My Magical Front Yard
My front yard is a little crazy looking but it is a happy place, at least for the tree frog! This was just a lot of fun to do. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow and my SJ Inter Web Variation preset set to Exclusion blend mode at 100% layer opacity. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Nik Viveza 2 was used to brighten the Tree Frog and the flower. Some painting clean up was done on a separate layer. On another stamped layer, Topaz ReStyle’s Rustic and Orange preset was applied. Another stamped layer set to Smart Object, Photoshop’s Camera Raw Radial Filter was used three times to lighten exactly where I wanted. Last step was to add some splatters more so in the dark areas to add a little more magical feel. Hope you enjoyed it!…..Digital Lady Syd
Topaz Glow Inter Web Variation preset settings: Primary Glow Type Dark, Glow Strength 1.00, Effect Sharpness 0.12, Electify 1.00, Simplify Details 0.06, Edge Color 0, Detail Strength 1.00, Detail Size 0.42, Brightness 0.16, Contrast 0.18, Saturation 0.08, Line Rotation 0, and Glow Spread 0; Secondary Glow Glow Type Light, Glow Strength 0, Effect Sharpness 0.54, Electrify 0.11, Simplify Details 0, Brightness 0, and Contrast 0; Color Overall Saturation to 0.62, Red Sat to 0.44, Yellow Sat to 1.00 Yellow Lightness -0.36, Green Sat 1.00 and Lightness -0.51, Aqua Lightness -0.36, Purple Sat 1.00, and Magenta Sat 1.00 and Lightness 0.50.
Abstract Wetlands
Felt like doing something a little different with a rather ordinary image. This was another shot from the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Brevard County, Florida (also known as the Viera Wetlands). This image was first Merged to HDR in Adobe Camera Raw 9.0 – thought I would put it through its paces and it worked really well. I have a lot of HDR programs, but it is so nice to have all the ACR tools available to clean up the result.
Once the HDR file was created in ACR, the image was opened as a Smart Object in Photoshop CC2015 to add a few filter effects. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow was using my Inter Web Variation preset set to Hard Light blend mode. (Here are the settings: Primary Glow Type Dark, Glow Strength 1.00, Effect Sharpness 0.12, Electify 1.00, Simplify Details 0.06, Edge Color 0, Detail Strength 1.00, Detail Size 0.42, Brightness 0.16, Contrast 0.18, Saturation 0.08, Line Rotation 0, and Glow Spread 0; Secondary Glow Glow Type Light, Glow Strength 0, Effect Sharpness 0.54, Electrify 0.11, Simplify Details 0, Brightness 0, and Contrast 0; Color Overall Saturation to 0.62, Red Sat to 0.44, Yellow Sat to 1.00 Yellow Lightness -0.36, Green Sat 1.00 and Lightness -0.51, Aqua Lightness -0.36, Purple Sat 1.00, and Magenta Sat 1.00 and Lightness 0.50. Set to Screen blend mode at 66% Strength; and no Finishing Touches.) On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz Impression’s Turner Storms II was added. It was turned into a Smart Object and Photoshop’s Camera Raw filter was opened – used Photoshop Cafe’s PS Cafe-euro model preset with some Basic adjustments and color changes. I really liked the fantasy feel I was getting. Some clean up on a New Layer was done. On another New Layer Kyle’s Real Watercolor Spatter Mixed brush was used on the foreground, a gradient overlay layer style added, and then a Guassian Blur filter set to 2.0 radius was applied to this layer. The last step was using Nik Viveza 2 to draw attention to the focal point. I really liked the results of this image….Digital Lady Syd
Soaring Spoonbill
Still enjoying the bird images I took at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery this Spring. The original image was captured with a totally light blue sky behind this Roseate Spoonbill. This made it easy to add a texture underneath the image (my painted texture created in Corel Painter called Seashore) and changing the blend mode of the bird layer to Multiply. Topaz (see sidebar for settings) Clarity and DeNoise 5 were applied to cleanup the the bird layer. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz Glow’s Room Glow Blake Rudis preset was applied (check out Integrating Topaz Glow into Your Workflow for info on this). Next on a New Layer Fay Sirkis’s (from KelbyOne) Precious Oil Diamond Mixer was used to clean up the feathers and beak a little. Topaz Impression Watercolor II preset with no spill was applied. Nik Viveza 2 was used to bring out the color of the bird just perfectly and a Curves Adjustment Layer was used as a last step for overall contrast. I love my bird pix!…..Digital Lady Syd
Just a “Big Scoop”
Loved the vintage result of my favorite local ice cream place. This was a phone image processed using OnOne Photo Suite 9.5 (see sidebar for website link) – used B&W Effects and Perfect Effects to get this look. The original layer was converted to a Smart Object so I could tweak later the results. In B&W Effects, the Daguerreotype Clean preset was selected with adjustments to its settings. In Perfect Effects the Bleach Bypass preset was set to Lighter. With the Lighten Paintbrush, the umbrella was painted and with the Detail Paintbrush, the inside of building and picnic table were painted. Since the B&W effect was too strong, I clicked the little icon on the right edge of the Perfect BW layer in Photoshop and the opacity was changed to 75%. Then a layer was added on top to paint back in solid white border where needed. Last step was to distort the letters as they totally draw the eye whenever letters appear in an image. Just painted over with a little grunge brush. Enjoyed creating this vintage look!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Little Scottish Architecture
Just an image of the beautiful architecture taken near Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. The original image in Lightroom was major dark – not sure why. Used the Basic sliders to brighten up the image, but the noise was pretty bad. Therefore , in Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) DeNoise was used. Topaz Glow was used on a stamped layer above and my SJ Graph III preset was applied – layer was set to Overlay blend mode at 65% layer opacity. (Here are the settings: Primary Glow: Glow Type Dark, Glow Strength 0.17, Effect Sharpness 0.09, Electrify 0.23, Simplify Details 0.25, Edge Color 0.20, Detail Strength 18, Detail Size 0.24, Brightness 0.23, Contrast 0.17, Sat 0.01, Line Rotation 0.09, and Glow Spread 0.20; Secondary Glow: Glow Type Light, Glow Strength 0, Effect Sharpness 0.47, Electrify 0.17, Simplify Details 0, Brightness 0.36, and Contrast 0.62; Color Red Sat 1.00; Orange Sat 0.27; Yellow Sat 0.20 and Lightness 0.09; Aqua Sat 0.78 and Lightness -0.26; and Blue Sat 0.49; Finishing Touches: Effect Coverage 0, Smudge 0.00, Sharpness 0.25, Sharp Radius 0 and Vignette Size 0.) Also in the Layer Style, the sky was brought back using Blend If Underlying Layer slider and splitting the white tab (ALT+drag on tab to split) with settings of 122/145. Topaz Lens Effects Reflector filter was used to lighten up the face of the buildings (Type Golden, Strength 0.28, Transition 0.31, Position 0.49, and Angle 208.5). By adding a layer mask, the sky was painted black so the effect only applied to the buildings. Next on a stamped layer used Nik Color Efex Pro using Tonal Contrast, Brilliance/Warmth, and Vignette Lens. A vintage frame was added on top and set to Overlay blend mode. I love working on images from Scotland!…..Digital Lady Syd
Where Are My Eyes?
This image was taken at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm website link. I don’t know anything about it, just that it greets you when entering the attraction. Very little was done to this image. In Lightroom Trey Radcliff’s Dramatically Clean Chipmunk preset was applied. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression’s Turner Storm II preset was applied. A white layer mask was added in PS and a little bit of the lighter areas were painted back in the face to draw some focus to it. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) that was converted into a Smart Object, Nik Color Efex Pro 4 was opened. The Graduated Neutral Density filter selected (Upper Tonality -25%, Lower Tonality 7%, Blend 27%, Vertical Shift 43%, Rotation to adjust the light 158 degrees, and Highlights 1/4 of the way to right). In the same Smart Object Nik Viveza 2 was applied. A Focal Point was added to the eyes and nose area (Brightness 33%, Contrast 40%, Saturation 38% and Structure 58%). Two Curves Adjustment Layers were added – one a darken curve to separate the head from the busy leaf background, and one to add contrast to the face since an S-shape curve was used. Both layer masks were turned to black (CTRL+I inside the mask) and just localized areas were painted back with a soft white brush at 17% brush opacity. Last step involved adding a New Layer and actually painting in some color where it was needed using a very low opacity brush (12%) and sampling in the image to match areas. That was it. Lots of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
Bear Checking You Out!
This image is of the bearskin that is usually at the Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida, this year. In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Magic Harsh Sun Fixer preset was used. In Photoshop on a duplicate layer, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail was applied to overall sharpen. Topaz Impression was applied using Oil Painting by Jim Salas (light direction was changed to fit image and Texture Strength slider set to 0 since textures were added to image outside of plug-in). A couple of Flypaper Textures were applied. Then I really cropped image in to get a close up of the face. The final step involved adding my favorite filter Nik Viveza 2. Control points were placed on the nose to enhance the color and sharpen it a little to draw the eye to that part of the image. This was originally a great big image that I could not get a look I liked so the crop really made the image…..Digital Lady Syd
Here’s Looking At You
I really love these big gentle birds. This wood stork was giving everybody some serious eyeball at the St. Augustine Alligator Park recently. In Lightroom just did the Basic Slider adjustments and applied Dave Delnea’s Backlit Vertical Right and Custom Tone 002 presets. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was applied next for overall sharpening. Topaz Glow was applied on a stamped layer. A Selective Color Adjustment Layer was added where just the Yellows were changed. Nik Viveza 2 was opened on a stamped layer and a control point was placed on the head to add more detail. Painted Textures Sunrise Canvas texture was set to Linear Burn at 50%. In the Layer Style the Blend If white tab was set and split to 190/212. Some clean up layers were added throughout to sharpen up various areas. I really liked the artsy look this bird ended up having!…..Digital Lady Syd
Singing Spoonbill Duet Takes Rookery by Storm!
Recently our Photo Club took a trip to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm’s Rookery to check out the birds. What a riot, as usual. I had never gone quite this early so the birds were doing a lot of mating and nest building, but not a lot of babies yet. It was total craziness and the Roseate Spoonbills were in all their splendor. I had never had a chance to see this many at one time and they were practically tame! They would get so close you could hardly focus your camera. Needless to say, it was a great time. These two birds were either doing mating clacking song, or totally entertaining the photographers. I was less than 5 feet from them and they were there all morning.
This image was mainly just sharpened up a bit and the basic tonal correction was done in Lightroom. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity using John Barclay basic settings preset (Micro Contrast 0.36, Low Contrast 0.20, Medium Contrast -0.11, and High Contrast -0.23) was applied. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Glow was applied using my SJ Mysterious II Water preset (Primary Glow: Glow Type Dark, Glow Strength 0.30, Effect Sharpness 0.63, Electrify 0.14, Simplify Details 0.17, Edge Color 0.28, Detail Strength -0.06, Detail Size 0.20, Brightness -0.56, Contrast 0.44, Saturation 0.00, Line Rotation 0.00, and Glow Spread 0.00; Secondary Glow: Glow Type Light, Glow Strength 0.00, Effect Sharpness 0.22, Electrify 0.03, Simplify Details 0.00, Brightness 0.45, and Contrast 0.64; Color Overall – all set to 0; Red RedSat 0.34; Orange Sat 0.33; Yellow Sat 0.03 and Lightness -0.29; Blue Sat 0.42 and Lightness -0.43; and Magenta Sat 0.75 and Lightness -0.35) set to Strength 64% and Overlay blend mode in the plug-in. A clean up layer was placed on top to clone out a few distracting bush edges and that was it. This was a really fun image to take!…..Digital Lady Syd
Very Busy Snowy Egrets
This is one of the shots I got at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery. This is such a fun place to visit this time of year – the birds are totally distracted and let you take really great photos. The above is of the beautiful Snowy Egrets – at this time only a few baby birds were seen, most were nest building and mating.
Here is a quick run-down of what was done to this image: In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Super HDR X preset and Dave Delnea’s Develop Preset Forestwalks Look 03 were used before bringing photo into Photoshop. A little clean up and then a stamped layer was created (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity was used to do an overall sharpening – this time I wanted a little more of an artsy look so my SJ Artsy with Highlights preset was used. (Settings: Clarity Dynamics Micro Contrast -0.86, Low Contrast -0.86, Medium Contrast 0.63, and High Contrast 0.94; Tone Level Black Level -0.19, Midtones -0.36, and White Level 0.19; HSL Filter Hue – no changes; Sat Orange 0.06, Yellow 0.63, Green 0.13, Blue 0.25 0.25, and Overall -0.45; and Lum Orange 0.36, Yellow -0.34, Green -0.42, Blue 0.61, Purple 0.11, Magenta 0.75, and Overall -0.27 – all other colors were 0.00.) A layer mask was added and the birds were faces and beaks were painted out to maintain the sharpness since this preset smooths out colors. Nik Viveza 2 was used to draw focus to the babies and help remove a bit of yellow in the bird feathers. A Levels Adjustment layer was added to add back some contrast into the image. On another stamped layer, John Derry’s Varnish-Matte-Light layer style was used to apply a little painterly feel to the whole image. That was it. I love working on these bird images!…..Digital Lady Syd
Looking Through You!
Took this image recently when the sun was shining so beautifully through the peach Hibiscus bloom. These are the most beautiful flowers but they only last a day. What a shame! This image was put together very simply. In Lightroom Trey Radcliff’s Sunday Alone preset was applied. Then in Photoshop, the Shake Reduction filter was applied – did not make much of a difference in this case. On a duplicate layer, Flaming Pear’s Flood preset was next used so that it covered up about 3/4 of the bloom. (Here are the settings used: Horizon 45, Offset 0, Perspective 57, Altitude 50, Waviness 78, Color dark blue #0b1b4e, Complexity 47, Brilliance 65, Blur 54, Size 0, Height 31, Undulation 40, and Glue Normal.) A layer mask was added and the bloom and leaves were painted back. On a New Layer above, Kyle’s Real Watercolor Big Rough Small Grain was painted onto the image to get a pretty soft sun glow. Used the same layer mask but this time painted back around the top of the blossom. On another New Layer, used a Pastel Brush set to 35 pixels, Multiply brush mode, 53% brush opacity, Pressure Sensitivity for Opacity icon on, and 100% Flow. By sampling in the blossom, I tried to smooth some of the shadow transition lines. Next 2 Lil” Owls (see sidebar for website link) Color Bokeh-Grunge Set 5 was placed on top in a layer mask, the center was cleared of the hazy feel to focus on the flower. The last step was a Curves Adjustment Layer. I really like the colors in this one…..Digital Lady Syd
Beautiful Maize
Loved this hanging batch of colorful corn or maize taken at the recent Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida. In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Workflow DreamScape preset was applied. Next Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was applied using just my basic Little Medium Large Detail preset (Medium Details 0.38, Large Details 0.16, and Contrast 0.30) where a black layer mask was added and just the corn was painted back. The background needed to remain soft. On several layers above a lot of clean up was done as the background was full of distractions. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), my Topaz Impression Abstraction preset was applied (Stroke Type 12, Brush Size 1.00, Paint Opacity 0.38, Stroke Rotation 0, Stroke Color Variation 0, Stroke Width 0.85, Stroke Length -0.50, Spill 0.72, Smudge 0, and Coverage 1.00; Color Overall Hue 0.14, Sat 0.23, and Lightness 0.06; Red Lightness 0.14, Yellow Sat -0.11, and Green Lightness -0.36; Lighting Brightness 0.13, Contrast -0.23, and Vignette 0, Light direction X 0.34 and Y 0.05; and Texture Strength 0.19, Size -0.43, and Canvas I, Background type white solid and Background White). This layer was duplicated and taken back into Impression where the Ethereal Background by Blake Rudis preset was applied. A white layer mask was added and just the corn was painted out where I did not want the blurred effect to occur. This layer was set to Linear Burn at 53% layer opacity. On a new Stamped Layer, Nik Viveza 2 was applied to further enhance the focal point. It is so much fun to use the different filters to get different effects…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
