In honor of Epcot‘s International Food and Wine Festival, this Mickey Mouse topiary greets you at the entrance. I loved this image but it presented a real problem since the trees behind Mickey were essentially the same color as the topiary. That is when I decided to use Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression to get Mickey to stand out. In Lightroom used Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) PW4’s Magic Harsh Sun Flare Fixer preset and then his Radispot preset (radial filter was placed on Mickey’s head) to get as much contrast as possible between the colors. On a duplicate background layer in Photoshop Topaz Impression was opened where my SJ Watercolor Background preset (started with Watercolor II preset and these were the final settings: Stroke Type 09, Brush Size 0.50, Paint Volume 0.68, Paint Opacity 0.82, Stroke Width 0.44, Stroke Length 0.38, Spill 0.09, Smudge 0, Coverage 1.00, Color Overall Saturation -0.02 and Lightness -0.04; Red Sat 0.41, Orange Sat 0.43 and Yellow Sat 0.43; Lighting Brightness 0.17, Contrast -0.29, Vignette 0, and Light Direction X0.52 and Y1.00; and Texture Strength 0.16, Size -0.68, Angled Weave and white background color) was applied. Back in Photoshop on a layer mask Mickey and his salad were lightly painted back. This layer gave the colorful background effect. This layer was duplicated and it was now opened up in Topaz Simplify and my SJ Hawaiian Landscape preset was applied (my settings are Global Adjustments: Simplify Colorspace RGB, Simplify Size 0.29, Feature Boost 0, Detail Strength 0.66, Details Boost 1.00, Details Size 0.27, Remove Small 0.06, and Remove Weak 0.10; Adjust Brightness 0, Contrast 1.00, Saturation 1.04, Saturation Boost 1.32, Dynamics 0, Structure 1.00, Structure Boost 1.00; Edges Edge Type Color Edge-Normal, Edge Strength 1.89, Simplify Edge 0.58, Reduce Weak 33.00, Reduce Small 0.20, and Fatten Edge 0.00; Did not use the Structure slider – too busy and the Dynamics slider works like Clarity and it brought the background out too much). Simplify added some extra contrast to Mickey – a black layer mask was added (hold down ALT key while clicking on the Mask icon at bottom of Layers Panel). Some clean up was done but basically this was all that was done. As I keep saying, “Got to love Mickey!”…..Digital Lady Syd
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Some Painter Magic!
I will be honest and say this is a totally “Bob Ross” Joy of Painting type of image I created in Corel Painter 2015. This was done by following the painting instruction of Corel Master Melissa Gallo’s videos in her Painter for Photographers Workshop. Am really enjoying her artistic teachings and brushes. Also in Photoshop used Nik Viveza 2 to enhance parts of this image to get the color saturation I liked. That was it! Fun! Fun! Fun!……Digital Lady Syd
Some Mums for Fall
Just some mums taken at Orlando Airport recently and painted in the new Corel Painter 2015 update. This image was cloned in Painter using painted following the video Painter Cloning tools with professional photographer and digital painter Melissa Gallo. All the brushes she used in this short video along with one from Fay Sirkis called Background Edge Bubbles were used to paint it. Then in Photoshop Nik’s Viveza 2 was used to push the eye toward the lower left flower. A Levels Adjustment Layer was added and that was it. This was totally fun and pretty quick! Oh yes, Melissa just released her new Painter for Photographers Workshop – hope to show everyone some new paintings soon!…..Digital Lady Syd
A Little Dreamy Auto FX
This simple yellow hibiscus flower image was taken on my back porch. When opened in Auto FX Software’s Free Sampler, I got a very nice sort of dreamy effect. (These were the settings used in the plug-in: First Layer – Mystical Tint Tone and Color – Soften Details – Used paintbrush and painted paver bkgd lines using Size 66, Opacity 70, Feather 100, and these Soften Details – Mode Brush On, Opacity 40, Vibrancy 20, Softness 20, Saturation -42, Brightness -18, and Contrast 0. Second Layer – Mystical Tint Tone and Color – Lighten and Sharpen – Used Mode Brush On and painted in center of yellow hibiscus to sharpen the stamen and red color using Size 65, Opacity 62, and Feather 69, and Lighten & Sharpen Opacity 84, Lighten 60, Tonal Range 84, Fuzziness 5 and Sharpen Details 76. Third Layer – Mystical Tint Tone and Color – Vitality Mode Global using these settings: Midtone Softness 71, MidTone Strength 40, Highlight Softness 52, Highlight Strength 17, Saturation 30, Brightness -1, and Contrast 20. Was able to brush on center to make white stand out more using Brush Palette Size 200, Opacity 97, and Feather 100. Fourth Layer – Dreamy Photo – Ghost Type Soft, Blur 10, Blend 70, Ghosting 2, Tint Color 25 (r229/g186/b160), Soften Mask 5, and Zoom offset 0.) Then Nik Viveza 2 was opened and four control points were used to get the correct brightness in each of the objects. Last step was added my free B&W Border Frame layer style – sampled the peach color for the Inner Glow color. Overall I think the image turned out to be very pretty!…..Digital Lady Syd
