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Posts tagged “Topaz ReMask

The Neighborhood Puppy

Image of the Neighborhood Puppy
This is one of the cutest puppies I think I have ever seen. Her name is Kaila and I get to play with her every now and then when she is on one of her neighborhood walks. This time she let me take a few images of her, so I thought I would take advantage of this photo and try out a recent Topaz blog called Cartoon Your Critter – Make Your Pet a Work of Art by Taylor Seaton. I did not follow the steps exactly since my image is not really a cartoon effect, but I liked the final results. So how did I get to this point? Well I used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask, but I also tried Photoshop’s Mask and Select, which gave a great result too, just to see which is is better. (I think the results depend totally on the image IMHO, so if you do not like the results of one, try the other.) I did not like the results Topaz Simplify gave to this image, so Lucis Pro 6.0.9 (unfortunately no longer available) was applied on a duplicate layer of just the selected dog. Again the layer was duplicated and following the Topaz blog, the image was taken into Topaz Impression 2 where the Cartoon Your Critter preset was downloaded from the Community. No changes were made to it. Next Artiste Old Master texture from French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) was placed underneath the dog layer. Topaz has several nice textures in their blog that can be downloaded if a nice one is needed. Then created a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top so it can be taken back into Topaz Impression 2. On separate layers above lots of painting with PS was done to add my own painting flair. On another stamped layer Nik Viveza 2 was applied and just a little bit of vignetting was added along with a little work on the nose and mouth. I really like the results. And as always, it was a lot of fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd


A Bird Christmas Tree

Image of a Masked Lapwing
This bird is a Masked Lapwing that was photographed at the Palm Beach Zoo. I decided I needed to practice some painting so I picked this funny guy who sort of waltzed into my shot. Since the background was not too exciting, I decided to give him a little more holiday spirit by both painting and adding several filters. This image uses a lot of different filters and textures. The background texture is from Kim Klassen called Papertrio Paper and Paste (not sure it is still available but she has some beautiful textures) – applied twice, the second time set to Hard Light at 49% layer opacity. Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask was used to select the bird and put him on his own layer – then used the Mixers to paint him. Used Grut’s MI Sues Hedge brush to soften and get the pretty edging between the brown and white feathers and am finding this to be a very useful mixer! Also used one of Fay Sirkis’s hair blenders. Have to find the right brushes to paint these guys! French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) Myrica Gale png was used for the plant – color was painted on a layer underneath it to add some colors. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Impression 2 was opened and Cezanne 2 preset was applied but masked out the bird to retain my painting strokes. On another stamped layer Topaz ReStyle’s Emerald preset was applied. Set the opacity to 69%. Corel’s Partical Shop was opened and used the Flame brush to paint a little color in the tree leaf and used Cluster brush to add some lights to the plant. Then used the Star brush to create the bright star on top and added a little color in by turning off the Glow and painting a little on the branches. Its Eraser brush was used to soften the effect a little. (See my Intro to Corel ParticleShop Brushes for Photoshop blog.) Back in PS, this layer looked pretty bright so lowered the opacity. Magic Dust Pretty Actions Brush was used to add a little white snow effect on tree and underneath text. Added some texture and clean up was done to finish up……Digital Lady Syd


Just a Flower

Image of an orange Canna Lily
Had some fun painting this Canna Lily growing in my front yard. Used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity and ReMask (to select the flower) before adding one of my textures behind it. Then on a New Layer above, just painted the lily using Jack Davis’s Wow C Oil Blender 2 Mixer Brush that can be downloaded from his Facebook page. Topaz ReStyle was used to soften the color a little using a preset called Cotton Cloud set to Luminosity blend mode at 38% layer opacity. Some lines were added on a layer above and the last step was to add some texture using Just Jaimee Summer 2012 Brush Sampler 4 with a Bevel & Emboss layer style. It was set to Pin Light Blend Mode at 64% layer opacity. Last step used Nik Viveza 2 to emphasize the focal point. Pretty simple and lots of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd

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All Aboard the Bumble Bee Express!

Image of the Bumble Bee Express!
Had to post this wonderful Bumble Bee Express pix (the link is a pretty lame short clip of a zombie riding the train) before the holidays are too far gone! This wonderful train runs every day at the Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach, FL, for all the kids to ride. When I was 5, I wanted one of these as they had one at the local park where I grew up – I got a Lionel Train set instead and was extremely disappointed.

This image used Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity to sharpen it up first, then the train was removed from the background using Topaz ReMask. One of my Corel Painter backgrounds was added – it was stretched out and turned to fit the train, and a couple Hue/Saturation Adjustments Layers were linked to it to get the colors I wanted in the image. Next on a stamped layers (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Glow was opened and my Mysterious II preset was applied with just a change to Red, Orange and Yellow Lightness sliders to adjust the color and set to Normal at 80% layer opacity. (The settings are listed in my Happy New Year With Some Topaz Tricks blog.) Two more stamped layers were created,  and Topaz Impression’s Ethereal Background by Blake Rudis preset was applied and set to Normal at 100% layer opacity on the first layer. Then on the top layer Topaz Impression’s same preset was applied except the Blue Lightness slider was set to 0.45 to calm the blue in the sky down some. The layer mask created using ReMask was copied (ALT+drag up to this layer) and inverted (CTRL+I in the layer mask). This layer was then set to Normal with the layer opacity adjusted to 41%. A text layer was applied using the free Playbill Regular font,and the letters were stretched up some (vertical scale set to 152%) and spread out (tracking set to 80). A yellow watercolor Pattern Overlay was added in the Layer Style for the text to make the colors pop. A Black and White Adjustment Layer set to Luminosity blend mode was added on top to get the color tones just right. Totally fun and brought back a lot of memories!…..Digital Lady Syd