How to Get the Most Out of Your “Not-So-Great” Images – contains link for Topaz Impression’s Ethereal Background by Blake Rudis
A Tuscan Blossom
Just loved how this little Yellow Wing Hibiscus blossom image turned out. Did very little to the original image other than apply 2 Lil’ Owls (see sidebar for website link) Spring Whispers 4 preset and sharpening of the shadow stamen. On a duplicate layer of the background, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity was applied using John Barclay’s Basic Settings preset (see My Glowing Porch Flowers blog for settings). Next went into OnOne’s (see sidebar for website link) Perfect Effects 9 and applied the PE4 Vintage preset. I believe that OnOne gave it away with an earlier version, probably Perfect Effects 4. Next Topaz Impression was opened and the new preset created from Blake Rudis’s blog called Ethereal Background was applied next (see Blake Rudis video called Atmospheric Backgrounds with Topaz Impression). A New Layer and some clean up was done, especially a little Mixer Brush painting on some of the edges to smooth. Painted Textures Creamsicle texture was applied (not sure this texture is still available) set to Linear Burn blend mode at 73% opacity. A Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer was clipped to the layer and the Saturation set to -56 so there was not a lot of color added to the image, just texture. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added to add back some contrast and the last step was Nik Viveza with a control point on the focal point, or for me the stamen shadow. It was fun to experiment with my arsenal of filters!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Reflecting Wood Stork
I guess this is what birds do when they are reflecting on their lives. Hum… Anyway, just the different iteration of an image I posted in my Fun Photoshop Blog recently (see How to Get the Most Out of Your “Not-So-Great” Images blog). I wanted to show how interesting it can be to change up an image just by running the same filter effect twice on the it. I used the same settings from my linked blog for the Flaming Pear Flood filter and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 using the same Soft Leaves preset. But this time the same Detail filter was applied twice using the same preset to get this sort of dreamy, natural effect. It gave the image a totally different feel. So this is just another example of how to change the ordinary to extra-ordinary!…..Digital Lady Syd
Hiding Out with a Red-Winged Blackbird
This beautiful bird was hiding in the brush at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Brevard County, Florida. I had not seen one in a long time. Not that much post-processing on this one. In Lightroom applied Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Classic Holga preset. Opened in Photoshop and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was used to give the photo a little more depth of field feel and the bird was painted out in a layer mask. The Sharpen Tool was used on the bird. Added Topaz Glow set to Soft Light. Nik Viveza 2 was used on the bird and Photoshop’s Camera Raw Radial filter was used to get the pretty vignette. Pretty standard workflow here……Digital Lady Syd
Sunset at Viera Wetlands
This image was not near as interesting in its Raw version. Had to add some filters and was pleasantly surprised at what a pretty sunset effect could be achieved. In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) PowerWorkflow Super HDR X preset was applied. Once opened in Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity’s Color and Contrast Boost II was applied. I like to use Clarity when dealing with nature scenes – sometimes it gives better results than Detail. On a duplicated layer, Topaz Glow filter was added – used my SJ Mysterious II Water preset and set the layer to Hard Light blend mode – this is how I got all the beautiful colors in the image. (Here are the preset settings if you are interested: Primary Glow: Glow Type Dark, Glow Strength 0.30, Effect Sharpness 0.63, Electrify 0.14, Simplify Details 0.17, Edge Color 0.28, Detail Strength -0.06, Detail Size 0.20, Brightness -0.56, Contrast 0.44, Saturation 0.00, Line Rotation 0.00, and Glow Spread 0.00; Secondary Glow: Glow Type Light, Glow Strength 0.00, Effect Sharpness 0.22, Electrify 0.03, Simplify Details 0.00, Brightness 0.45, and Contrast 0.64; Color Overall – all set to 0; Red RedSat 0.34; Orange Sat 0.33; Yellow Sat 0.03 and Lightness -0.29; Blue Sat 0.42 and Lightness -0.43; and Magenta Sat 0.75 and Lightness -0.35.) A clean up layer was created and layer to add some yellow sun glow. On a stamped version (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) placed on top, Photoshop’s Iris Blur filter was centered around the duck with the blur set to only 2 pixels. A black layer mask was added so just a few areas that I wanted softened could be back with a white brush. That is basically how this image was post-processed, and the Glow filter made it into something quite nice!…..Digital Lady Syd
Viera Wetlands
Decided I wanted a different look for this image. I was upset that I did not bring my wide-angle lens when I went to the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Viera, Brevard County, Florida. The sky is actually what I saw – it was not replaced. Nik Color Efex 4 helped give the image this effect by using two of my favorite filters in the plug-in: for the diffused effect the Monday Morning filter was applied, and for the slight Nostalgic feel the Film Efex Vintage filter. The real trick to this image was to use Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Efex and the Fish Eye Adjustments with the Distortion set to 0.26. Totally loved the result even without ever using my wide angle lens!…..Digital Lady Syd
Wetlands Getting Ready for Spring
Just another quick snap I took while at the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands in Viera, Brevard County, Florida recently. It really did feel like Spring is on its way which I am really glad to see. I took this image because I thought the water looked interesting where it intersects the reeds. It turned out to be a lot of fun since I got to paint a sky in using Fay Sirkis’s Photoshop brushes to make it. (These brushes can be downloaded from KelbyOne if you are a member – just go to her Four Seasons webinars.) Used a couple Cloud Highlighter brushes and a Cloud blender. Created several layers and put them in a group which was set to Multiply blend mode at 35% group layer opacity. Also used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow and my SJ Inter Web Variation preset (see Image 4 Information for settings at my How to Get the Soft Glow In Topaz Glow blog). This layer was set to Overlay Blend Mode at 61% layer opacity. Since it almost wiped out my sky, I copied my painted sky group on top to add it back in again with the same layer settings. Nik Viveza 2 was used to even out the image and add a focal point in the center of the image. Obsidian Dawn’s Flying Birds Grouping 1 was added just because the image needed them – the layer was set to Multiply at 77% opacity. On a New Layer above lightly painted in white to get a water bird look to the birds. Next 2 Lil’ Owls Studio (see sidebar for website link) Color Bokeh Grunge Set 1 was added and set to Color Dodge blend mode at 72% layer opacity. The last step was a Curves Adjustment Layer to bring back the contrast. Totally fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
Adding Some Background Texture
Just used my red hibiscus object image again to try out some texture effects with the background. I really liked the results. The flower was brought in and it was duplicated. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Cream and Plum preset was applied to the duplicated layer and set to Darken blend mode at 66% layer opacity. A texture that was made in Corel Painter using the Coarse Smear Blender Jitter brush (a FB friend used this brush quite effectively on an image) in a brownish beige color was added underneath the flower. It was also duplicated, Free Transformed (CTRL+T) where it was reduced and flipped horizontally, and lined up under the flower. A Levels Adjustment Layer and a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer were clipped (ALT+click between the layers to clip) to the top texture layer to get the pinkish color. The last texture added just below the flower was made in Corel Painter using the Gravity Bristle Particle Brush (learned how to do this at the end of Commercial Packaging Illustration with Michael Bast Corel video where he shows the technique – I really liked it! Saved it as a PSD to open in Photoshop as a texture.) It was set to Multiply blend mode and an olive green Solid Color Adjustment Layer was clipped to this texture to make it a soft olive green. A stamped version was created on top and Blend If sliders applied before some clean up work was done. A final Levels Adjustment Layer was used to get the effect. Loved creating the textures for this!…..Digital Lady Syd
My Glowing Porch Flowers!
These are more flowers on my porch – Painted Lady Hibiscus and a Boston Fern. Clean up was done, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) DeNoise set to Overall 0.09, and Topaz Clarity (My John Barclay Basic Settings preset-Micro Contrast 0.36, Low Contrast 0.20, Medium Contrast -0.11, and High Contrast -0.23; then Tone Level Black Level 0.14, Midtones -0.30, and White Level -0.20; Hue Yellow -0.58 and Green -0.19; Sat Green 0.27 and Blue -0.34; and Lum Red -0.08, Orange -0.52, Green 0.11, and Blue -0.42). On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow was applied. (SJ Painterly Wonderland preset-Set to Overlay. Primary Glow change Effect Sharpness to 1.00, Electrify 0.38, Secondary Effect Sharpness 0.48, Brightness 0.23, and Contrast -0.01; Color – Overall Hue -0.29, Orange Sat 0.43, Yellow Hue 0.14 and Lightness 0.50, Green Sat -0.77 and Lightness -0.44, Aqua Sat -1.00, and Blue Sat -0.50. Set back to Normal to take into PS – then adjust there.) Topaz Black and White Effects was applied. (SJ Soft Color Effect preset – Conversion section – Basic Exposure Contrast 0.04 and Brightness 0.05; Adaptive Exposure 0.24, Regions 16, Detail 0.98 and Detail Boost 1.05; Creativity Effects Diffusion Softness 0.71, Diffusion 0.67, and Diffusion Transition 0.56; Finishing Touches section – Silver and Paper Tone Tonal Strength 0.85, Balance 0.22, Silver Hue 27.00, Silver Tone Strength 0.61, Paper Hue 45.00, and Paper Tone Strength 0.42; Quad Tone Color Region 1 black set to 7.46, Color Region 2 set to Color (R67/G48/B32) and 77.12, Color 3 Region to Color (R173/G148/B104) and 181.6, and Color Region 4 set to white and 255.0; Vignette Strength -0.28, Vignette Size 0.61, Vignette Transition 0.83, and Vignette Curvature 0.83; and Transparency Overall 1.00. In Local Adjustments set to Detail – Brush Size 254, Opacity 0.25, Hardness 0.05 and Edge Aware to 0.50 – painted back the front flower and the orange colored dish so that it was a focal point. The Overall Strength was set to 1.00. Set same brush to Color and painted back the pink flowers. Vignette Strength set to -0.32, Vignette Size to 0.68, Vignette Transition to 0.63, and Vignette Curvature 0.82 – center vignette on just above the center pink flower. Changed Overall Transparency to 0.75.) On another stamped layer the Camera Raw Filter Radial filter was applied to adjust the focus on the orange pot and center pink flower. That was it. Lots of Topaz on this one!…..Digital Lady Syd
Painted Apples
Not sure what inspired me to paint these apples from image taken at the local grocery store, but I did. The image was first opened in Lightroom where the basic image was adjusted, then in Photoshop. After some clean up, a stamped layer was created on top (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) where Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity was applied using the Landscape III preset. Next on a duplicate layer, Nik Color Efex Pro 4 was used (used Cross Processing Method L05 at Strength 27%; Darken/Lighten Center set to Shape 1, Center Luminosity 73%, Border Luminosity -46%, and Center Size 24%; Low Key Glow 0%, Standard Low Key 6%, Dynamics Low Key 0%, Sat 56%, Whites 3%, and Contrast 72%; and Detail Extractor 22%, Contrast 14%, Sat 25%, Shadow under ow, and Highlights under hl). On a New Layer above, used a Blender Mixer brush using property bar settings of Wet 100%, Load 1%, Mix 100%, and Flow 100% and set to Sample All Layers – turn off Load Brush After Each Stroke so it will just be a blender and mix the colors underneath. I am not sure which brush I used, but any brush you like should be a nice blender with the above settings. On a new Stamped Layer, Nik Viveza 2 was used to add focus to the center area. Last step was a Curves Adjustment Layer. I also painted this in Corel Painter and got a much more abstract look. Will probably show that version in a later post. Anyway, love the Photoshop Mixer Brush effect on these apples!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Particle Brush Flower
This beautiful Chinese Hibiscus bloom was painted in Corel Painter using one of their new particle brushes and following the short video called Painter 2015 Particle Brush Painting Featuring Karen Bonaker. The image started with auto-painting using the Oils category Particle Spring Oil Mop brush variant. So much fun. Then brought it back into Photoshop to apply the textures, although it could have been done the same way the video showed in Painter. The flower was selected by going to Select -> Color Range and choosing white. Then added a layer mask to the painted canvas layer so the flower is white and the background is black in the mask. Since I wanted the edging to be yellow around the flower, the Layer Style was opened and the B Channel was unchecked. Also the Blend If This Layer black tab was split (ALT+drag to split tab) and set to 133/158. Two textures from French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) were placed underneath: Colorwash Juin set to Normal at 100% Layer Opacity and Solstice Well Spring set to Multiply at 100% layer opacity. The Layer Style was opened up for the last texture and the Blend If This Layer white tab was split and set to 221/255 and Underlying White tab split to 195/226. The original Flower layer was placed on top with a black layer mask applied. Just the leaf veins in the front leaf and a few other details were lightly painted back in with white in the mask. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added to bring back some contrast. Last step was using Nik Viveza 2 to really add some focus to the center leaf. I really love how the particle brush created this rather interesting effect around the flower……Digital Lady Syd
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Corel Painter’s Auto-Painting Results – Not Bad!
Doors, Doors, Doors!
Did this photo a while ago of an old home in Savannah, Georgia, that was being renovated. The original image was not that pretty as the building had to be taken into Photoshop’s Lens Correction where the distortion was removed. Many layers of clean up were done to get rid of some Spanish Moss hanging down in front of the image from an overhanging tree. Nik’s Color Efex Pro 4 was opened and the Detail Extractor filter was selected (Detail Extractor 46%, Contrast 44%, and Saturation 6%) and Tonal Contrast filter was added (Highlights 1%, Midtones 36%, Shadows -33%, Saturation 59%, and Contrast Type High Pass). Now some of the beautiful color in the doors and brick started showing up. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) was created and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) was opened and the Wonderland Preset was applied at 53% opacity. This was a great example of how Topaz Glow lights up an image. I love the final appearance of the home – hope it turned out this nice…..Digital Lady Syd
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How to Get the Soft Glow in Topaz Glow
An Artsy Sketch
Just playing around with an effect I learned from a tutorial by Lesa Snider called How to Convert a Photo to a Colored Sketch with Photoshop. It actually did a pretty nice job on this image. After converting the image to a sketch, I went to the Select -> Color Range and chose Highlights in the drop-down menu. Check Invert box and say OK-a layer mask is applied to the image selecting the background. Next I applied two textures I have created underneath the sketch with the top layer set to Hard Light and the Blend If This Layer black layer set to 101. Created a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and added a Curves Adjustment Layer for some contrast. Next several layers were created and just different areas were painted to emphasize them. Created another stamped layer and applied Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle (Peach Prairie preset with changes to Sat Primary 0.02, Third -0.05, and Fifth 0.25; and Primary -0.58, Third -0.20, and Fourth -0.36; Basic set to Color Blend Mode , Tone White Level -0.37; and Details Structure -1.00 and Sharpness -1.00 to get a more painterly look on the colors). Added a copy of the image before ReStyle was added and set it to Luminosity at 42% layer opacity to tone down the colors a little. Sort of a crazy looking image, but was still a lot of fun to play with all the colors……Digital Lady Syd
