Anything Photoshop or Photography

Archive for November, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving from Digital Lady Syd

Image of a Sand Crab on Flagler Beach
Just a Sand Crab wishing everyone in the U.S. a Happy Thanksgiving. I photographed him on Ormond By the Sea Beach a few weeks ago.  First started in Lightroom and used Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) PW4 preset Les Miserables. In Photoshop the Shake Reduction filter was applied and then Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression’s Da Vinci Sketch I preset was applied (these are the adjusted settings: Strength 0.79, Stroke Brush Size 0.64, Paint Volume 0.08, Paint Opacity 0.74, Stroke Width 0.24, Stroke Length 1.00, Spill 0.24, Smudge 0.35, Coverage 0.55, and Coverage Transition 0.32; Color Orange Saturation 0.41 and Lightness -0.11; Yellow Hue 0.31, Saturation 0.70 and Lightness 0.01; and Texture Strength 0.24 Paper-1). Used a layer set to Overlay to darken the edges of the crab and an Exposure Adjustment Layer with just the eyes selected to sharpen them. Created a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and added Nicky Laatz,s paper 12. Painted back the crab and some of the surrounding sand. A Text Layer was added and the Architects Daughter font was used. Last step involved adding a little sharpening on the whole crab in Nik Viveza 2 by increasing the Structure and Contrast sliders……Digital Lady Syd


Vintage Post Card

Image of flowers at Epcot with vintage look
This image was taken at Epcot, Disney World, Florida. This is an example of just trying different effects to get a different look. Recently I have done several blogs on Photoshop plug-ins that give some wonderful results. Here is another example of using them together. First in Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Super Her X and Warm Classic presets were applied along with Delnea’s Backlight Vertical Left preset. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Star Effect was applied and it place bright dots along the flowers to emphasize this area (Started with Jewel Sparkle I preset with these settings: Star Settings Combined, Burst Star, and Brush Size 99; Main Adjustments Threshold 0.13, Luminance 0.51, Size 0.50, Angle 70.40, Number of Points 8, and Spread 0.07; Color Adjustments Sat 0.64, Temp 0.54, Rainbow Strength 0.25, Rainbow Freq 0; and Additional Effects Secondary Points 0.01, Glow 0.26, and Ring Flare 0.) On a duplicated layer Nik’s Analog Efex Pro 2 was applied. (These are the settings for the preset I created: a Vintage Camera preset and the Basic Adjustments Detail Extraction 17%, Brightness 35%, Contrast -21% and Saturation 19%; Bokeh at 88% blur strength and Boost Highlights at 84%; Dirt & Scratches at 82% strength and 1st row/2nd texture; Photo Plate at 20% strength using 2nd row/2nd over texture; Lens Vignette set to Amount 37%, Rectangle and Size 77%; Film Type Warm 2nd line/2nd over with center Neutral to Faded, 52% strength, Grain per pixel 429 and center Soft to Hard; and Levels & Curves dragging RGB curve down in midtones were added.) Topaz Impression was applied. (Monet II preset: Paint Opacity 1.00, Stroke Width 0.14; Color Overall Lightness 0, Yellow Sat -0.50, Green Sat 0.27, and Magenta Sat 0.39; Lighting Light Direction x 0.84 and y 0.34.) On a duplicate layer Smart Photo Editor was applied. (Settings applied were: Folded paper texture by Andrew 2012 – set Master fade back just a little bit; next Vignette fade edges by Tony – Reduce Fade set a little left of center, Brightness 1.015, Contrast -0.247, Linear Contrast -0.258, and Radius 1757.) A New Layer was added and some clean up was done. Next Viveza 2 was applied with emphasis on the focal point. A Curves Adjustment Layer was added to add contrast back into the image. The last step added Shadowhouse Creations vintage postcard texture set to Hard Light at 85% layer opacity. A layer mask was added and the center was painted out so the image was not too dark in the focal point area. Whew! But overall it does have a distinct look and I really like it……Digital Lady Syd


Fall Mums

Image of some miniature mums on texture
Just enjoyed playing in Photoshop with this image. Basically I put this image into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 to sharpen, added French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) Artiste Avril, a Feather Texture I created and set to 24%, Topaz Impression using Oil Glaze by Blake Rudis, than added two French Kiss Brayered Blocks, French Kiss Photo Studio2 Lory overlay with a Bevel and Emboss  and Color Overlay layer styles, next a Curves Adjustments Layer, a New Layer with clean up painting, Nik Viveza 2 to selectively color and sharpen, another Curves Adjustment Layer, and another New Layer and paint clean up. This turned out to be quite a little project, but lots of fun to do! That’s why I love Photoshop!…..Digital Lady Syd


