Glimpse through a Window

[farron]

Hi Again!

Can't seem to get in a serious mood here. I suppose it's too dern hot for *real work* so I am still playing with pushing paints.

All belief is perspective and angles must be abandoned here in favor of artistic license. This strategically placed mirror is a voyeur's dream...or I am guessing it would be.

The image is created from two stock photos and three Hemera objects using PSP7.

First, the background *was* a cityscape photo from Earth, Sky, Water, Fire. Antimatter filter was applied then canvas was enlarged on a white background to allow some space for deformations. The bottom section was selected and pasted as a new layer then deformed to create the table top. This layer was duplicated again then moved and redeformed to make the lower front of the table. Top part of table (the upper city) was selected, promoted to a layer and flipped. Opacity lowered to blend. Some touch up was done on edges with eraser brush. Layers merged (merge visible) and extra canvas cropped back out. Zap filter from Paint Engine applied.

Brush and hand mirror (Hemera object) started as a separate image & were given an Edge Preserving Smooth at 30. Duplicate layer. Zap applied as in the background. Layer duplicated again and flood filled with black to create shadow. Deform tool used to reshape. Gaussian blur applied, moved below brush & mirror layer, opacity reduced and set to multiply blend. Layers merged. Image moved to main image as a new layer.

Standing mirror with woman's reflection. Black & white stock photo from Hemera BBA cd set. Mirror is an Hemera object. Each was set on it's own layer in a new image. Images resized to be compatible..Selected the center of the mirror, expanded slightly & feathered. (Selection saved to alpha.) Moved selection to the photo layer. Inverted selection and deleted. Still on the woman layer: Adjusted R/G/B values to add tint (R +36/G +13/B +10). Edge preserving smooth at 30. Edge Dilate. Sharpen-Sharpen More. Selected several different areas and promoted to layers. Touched in more color with manual color correction tool. Using the saved selection, I created 2 new layers one with a radial gradient for white highlight and one with a darker grey edge for shadow.

For the mirror frame, layer was duplicated, trace contour, sharpen more twice, negative colors, edge preserving smooth at 30 blend color at 56%. Zap applied again. Auto color balance at 2500 (warm orangish tone). Layers merged and shadow created as above with brush and hand mirror. Layers merge (merge visible) and image added to main image as new layer.

Window. Another Hemera object. Shutters and extra wall cropped out. Edge preserving smooth at 30, Paint Engine Zap. HSL adjusted. Layer duplicated. Manual color correction applied to window frame. Layers merged and added to main image as new layer.

All parts positioned. All layers except the window frame merged.

Window panes selected and given a light feather. Selection applied to background (inner room) layer. Promoted to layer and Eye Candy glass filter applied. Set to low opacity/darken blend mode.

Layers were merged and for the heck of it, I played with the auto photo filters to adjust color, contrast & saturation. Clarify and sharpen applied. Cutout used to create shadow around outside of image. (Applied in two opposite directions. 5 and -5)

Reduced by 30% saved as jpg.

That's what I remember from this odd little romp in my paint playground.

(See next message for attached image...Farron changed her mind again...sheepish grin)


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Farron

[farron]

Well DUH!

Here I go AGAIN!

As soon as I submitted that I started thinking about how I had used a cityscape as the background and the images of the buildings were still barely visable..like in glass. I'd really just used it for color blurs, but it occurred to me that it could be the city reflecting in the window glass. An additional "reflection."

DUH! The point of the challenge is reflection.

I'd saved those selected panes to alpha on the layered version, so I went back and grabbed on of my "in progress" saves, loaded the selection and picked the background. Gave it another Eye Candy glass bevel and took the opacity to 60 in hard light blend mode.

Now it has a slight reflection of the city over the interior image.

Farron
[who is going to her corner now as she SWORE she wasn't gonna do that again..lol]

[T Paul]

Very creative idea and I think the title should be “Voyeur's Dream”. I really like the tone and “feel” of this image, but something is bothering me. I think it’s the scale that’s off. If you use the window and window panes as a reference scale, that’s one large mirror. Also it seems that it might be too close to the window to be logical. If it was further back in the room, there would be more of a chance of reflecting images or people in the room. Artistically I think it would only strengthen the image if you reduced the dressing table and items and moved them back in the image. Overall, I really do like the image and these are just suggestions. Also kudos for the detailed description.

-T

[farron]

LOL T Paul,

Nailed! Ya caught me being lazy. Having fun playing and the perspective went out the window. [no pun intended...haha]

Perhaps I will motivate to play again and inflict the next generation on you as well.

You have given me a new little idea here. Oh no for you, but thanks from me.

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Farron

[DJ Dubovsky]

I like the what you did to the second version. I think the reflection works much better with the rest of the scene. Very nice job. I really like it alot.
DJ

[farron]

Thanks DJ,

Maybe someday I will stop sending SECOND versions...as it stands, T Paul has me now thinking of a THIRD. eeeek & haha

Just trying to figure out how to get the mirror to be as central if it's shrunken smaller and closer to in scale with the window. [thinking, thinking]

Farron

[farron]

For T Paul

Ohhh,

This image is getting more than a little creepy.

T Paul this one's for you. Ya got me thinking. Perspective is still rather odd, I suppose I should be starting vector based for better control but raster it was and short of trashing, raster it remained.

Went back to original saved layers. The painting techniques were basically the same as described above. Vanity was duplicated to a new layer. Original layer stretched with deform tool to make a room background. Second layer was reduced and deformed to fit...sorta.

Mirror and brush reduced with deform tool. I tried twisting the mirror more to the side, but was losing the image, so I am pretending this is an alcove or some such and she's at an odd angle to the window.

Chair and standing mirror (Hemera photo objects again) added. Edge preserves and zap again as above. Sized and shaped with deform tool. Copy of background buildings added inside mirror. Creepy shadow outide and in mirror drawn, blurred and positioned.

Exterior window and wall sharpened. Layers merged and back thru auto photo adjust settings at the same settings as earlier, except contrast made darker.

Saved as jpg 30% reduction.

This is the last reflection on reflections for me [in this thread anyway]

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Farron
[the original repeat offender]

[DJ Dubovsky]

That outside shadow really does it for me. Makes me feel like a suspense thriller is in the works. Wow, you're really having a great time with this one. I really like this version. You sure got alot of depth to it.
DJ

[T Paul]

Farron forgive the delay in posting, but I was out of town. I have to agree with DJ that this image is starting to look like a real suspense thriller…it’s just needs the music.

The perspective is still a bit odd, but getting better (I’ve always had trouble with perspective myself). I think the trouble is that the windows give you the impression that you are looking up into them, and the dressing table is drawn like you are looking down onto it. One other thing, the hairbrush and hand mirror are a little too sharp in color--perhaps a bit of haze over them to make it look like they are behind the window pane (just a thought). I really like the cityscape in the background and the added reflection of the city reflecting in the standing mirror. Overall, it’s an intriguing image.

-T

[farron]

LOL T-

I think the proper word for this one might be bizarre. I think the problems may lie in the angle of the table and in the shadows on the sill trim. In what little thinking I did while I was playing with this one, it would be a ground level window and I *think* the man looking in would be taller than his shadow by just a wee bit.

I might play with it more at some point but I PROMISED and SWORE no #4 would surface here...haha

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Farron

[Ed_L]

That's a great image Farron. I've been looking at it for a while, trying to figure out if something is wrong or not. What I have to offer might not be worth reading, but here goes. I think you might have been right when you thought about changing the angle of the mirror. Otherwise, with the angle as it is, I'm wondering if the voyeur wouldn't be seeing his own image in the mirror? It just doesn't seem like he would be picking up her image with an angle like that. No, you don't have to do a fifth or sixth correction. Regardless, I really like it.

Ed

[farron]

Thanks for the comments Ed & T Paul!

I have the answer. I have been over reading some of the Cezanne material and plan to try that photo art challenge. On one of the still lifes (apples and a bowl) the author comments on not trying to "join the bowl" behind the apples because Cezanne was obviously painting the scene from two different angles...there's my excuse #438... Could I fib and say I was looking at it from two angles? His and hers? hahaha

Back to trying to figure out how the paintbrushes work in my lastest "paintbox toy test software" to see if I can pull off a Cezanne look.

I am the WORST...

Farron