Painting a Painter
This wonderful lady was diligently painting away on the gorgeous wooden figures in her display at the Mexico Pavilion in The World Showcase at Epcot, Disney World Orlando. Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Magic Ugly Shade Fixer was used in Lightroom on the image and set to 46% opacity by using The Fader Lightroom add on. (Can download for free to use on the packaged Lightroom presets, and for a $25 registration fee it will work on all presets – I find it very handy at times.) Then in Photoshop Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was applied only adjusting the medium and large details a little bit (Detail Overall Medium Details 0.38 and Large Details 0.16 and Tone Contrast 0.30 and Shadows -0.01). The new Topaz Impression plug-in was opened and the Oil Painting II preset was applied with no changes. Then because I can, Nik’s Analog Pro 2 plug-in was opened and Detail Adjustments, Light Leaks, Film Type and Multilens were applied. Just thought the Multilens was interesting for a change. A Color Balance Adjustment Layer was added and a 2 Lil’ Owls Studio (see sidebar for website link) texture Confetti 13 was added and set to Color blend mode at 32% layer opacity – just needed to counteract the overwhelming yellow tones naturally. Some Mixer Brush clean up was done on a New Layer using my Chalk Brush as a mixer. And that was it. Not really that difficult – I liked the Oil Painting II preset from Impression. By just painting over some of the rough edges with a Mixer, I got the look I wanted. Anyway, it was fun to do!…..Digital Lady Syd
New Impression of Octopus and Seahorse
These cute octopus and seahorse were located at the The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion in Epcot, Disney World Orlando. Been having fun trying out Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Impression so thought I would try the plug-in out on a different type of image. This turned out to be a lot of fun to do! In Lightroom Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Power Workflow 4 Harsh Sun Fixer and Tint Golden Sepia presets were applied, then one by CV Delnea called Backlit Horizontal Right. In Photoshop a New Layer was added and some clean up was done. On a stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) Topaz Detail 3 was opened to apply just a little sharpening to the medium and large size details. A New Stamped Layer was created on top and duplicated (CTRL+J). The bottom new stamped layer was highlighted and Topaz Impression was opened. The Cave Dweller II preset was applied with no changes. On the top stamped layer, my SJ Colored Pencil preset was applied. (What’s in my SJ Colored Pencil preset? It was based on the Colored Pencil II preset and these are my settings: Stroke: Type 07, Brush Size 0.90, Paint Volume 0.77, Paint Opacity 0.20, Stroke Width -0.82, Stroke Length -0.25, Spill 0.26, Smudge 0.16, and Coverage 1.00; Color: Overall Saturation 0.37, Red Hue 0.70, Red Saturation 0.32, and Red Lightness 0.00 – this turns the reds cyan and gives the preset an ugly color so don’t change these sliders if it is not a look you need; Lighting Brightness 0.21, Contrast -0.40, and Light Direction x1.00 y1.00; and Texture: Strength 0.33 Size 0.00, Texture Paper I, and Background color white. For this image these changes were made my preset: only Color Section changes to Red sliders all set back to 0; Orange Saturation to 0.27; and Aqua Hue -0.37.) A layer mask was added to this layer and areas I wanted showing from the layer below were painted in with a soft round black brush set to 30% brush opacity (mainly the eyes and the seahorse needed some additional definition and extra texture to the leg in the air). Three New Layers were added above. With my regular chalk brush (Photoshop’s Chalk 60 with Shape Dynamics Angle Jitter at 19%), the octopus body was clean up with a pink color. Then on the next layer the same brush as a Mixer to add some color to the octopus head. (These settings were used in the Mixer to get the effect shown on the octopus head – in the Brush Panel the Scatter section was turned on and Scatter set to 133%, check both axis, and Count 1; Texture turned on and a Canvas texture set to 160% and inverted with Mode set to Color Burn, Depth 100 and Jitter Depth 59%; and Wet Edges turned on.) and on top layer painted in some color to the octopus leg in the air and reduced the layer opacity to 61%. A Sponged Edge border from French Kiss (see sidebar for website link) with a green Solid Color Adjustment Layer clipped to it (ALT+click between the layers) and a Curves Adjustment Layer were added. That was it and I really liked the results. I especially liked the way the background greenery came out. Give this plug-in a try if you have a minute……Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Speaks Out on Topaz Impression
