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Posts tagged “Topaz Lens Effects

Blowing in the Wind!

Image of a dandelion
Had some fun with this little dandelion – it was taken using my Lensbaby Composer at F/4 using a Macro +4 Lens. In Lightroom just the regular basic adjustments. In Photoshop Nik Viveza 2 was used to lighten up the white strands in the flower. Then Lucis Pro 6.0.9 was applied using the Split Channels. Next Nik Color Efex Pro 4 was opened and 4 filters were added: Detail Extractor, Glamour Glow, Reflector Efex, and Darken/Lighten Center. Can you tell I was having a lot of fun with this one? Next Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects was opened and the Motion filter Type Zoom was centered on the flower to straighten out the strands. In a black layer mask, just the strands were painted back. A Levels Adjustment Layer was used to lighten up the overall image. Next Topaz Texture Effects was used to apply one of my painted textures set to Blend mode Subtract in the plug-in. Back in PS, Melissa Gallo’s Trees in May texture was added and set to Linear Dodge blend mode and 40% layer opacity. That was it! It is so much fun just to play around with an image and I am sure this little dandelion did not care!…..Digital Lady Syd


Firebush Plant Spinning Out of Control!

Image of a painted orange-red Firebush Plant
This bright orange-red Firebush Plant has taken over my front yard – I bought it a little over a year ago in the damaged good area for 75 cents. Wow! This image was taken with my older Lensbaby Composer at F/4 with a Macro +10 Lens attached. In Photoshop the image was duplicated and JixiPix Spectrel Art was applied using the Darken Detail preset – the layer was set to Screen blend mode at 48% layer opacity. On a New Layer Grut Brushes MI Swish Mini Mixer Brush was used to paint the plant and red floral areas. Jai Johnson‘s Soulful Sea Breeze texture was placed above and set to Color Dodge blend mode at 64% layer opacity. Then Melissa Gallo’s Mountain Range Texture (not sure her textures are available anymore) was applied above and set to Color Dodge at 34% layer opacity. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was clipped to this layer (CTRL+ALT between the layers) and the Saturation was set to 0 so no color comes through, just the painterly texture. On a stamped layer above (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Motion Blur filter centered on the flower. On another stamped layer, the now free Nik Viveza 2 was used to further emphasize the focal point. Have a great day!…..Digital Lady Syd


Fantasy Flowers

Image of flowers painted in Paintstorm Studio and Photoshop
This image was painted in both Paintstorm Studio and Photoshop. The flowers and part of the background was created using brushes on separate layers in Paintstorm Studio (see my Paintstorm Studio Fun! Fun Photoshop blog for more info on this inexpensive program). Then the PSD file was brought into Photoshop and more tweaking was done. Reflections in the water was made by creating a group of the flowers, duplicating and merging it, and then Free Transforming by dragging straight down. Then the opacity was lowered quite a bit. Used 2 Lil Owls (see sidebar for website link) After the Rain 41 texture set to 23% layer opacity and with a blue to white to blue Gradient Adjustment Layer on top. Used a painting layer to added some plant effects on the water and Obsidian Dawn’s Bird Grouping 2 was placed on top. The birds were selected using the Color Range Command and setting to Shadows – then applied the layer mask to get just the birds in the image. Next a Pattern Gradient Adjustment Layer and a Solid Color Adjustment Layer were clipped (ALT+Click between the layers) to give the birds the color. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects was opened and the Diffusion filter applied. Back in PS, a black layer mask was added (ALT+click on layer mask icon at bottom of Layer Panel) and just the reflections were painted back – this is where I wanted a softer look. On another stamped layer Nik Viveza 2 was applied to drive the eye more to the focal point, the purple flowers. On a couple of new layers a little cross hatching was painted in the corners and some clean up on some of the flowers that were too bright. A splatter layer was created around the flowers – I just like the effect! The last step was to add a Curves Adjustment Layer. Just lots of fun to create!…..Digital Lady Syd


My, What Big Eyes You Have!