The Lemonade Cart

Image of a painted Lemonade Cart
I have been wanting to use this image of a Lemonade Cart taken a couple years ago at the Annual Turkey Run in Daytona Beach, Florida, but it was too hard to select all the “stuff” around it. That was until Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 4/5 was released. This time, it took a little effort, but overall it came out pretty fast. Once I had the cart on its own layer, it was opened in Topaz Impression and the Renoir II preset was selected with no changes. This blended the cart nicely into my Corel Painter background. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), the layer was opened in Topaz ReStyle and the Native Dancer preset was once again applied (see my How to Use a Topaz ReStyle Trick for Improving Your Image blog.) Several layers of painting with both regular and mixer brushes were used to make sure it did not look like a “canned” painting – I am very sensitive to this so I always try to add some of my own strokes if I use Impression. The bird is from Midnightstouch Egret brushes – these are great for that little extra touch – just be sure to paint them some to blend them into the image……Digital Lady Syd


Showing Off My New Hairdo

Image of a West African Crowned Crane
Just enjoying painting another beautiful bird. They are so much fun to do! This is a West African Crowned Crane taken a while ago at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and is one of the regular exhibits so he can be seen anytime. He just sort of match this Corel Painter texture I had made, so there he is. In his document Topaz (see website link in sidebar) Clarity, Detail, and ReMask were used to adjust the bird itself. Then the ReMask layer was moved into the texture to place it where I wanted him to be. After that just painted the bird on several different layers using the Mixer Brush. Used two different Exposure Adjustment Layers, one for the eye and one for the beak to bring out some sharpness. Then duplicated the original texture twice and set on top – set one to Color Burn at 46% layer opacity and the other to Soft Light at 32%. Created a stamped layer (CTLR+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top and added the Topaz Lens Effects’ Toy Camera filter set to Awesomeness I preset with changes. Back in Photoshop that was set to 39% layer opacity. The last step was to add Nik Viveza 2 to really drill in on the birds face and head feathers. Hope you enjoyed my little bird painting…..Digital Lady Syd


Rookery Security Guard

Image of a Roseate Spoonbill
Just another one of the beautiful birds at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery – this time a rather elderly looking Roseate Spoonbill who seems to be keeping a careful watch over everything going on. I love the color in this type of bird. Pretty much my standard workflow – using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask to cut out the bird from its original surrounding; then placing a texture underneath; adding a New Layer on top and painting over the bird with a Mixer Brush; stacking more texture on top trying different blend modes; adding an Exposure Adjustment Layer to sharpen up the eye; applying Nik Viveza 2 to get the correct tone in the sky around his head; and finally adding a Curves Adjustment Layer for contrast. I never seem to get tired of painting my bird buddies!…..Digital Lady Syd


Singing for Her Adoring Fans

Image of a Snowy Egret on Painted Texture
I just love painting birds and this Snowy Egret was once again a lot of fun to do. This bird was a bit of challenge as there were tree branches in front of her body and feathers. I was able to clean the image up pretty good with clone stamping and then separated the bird from the background using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5. It was not perfect but since I was painting the bird, I could smooth out the feathers and blend them into the background, which I did in Painter. Exposure Adjustment Layers were used for the eye, green around eye, and beak. The texture was duplicated twice and place on top, one set to Multiply blend mode at 23% layer opacity and the other Overlay blend mode at 51% layer opacity. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) on top, Topaz Lens Effect was opened and the Dual Tone filter was used to enhance the reddish fall colors on top and greenish-blue on the bottom. The the Graduated Color filter using the Graduated Green 1 preset as a start to emphasize the green color more in the bottom of the image. That was basically all that was done. Love these birds!…..Digital Lady Syd


Macaws Being Macaws

Image of two macaws
This rather unique image of these two Macaws, a Scarlet and a Blue and Yellow, was taken at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm a while ago. Not sure how I get such funny pictures of birds! I really wanted to take Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReMask 5 through its paces and it worked really great on this image. (See my Digital Lady Syd Reviews Topaz ReMask 5 blog.) After creating a layer mask in ReMask, one of my Painter backgrounds was placed underneath the birds. A Regular brush layer and a Mixer brush layer were used to paint some of the feathers and the branch they were on. Then the texture was duplicated twice and placed above the birds. One was set to Multiply blend mode at 59% layer opacity and one to Overlay blend mode at 60% layer opacity. A stamped layer was placed on top. I felt the birds looked too bright before this was done. Therefore Topaz Lens Effect’s Fog I preset was applied (Amount 0.19, Angle 135.4, and Diffusion 0.14) to get the softer color effect, especially in the lower part of the image. That is all that was done to get this soft feel to these interesting birds…..Digital Lady Syd