUCISART from? Is it S/H? Maybe to learn S/H gives you more control...I've seen that the Lucisart layout is based on preset buttons and a fader? That's not control in my eyes...maybe I'm wrong...

superkoax, here is more info about the inner workings of LucisArt from their website: "[LucisArt is] ...based on a revolutionary, patented image-processing algorithm called Differential Hysteresis Processing or DHP.

"DHP lets us see what we could not otherwise perceive. Images contain hundreds to tens of thousands of contrast levels when our eyes can only see roughly 32 levels of contrast. With DHP you can select a range of contrast variances to enhance. DHP then compares each pixel to every other pixel along hundreds of radial lines. Contrast variances within the range are enhanced and contrast variances outside the range are diminished. Contrast information is shifted in emphasis, not thrown away. So the smallest image detail is accurately revealed throughout the image, simultaneously in the dark and brightest areas.

"With DHP you can also smooth a range of contrast variances. A combination of image smoothing and detail enhancement reveals mid-level image contrast patterns."

Originally Posted by snook305

It takes a lot of work but you can use Lucis. Lucis really is harsh on skin gradients and shadows and highlights on the face or Skin area.

snook, this is true, so what you want to do is use LucisArt along with layers. Apply LucisArt to a duplicate layer and erase (or perhaps use a blending mode) to merge it back into the original skin layer. I also like applying different LucisArt filters to different layers and blending it all together, sometimes using blending modes or deleted feathered selections.

[superkoax]

PLUGS: Thanks for that nice info! But when reading into this, the algorithm seems very complex. Why on earth do they have this really bad layout? when seeing screenshots it looks very odd, and doesn't give any possibility to get better results. One click gives this, another gives this! You can't get that in between look that I read some want...It gives you more masking work and more layer work...I think by adding more knobs and control buttons that enhances peoples workflow and gives more different results and even better...I haven't seen this program in real life...so just my idea here

[subxaero]

Originally Posted by superkoax

PLUGS: Thanks for that nice info! But when reading into this, the algorithm seems very complex. Why on earth do they have this really bad layout? when seeing screenshots it looks very odd, and doesn't give any possibility to get better results. One click gives this, another gives this! You can't get that in between look that I read some want...It gives you more masking work and more layer work...I think by adding more knobs and control buttons that enhances peoples workflow and gives more different results and even better...I haven't seen this program in real life...so just my idea here

well actually i figured that you can get better controlled results with the "Local Contrast Enhancer" Dean found and posted in his http://enigma-photos.com/LucisArtTutorial/

[superkoax]

SUB: I've tried it, but it's not really the lucis art effect here...S/H is way more powerful than that one...maybe this is more right for more detailed pictures(landscape, city pictures etc)...

[subxaero]

Originally Posted by superkoax

SUB: I've tried it, but it's not really the lucis art effect here...S/H is way more powerful than that one...maybe this is more right for more detailed pictures(landscape, city pictures etc)...

ya sry - i spent more time with it and figured i was talking trash

[superkoax]

SUB: hehe...ok...

[Paul Sabatino]

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2079020271&size=o


i just started to paint with light yesterday this is my 3rd attempt.

[plugsnpixels]

Originally Posted by superkoax

PLUGS: Thanks for that nice info! But when reading into this, the algorithm seems very complex. Why on earth do they have this really bad layout? when seeing screenshots it looks very odd, and doesn't give any possibility to get better results. One click gives this, another gives this! You can't get that in between look that I read some want...It gives you more masking work and more layer work...I think by adding more knobs and control buttons that enhances peoples workflow and gives more different results and even better...I haven't seen this program in real life...so just my idea here

Gerry, sorry, I didn't get email notification of your replies... You're welcome!

Sure you can get in between effects. First there is the Amount slider (sometimes accompanied by numbered buttons for additional levels of that effect). This offers a wide range of effects within each of the six overall sub-filters.

Then there is the Mix slider, where you can blend any effect achieved with the Amount slider back into the original from 0 to 100. This is all accomplished even before getting back into Photoshop and messing with layer opacity and blending modes for even more control.

So while the GUI can probably be tightened and modernized, it's still quite flexible. I know another version of LucisArt is on the way for Spring--perhaps its GUI will be totally redesigned (?).

[transoptic]

So keiserjohn... Still interested in giving us a play-by-play??

[Sistere]

Originally Posted by transoptic

So keiserjohn... Still interested in giving us a play-by-play??

Yeah, I second that!

Damien

[keiserjohn]

Yes ofc. To busy at work here.

Its a real simple and quick retouch.

The simple thing is that this tutorial works very good on this particular image.

1 Open image in ACR/Ligthroom.

2 Adjust your image

Recovery set it 100
Fill ligth set it to 100
Set the black to prefered lvl, to get back some detail.
Push contrast and Clarity to 100
Set the brigthness to prefered lvl.
Pull out saturation.

And open the image.

3 Now while this looked very nice on the clothes, it totally messed up the face.
So reopen the image in camera raw, play with the adjustments until you get the
look of the skin as you like.

4 Drag the Skin layer onto the cloth layer, add a black layer mask and paint in the
skin, where needed.

5 Then some basic dodge n Burn.

6 Posterize edges, the values at 1,1,1, and paint in where needed.

[snook305]

I think you did a pretty good job on the skin which you do not say how you did?
Thanks for your post, But maybe you can go a little deeper with your explanation? Maybe a PSD file with the layers would help some people out more.
Thanks
Snook

[superkoax]

KEISER: Nice! THANKS! What camera did you use for this shot?

[superkoax]

Originally Posted by Paul Sabatino

http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2079020271&size=o


i just started to paint with light yesterday this is my 3rd attempt.

Nice! But the hair is a bit dark...try this picture within shadows/highlights! maybe that will give some results!

[Paul Sabatino]

Originally Posted by superkoax

Nice! But the hair is a bit dark...try this picture within shadows/highlights! maybe that will give some results!

i am pretty new to this so i don't know how to go about lightening up the eye and hair.if someone can help me that would be great.