Image of a building in West Palm Beach, Florida
This image was taken from my car – I just loved the color of the building. Who knew it actually looks like a bird face in the windows. I actually thought it would make a nice image to paint, so I did. This time it was painted in Photoshop using Lori Jill’s class called Turn Your Photos Into Paintings Using Photoshop, which uses Photoshop’s default action called Mixer Brush Cloning Paint Setup and her brushes. Lori is the only person I know teaching how to really use this action effectively.  For finishing steps, 2 Lil’ Owls (see sidebar for website link) After the Rain texture was applied and Topaz Lens Effects (see sidebar for website link) Gold Reflector filters was added. It was a lot of fun to paint again……Digital Lady Syd

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A Peaceful Place

Image of a quite place at the Philip Huilitar Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, Florida
This image is a of a nice quite place at the Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, Florida. In Photoshop two layers were opened in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression and different presets were used to get this effect. The first preset was one of mine that was based on a Colored Pencil preset. But I did not like the effect on the bottom foreground grassy area. Therefore one of Blake Rudis called Abstract Settings was used for this area by removing the effect from the top of the image in a layer mask. Then on two more different layers Topaz Lens Effects was opened using Toy Camera Soft and Dreamy preset with the Vignette and Camera Shake turned off, and a Selective Vignette using the Soft Olive Green preset. As a final step, Nik Viveza 2 was used to draw the focus to the statue a little more clearly. I really like the way the painterly effect turned out!…..Digital Lady Syd

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Red-Winged Bug on a White Flower

Image of a Red-Winged Bug on a White Flower
This was just a fun image to do – loved the colors in the bug. Just used my basic workflow – used Lucis Pro 6.0.9, Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3, Black and White Adjustment Layer, Topaz Lens Effects Reflector and Vignette filters, and Red Channel Curves Adjustment Layer along with lots of clean up. Used a Hatch Brush on lost of this image. Lots of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd

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Texture Everywhere!

Image of Symbiotic Plants in a Palm Tree
I love this image because of all the textures in it. These are symbiotic plants growing in the Palm, but I am not really sure what kind – the brown plant appears to be a type of Spanish Moss. The light was pretty nice on the green plant so it created a nice contrast in the image. In Lightroom just Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Kodrachrome preset was applied to the image. In Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was used to sharpen up the plant and the moss – a black mask was applied and just those areas were painted back. A Black and White Adjustment Layer was used to adjust the values in the image to emphasize the focal point, then switched its blend mode to Luminosity and kept the adjustment. (See my How To See if You Captured the Focal Point blog.) A Camera Raw filter was applied on a Composite Layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) using the Radial Tool and adding just a little Exposure (+o.35) and Yellow Temperature (+70) to the image. This tip I learned from Matt Kloskowski Lightroom Tip: Relighting a Scene with the Radial Filter. On a new Composite Layer, Topaz Lens Effects Vignette Selective filter using the Medium Vignette preset with slider adjustments and Opacity set to 61.39 was applied. That was it. The texture is what I really like with these adjustments…..Digital Lady Syd


Sweet Alyssum Royal Carpet Flowers

Image of some purple and white flowers from the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida
The beautiful little flowers called Sweet Alyssum Royal Carpet were found growing at the Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida this Spring. This background was duplicated (CTRL+J) in Photoshop and Lucis Pro 6.0.9 in Split Mode was applied (Settings: Mix With Original Image 45/55; Assign Original Image Color 0/100; Enhance Detail Red Channel 113/Green 233 with Smooth set to 19/Blue 199) – see my Digital Lady Syd Reviews Lucis Pro 6.0.9 (Now Affordable!) blog. Duplicated this layer and applied Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Generous Diffusion preset – a layer mask was added and the focal points were painted black to remove the softness in those areas. Duplicated layer again and added in Lens Effects the Soft Olive Green Vignette set to a Vignette Strength of -0.46 and a low opacity of 28.71. Last step was to add a Black and White Adjustment Layer to emphasize the focal points and set it to Luminosity – see my How To use a Black & White Adjustment Layer To See Contrast in an Image blog. These flowers look almost like little wildflowers growing along a road…..Digital Lady Syd


Looking Innocent!

Image of the face of a Jaquar from the Jacksonville Zoo
Loved how this beautiful Jaguar turned out taken at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida. In Lightroom tried to really bring out the colors so image could be painted in Photoshop. This image was actually of the cat walking, but his face was so beautiful, I decided to crop close. First the image was painted on several different layers using mostly mixer brushes. Brightened eyes using an Exposure Adjustment Layer (see How To Do a Quick Eye Sharpening in Photoshop blog). Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Reflector filter’s Gold Left was used to lighten the left side of the face. On a composite layer (CTLR+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Texture Effects’s Crisp Morning Run preset (with these changes: Basic Adjustment Brightness -0.27, Shadow -0.29, Highlight 0.17, Clarity -0.60, Sat 0.11, Temp -0.40, Tint 0.05, and Opacity 0.80). On a new Composite Layer, Nik Viveza 2 (now free) was applied to just the nose to brighten it up just a little more in the image. And as a final step, a Black and White Adjustment Layer was opened to just make sure my focal point stood out correctly (see How To See If you Captured the Focal Point). Really liked the final effect!…..Digital Lady Syd


Totally Stuffed!

Sloan's Ice Cream Shop at Cityplace, West Palm Beach, Florida
This image is of an Sloan’s Ice Cream at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Florida – wish I knew the name of the store. In Lightroom just the Basic Panel adjustments were made. In Photoshop, a clean up layer was done to remove distracting sales tags, etc. Created a composite layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and Lucis Pro 6.0.9 was opened to apply the classic effect from this plug-in. (See my Digital Lady Syd Reviews Lucis Pro 6.0.9 (Now Affordable!) blog.) Settings for this plug-in were: Preview Scan Line 8 and Processing Scan Lines 50; Mix With Original Image 100%/0%; Assign Original Image Color 0%/100%; Red Enhance 53 and Smooth 23, Green 51, and Blue 39.  Back in Photoshop the layer was duplicated and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects was opened where the Burnt Sienna preset was used with a few adjustments. That was it!…..Digital Lady Syd


The Sculpture Called Reaching

Image of the Sculpture called Reaching
This bronze sculpture called Reaching was created by Edward Fenno Hoffmann, III, in 1963 and is very striking. The image was taken at the Society of the Four Arts’s Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, Florida. It used Technique 1 on the Lucis Pro 6.0.9 website where both their Single Channel mode (47% layer opacity) and Split Channel mode (73% layer opacity) are applied on separate layers. (Settings for the Single Channel mode layer were: Enhance Detail of 55, Smooth Detail of 10 , and Mix with Original Image of 10% processed and 90% original. Settings for the Split Channel mode layer were: same Enhance Detail and Smooth Detail settings as Single Channel mode but no Mix with Original Image.) This image shows how little an amount is needed to get that classic Lucis look we all love. The vignette is from Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects – Add Vignette Selective filter set to Medium (Strength -0.46 and Opacity 39.60). Not much else was done to get this lovely effect on the beautiful sculpture. For more information on the Lucis Pro 6.0.9 plug-in, check out my Digital Lady Syd Reviews Lucis Pro 6.0.9 (Now Affordable!) blog……Digital Lady Syd


Quietly Standing Out

Landscape painting with a red fox
Sometimes it just feels good to paint! Totally enjoyed trying out and practicing with Melissa Gallo’s Painting Spring brushes and paper (still have a lot to learn but enjoying it immensely). Once the basic background was painted, it was brought into Photoshop to finish up. The impasto effect was created using Kyle Webster’s Impasto Kit – Super Light Gesso 2 layer style with the Natural Media Knit Pin brush from Grut.com to paint in the snowy effect. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects’s Polarization filter using the Bottom Half 2 Stops preset was applied. The Fox was created on its own layer using a free brush from Fox-russdepress.com and adjusting it to match my image. Topaz Texture Effects’s 1 Color Burst II was added without the vignette effect. Last step was to add Nik Viveza 2 (now free) to really showcase the fox. That was it! Loved painting this image!…..Digital Lady Syd


Spring Is in the Air!

