Coming At You!
Below is an image of a Malayan Tiger taken at the Jacksonville Zoo earlier this year. JixiPix’s free Spectrel Art preset 10 was applied to the whole image. (See my How To Use the Free Spectrel Art Plug-in blog.) Next the tiger was selected using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5, then a white layer was placed underneath the tiger. One of my Corel Painter textures was added on top of the white layer and a layer mask was added. By painting with a soft black brush, just the parts of the painted texture wanted were left in the image. Lot of fun here!…..Digital Lady Syd
Sunrays At the Beach
This is an HDR image of Flagler Beach, Florida, taken with 3 bracketed images. The images were taken into the now free HDR Efex Pro 2 plug-in from Photoshop (see my How to Use Google (Nik) HDR Efex Pro 2 blog for instructions on how to do this). The Bright preset was used with some minor changes. Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 (also part of the free Nik Collection) was then used to give a different feel to the image – High Contrast (Harsh) preset was used and the layer was set to Luminosity blend mode at 78% layer opacity. On a stamped layer, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle was used to give the beautiful color palette – used my favorite Cream and Plum preset and just adjusted the Color Temperature and Tones a little. That was it. This is really how I see this beach on a beautiful day!…..Digital Lady Syd
Feeling Peachy
Just felt like playing with one of my beautiful peach colored hibiscus blooms that are growing on my back porch. In Lightroom’s Basic Panel, just pressed Auto and reduced the Exposure slider a little (usually the Auto button tends to over-expose the image), added some Clarity, and used the Adjustment Brush to paint in some of the flower focal point details using the Clarity and Sharpness sliders. In Photoshop, Topaz Impression’s Watercolor IV preset was applied with no changes to the image. A layer mask was added and using Grut’s Natural Media Knit Pin brush, small lines were painted to bring the original color from underneath – looks like a light outline in places. Really liked this effect and it is easy to do. On a New Layer above, Grut’s Charcoal Dale Haze brush set to 35 pixels was used to blend away areas that were drawing attention from the focal point, mainly the bud and some of the edges had bright colors in them. Check out Grut.com brushes – each week he offers a free brush to try out and that is how I got the two used here. Nik Viveza 2 (now free) was used to add a slight vignette on the outside edges and to add a little more detail to the focal point. These flowers are so beautiful!…..Digital Lady Syd
Swimming in Circles
Lots of fun playing with this image of some Hawaiian fancy fish (koi) that was not that great – wanted to see what I could do with it since it had an abstract feel to begin with. In Lightroom, used the Basic Auto button, then backed off the Highlights to -12. Painted with the Adjustment Brush set to Clarity (60), Dehaze (45), and Sharpness (71) on the fish to bring them out just a little. Got to watch the Dehaze brush setting as it can overcook the results if too much is used. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow Graphic Sketch II preset was applied and the layer was set to Overlay blend mode at 77%. On a duplicate layer (CTRL+J) applied Topaz Impression’s Cezanne I preset with changes to the Orange Hue and Saturation sliders. Created a New Layer and set to Overlay – used a black brush set to 12% brush opacity and burned in parts of the image where areas are blending too much together. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) used Topaz Texture Effects’s Burning Effect preset. Changed the border to create the pretty oval effect. Finally applied Nik Viveza 2 (now free) to draw attention to the two middle fish. I thought it turned out to be an interesting effect…..Digital Lady Syd
Quietly Standing Out
Sometimes it just feels good to paint! Totally enjoyed trying out and practicing with Melissa Gallo’s Painting Spring brushes and paper (still have a lot to learn but enjoying it immensely). Once the basic background was painted, it was brought into Photoshop to finish up. The impasto effect was created using Kyle Webster’s Impasto Kit – Super Light Gesso 2 layer style with the Natural Media Knit Pin brush from Grut.com to paint in the snowy effect. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects’s Polarization filter using the Bottom Half 2 Stops preset was applied. The Fox was created on its own layer using a free brush from Fox-russdepress.com and adjusting it to match my image. Topaz Texture Effects’s 1 Color Burst II was added without the vignette effect. Last step was to add Nik Viveza 2 (now free) to really showcase the fox. That was it! Loved painting this image!…..Digital Lady Syd
Hanging Out with the Family
I decided to see if I could paint this interesting Mandrill family image a taken at the Jacksonville Zoo a few months ago. I wish I had had time to watch them for a little longer – the center monkey is a male with a female and male on the sides.