Topaz Impression On a Portrait

Modeling image of Aliona with painterly effect
Wish I had taken this beautiful modeling image of my daughter-in-law, but at least I have it to try some nice post-processing effects on. In Lightroom the eyes were sharpened using the Adjustment Brush set to Clarity and Sharpen. Then in Photoshop I followed this nice little video that Thomas Churchwell shared called Topaz Impression Tutorial to get this final result. On a New Layer some clean up was done first. Then applied Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression and the Iris Blur filter in Photoshop. Used Shadowhouse Creations Old Photo 2 set to Overlay blend mode to add the little framing detail around the side and upper edges by adding a black mask and just painting back the areas I wanted. Then applied the Flypaper Raw Linen texture set to Overlay at 43% layer opacity. That was it – it does have a very old-fashioned feel to it!…..Digital Lady Syd

Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Speaks Out on Topaz Impression
Some Epcot Fun! (and More Impression)


Digital Lady Syd’s Rule No. 12: Try a New Tutorial and Experiment

Image of two pears painted in Corel Painter
I have not done a Digital Lady Syd Rules (okay it s not Photoshop but the concept fits when doing Photoshop also) in a while. This image is just of some pears I sketched and painted in Corel Painter – I was informed that this is something first graders do but it was fun to relearn how to draw pears. I followed a tutorial posted at Peachpit Press by Corel Master Cher Threinen-Pendarvis called Blending and Feathering with Pastels in Painter-2015 – and once again I feel a bit like I was doing a Bob Ross painting. On the other hand, I learned a couple things while doing her tutorial: One is that I can sketch a little bit, and two is that I really like pastel brushes! So this was definitely worth my time to try. I finished up by using one of Melissa Gallo’s beautiful textures called August Copper, and I could not have done this tutorial justice if I had not taken her workshop and studio course on Painter. This was so much fun and I got a couple new brushes to play with at the same time!…..Digital Lady Syd


Just a Frame Flower

Image of a flower in a block frame
Another example of photo masks that French Kiss Collections (see sidebar for website link) sells.  These block masks really make for interesting results when stacked and different textures and colors are added. I like the vintage feel of this image. Check out my Fun Photoshop Blog called How To Use a Photo Frame Mask  to learn more about how to apply this cool effect. Since the process is pretty much the same as in my other blog, I will not bore you with the steps. The flowers were processed using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression using a preset I created from Watercolor II. Two of French Kiss’s Brayered Blocks were used, one with a texture clipped to it and the other with a Pattern Fill Adjustment Layer clipped to it. Then just an old stamp effect and flowers were added. Not too difficult and the results are really unique!…..Digital Lady Syd


Hanging With the Gondolas!

Painted image of some gondolas
Not sure where I got this stock photo image, but thought I would use this one while learning to paint with Corel Painter and Painted Textures wonderful videos. I can see it takes a lot of practice to get good at this. Not too much to this one – just painted on the Canvas and used the Clone Source Panel to do the underpainting. Used several of Melissa’s different brushes and finished up by applying Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle. The Cold Frosty Day preset was used. Back in Photoshop her Impasto Texture 2 texture was applied and set to Overlay blend mode at 68% layer opacity. That was about it. I am really getting into the beautiful paint effects Painter has. Until I get creative again…..Digital Lady Syd


Hot Air Balloons the Disney Way

Image of Hot Air Balloons at Epcot
The beautiful Hot Air Balloons at Epcot in the The Land Pavilion. I always love the color and light in this pavilion. This image was processed very simply. In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) PW4 Clip Fixer and Gentle Blue was applied and with the Adjustment Brush, the detail was improved by using Clarity and Sharpen in the brush. In Photoshop the Shake Reduction filter was applied and then Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression was opened where my SJ Flower Impasto preset was applied which is based on the Impasto I preset. (These are the settings used in my preset: Stroke Brush Type 05, Brush Size 0.61, Paint Volume 0.76, Paint Opacity 0.75, Stroke Rotation 0.00, Stroke Color Variation 0.00, Stroke Width -0.34, Stroke Length 0.19, Spill 0.27, Smudge 0.18, and Coverage 1.00; Color section Overall Saturation 0.17; Lighting section Brightness 0, Contrast 0.29, and Vignette 0 – Light direction x-0.41 y-0.60; and Texture section Strength 0.30, Size 0.69, Canvas I, Background Type Solid White and Background Color #fff7eb. I changed the Spill slider to 0.20 and changed the Texture to Wood I.) Nik Viveza 2 was applied so that the focal point was emphasized, the front balloon, a little more. A Levels Adjustment Layer was applied as a last step. Lots of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd

Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Speaks Out on Topaz Impression
More Painting with Topaz Impression!
Some Epcot Fun! (And More Impression)