Painted Flowers using Paintstorm Studio
I really love painting flowers in Paintstorm Studio as the colors look so wonderful. Therefore the three pretty blossoms were painted using several Paintstorm brushes – a watercolor brush, a cross hatch brush, and two manga hair brushes for the leaves. Then in Photoshop a brush from Ruan Jia called Leaf 5 with some hatching texture added and color to create the flowers on the ground – scroll down to find download and check out all the other sources of some wonderful brushes. The birds are from a Lost & Taken set photo IMG 4721 set to Multiply blend mode at 33% layer opacity (not sure these are still available) and a Pattern Fill Adjustment Layer with a watercolor pattern was clipped to it to give a little texture to the birds. The background texture is one I created in Painter a while back. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Graduated Neutral Density filter using 1 Stop Bottom preset. Finally Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (now free) was added using these filters:  Darken/Lighten Center, Film Efex Vintage, White Neutralized, and Vignette Filter. That was it. I really like the results!…..Digital Lady Syd


Hanging Out with the Family

Image of a Mandrill at the Jacksonville Zoo
I decided to see if I could paint this interesting Mandrill family image a taken at the Jacksonville Zoo a few months ago. I wish I had had time to watch them for a little longer – the center monkey is a male with a female and male on the sides.

I was not sure how the fur would turn out painted, but with a little experimenting it can be done. I first separated the monkeys from their really dark busy background using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5 – still the best in my mind for doing this type of selection. Next a texture was added that I had created a long time ago – rather plain but with lots of texture in it. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was placed above the texture to make a pleasing color to match with the monkeys. The monkey ReMask layer mask was applied to the image so painting could begin – I always duplicate this layer and then turn off the original in case something was missed and the mask needs to be redone. Ten layers of painting were used to get the effect needed  – all brushes were Fay Sirkis (it’s a shame but I do not think her Child Portrait or Pet Brushes are available anymore even from KelbyOne). Her Palette Knife Soft Blender was used to get the nice fur fluff look – moved the Shape of the brush to match the direction I was painting. Her Portrait Child Blender was used to get the detail areas for the faces. And her Portrait Children Single Hair Blender to add some individual hairs. On a stamped layer Topaz Lens Effects’s Toy Camera Awesomeness I preset with the Camera Shake set to 0 was applied. Last step was to use Nik Viveza 2 (now a free to download) to emphasize his eyes and get a soft overall vignette effect around the edges. Hope you enjoyed…..Digital Lady Syd


Standing Guard

Painted image of a Wrinkled Hornbill
This Wrinkled Hornbill bird was taken at the Jacksonville Zoo. These birds looked like they were having so much fun flying across their enclosure and trading places on the various tree branches. Looked like a marvelous game from my childhood! This image took a long time to paint. Just followed my normal process of selecting the bird and in this case some branches in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5. Underneath he original background was actually kept, but one of my Corel Painter backgrounds was added above and set to Darken blend mode at 82% layer opacity. The background details are actually a large plant that was hanging across the back. The texture changed how they look. Lots of painting layers and Topaz Lens Effects was used to add some golden reflector effect. Nik Viveza 2 was used to adjust the focal point. 2 Lil’ Owls (see sidebar for website link) overlay texture Color Bokeh Grunge Set 3 was used on top and a layer mask was used to bring back the bird. That was it – pretty standard. These birds are so much fun to paint!…..Digital Lady Syd


