Creative Portraits: Niki

[Duv]

Jeannie superimposed.

Cheers
Dave

[ExclamPt]

Used selective desaturation, vignetting, diffuse glow, gaussian blur, healing brush, noise addition.

[dslinger]

nice techniques, Exclam- I think it adds the right touch of noise and softness while still maintaining the integrity of the image. And the touches of 'true' color are enough to keep her from looking ghostly.

The only thing that puzzled me is how her neck got so big- then I went to the orginal and realized it was because I could no longer see that her arm was raised. Perhaps either excluding the arm information altogether or giving a less subtle hint that it is there would help with the interpretation?

[ExclamPt]

dslinger --

You're absolutely right. I think in my hurry, I didn't give enough attention to her neck, arm, etc.

exclampt

[LQQKER]

I've really enjoyed looking at the various ideas with this image. Everyone has a unique thought attached to it.

I realize there aren't strong art strokes or textures with my submission. I thought I would paint with light and shadows for this one and try to preserve the innocent look of this attractive lady.

Adjusted curves.
Color balance/hue and sat adjustment.
Removed clothing and reshaped the breast and neck area.
Applied Nik midnight.
Used Nik skylight/sunshine to help with the skin tones.
Xero clairity to enhance contrast.
Painted in some shadows and highlights.
Kodak Gem was used to soften the skin.
Contrast adjustment.

[ExclamPt]

LQQKER,

Beautiful work!

[jaykita]

Truly fantastic, LQQKER. Would love to give this technique a shot, would convert some of my family photos into works of art!!

[byRo]

Originally Posted by Janet Petty

Created a snapshot and accidently hit equalize instead of what I was aiming at (oops). However, I liked what I saw....

Funny how some of the best things happen by accident!
Really liked the result and I'm going to try it when I get home.
(I have an "Equalize" action button right next to the "Delete Layer", takes 5 seconds to have a look, often an equalized layer at 15% opacity will put in that little extra)

I thought this pretty young lady would look nice in b/w high-key.
Not a very original idea, OK, but as I haven't seem anybody using my method, thought I'd post it:
1) Make b/w: Selective colors with gradient layer b/w;
2) Put values in range 127-255: Levels (this is the 'original' layer);
3) Make contrast layer: Copy original, USM 50 / 100 / 0;
4) Make detail layer: Copy original twice, High Pass 3.0, Overlay, Merge;
5) Make sharp layer: Copy original, USM 300 / 1 / 0;
(Now have 4 layers: Original; Contrast; Detail; Sharp)
6) Put all four layers in the range 192-255: Levels;
7) For the three sharpened layers; Blend = Linear burn, Masked black
(Hard work's over, now the fun)
8) Paint white on the contrast mask where you want some shadows - soft brush, white;
9) Paint the detail mask where you want detail;
10) Paint (sparingly) the sharp mask where you want a lot of detail;
11) Top it all with a levels layer to do a final tone adjust;
12) and finish with a white layer, masked and mask painted to do a 'vignette'.

Took a long time to write, takes about 15 minutes to do (with actions)
[Blending the result back into the original as Luminosity looks good too.]

[DannyRaphael]

Very nice creation, byRo, and excellent instructions.

On behalf of the many who are still learning from thoughtful artists like yourself who provide such terrific detail, a BIG "Thank You." Keep the great work coming.

~Danny~

[byRo]

[Blushing]My pleasure, Danny. I've taken so much from this site - just trying to even up the score a bit[/Blushing]

[Janet Petty]

Thanks for your comments byRo. I especially liked what you did with the portrait. I'm definitely going to try it. I have just the picture your technique would look terriffic on. I second Danny's kudos for your description. Good descriptions make all the difference.

[Tiger_Steve]

Don't ask how I did these as I didn't start with any intention to upload them, however, they came out better than I expected!

First off I used a series of tips from Scott Kelby's book to whiten and brighten the eyes, soften the skin and I also boosted the lip colour. Then I decided to change Niki's top colour. I was pleased with the result, but it wasn't exactly photo-based art. So I then started fiddling with a few filters, actions, and opacities. On the first example I played with lighting effects to complete the look.

Any thoughts/comments? Be kind, this is my very first post on RetouchPro.

ATB
STEVE

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by Tiger_Steve

Don't ask how I did these as I didn't start with any intention to upload them, however, they came out better than I expected!

Any thoughts/comments? Be kind, this is my very first post on RetouchPro.

ATB
STEVE

Steve:

Let me say congrats on your creation and 1st post. I hope it's one of many we'll see in the future. We're (almost) aways gentle at RetouchPRO!

My suggestion would be to continue experimenting and having fun. You get a free pass on the "how to" details every one in awhile - including this time.

I'm glad you jumped in the pool.

~Danny~

[jaykita]

Here's one from me done purely in Photoshop7. Firstly, image auto-color. Then using fill layers, painted out the background. Using magic wand, g'blurred unwanted parts, keeping eyes and mouth in focus. Added highlights to hair, lightened image with fill layers and soft brushes. Selected lips and eyes (cut and paste) and multiply-blend to darken color. Smudge tools for blending.

[Tiger_Steve]

Spurred on by such a fantastic subject and Danny's welcome, I thought I'd try playing around with PS's 'art history brush'.

Using the base modifications I mention above (i.e. whiter and brighter eyes, softer skin texture, boosted lip colour and new top colour), I did the following...

• Took snapshot in the history pallette (camera icon).
• Clicked in the box next to the new snapshot.
• Selected the 'art history brush'.
• Settings: 50px Soft Brush, Blend: Normal, Opacity: 100%, Style: Tight Short, Area: 40px, Tolerance: 0%.
• Painted over the entire picture.
• Changed brush to 10px Soft.
• Painted over the detail areas (eyes, nose and lips).
• Saved the masterpiece!

Works great and so simple. Just alter the brush size to correct any errors (large for low detail areas and small for fine detail).