[- - e r i k - -]

Here's my first attempt ever at airbrushing a photo in Photoshop:
. (Click the thumbnail for the full-blown picture...)

Please provide some feedback. Does it suck? Does it rock? Do the hair look nasty?

And here's the challenge: Can you do better?

Download the original still from my DV-webcam, and have a go: http://www.tibook.f2s.com/cam.jpg

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[Demonhood]

i'm not at all clear what you're going for here.
are you trying to see how accurately you can recreate the photo?
..by tracing over it?
..by using only one tool in photoshop?

or are you trying something completely different? please specify.

if you're trying to practice drawing/painting/whatever, then you should use the photo as a reference, but not trace over it.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally posted by Demonhood:
<STRONG>i'm not at all clear what you're going for here.
are you trying to see how accurately you can recreate the photo?
..by tracing over it?
..by using only one tool in photoshop?

or are you trying something completely different? please specify.

if you're trying to practice drawing/painting/whatever, then you should use the photo as a reference, but not trace over it.</STRONG>

Well. It was an attempt of experimenting with different techniques, tracing the photo. I probably would be better off with a wacompad, or something, but this was just something I did for fun to "arty" up the image.

I know I can't draw to save my life, but I was tired of my regular line of doing web and graphics, and just tried using the brushes a bit. I'm not going for anything special, just a general look.

[TheJoshu]

I don't know; I like everything except the hair.


(&gt; - - erik - - : "Common sense is not so common," said Voltaire. )

[godzookie2k]

Its a good start, you have to remember that just beccause you are in photoshop doesn't mean that basic painting concepts magically disappear. You have to figure out where your light source is to help you define the light and shadow on the hair and clothing. You have to remember how clothing falls on the body and how it reflects and shadows light. You are working on a pretty bad picture as it is, it would ease your life tenfold to work on a crisp clear image. blur and distort later if you choose that look. Plus unless those are pink dreds on her head, its rare to actually see each and every individual strand of hair when looking at someone, you usually see "chunks" at a time.

Good luck!

Nick

[buchrob]

At least you've cast your vote for what we used to call the "artsy fartsy" (wild airbrush and who cares about accurate colour, etc.) or "artsy craftsy" (weaving your own basket that still looks like the instructor's basket, at least a little bit).

All marks in this category are awarded solely for 1) inventiveness, with the exception that 2) if the author asks for criticism, he should be treated as an adult.

You qualify for an 8/10 for the first bit and a 4/2 for the second, for a total of 12/10. Keep those extra 2 points in the bank for times when the marks may be few and far between.

P.S. I couldn't even hope to imagine what "better" was in order to compete, but I can tell you that a lot of "travel agency" type clients would balk at the unreal colour and lack of detail in the face.

[- - e r i k - -]

Yes, I guess it is a bit artsy fartsy. This is no attempt to create realism... Just a wild airbrushing and the like. I wish I had a wacom-pad or something to brush with instead. Somehow I know that would improve the hair at least

I'm going to grab some better pics this weekend and try again.

Still waiting for some of you pros to take on this challenge though

[bluedog]

I'll give it a whirl tonight and post my results and see if you like it. I have a 6x8 USB wacom tablet. Perhaps it will help.

I'll prefer making a watercolor type rendering, its something I've been really interested in achieving. I know Painter has better 'canned' artistic effects and really love it. But its amazing what a great Photoshop guru can do with all the tools v6 has at your disposal.

[Cowdog]

I decided to play with it.. spent 'bout an hour in photoshop (using classic only 1 freeze ) and here's what I came up with. http://dpict.net/temp/repaint_girl.jpg

went a little more stylistic than realistic, hey I wish my nose were a little smaller too, its kinda comic book monet or something. Just a grab from photoshop, looking at it now, to finish I'd cleanup the hair edge and some other areas where colors overlap, add more shadows, like to the neck, darken the edges and prolly do something else to the background but I wanted to keep some of the original image there.

wahoo

edit: btw I didn't once use the airbrush, no wacom either, shift key is my friend

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: Cowdog ]

[bluedog]

Ok, here's a shot at it. None of the original image is in this image at all.

Click on the thumbnail to see the larger version.



Enjoy!

Fixed and moved the links to my iDisk account!

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: bluedog ]

[Cowdog]

Originally posted by bluedog:
<STRONG>Ok, here's a shot at it. None of the original image is in this image at all...</STRONG>

seems a little muted but it has an interesting depth to it, really looks like layers of paint, or like colored whiteout, has that bumped out type built up chalky look. Pretty cool, did you do it all in photoshop? Did you trace the original or just eye ball it? whst tools did you use..