A Spring Scene

Painted image of a Spring scene
Just having some fun here. Created the original image in Corel Painter – got stuck and came into Photoshop to finish up the image. The basic structure, flowers and plants were created in Painter using various brushes. In Photoshop the DoDo bird Hummingbird were from a scrapbook set called HappyUnBday by Mischief Circus (this is one of my favorite sets) and the Butterflies are from a set called Intermixture Elements & Papers by Algera Designs. A texture called Clouds Over the Pasture from Jai Johnson was added underneath and set to Hard Light blend mode – it gives the beautiful light around the bird. Several layers were added where some texture was added in using plant brushes and texture brushes. Nik Viveza 2 was used twice and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects three times to get this final result. Also some Impasto layers were used on the plants to give a little 3-D effect to the image. This actually took quite a while as I just could not get the feel I liked. I think it is now complete!…..Digital Lady Syd


Here’s Looking at You!

Image of a Malayan Tiger at the Jacksonville Zoo
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).


The Mighty Jaguar

Image of a Jaguar from the Jacksonville Zoo
Took this image at the Jacksonville Zoo a couple days ago – the original is totally unremarkable and I did not think it would turn out nice at all. Just thought it would be a good challenge to see what I could do with it. I will actually post some much better pictures of these beautiful cats later. Normally I would give you step-by-step, but this was a pretty heavy workflow so I will just tell you what all it took. The biggest problem was the chain-length fence that went through his body. Since I could not get close enough to the fence to get rid of the distortion, I had to paint it away. The fence was selected and a Curves Adjustment Layer was used to reduce the effect. Then three more Curves Adjustment Layers before I was ready to paint him. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Adjust using French Countryside (my favorite) preset and several slider adjustments to get the color in the cat that I liked. Then I went into Corel Painter and painted a background that matched his colors. Put the background on top of the cat and painted the cat in with a layer mask. Next painted using 7 layers and both mixers and regular brushes (my SJ Pastel 3 painting brush mainly – do a search at my Fun Photoshop Blog for settings). Used Nik Viveza 2 to emphasize his face. Used Blur Gallery to soften the foreground, Liquify Filter to make his eye a little larger, Topaz Lens Effects for some special reflector and graduated filter effects, and Camera Raw Filter to bring out the orange effect just a bit more. Last step, Topaz Restyle using the Tawny Tint. That about did it but it was a pretty big process. I just love painting the big cats!…..Digital Lady Syd


Putting Your Best Side Forward

Image of a painted Roseate Spoonbill
This lovely Roseate Spoonbill is totally enjoying a beautiful morning. This type of bird always seems to have a happy expression on their face – totally a joy to watch them. This image was taken at my favorite bird place, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Not much new with the painting workflow – just a painted background I did in Corel Painter and some Mixer brushes and Regular brushes in Photoshop. As you know I am a big fan of Fay Sirkis’s Photoshop Mixer brushes and this image used her Palette Knife Tap n Blend brush to get the fluffy effect on the body. The only place I know where her brushes are available is over at KelbyOne, and sometimes at Photoshop World when she is presenting. The light effect was created using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects’ Reflector filter set to Gold Right preset – gives a soft subtle light effect. Used Nik Viveza 2 to bring the face in focus. Totally enjoyed painting this beautiful bird!…..Digital Lady Syd


Underwater Fantasy

Underwater image with fish
This image took a lot longer than I expected to complete – but still a lot of fun to do. I had the image of some coral in a case at a SeaWorld Orlando store and wanted to use it in an underwater adventure image. It turned out totally different from what I expected but that still is a lot of fun to just see what happens!

