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).