[bluedog]

There were a lot of layers I used in creating this piece.

Setup: G4-dual533, Wacom 6x8 and Photoshop 6

1- I used the photo as a backmost layer as a guide and did the background replacement first on a layer with wide swathes of color. I used the paintbrush with opacity on the tablet pressure and varied the pen size by using the '[' and ']' keys.

2- A quick selection of the main character and copy/pasted it into a new layer above the new background. When pasting I used PASTE INTO... to put it in the same spot on the canvas with a layer mask (mainly unnecessary in this instance)


3. Next, I created a new layer BENEATH the actual subject and used a layer transparency to see through it and draw on the new layer. Began by creating the colors for the fleshtones and shirt and pants. To create the color fields I used the pressure on both the size and opacity of the pen and chose flat colors to begin with when filling in the color. I used a render filter on this layer after doing all the roughing in of the areas with the 'transparency' as a height effect with white as the high point. This created the 'layered paint' effect which was a bit too strong when I finished this part.

4. Used a new layer to add the detailed portions of the hair and then smoothed out the overlayered rendering on this second layer for the subject. At this point I was turning the photo off and on regularly just to see how the new image was holding up on its own. This layer has a blending mode of 'Multiply'

5. After doing all that, I used the a third layer because I wasn't happy with how the face and hair were still partially transparent to the background and wanted to fill it in. In this layer I created a selection around the entire subject by command-clicking on the layers of the subject in the layers palette. This creates a selection of the items on the layer. To select the second portion of the second layer, you can press and hold shift-command and click on the second layer. This created a selection. Then chose to feather the selection by a few points. Then switching to the layer I wanted to put behind the subject, I chose Edit-&gt;Fill with white and unchecked the option to preserve transparency. This filled the layer with white.

6. Then on this layer I deleted just about all the white except in the face and hair. This left a halo and glow around the face. I duplicated this layer and filled it with a really pale yellow and then creeped in on the selection of this layer to have the yellow not be so prominent.

7. That was the big picture description. I've had a *ton* of fun using layering and the render filter on sections of drawings in the past. With transparency and a pressure sensitive tablet it can do amazing things - of course you need a fairly steady hand too. Lastly I went back to the subject layers and added some modeling of color to provide highlights and shadow details as well as the face features.

8. Then I turned off the two layers containing the original photo material and saved as a JPEG with quality of 10. (I didn't bother with the save for web)

Oh, one last thing. Most of the brush strokes were with the paintbrush option for 'wet edges' turned on. This makes the color of the paint a bit transparent with a darker edge around it. In conjunction with the render filter this adds a lot of depth to each stroke. Its worth experimenting with this combination.

As for the 'muted' colors, I didn't really want to have high contrast or bright colors and thought it would be nice as it is. I'd like to hear the descriptions from anyone else on how they created their 'version' of this image.

Thanks for the challenge.

Cowdog: what did you mean by the 'shift key is my friend'? Even without a tablet I simply use the numbers on the keyboard to change transparency levels and the bracket keys to enlarge and reduce my brush size. The only time I use the shift key is to draw a straight line from my last point to the point I click at.

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: bluedog ]

[- - e r i k - -]

You dogs messed up my girl pretty bad

Hehe.

Bluedog: Holy smoke... that's quality! The hair...it's amazing... almost like the real thing, only better! I really really liked this one. Except perhaps the fact that she looks a bit ticked off... Very good job indeed!

Cowdog: Very nice too. But what's with the pixelation? Her nose and moth also made her look a bit retarded. Hehe, which is far away from the truth. Her tattoo (one out of four in fact), is of the serpents and the septer, the "medical symbol", but I liked your dragonfly (or whatever) too. And it does have that comic book quality over it.

It's been a lot of fun seeing your rendritions over what is an admittedly bad picture, taken without her permission. She'll be visiting me this saturday, and she has agreeed to let me shoot some film of her. Provided of course, that I'll be participating (nudge nudge wink wink knowaddamean?)

So, expect more to play with over the weekend.

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[bluedog]

Sorry for the broken link, we had an electrical storm that took out my server lastnight. I'm sure its ok, I just have to restart and perhaps reconfigure it. I'll have the photo up again soon.

And I'll place the images on my iDisk so it will always be available.

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: bluedog ]

[Francesca]

Erik,
If I were you, I would resist the tendency to use so many effects as bluedog has. It's not that I dislike what he's done. It's just that you say that you are "no artist." It's uncomfortable for a person to feel this way about themselves. You actually can really learn to draw and paint better with Photoshop if you allow yourself the opportunity, and resist the tendency to just use every effect and filter under the sun. For instance, if you just stick with brushes, pencil, airbrush, swatches of color, and a wacom graphics tablet, you can really paint. I like to design jewelry with Photoshop by painting and using the airbrush tools. I like the effect better than any 3-D "fill" that I've seen. One thing that can really work well for an artist-in-training is to put down a layer at first which is really an opaque color. Then use the navigator to get a style that is not normal, like hard light. Try various ones, and then in the navigator (options palette) you can change the transparency of the brush.If you use brushes that have a transparency of 25 per cent or less, it will really look like watercolor. I do this with Photoshop 5.5. If you do this, and use small transparent brushes and airbrushes, you can get a really painterly effect, just as if you were using paint in the real world. I've seen too many people be intimidated by really trying to do artwork, and passing up the opportunity to really paint in Photoshop. Try it...at the very least, you'll learn alot about putting colors together. Just concentrate on learning, and not so much on the finished product. I don't claim to be a Photoshop expert, but I just learned everything by experimenting and trying new things. It's the best way to have fun with Photoshop.
(I should write a column: Fun With Photoshop, for Real Amateurs...)

Francesca

[bluedog]

Good advice from Francesca. I always have to catch myself and go back to the drawing board, so to speak. Again and again. I find by studying the work of real masters is the best way for me to learn.

Its quite a thrill to know you've achieved an image from your ability more than the canned effects in a program. In the end, everyone can do an effect, but to have the drafting skills and ability to control a line is the mastery of draftsmanship.

I've seen too many cheesy 3d effects and overused photoshop filters to want to use them in most of my work. But creative use of the application as a platform to create your images is what photoshop is all about. Not a lot of applications will give you the freedom of creativity that photoshop does.

If your intention is to paint, I think the best thing one could do is paint... with real physical paint. I've had to struggle with my desire to handle physical materials and textures in my artwork and the excitement and interest I have with digital creative expression. Digital imagery just lends iteself to unusual effects. But if you're a really great 'touch up artist' or photo-manipulator you should have a hard time finding where in an image the work was done. It really depends on the purpose and use.

From your first message it wasn't really clear what your intentions were for posting. I was glad to have a 'challenge' to post an interpretation of a source photo. In many art circle's of the past, artists would all paint the same subject or scene, sharing ideas and interpreting thing differently from one another. I haven't found a community like that online and find it increasingly rare in social circles. Thanks for helping foster a sense of community in this forum.

[IceEnclosure]

seems i'm a bit late...but here's a rendition..


whadya think?

[IceEnclosure]

oops.. i think i ended up working with the wrong image.. in fact, i know i did... bleh

[chris v]

I'm a rank amateur at making images show up in UBB code, so who knows if theis will work.

I just messed with the color balance, then applied my favorite, filter, artistic... cutout.



Curious to see if it displays

CV

[chris v]

ARRGGHH! got to remember not to hit the Back button after posting duh.

(hey, the link worked thoughT my first try!)

CV

[ 09-12-2001: Message edited by: chris v ]

[bluedog]

Hey chis_v

can you link to the higher rez image? I'd like to see it.

[- - e r i k - -]

Thanks for all the advice regarding painting and the like in Photoshop. A wacom board is definitly on my wishlist. But an amp, AirPort network in my apartment (right now there's cables everywhere), some more furniture and a set of soundsticks is right above it... so perhaps after christmas

As you would have noticed no new pictures appeared after last weekend as our date was cancelled due to her kid being sick.

This weekend things are looking up though. Watch out for a new challenge next week...

[chris v]

Originally posted by bluedog:
<STRONG>Hey chis_v

can you link to the higher rez image? I'd like to see it.</STRONG>

You can download it from my mac.com homepage (as well as the mp3's of my band!) at
http://homepage.mac.com/cvreeland

The orig. isn't all that hi res, either, but it'll open in Photoshop.

CV

[B.I.L]

Here is my doodle...



Full-size: (watch out, 300K)
Clickity-click-click

Nothing here is "original". That is, everything comes from effecting the existing image. If I had a tablet I would probably throw this into Painter and draw over it, but using a mouse this works better for me.

I wanted the girl to be recognizable and attractive, since this is Erik's Dream Girl. The hardest part was killing all the noise. Photoshop is phun.

BTW, in doing this post, I learned how to direct link to stuff on my iDisk and how to add images and links to UBB posts. I hope! Sweet!