Basically the coral was cut from the image using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5. It did a fair job and a lot of touch up of the layer mask had to be done once back in Photoshop due to the complexity and similar background color to the coral in the image. My next step was to add a couple PixelSquid fish into the image (see my How To Use the PixelSquid Add-On in Photoshop blog). One of my spiral textures was used for the background and the layer was taken into Topaz Impression where the Turner Sunset II preset was applied. The fish and coral layers were grouped, duplicated and top group merged to create a single layer. This layer was then taken into Topaz Impression and Edward Hopper II preset was applied to it. Some bubbles were added using using the Glitter Brush created in my Some Christmas Cheer and Resources blog was used to add some softening effect around the coral, and on some separate layers, Fay Sirkis’s Bubble Wrap Highlights Mixer brush was used to add in the more obvious bubbles. Next the eyes were sharpened using the Exposure Adjustment Layers. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Topaz Lens Effects was opened and the Reflector filter brightening the left side of the image and the Graduated Neutral Density Filter to darken the bottom part of the image was applied. Last step used Nik Viveza 2 to direct focus to the main fish. Whew! Hope you have a wonderful holiday!…..Digital Lady Syd


Visiting with a Friend

Painted image of a Marabou Stork
This Marabou Stork resides at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in Florida. He and the West African Crowned Crane are there to greet you when you visit the Birds of Africa section. I so enjoy painting the birds that do not have a very distinguished look about them and give them a more beautiful place to enjoy. I get the sense this guy is totally content living in St. Augustine although far away from his normal habitat.

Just followed my regular painting workflow from previous blogs. This time added some grain in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) as it gave it sort of a magical old feel. The hardest part about this image was how sharp he appears – very hard to soften his edges and look natural, especially his feet. Topped off the image using my favorite plug-in of all time – Nik Viveza 2……Digital Lady Syd


Wading in the Water

Image of Beach Birds in the Tidal Waters
These little guys were enjoying the tidal waters at Daytona Beach, Florida. I believe the bigger bird is a Laughing Gull and smaller one a Sanderling from the Sandpiper family. These birds were all over the place and seemed quite tame on the beach. These birds were painted in Photoshop. Added a solid color turquoise layer and in a layer mask painted back area to be seen.  Used one of my Corel Painter textures that was a very smooth beige tone. Then used Fay Sirkis’s Photoshop Erodible Tip Pastels to paint the birds and reflections. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Reflector Filter to add some directed light and warm up the scene. The beaks and eyes were sharpened. A little Nik Viveza 2 to finish up so the focus is on the birds and less on the reflections. Very simple process but fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd


Enjoying the View!

Painted Image of Tourist Cabins in the Mountains\
This is an image from a black and white photo that I found on Shorpy‘s, one of my favorite websites of old-time photos. These are tourist cabins in Georgia from March of 1936. I spent a lot of time painting this image – used lots of Fay Sirkis’s mixers from her Four Seasons set and used several regular brushes. One of my textures created in Corel Painter was used for the background. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects Toy Camera Filter was applied using the Awesomeness I with the camera shake turned off. Otherwise that was about it. Just lots of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd


Looking for Dinner

Painted image of an egret in a stream
This is an image I created mainly in Corel Painter using John Lowther’s Landscape brushes – still learning how to use them but they are beautiful brushes! I have done a couple different iterations of this image, but I think I like this one the best. My birds are always my favorite subjects so here is another one. I did have to use Photoshop to add the egret (in the set called rEgrets I’ve Had A Few by Midnight Touch that are really nice egret brushes). Once the bird was added, used the Mixer brush to add detail and color to the face and body. Frostbo Grass Set 2 brushes (my favorite Photoshop grass and reed brushes!) were used on individual layers and a Gaussian Blur filter set to a Radius of 3 was used to soften the strokes to fit in with Painter reeds and grasses. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Lens Effects was opened and the Single Tone Filter set to Morning preset was applied to warm it up. Topaz ReStyle was opened and the Zambezi Zest preset was used to bring out some more autumn looks – in ReStyle the Color Style was set to Soft Light Blend Mode and then back in Photoshop the layer was set to 65% opacity. A Solid Color Adjustment Layer was set to medium gray, Color blend mode, and 55% layer opacity -the areas I wanted to appear a little more vivid was painted back in the layer mask. That was it! It took a while to get this the way I wanted it. Just takes some experimentation. Lots of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd