Trying out new things. 1 December 2011 | 1:08 pm
One of the suggestions I got this summer was to try leaving a painting at the ‘roughed in’ stage. It seemed easy enough and perfectly harmless to try . . . so I did. Here are the results -for better or worse:
I haven’t made up my mind whether I like it or not. So far the only thing that’s different work-wise is resisting the urge to open the file in the “I’m-almost-there” frame of mind. I’ll probably try a few more times before deciding anything. What I know for sure is that the colors I chose are altogether too warm and heavy for me in the long run although they definitely appealed to me in the moment.
Work in progress . . . 28 November 2011 | 9:50 am
Hopefully, from here on in I’ll be able to keep a decent pace on my side-projects for posting. None of my long-term projects have officially wrapped up but after such a fantastic Thanksgiving, I can’t help but feel optimistic!
This isn’t anywhere near being done yet but it’s been so long since I thought I should at least post some progress.
Everything went surprisingly well with this last painting session! Maybe because I took such a long break from looking at this image or maybe just because I was in a good mood and didn’t really have any expectations . . . who knows? Anyway I’m just glad that it was really enjoyable!
For comparison, here’s the original:
New England at Night. 23 October 2011 | 9:07 pm
Kennebunkport at night. 20 October 2011 | 8:00 pm
Busy, busy, busy . . . 14 September 2011 | 10:05 pm
Wow, this page has been stagnating for far too long! I apologize for that. Please know that behind the scenes I’m going nutty just trying to keep my head above water. There’s always so much to learn I don’t know how other people do it?
A good friend turned me on to a FAN-tastic video lecture series that has me so psyched I wont need coffee ever again . . . or at least not for the rest of the afternoon! I’ve got a couple of new books to dive into -also awesome! I LOVE to read! It cracks me up whenever I say something like that in front of people who don’t really know me. They invariably ask, “Oh have you read
Anyway, art-wise and Photoshop wise I’ve been keeping busy locally. We have a showing next week, I think. I’ll post back with details. I hope you’re all well! I just wanted to check in and say ‘Hi’ and let you know we’re still here, the site is still live – I do check for comments and email so don’t be shy!
༄◦°˚°◦.¸¸.◦°˚ˆ*♡∗¸¸.◦ Sending waves of LOVE & LIGHT to Y♡U! ✰◦.¸¸ღ.◦°˚*◦.¸¸.◦☼°˚ˆ*⋄∗∞
Tools will only do so much. 12 August 2011 | 12:01 pm
Today is one of those days when my work is just not up to par. I thought I’d post it as an excuse to talk about the need for basic art skills.
Here’s the little bit of painting that I’ve done on the bridal gown so far:
Already I hate it. I think it shows that my heart isn’t into painting right now. The sun is up, the skies are that perfect deep-blue that I love so much and I just can’t make my self sit! So, no surprise my stroke is jagged and choppy and on top of that I’ve accidentally trashed the highlights! These are just basic art skills and aren’t going to be easily fixed by any of the tools in Photoshop. That’s why it’s best for me to just stop and come back when I’m ready to commit the time and concentration to do the job right. Other Photoshop artists ask what brush I use to make such smooth long strokes but the truth is, it has nothing to do with the brush at all -it’s the hand the moves the brush and today mine is restless.
Side by Side Comparison. 1 August 2011 | 12:26 pm
Below you’ll see where I am today with the bridal fantasy composite image. Inset is the starting photo for this particular re-mix. The composite itself is a combination of painted elements and several tree and tall-grass photos.
Rather than wasting time trying to find the ‘perfect’ tree to fit the space and shape that I wanted I used parts from several photos to make it look like the tree I actually wanted. Even with the required color and lighting adjustments this was a huge time savings. Once the tree was in position I painted in a trailing vine. The grass in the composite is made up of two tall-grass photos, two short-grass photos and tiny painted ‘flowers’. I’m fairly happy with the progress so far but there’s still much work to be done.
Still Testing the Background 29 July 2011 | 1:15 am
For some reason I wasn’t nearly as happy with the new background today as I was yesterday. It still needs work but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Looking at this image now that’s it’s posted, I think the changes to the grassy area are alright but I’m not so sure about the tree. It does solve the problem of the heavy shadow created by studio lighting aimed at the bride/model’s face but as it is it doesn’t add anything. I was planning on adding a low hanging branch but I may need to take it out and reassess. Mostly I’m trying to decide how much forcing of the lighting issue I want to do. Adding highlights to the hair makes it seem possible that she’s in natural over-head lighting but the heavy-duty shadow to the back of the arm and dress are dead give-aways that something isn’t right.
Happy Accidents 27 July 2011 | 11:45 am
In my last post a I stated that fussing with the model’s hair would be a waste of time until I was sure that I could fix the lighting issues and put some life in the shadow areas of the dress. Generally speaking that is my rule for compositing images but who am I to deny a happy accident?
The other night I accidentally came across my original Photoshop hair brushes (as in hair.abr files) and I just couldn’t resist! I was so psyched to have them back -I honestly thought they were deleted! So there was just no stopping me! I had to put them to work and honestly I loved every-freakin’ minute of it! Yes, I broke my personal rule but now I’ll just have to be all the more determined to nail reality and get it right otherwise the world may never see the work of my first hair brushes -lol. ✱*¨*•.¸¸ ✶ (✿◠‿◠)
Adding the Subject. 24 July 2011 | 3:40 pm
Once the background is decided on, it’s time to bring in the subject. For this image I’ve tinted the dress a little to help it live more comfortably in it’s new environment and adjusted the hue of her skin where it had reflected that horrible green of the improvised ‘green screen’. (To be fair it wouldn’t have been any better had an actual green screen been used, the model was positioned far too close to it and the lighting didn’t help.)
Also you’ll notice there’s very little life left in the shadow areas of the dress, so I’ll be painting in the highlights to revive it as well as to fix the obvious lighting issue. By that, I mean that there’s no reason for the back of the dress (or the back of her arm for that matter) to be in the shade in this new setting. It was shaded that way because of the lighting set-up in the studio where the photo was taken but all of that has to change now otherwise my composite will look as faked-out as Obama’s birth certificate.
At this point I haven’t touched the hair, there’s no point in fussing with it until I’m sure I can tackle the lighting. This will be a portfolio piece but I may use it in an upcoming show if all works out well. At that point, obviously the hair will be an issue . . . if I get that far. シ