I was not sure how the fur would turn out painted, but with a little experimenting it can be done. I first separated the monkeys from their really dark busy background using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5 – still the best in my mind for doing this type of selection. Next a texture was added that I had created a long time ago – rather plain but with lots of texture in it. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was placed above the texture to make a pleasing color to match with the monkeys. The monkey ReMask layer mask was applied to the image so painting could begin – I always duplicate this layer and then turn off the original in case something was missed and the mask needs to be redone. Ten layers of painting were used to get the effect needed – all brushes were Fay Sirkis (it’s a shame but I do not think her Child Portrait or Pet Brushes are available anymore even from KelbyOne). Her Palette Knife Soft Blender was used to get the nice fur fluff look – moved the Shape of the brush to match the direction I was painting. Her Portrait Child Blender was used to get the detail areas for the faces. And her Portrait Children Single Hair Blender to add some individual hairs. On a stamped layer Topaz Lens Effects’s Toy Camera Awesomeness I preset with the Camera Shake set to 0 was applied. Last step was to use Nik Viveza 2 (now a free to download) to emphasize his eyes and get a soft overall vignette effect around the edges. Hope you enjoyed…..Digital Lady Syd
Some Blue Berries
Just wanted to try something fun and creative. These beautiful blue berries were found growing at the Jacksonville Zoo a few months ago. The berries and leaves were selected in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5, mask was applied, and a French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) texture called Solstice Zenith was placed behind them. On the berries, a Photoshop Filter was used – Artistic -> Poster Edges set to 2/1/4 was applied. French Kiss Grunge Brush 15 was placed underneath the berries and Grunge Brush 14 was applied to add some texture. A spatter brush was used around the berries just to give a magical feel to the image and set to 67% layer opacity. Topaz ReStyle was used to give a slightly different color palette and finally Nik Viveza 2 (now free) was used to direct attention more fully to the green foreground leaf. Just a lot of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd
Taking a Break!
Just another of my tiger pictures from the Jacksonville Zoo. This guy so looked so relaxed. This time used On1 (see sidebar for website link) Effects 10 and the following filters: Tone Enhancer, Color Enhance, Sunshine, and HDR Look. This made a huge difference in the color and contrast! I am still experimenting with the updated and more stable plug-in. On a stamped (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) layer, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression was opened and used my SJ Building preset on it. Then I used the Spot Healing brush to remove the chain effect behind him but leave a little bit of effect. I really liked the results. (See my How to Use the Spot Healing Brush – Really Improved Now! blog.) A little Nik Viveva 2 (remember it is free now) and that was about it. Need to get back to the zoo and take some more pics of these beautiful animals!…..Digital Lady Syd
Heron on Watch Duty
Just having fun painting yet another of my favorite subjects, the birds. This guy is a tri-colored heron taken at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm a few years ago and I just missed him. I loved all the beautiful colors of feathers he was displaying! This was done using my standard workflow where the bird is selected in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5, then the bird is painted on top of a new background texture, one I painted in Painter. Used Grut’s Photoshop mixer brush called Twig Scuffle for the fore grass plants. Topaz ReStyle’s Silver and Ivory Cloak preset was used to adjust the color palette a little. Last step was to apply Nik Viveza 2 to even out the focal point to his head. That was it – I just love to paint these birds!…..Digital Lady Syd
Taking a Cat Nap!
This was one of my favorite images when I went to the Jacksonville Zoo a while back. This guy just reminds me of any cat taking a little snooze during the day, but keeping one eye slightly opened just to make sure he doesn’t miss anything! And those paws! Anyway, not sure it is the best image, but loved it anyway. Not much was done in PS – Jai Johnson‘s DT-Emerald texture was applied first and set to 64% layer opacity and the cat was lightly brushed out on a layer mask. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was used to reduce the Saturation to -39 and Lightness to -8 so it was not so green. Then opened Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression set to Rembrandt II preset with a few settings adjusted which gives it the dreamy look. Used a layer mask to bring detail back to the tiger . This was a lot of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Spring Scene
Just having some fun here. Created the original image in Corel Painter – got stuck and came into Photoshop to finish up the image. The basic structure, flowers and plants were created in Painter using various brushes. In Photoshop the DoDo bird Hummingbird were from a scrapbook set called HappyUnBday by Mischief Circus (this is one of my favorite sets) and the Butterflies are from a set called Intermixture Elements & Papers by Algera Designs. A texture called Clouds Over the Pasture from Jai Johnson was added underneath and set to Hard Light blend mode – it gives the beautiful light around the bird. Several layers were added where some texture was added in using plant brushes and texture brushes. Nik Viveza 2 was used twice and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects three times to get this final result. Also some Impasto layers were used on the plants to give a little 3-D effect to the image. This actually took quite a while as I just could not get the feel I liked. I think it is now complete!…..Digital Lady Syd
Reflection of Blue Trees
This is what I consider is a rather unusual image of tree trunks and branches painted blue on several trees at the Jacksonville Zoo’s Asian Bamboo Gardens. There was a lot of bamboo around, but not in this reflection shot. This image took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do with it as I really wanted to give that beautiful reflection justice in the image. Did basic adjustments in Lightroom, then in Photoshop added Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity’s Sunny Day Blue Sky preset. Next the Spot Healing brush was used to clean up a lot of little bits of stuff floating in the water. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) the Topaz Black and White Effects plug-in was opened. What made this different is that the Transparency was set to 0.89 so almost 50% of the image in color through the black and white setting. In the Creative Effects section, Simplify as is and Diffusion set to a fairly high setting of 0.97. In PS a layer mask was added and the effects were painted out gently over the reflection which was soft and diffused already. On another stamped layer Topaz Impression’s Palette Knife II preset was added with no texture. In a layer mask, once again the reflection was painted out so it applied only to the top portion of the image. On a New Layer the Mixer brush was used to blend some of the harsh edges in the top part of the image – this evened out the colors a little. On yet another stamped layer, Nik Viveza 2 was used to draw the eye to the blue tree area. Two textures were added on top – one of mine that is a lot of light yellows painted in Painter and was set to Multiply at 70% layer opacity and one of Jai Johnson, Soulful Sea Breeze, set to Set to Multiply at 70% layer opacity. On top texture a layer mask was added and the top area was painted out so a vignette feel was created at the top. That was it. Just a lot of experimenting!…..Digital Lady Syd
Just Being a Little Abstract
This image shows a local golf course view seen when playing. I had some fun with a couple of Topaz (Stroke: Brush Type 04, Brush Size 0.91, Paint Volume 0.42, Paint Opacity 0.87, Stroke Rotation 0, Stroke Color Variation 0, Stroke Width 0.33, Stroke Length 0.89, Spill 0.23, Smudge 0.26, and Coverage 1.00; Color: Overall Hue 0.15, St -0.20, and Lightness 0.06; Red Sat 0.47 and Lightness 0.14; Orange Sat 0.60 and Lightness -0.42; Yellow Sat -0.33 and Lightness 0.13; Green Sat 0.20 and Lightness -0.32; and Blue Sat 0.36; Lighting: Brightness -0.04, Contrast 0.39, and Light Direction x0.33 and y0.06; and Texture: Strength 0.78, Size 0.30, Canvas IV, Background Type Solid, and Background #d38967 (soft melon color).)
see sidebar for website link) Labs newer plug-ins. The initial layer was duplicated and Topaz Impression was added using my SJ WC like effect on bldgs preset. This preset is sort of crazy but gives some wonderful results at time. (Settings for preset: On a New Layer, some clean up was done where the paint went that did not look good. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Nik Analog Efex Pro 2 was applied using just the Basic Adjustments 5 control points were added to adjust the Detail in different parts of the image. Also Film Type Warm (Row 2 Col 2) was added to the stack. Now the image was brightened up quite a bit. Last step using Topaz ReStyle’s Warm Tones Contrasted preset. That was it. I just liked the rather abstract feel that Impression gave to the image……Digital Lady Syd
Tower on the Mall
This is an older image I did several years ago of some building roofs on The Mall in Washington, DC. On a couple extra layers, Obsidian Dawn clouds were painted in the sky. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Nik Color Efex Pro was opened and Film Efex Vintage (Film Type 15), Pro Contrast (just Dynamic Contrast 28%), and Darken/Lighten Center filters. The last step was a Curves Adjustment Layer to increase contrast. Pretty simple for what I consider a nice High Key image with interesting architectural lines…..Digital Lady Syd
Only in Florida!
Had to take this image of the alligator that can be ridden on the Jacksonville Zoo‘s Merry-Go-Round in Florida. I had to take it quick when it was stopped. I could not get the angle I wanted, but the lion and polar bear look kind of nice behind my main subject, so I think it actually looks like a zoo carousel. This took a lot more work than I wanted since in the original image it looks like the alligator is swallowing a jaguar whole with an ostrich head coming out of the top of his head. What a disaster! About all I could do was to blur the background with a Gaussian Blur set to Radius of 5 and paint the foreground back in. Got the nice color effect using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 using Darken/Lighten Center, Glamour Glow, and Pro Contrast filters. Had to do some selective dodging and burning using layers set to Overlay blend mode and using black and white brushes set to 12% brush opacity. Last step was using Nik Viveza 2 to direct attention to his head. I really wanted to ride that alligator!…..Digital Lady Syd
Here’s Looking at You!
This beautiful tiger decided to saunter towards a window I was standing behind, so I had to take a few shots at the Jacksonville Zoo. This time I did not hand paint him, although it would have been fun to paint, but instead added several Topaz (see sidebar for website link) filters to get this effect. First used Detail 3 to sharpen image all over. Then on a stamped layer used Topaz Impression and applied and my SJ WC like effect on bkgds preset with just some color adjustments (see settings below). Used a 50% Gray Fill Layer set to Overlay blend mode to dodge and burn in some details to separate his ears and eyes from the colors behind. On another stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Lens Effects’ Neutral Density filter was used to darken foreground slightly, Reflector filter Gold Left preset to lighten his side a little, and a light orange Vignette. Did a couple clean up layers and a Camera Raw filter in PS to soften the background. I really like the way he looks!…..Digital Lady Syd
Preset settings for Topaz Impression: Stroke: Brush Type 04, Brush Size 0.91, Paint Volume 0.42, Paint Opacity 0.87, Stroke Rotation 0, Stroke Color Variation 0, Stroke Width 0.33, Stroke Length 0.89, Spill 0.23, Smudge 0.26, and Coverage 1.00; Color: Overall Hue 0.15, St -0.20, and Lightness 0.06; Red Sat 0.47 and Lightness 0.14; Orange Sat 0.60 and Lightness -0.42; Yellow Sat -0.33 and Lightness 0.13; Green Sat 0.20 and Lightness -0.32; and Blue Sat 0.36; Lighting: Brightness -0.04, Contrast 0.39, and Light Direction x0.33 and y0.06; and Texture: Strength 0.78, Size 0.30, Canvas IV, Background Type Solid, and Background #d38967 (soft melon color).
Desolate Roller Coaster
I really enjoyed doing this image – lots of structure and texture in this coaster image. Just Basic slider adjustments in Lightroom before opening up in Photoshop and duplicating the layer. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Simplify was opened and the BuzSim preset was applied with a couple of changes (Simplify Size 0.76, Feature Boost 1, and Structure 2.38). This caused lots of webbing up in the track that really looked good – usually don’t but it made this picture more interesting. This layer was duplicated and Topaz Impression was added. I created a new preset to get this effect called SJ Illustrative Painting Effect (SJ Illustrative Painting Effect preset – Settings: Brush Type 01, Brush Size 0.70, Paint Volume 0.42, Paint Opacity 0.72, Stroke Rotation 0, Stroke Color Variation 0, Stroke Width -0.65, Stroke Length 0.20, Spill 0.48, Smudge 0 and Coverate 1.00; Color only – Red Sat 0.38 and Lightness 0.10; Orange Sat 0.75, Yellow Sat 0.68, Aqua Hue -0.15, Sat -0.47, and Litness -0.60; and Blue Hue 0.10, Sat -0.34, and Lightness 0.41; Lighting 0.25, Contrast 0.04, Vignette 0.18, Vignette Transition 0.34, Vignette Center x: 0.32 and y: -0.03; and Light Direction x: 0.59 and y: -0.01; and Texture Metal Sheet Strength 0.60, Size 0, Background Type solid white, and Background white.) A layer mask was added to remove some of the paint in areas that did not look quite right using a low opacity and flow black brush. The last step was to use Nik Viveza 2 to emphasize the focal point where the loading area is. That was it – just liked the sort of grungy painterly look that resulted. Lots of fun here!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Windy Beach!
One of my favorite local place, beautiful Flagler Beach on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida, shows a pretty windy day. This image was one I was experimenting on and came up with this effect. The Oil Paint Filter was used on the image and on a layer mask the sky was painted out so the filters only affected the foreground, flags and umbrellas. The original image had red umbrellas and a much brighter blue sky. I wanted to use softer colors so the color palette was changed in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle that used the tones from another image. (See How To Use a Topaz ReStyle Trick for Improving Your Image showing which image colors were used here.) On a stamped layer Nik Color Efex Pro 4 was used to further soften and tweak the colors. On several New Layers the mixers were used to create the edges and Nik Viveza 2 was used to add a little focal point emphasis. I really love the final colors!…..Digital Lady Syd
Putting Your Best Side Forward
This lovely Roseate Spoonbill is totally enjoying a beautiful morning. This type of bird always seems to have a happy expression on their face – totally a joy to watch them. This image was taken at my favorite bird place, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Not much new with the painting workflow – just a painted background I did in Corel Painter and some Mixer brushes and Regular brushes in Photoshop. As you know I am a big fan of Fay Sirkis’s Photoshop Mixer brushes and this image used her Palette Knife Tap n Blend brush to get the fluffy effect on the body. The only place I know where her brushes are available is over at KelbyOne, and sometimes at Photoshop World when she is presenting. The light effect was created using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects’ Reflector filter set to Gold Right preset – gives a soft subtle light effect. Used Nik Viveza 2 to bring the face in focus. Totally enjoyed painting this beautiful bird!…..Digital Lady Syd
All Aboard the Bumble Bee Express!
Had to post this wonderful Bumble Bee Express pix (the link is a pretty lame short clip of a zombie riding the train) before the holidays are too far gone! This wonderful train runs every day at the Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach, FL, for all the kids to ride. When I was 5, I wanted one of these as they had one at the local park where I grew up – I got a Lionel Train set instead and was extremely disappointed.
This image used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity to sharpen it up first, then the train was removed from the background using Topaz ReMask. One of my Corel Painter backgrounds was added – it was stretched out and turned to fit the train, and a couple Hue/Saturation Adjustments Layers were linked to it to get the colors I wanted in the image. Next on a stamped layers (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Glow was opened and my Mysterious II preset was applied with just a change to Red, Orange and Yellow Lightness sliders to adjust the color and set to Normal at 80% layer opacity. (The settings are listed in my Happy New Year With Some Topaz Tricks blog.) Two more stamped layers were created, and Topaz Impression’s Ethereal Background by Blake Rudis preset was applied and set to Normal at 100% layer opacity on the first layer. Then on the top layer Topaz Impression’s same preset was applied except the Blue Lightness slider was set to 0.45 to calm the blue in the sky down some. The layer mask created using ReMask was copied (ALT+drag up to this layer) and inverted (CTRL+I in the layer mask). This layer was then set to Normal with the layer opacity adjusted to 41%. A text layer was applied using the free Playbill Regular font,and the letters were stretched up some (vertical scale set to 152%) and spread out (tracking set to 80). A yellow watercolor Pattern Overlay was added in the Layer Style for the text to make the colors pop. A Black and White Adjustment Layer set to Luminosity blend mode was added on top to get the color tones just right. Totally fun and brought back a lot of memories!…..Digital Lady Syd
Santa Believing!
Had to post this little image of a Santa ornament that is very appropriate while I am struggling to get my new computer loaded up and ready to use. Windows 10 is really turning out to be a big learning experience for me after coming from Windows 7. Anyway, this guy is how I am feeling – I Believe I will get it up and running!!!
I actually did this as my first image on my new computer with practically nothing added to PS CC. All I did on this image was to use the ACR in the Bridge to do the initial image adjustments since I do not have Lightroom going yet. Next one of my Corel Painter textures was added in layer above and a layer mask applied. By using a watercolor brush set a soft edge and low opacity (20%), the Santa was softly painted back using a black foreground color in the mask. A Curves Adjustment Layer was used to adjust contrast, and on a New Layer a Glitter brush was used to add some structural interest into the background (see end of my Some Christmas Cheer and Resources blog for settings to make brush). The image was sharpened using a High Pass Filter set to 5.8 radius and then on a New Layer above, the Sharpen Tool was applied just to his face. Last step was to use two Radial Filters in the Camera Raw Filter to get soft vignette effect and direct focus to the Santa. Felt good to get back to working on images!…..Digital Lady Syd
Underwater Fantasy
This image took a lot longer than I expected to complete – but still a lot of fun to do. I had the image of some coral in a case at a SeaWorld Orlando store and wanted to use it in an underwater adventure image. It turned out totally different from what I expected but that still is a lot of fun to just see what happens!
Basically the coral was cut from the image using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5. It did a fair job and a lot of touch up of the layer mask had to be done once back in Photoshop due to the complexity and similar background color to the coral in the image. My next step was to add a couple PixelSquid fish into the image (see my How To Use the PixelSquid Add-On in Photoshop blog). One of my spiral textures was used for the background and the layer was taken into Topaz Impression where the Turner Sunset II preset was applied. The fish and coral layers were grouped, duplicated and top group merged to create a single layer. This layer was then taken into Topaz Impression and Edward Hopper II preset was applied to it. Some bubbles were added using using the Glitter Brush created in my Some Christmas Cheer and Resources blog was used to add some softening effect around the coral, and on some separate layers, Fay Sirkis’s Bubble Wrap Highlights Mixer brush was used to add in the more obvious bubbles. Next the eyes were sharpened using the Exposure Adjustment Layers. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz Lens Effects was opened and the Reflector filter brightening the left side of the image and the Graduated Neutral Density Filter to darken the bottom part of the image was applied. Last step used Nik Viveza 2 to direct focus to the main fish. Whew! Hope you have a wonderful holiday!…..Digital Lady Syd
Viera Wetlands
This image was taken at the beautiful Richard Grissom Memorial Wetlands (also known as the Viera Wetlands) in Brevard County, Florida. In Lightroom very little was done except to apply Trey Ratcliff’s free preset called Venice Canalman that came December 2015 preset package (scroll down) he gave away with his newsletter – I have used this preset a couple of times and really like it. The focus point could be adjusted by going to the Radial Shift that he used in the preset, and moving it a little right to include the birds.
In Photoshop Jai Johnson’s free Flying Birds png was added as a layer on top. Since the birds looked flat in the image, a Pattern Fill Adjustment Layer was clipped to the image (ALT+click between the layers) – tried several and ended up using a gold and reddish watercolor pattern, which matched the tones of the LR preset that was applied. This pattern can be dragged around in the image to make the birds look just right and the adjustment layer was set to 62% layer opacity. An Outer Glow Layer Style (double click on layer to open) was set to Normal Blend Mode, white color, Opacity of 34%, Noise 13%, Spread 8% and Size 144 Px – this softened the birds so they blended into the sky just right and the layer was set to 68% layer opacity. The last step was to apply Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression’s Seurat Afternoon III without any changes to the whole image. His pointillism strokes added a really interesting effect to this image. Impression is really a fantastic plug-in that can add such a beautiful effect to an image as in this case…..Digital Lady Syd
Deserted Roller Coaster
I guess this image definitely indicates winter is on its way – very desolate looking Roller Coaster at the beach in Daytona Beach, Florida. Wanted to show another example of Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Texture Effects using the preset I created and uploaded onto the Community site. (See my Digital Lady Syd Reviews Topaz Texture Effects Fun Photoshop Blog.) In Lightroom Dave Delnea’s Custom Tone oo2 was used and the DeHaze slider in the Adjustment Brush added a little foggy effect at the top of this image. In Photoshop Topaz Detail 3 was applied to darken and soften the image a little. Then on a stamped layer, Topaz Texture Effects was opened and my SJ Soft Pastel Effect preset with some changes (Basic Adjustments turned off; Diffusion – in Mask brushed out the center of the large palm and part of the wood structure in top of the roller coaster with brush Strength of 55. Vignette – Strength 0.42, Size 0.01, Transition 0.32, Roundness 0.18, Color Black and set Center towards the right; Split Tone – removed; Border second row first border – Size 1.09 with Keep Aspect Ratio on No.) I am starting to really enjoy this plug-in!…..Digital Lady Syd