[- - e r i k - -]

Good one Bil! Love the fur

So, dream girl came to visit this weekend, but I didn't bother snatching any pics of her (we had so much better things to do ), so I'll bring you a more egotistical challenge this time.

How about you interpret a motive of myself?


(Hey, it's my thread. I can do whatever I want with it, right? )

[- - e r i k - -]

OK, so it wouldn't be right if I didn't attach my interpretation, right?

So I went away from the wannabe-painter style, and back to good old filters. But I think it still has a handcrafted look to it...



[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[- - e r i k - -]

And here's a totally different look:



[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[Nuff Sed]

B.I.L definately gets my vote. Nice work.

[jim_stone]

Here's a couple more "Eriks."

[sean barrett]

Here you go dude, hope you have a sense of humor. Then again it's to be expected if you post images of yourself!!



Hope I made you chuckle.
[*]null

[sean barrett]

Serves me right !! messed that up didn't I?? here we go again.



Let's see if that worked!!

[IceEnclosure]

here's a few more..




enjoy

[jim_stone]

Ok, now we get to mess with your face. Sorry :-{}

[Cemetery Man]

I did a version I'd like to post, but I have no clue how to do that. How did everyone get their pics to display? I'm ignorant, I know! But I'm sure someone will fill me in soon enough.
Thanks
-A-

[sean barrett]

When you post your reply there's 3 rows of buttons under the heading Instant UBB Code, the bottom button in the middle row says "IMAGE", click there. A pop-up window will ask for the URL of the pic (so you'll have to have uploaded it to a server somewhere) . Don't just do what I did above and cut and paste the URL, or you'll get a double http:// in the address. Hence the missing images.

Simple hey!!! Now let's see your work.
Good Luck

[- - e r i k - -]

Oh sh?t... I just fell over laughing... Thanks a lot guys...

Especially the twisted face of IceEnclosure's second pic. ROFLMAO... Nice one...really

Of course I have a sense of humor, do you really think I would have posted my pic here if I didn't?

[sean barrett]

Yeah you were kind of asking for it!!

[Cemetery Man]

I use AOL and I tried putting my version onto my free homepage that AOL gives, but it won't let me because the easy designer doesn't support Mac and I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. Oh, well. I tried. Thanks for your help, sean.
-A-

[graphics84]

ok, this is what i've done with a pict of a girl...

she's not my dreamgirl but... she could be



I did it with illustartor [pencil tool and layers].... very simple

[sean barrett]

Like it Graphics84, I'm in awe of anyone who's got those kinds of Illustrator skills. I hope to reach those kind of heights some great day. Keep 'em coming!!

[jim_stone]

Just about any girl's my -Dream- Girl . That's nice work!

[- - e r i k - -]

*bumping topic to tell you that a new challenge will follow shortly*

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally posted by Cemetery Man:
<STRONG>I use AOL and I tried putting my version onto my free homepage that AOL gives, but it won't let me because the easy designer doesn't support Mac and I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. Oh, well. I tried. Thanks for your help, sean.
-A-</STRONG>

How about you mail it to me? erik@erik•veland.com
(just remove the • before you mail me )

[Cemetery Man]

Okay. The emails on its way.
Thanks
-A-

[- - e r i k - -]

OK, as promised, here's a second image of my dreamgirl.

This time I've kept my interference with it to a minimal:

Noise-removal, leveling, depht-of-field blurring, bringing out some higlights, removing some and smudging and saturating the hair. All just to compensate for the poor quality from grabbing a single frame of DV (I didn't bother with frame-blending as I didn't have any programs ready...just did a screen-shot of Oculus).

Anyways, let your creative skills loose: Freehand drawings, filtering, paintings, collages, tracing. Anything you want. Extra credit if you manage to blow it up to a 1600x1200 desktop picture without losing quality...

I present to with Dreamgirl Challenge II:


[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: - - e r i k - - ]

[mrfrost]

Is that a one-piece jeans outfit?

I have no skills at all to be in this thread but.....

is it? a one-piece jeans outfit that is?

How does she.....................ah nevermind...


but is it?


hhmm...haven't posted in about about a month so the level of intelligence is even lower than it was then...sorry about that.....

One piece huh...jeez

[- - e r i k - -]

Yes that is a one-piece jeans suit. It's quite impressive how she gets in and out of it

It's really tight though... so tight she burst her zipper just before we went home from going out that day. Oh and...never mind

[jim_stone]

She looks nice, Erik. Here are a couple of takes.

[jim_stone]

#2

[jim_stone]

And 1 more: