Testing the Water
This is a sleepy Tricolored Heron reluctantly taking a step into the water on a beautiful hazy morning. Okay, he was really in a very cluttered background and I had to use Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5 to cut him out. Then he was placed on one of my Corel Painter textures whose colors were changed using Topaz ReStyle’s Ice Cool and Fresh preset to match the bird colors and Free Transformed (CTRL+T) to fit the bird perfectly. I then proceeded to paint the bird with a Mixer brush to smooth out the grainy feathers. A duplicated copy of the texture was added on top and set to Multiply blend mode at 50% layer opacity. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top, Topaz Lens Effects Fog (Fog Ground Fog IV preset – Amount 0.20, Region Size 0.10, Transition 0.20, Angle 138.1, and Diffusion 0.40) was added to give a sort of early morning mist in the water. Next the Reflector filter was applied (Golden Left, then Strength 0.20, Transition 0.40, Position 0.59, and Angle 76.63) before going back into PS. The eyes and beak were sharpened using the Exposure Adjustment Layer. On another stamped layer, Topaz Adjust’s Brilliant Warm preset was applied to get the nice gray color back on the bird. A little Curves Adjustment Layer was added and he was done! Still loving my birds!…..Digital Lady Syd
First Signs of Winter
Totally enjoyed myself painting this little wintry scene. I think the recent hot weather in Florida has gotten to me! Used a very textured paper in Corel Painter 15 and mainly an Oil Brush and Blender that smeared some of the edges. In Photoshop used some of Grut’s brushes (these are a fabulous collection of brushes) to fill in where the trees did not look quite right. A texture was applied with no color (used a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer clipped to it and set Saturation slider to -100) to get even more texture. Last step was to add Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle Desaturated Warm III preset for the final color effect. It really is fun just to paint!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Little Birdie Told Me So!
This was just a little bird I photographed near my home that was just walking around with a group of other little birds. He was placed under a couple painted textures, one I created in Painter and one by Jai Johnson called Clouds Over the Pasture. His eyes were brightened using the Exposure Adjustment Layer. Then on several different layers, the Mixer Brush was used to paint the bird. Finally on a stamped layer, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Smoke Gray Veil preset was used to give the different color effect. I love what this plug-in can do to an image! Next Nik Viveza 2 was used to direct the eye to the focal point. Another one of my textures was added on top and set to Overlay at 47% to add the really nice orange tones into the image. That was it – lot of fun here!…..Digital Lady syd
The Blushing Bride
This lovely Snowy Egret with her magnificent plumage was another bird shot taken at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery a few months ago. She was placed above Jai Johnson’s Emerald Green Canvas free texture (all her textures are fabulous) and with a black mask, was painted into the texture. This texture was chosen since the bird had lots of dark green foliage around her – the thin feathers could be seen better. Next a Corel Painter texture I created showing some soft plant-life in the background was placed on top and set to Hard Light blend mode at 39%. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects was opened and two filters were applied: Reflector (Settings: Gold Top – Type Golden, Strength 0.65, Transition 0.37, Position 0.36, and Angle 176.4) and Add Vignette-Selective – Burnt Sienna (Settings: Placement Adjustments Focus Width 0.66, Focus Height 0.48 and Effect Center: (1751,806); Tonal Adjustment – used default sienna color, Vignette Strength 0.35, Transition 0.75, Contrast 1.63, Brightness 131.2, and Opacity 47.03). On a duplicate layer Nik Viveza 2 was used to bring out the sharpness of the eye a little more and the structure in the bird’s back. A black and white Adjustment Layer was used to adjust the focus just right and then set to Luminosity blend mode at 44% opacity. Then on another stamped layer, Topaz ReStyle’s Tuscany Memories was applied and set to Hard Light at 45% for the ReStyle section. That was it!…..Digital Lady Syd
Horses Checking Me Out
Created this image using a texture I painted in Corel Painter and a horse image from Belarus. This is basically just painting the horses into the texture by using a black layer mask on the horse image above. Then used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Toy Camera filter Awesomeness I preset as a start, then applied the Reflector filter to lighten up the whole image. On a stamped layer Topaz Restyle was used and just the bottom colors were changed to darker tones. Then mainly just some clean up – love the the results……Digital Lady Syd
Seashells on the Beach
These shells were actually inside the base of a lamp – just did a close up phone image. By adding one of my Corel Painter textures and painting back in the shells in a layer mask, the busy original background could be replaced. Now for a change up – Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression’s Oil Painting 1 preset was applied. Next on a New Layer, some image clean up and painting was done. Last step was applying on a stamped layer (CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E) Topaz Restyle’s Soft Sienna Veil preset with a few adjustments in the color sliders. This was the final result and I loved the colors in it whole image……Digital Lady Syd
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.
Waiting For Spring
Just doing some practicing in Corel Painter. I do not do this enough, but the experts say that to actually be good you should paint every day. This image used three of the original Corel Masters brushes – Melissa Gallo, Karen Sperling and Marilyn Sholen brushes. If you get any of their brushes, you cannot go wrong. In Photoshop on a New Layer the brush I created in my Fun Photoshop Blog How To Use Photoshop’s Brush Texture Section for Painting Clean-up was used to clean up messy areas. (I really do use the techniques I present. HaHa!) Painted Textures Mist on the Lake texture was placed on top and set to Multiply blend mode. Then because I could, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle was opened and a different color palette was selected. Sorry I do not have the settings but I think it involved the Peppermint Green preset. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added on top to add back contrast. Finally a little Nik Viveza 2 magic. That was it…..Digital Lady Syd
Beautiful Spring Flowers!
Just a little digital fun here with a phone image taken at the local Lowes Home and Garden Center. I recently purchased an inexpensive introductory Corel Painter video on Painting Portraits from Corel Master Karen Sperling. It comes with some of her great brushes – found one I really love! I had to reduce the size of the brushes since the image size was reduced to make Painter run smoother for me. I also added Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Zambezi Zest preset as a source image before starting as I liked the color palette it gave me. Overall I was very pleased with her video and brushes, and it was fun to try out a new technique. This is a very easy way to get started learning Painter. Also I added afterwards in Photoshop the two Curve Adjustment Layers technique for dodging and burning that I blogged on recently. Loved the results!…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
How To Use Curves Adjustment Layers To Dodge and Burn an Image
Sunny Desert Day
Just went back and listenedd to Karen Bonaker’s wonderful Corel Webinar called Corel Painter Mixed Media Painting and thought I’d try some of her tips. Many of the steps and brushes used in her examples were used along with several brushes created by following Jason Moranto’s Brush Engine Essentials videos offered at Karen’s Digital Art Academy – this is a great way to learn Painter! Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Desert Dust preset set to Soft Light blend mode was applied and set to 50% layer opacity. Nik Viveza 2 to draw out the focal point a little bit. Need to try this one if you like a watercolor look. Creating this image was totally fun!…..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
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
HDR Tree
One last Christmas post this year. Someone said to take some HDR bracketed shots of your Christmas Tree and it will look really good – so that is what I tried here. As usual I get carried away with my favorite filters and started adding in some things, but I did process the three bracketed images in Nik HDR Efex Pro 2 using its Dark preset. Then in Lightroom Seims PW4 (see sidebar for website link) Super HDR and his Tint Warming 81A presets were applied before opening in Photoshop. Duplicated the Background layer and opened it up Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Glow – applied my SJ GrapIII Beach preset (settings listed at bottom) – this plug-in really added to the overall tone and color of the image, then set the blend mode to Color Dodge in Photoshop and the Fill to 74%. (Note: With Color Dodge blend mode, adjusting the Fill slider keeps the effect more pronounced than adjusting Opacity slider, which creates a more dull look). Did some clean up and applied Viveza 2 to add a slight vignette feel to the corners (could have used the Radial Filter in ACR). Next Topaz ReStyle was opened and the Dark Ecru preset was applied (these changes were done: ReStyle Opacity 73% and Texture Strength 0.44; Basic Color -0.31; Tone Black Level 0.11, Midtones -0.25, and White Level 0.08; Detail Structure -0.37 and Sharpness 0.56.). A Curves Adjustment Layer was used to add back a little contrast as the last step. It was a lot of fun to do an HDR – have not done this in a while…..Digital Lady Syd
(My SJ GrapIII Beach Topaz Glow 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. For this image these changes were made to this preset: Changed Secondary Glow to Dark. Changed Red Sat to 0, Orange Sat to 0.79, Aqua Sat 0; and Green Hue 0.32, Sat 0.45, and Lightness -0.27.)
Painting in a Vector Pattern
This is an image I was just having fun doing. Started with a layer that I placed a vector floral image on – Graphichive Floral vector flowers Swirls and Flowers 2 (there are some beautiful vectors on this site so check it out!). It was on a sheet with several other clip arts – had to open up the jpg, use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select it and place on its own layer. Then select the background by going to Select -> Color Range – check Invert so that just the lines are selected and you now have transparent clip art that you can paint each flower and leaf the way you want. In this case I created a square file and copied the clip art layer over to this file. Used Free Transform (CTRL+T) and hold SHIFT key to adjust the size proportionately.
So to paint this, I used 6 different Pattern Fill Adjustment Layers – selected ones I liked, filled the Adjustment Layer masks with black (CTRL+I) inside the mask, and painted in white where I wanted that patterns to show up. If I did not like the color the pattern was, I just clipped a Solid Color Adjustment Layer set to Color Blend Mode to the Pattern Fill Adjustment Layer to change it. (ALT+Click between the layers to clip) I put all of the layers into a group by highlighting them and clicking on Create a New Group icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel. For a review of how to do this, see my Fun Photoshop Blog called How to Colorize an Old Photo. Next I placed a texture between the white background layer and the group – in this case it was Painted Textures Pilgrims’ Journey set to Pin Light blend mode. On top a Curves Adjustment Layer as added for contrast. Then because I could, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression was applied using my SJ WC look on bldgs. (Settings used: started with Watercolor II preset and these were the final settings: Stroke Type 04, Brush Size 0.91, Paint Volume 0.42, Paint Opacity 0.87, Stroke Width 0.33, Stroke Length 0.89, Spill 0.23, Smudge 26, Coverage 1.00, Color Overall Hue 0.15, Saturation -0.20 and Lightness 0.06; Red Sat 0.47 and 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, Vignette 0, and Light Direction X0.33 and Y0.06; and Texture Strength 0.78, Size 0.30, Canvas IV, Background Type solid white, and Background color used #d38967 – all other settings not listed at 0.) Next Topaz ReStyle using another one of my presets called SJ BW with greens – not sure how I got this one so I cannot give you the settings, but obviously I used some B&W setting in ReStyle. Last step involved Nik Viveza 2 to draw the eye to focal point, the main flower, in the image. It sounds like a lot of work, but it really was just experimenting and playing in Photoshop……Digital Lady Syd
Painting People
This image is my first Painter image of a person – my very pretty daughter-in-law – that I have tried to make it look realistic without looking too much like a photo. Not sure I completely succeeded, but it is fun to paint people for a change. In Painter Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Restyle’s Pale Salmon Pink preset was applied. Back in Photoshop, I did some clean up layers. Two textures were applied: Painted Textures June Party set to Hue blend mode at 80% layer opacity to give the hair that sort of “with-it” look that is popular right now, and French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) Morning Dew set to Multiply at 62% layer opacity to add to the background that was painted in Painter. Finally a Nik Viveza 2 layer was created to emphasize the face a little more….Digital Lady Syd
Venetian Dreaming…..
Just another Corel Painter image created following Melissa Gallo’s terrific Painter for Photographers instructions. Not exactly like Melissa’s beautiful images, but I think I am starting to get a style. Since I have not been to Venice in a long time, a free image from Free Images (used to be Stock.Xchng and image is linked) was selected to paint. The original colors were totally different to what is shown, but that is half the fun of painting! While in Painter I actually used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle’s Cool and Clear preset with a few changes to get a different color scheme before painting the image. I will say that there were 13 iterative saves before I got to this final image. I am finding the Iterative saves are actually handy to have since I needed to go back to one due to some painting mistakes. The Painter image was saved as a psd file and taken into Photoshop where another Topaz ReStyle preset – my favorite Cream and Plum (you can really see the tones in this image) – was used along with Nik Viveza 2 to emphasize the boat a little more to finish up. Anyway, totally fun but it did take a little time to get it right.
Check out my Fun Photoshop blog this weekend for the same image but done totally with Topaz plug-ins in Photoshop…..Digital Lady Syd
Squirrel Resident at Universal Studios
This was probably not the greatest image but I loved the way the squirrel’s tail looked so I had to do some processing on this photo. This shot was actually taken once again at Universal Studios Orlando. I wanted a painterly look, but I did not want to spend a lot of time painting it since it was not the best original image. Trey Radcliff‘s Gradient Endless Weekend Lightroom preset was applied. The photo was opened in Photoshop CC and the Shake Reduction Filter was used. Next Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was used to overall sharpen the image. A black layer mask was added and just the squirrel and the closer plants were painted back. A stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) was created and turned into a Smart Object where Alien Skin’s Snap Art 4 was opened. I used a preset I had created in Snap Art 3 based on the Historic Oil Paint preset (settings were Background – Brush Size 14, Photorealism 23, Paint Thickness 77, Stroke Length 63, Color Variation 0, and Bristle Brush Brush Style; Detail Masking – on Squirrel, Effect Detail, Brush Size -10, Photorealism 100, Paint Thickness -40, Stroke Length -49, Color Variation 36 and Brush Style Bristle Brush; and on mid-back leaves, Effect Detail Brush Size 23, Photorealism -59, Paint Thickness 73, Stroke Length 79, Color Variation 85, and Brush Style Bristle Brush; and Colors Brightness -38, Contrast -14, Saturation 33, and Temperature 36; Lighting – Default; and no other settings used). Using Photoshop’s Flat Fan Single Bristle Wet Edge brush as a Mixer, the overly bright spots were blended in on a separate layer. Next Topaz ReStyle Rustic Red and Orange preset was used (the settings used are ReStyle Color Style Lum Third -0.48 and Fifth -0.39; Texture Strength 1.00; Basic Tone Black Level 0.11, Midtones -0.31, and White Level 0.30; and Detail Structure 0.11 and Sharpness 0.73). This turned the image color palette into a bit warmer feel. Nik Viveza 2 was added to add a little more tonality to just the squirrel and add some blue into the sky. The last step was to use Photoshop’s Radial Filter in Camera Raw on just the squirre to draw further attention to him. It was a lot of steps but always fun to do……Digital Lady Syd
Young Warrior
I loved how this image turned out. The original was taken at the Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida. Not going to go into all the details as it was a huge process – 27 layers and lots of hours but I will say it was all done in Photoshop, mainly with a Flat Fan Oil Brush I created. Must give a shout out to Melissa Gallo, a Corel Master, for her wonderful textures and her techniques in teaching how to do this type of image, including creating your own brushes! Check out her website and get the Painting in Photoshop Workshop if you want to learn some fabulous techniques and tips. (She also has a new one being released shortly called Painter for Photographers that I am so looking forward to taking!) This texture is her April Pastel texture. Also used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle to get the color in the image exactly right. This plug-in is in my top three! Totally fabulous what it can do to an image!…..Digital Lady Syd
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Digital Lady Syd Reviews Topaz ReStyle
The Mighty Tulip
Just another photo of a very colorful red and yellow tulip and some pink daisies from my local grocery store. Just practicing my painting. This time using my basic workflow. Add Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Power Workflow 4 Magic Flat Light Fixer. Next Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 to sharpen up the image a little, and Topaz Simplify to use as a base coat to paint above. On a New Layer above, used Photoshop’s Flat Fan Single Bristle Wet Brush as a regular brush to paint over the yellow tulip and some of the greenery. French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) Atelier GA Brush created in my blog was painted on the next layer. (See my How to Paint with a Texture Brush from Your Image blog for how to make this brush.) Melissa Gallo of Painted Textures Desert Sky Canvas texture was applied twice to create two texture layers, first set to Hard Light at 56% layer opacity, and then set to Color Burn at 24%. Created a Stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top and then copied the Topaz Detail 3 layer and placed underneath since I had some bad places on the petals. In the stamped layer, added a white layer mask and lightly painted back part of the tulip that were not sharp enough. Then on a New Layer above, used my Chalk 60 brush as a mixer to smooth over the tulip. I decided this image needed some pizazz – it was just too yellow and bright green. On yet another New Layer took my Chalk 60 brush with the texture turned on and painted some bright colored blotches all over it in oranges and yellows and greens and pinks – kind of went crazy. Set this layer to Pin Light. Added a Curves Adjustment Layer and a Levels Adjustment Layer to add contrast. On a stamped layer, Nik Viveza 2 was opened up and Control Points were added to the yellow tulip and the purple daisy in front. Topaz ReStyle was opened on another stamped layer above. (Here are the settings: SJ Very Muted Sepia preset. Changes to preset were: Restyle Opacity 88%; Lum Primary -0.58, Third -0.36, Fourth -0.45, and Fifth 0.30; Texture 1.00; Basic Opacity 23% set to Hard Light blend mode; Color Temperature -0.11; Tone White Level 0.25; and Detail Structure 0.06 and Sharpness 0.83.) The last step involved adding the beautiful Canvas Vignette border by the wonderful Corel Master John Derry – can be downloaded from this link. This is the final image. Okay – it is a bit of workflow, but sometimes it just takes a lot of manipulation to get the look you like!….Digital Lady Syd
My Scottish “Secret Garden”
This was a pretty ugly image to start with – very light green and hardly any contrast – it was a good challenge to get something I liked from it! It was taken in some little town in Scotland that was on the way to the highlands. I actually used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Infocus to sharpen it up a little and it did a pretty good job. This plug-in seems to be a lot like the Sharpen Shake Reduction filter in Photoshop CC. Did some clean up. Created a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and applied Nik Viveza 2 to the image Helped me direct the attention to the center flowers. Next Topaz ReStyle was applied TRS-Tangerine Gauze preset. (Settings were: no changes to ReStyle section; Basic Temperature 0.13, Tint -0.14, and Saturation 0.06; Tone Black Level -0.59, Midtones -0.12, and White Level 0.34; and Detail Structure -1.00. Masks paintd back the center flowers using Color Aware brush and sampling the green leaves in middle – paint with 1.00 strength and Hardness 0.62 just the center flowers, little pink flowers, and purple thistles.) On a new stamped layer Nik Color Efex Pro plug-in was opened and several filters were stacked. (The filters were: Detail Extractor with Detail set to 69%, Contrast 68% and Saturation 26% and a control point was set on just the center yellow plant; Darken/Lighten Center using Shape 1, Center Lum 39%, Border Lum -57%, and Center Size 44%; Midnight Color Set Neutral, Blur 35%, Contrast 36%, Brightness 65% and Color 77% and overall Opacity 81%; Film Efex Vintage using Film Type 16 and overall Opacity set to 31%; and Vignette Filter Shape 1, Adapt Edges 19%, Transition 38%, Size 27%, and Opacity 43% and the overall Opacity 67%.) On a New Layer did a little edge clean up using my Chalk 60 brush, a Curves Adjustment Layer to add some contrast back into the image, and the Sharpen Tool on the middle plant thistles to emphasize them a little more. This seemed to take a long time. Wanted to show you that with the Color Efex Pro filters, there is usually an overall Opacity slider after the control points section that can really help adjust the filter look the way you want it. Anyway, it was a little “Secret Garden” that I saw!…..Digital Lady Syd
Red Carnations on a Bright Sunny Texture
Just doing a little painting on some beautiful red carnations my daughter-in-law got for her birthday. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 to do an overall sharpening up of the image. Used Photoshop’s default brush Pastel Medium Tip as both a mixer and regular brush on this image and loved the brush strokes. Stacked two of Melissa Gallo of Painted Textures textures – August Copper set to Hard Light at 76% layer opacity and Spring Sky at Hard Light 78%. Last step was using Nik Viveza 2 to highlight the flowers in the center where I wanted the focus to be. It is a little bright, but I kind of like it – that is what is fun about stacking textures, you get some unexpected results! …..Digital Lady Syd
What Happened to My Yellow Rose?
This is an alternate image of the yellow rose posted last week – see Mid-Year – Painting Project Progressing! I just wanted to let you see what using the wonderful Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle can do to an image – not sure which image I like best since I love the pink tones. Basically the yellow rose was opened into ReStyle and the Cream and Plum preset was selected. I use this preset a lot since it does have the color palette I love. The changed settings were: Hue Secondary -0.44 and Third -0.28; Sat Fifth -0.25; and Lum Primary 0.15, Third 0.03, Fourth 0.41, and Fifth -0.53; Basic Tone Black Level 0.03, Midtones -0.12, and White Level 0.41; and Detail Structure 0.45 and Sharpness 0.56. In Basic Mask painted in this effect in a black mask at the top of flower with Brush Strength 0.42, Brush Size 0.10 and Hardness 0.30. A New Layer was added above and the Mixer Brush was used to clean up the petals, but I did not like the way it looked, so I turned it off. The grungy look seems appropriate with this image and the blue specs look nice. The last step was adding a Curves Adjustment Layer to add more contrast. Not sure but I think I like it better than the yellow one. Decisions! Decisions!…..Digital Lady Syd
Some Pretty Flowers on an Old Vintage Building
Just an old vintage photo I found that looked like fun to process. A lot of clean up was done on this image and it was straightened by selecting the whole image, then pressing CTRL+T, then the Warp Tool in the Options Bar. This made a huge difference! Don’t forget you can always straighten an image up with the Transform Command, not just Puppet Warp or Perspective Warp. I applied one of my presets in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Black & White Effects and Topaz Restyle (not sure which preset). A little grunge border was added and that was it. Very simple!…..Digital Lady Syd
Love the Tryptych in Nik Analog Efex Pro 2!
Universal Studios Orlando has so many interesting shooting places – this would have looked great with a person sitting on the bike too. Used the new updated Nik Analog Efex Pro 2 to get this great four image triptych effect. It uses the same image but each section can be manipulated individually. This is a lot of fun to do with an image that has a lot of areas to look at closely. The filters used in this plug-in were the Basic Adjustments with Detail Extraction at 66% and Brightness at -17%; Film Type Bolton 3 at 91% Strength; and Multilens with Variation Strength set to 73% and Variation Type 5. Back in Photoshop Shadowhouse Creations Old Post Set PCB texture (a free download) was added on top. A white layer mask was added and with my Charcoal Brush (Adobe’s Charcoal Brush 60 with an added 19% Angle Jitter in Shape Dynamics section of the Brush Panel to get a different angle with each stroke), the areas I wanted showing were painted back in leaving an interesting border effect. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added to bring back some contrast and a New Layer was used to paint in a little grunge for more vintage feel. On a New Layer, the Sharpen Tool was used to just sharpen up the focal areas in each section. The last step involved added Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle using the Peat and Rock Preset at 74% opacity. This really popped the image. This was lots of fun to work on!…..Digital Lady Syd
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How About That Update to Nik Analog Efex Pro 2?
