Hi Everyone!

[pierresplace]

After checking with the moderator I am submitting this image which has given me unimaginable problems, particularly in remaining true to the face. The other parts of the image were manageable but the face is the problem. I use P-Shop 5.5 and can't use the "decrack" action in that version and I don't know if decracking would work here either. I am open to any and all suggestions and seek a learning experience here. Thank you very much for any assistance you can give me.

PS. My artistic inclination is to remain true to the original if that helps in any way. Thank you.

[CJ Swartz]

Pierre, you don't mention which techniques you have already attempted, other than not being able to run the decrack action, so I'll suggest a simple but effective technique using the Dust and Scratches filter and the History brush to replace the cracks with smoothed pixels taken from a snapshot.
See the tutorial below for details --->

Spotting tutorial (how to use D&S plus the History brush to smooth areas

[Ed_L]

Welcome aboard. I just wanted to let you know that you should be able to use the decrack action with 5.5. I used it on 5.0. If I'm not mistaken, there are two versions of the decrack action available, one for 5.x, and another for 6.0.

Ed

[pierresplace]

Hmmm, interesting

I tried one from here and my P-Shop said it wasn't compatible with my version. What is your recommendation and/or link? Thanks.

[pierresplace]

CJ

OK, I'll try that this evening if I can. I've used the following: clone, brush, airbrush, smudge, blur, burn & dodge, and the many color correcting tools, balance, replace, curves, histogram, channel mixing, channel masking and others I can't think of right now. I also took a book out from the library on makeup art to learn more about the shadow and highlight maps of the human face. A friend of mine is also a portrait artist of some prestiege and told me that portraits have to be one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish, as I am learning. I'm simply confounded by the fact that my results are completely flat and without the dimension that the original has. I'll get back to you after looking that tutorial over and thanks again, but still can't understand why I haven't had this much trouble in the past.

[Ed_L]

A search didn't find it, but it came from this site. I'll keep looking, and if I find it, I'll let you know.

Ed

[Ed_L]

That figures! Right after I said I couldn't find it, I did! It's the second post on this page.

Ed

[pierresplace]

CJ & Ed

Well I tried both the GB & the D&S filters and I don't get anything at all useable with "any" of the settings mentioned in the tutorial. However, it did seem to be in the right direction. I hope I'm not being a problem. Also, thanks Ed, i think that is the one I downloaded that last time but I'll go and give it a try right now, thanks again.

[pierresplace]

This is the decracked version

I used the action, this one did install thanks, and I also passed it an additional time at the 1.5 level. I do see differences now but this version shows most of the cracked areas remaining. The procedures seemed easy to follow and they're great tutorials and formats, but these cracks are incredibly overwhelming. In the text for the action it mentioned that hopefully the clone tool would not be necessary anymore at this point? Can you detect my current state of "flabbergastedness?"

[pierresplace]

Whoops!

Previewing doesn't hold the attachment?

[Ed_L]

Here's a tip that was posted by DJ Dubovsky:

Here's a little tip you might need when using that De-crack action.
The default action is set to clear up light cracks on a dark background, I believe. If you have the oposite case (dark cracks on a light back ground) You will need to open up your action so all the steps are showing in the actions pallete. Look at the last four or five steps to where you see minimum and maximum listed. You will see a check mark in the box on the left of the listed items. The first step (minimum) will be checked but not the other (maximum). To switch setting all you do is uncheck one box and check the other.

OR you could load a second De-crack action and have the opposite box checked and call it De-crack dark scratches.

Ed

[CJ Swartz]

Pierre,

It seems to me that the dust/scratches plus History brush does work to eliminate the cracks.

I do hope that the image that you're working on is much bigger than the copy you showed us, but here's what a few minutes of the history brush technique can do to smooth out the skin, clothing, background, etc. I added some texture to the background after smoothing, and did a bit of hue/saturation adjusting for color just to show how she can be brought back.

[pierresplace]

Wow Guys!

I have to go back and try that some more, thank you!

[phili1]

I tried CJ and did not get the same results in Photo 7, so I tried a system I found by chance.

Sometime the smart blur works to remove small crackes, but yours are large, so I tried the blur tool to smooth out the skin and then followed up with the healing tool and the clone did the rest.
Another alyternative. REmember I did not spend the time you would so small and slow makes it better. I also did a select copy of the old and pasted it to the new face to get more texture to the cloths.

[jeaniesa]

If you're still having trouble getting the results you see here, it may be because the version you are working on is larger than the one you posted here. I had a photo which has a million little cracks all over it and needed help. When I uploaded the photo here, I had to upload a much smaller version than I was working on. That made it easier to get rid of the cracks because they were smaller as a result.

If you're still needing advice, perhaps you could crop to just the face of the photo. Hopefully that would be under 600 pixels wide, but still large enough for us to see what you're really seeing and perhaps give some other suggestions.

Jeanie

P.S. Yes, lots of people have had difficulty losing their attachments when previewing. It's probably better to simply submit, then use the edit button on the post if you see something you want to change.