Checking Out the Feathers
I am apparently going through a vintage feel period. Loved this little boy at the Native American Festival held in Ormond Beach, Florida, each year. He was extremely intrigued by the feathers in the beautiful costume the older man was wearing. Totally loved this shot! Not much to the post-processing in this image – in Lightroom applied Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Magic Ugly Shade Fixer and Dave Delnea’s C+V Washed Vintage 001 preset. In Photoshop ran the Shake Reduction filter. Then Topaz (see sidebar for website link) DeNoise 5 due to the added artifacts from the Shake Reduction filter – set Overall to 0.31. A black layer mask was added to the layer (hold the ALT button while clicking on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel) and just painted back his face, hat and sleeve areas as I liked the grainy feel in the rest of the image. Added a Curves Adjustment Layer to add some contrast to the image. Nik’s Viveza 2 was opened and a control point was added to his face to lighten and direct attention to that area. Back in Photoshop a New Layer was added and some clean up was done. A Selective Color Adjustment Layer was added and some of the bright orange in the background was softened so it was not so distracting. Filled the layer mask black by CTRL+I in the mask to invert it and painted back just the distracting areas to soften. Created a Stamped layer on top (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and my free SJ Mid Size Double Edge Frame was applied using colors from the image. Lots of fun just to play with an image!…..Digital Lady Syd
Universal Family Fun!
Just a quick fun picture taken at Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, earlier this year. This is the Caro-Seuss-el ride, similar to the Flying Elephants at the Magic Kingdom. Added Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Crosslight Warm preset in Lightroom. In Photoshop rand the Shake Reduction filter – seem to work really well on hand-held images. Next the Mixer Brush was used to remove the heavy shading on the children’s faces. Since I felt like doing a vintage image, ran Nik’s Analog Efex Pro 2 filter using a preset I created called Flat Vintage Look – used Basic Adjustments and two control points were placed on the kids; Light Leaks using the Soft leak 1st column and 2nd row – gave a really bleached out look coming from the right so the Strength was set way down to 28%; Lens Vignette – just a little setting Amount t0 -53% to slightly darken down the corners; Film Type Warm Nikko 2 set to a Strength of 24% and no grand (set to 470); and Levels and Curves adding some Luminosity and blue tones. Little more clean up on the faces and a Curves Adjustment Layer. Last step was Nik’s Viveza 2 with control points on the children’s faces to draw attention, especially to the little girl. That was it! ….. Digital Lady Syd
A Quiet Evening At the Marina
This is a beautiful image of the boats in Camanchee Cove in St. Augustine, Florida, at sunset. In Lightroom I applied David duChemin’s B-W Kathmandu Neutral preset, and then adjusted the HSL tweaking and some slight Split Toning to get this look. Opened in Photoshop and Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 was applied using my Small Medium Large Detail preset (Medium Details 0.38, Large Details 0.16, and Contrast 0.30), and then in a layer mask the sky was painted out so that the clouds did not look too crisp. On a New Layer there were a few highlight areas that needed to be painted over. A Levels Adjustment Layer was added on top and set the Output Levels to 0 and 165 – first time I have ever moved the white tab left on this slider, but it just slightly darkened down the image the way I wanted it to look. A stamped layer was created (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) and SJ B&W Border Frame from my free Double Edge Frames Photoshop Layer Style was added with colors sampled from the image. Hope you enjoy the photo!…..Digital Lady Syd
There’s a Leopard on the Floor!
Just having fun here. Took this image of a Snow Leopard Rug at the Native American Festival in Ormond Beach, Florida. No, I do not believe it was a real snow leopard skin, but it caught my eye so I snapped a shot. In Lightroom just used Seim’s (see sidebar for website link) Power Workflow 4 Super Hero X WhiBal and Tint 82A Cooling presets. Next in Photoshop I applied the Shake Reduction filter – seem to be getting good results with this. On a duplicate layer, the image was opened up in Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Black & White Effects and a preset I had created a while back was applied (settings for my SJ Sky and Green Preset are: Conversion section Basic Exposure Contrast 0.02, Brightness 0.02, Boost Blacks 0.71 and Boost Whites 0.25; Adaptive Exposure 0.62, Regions 34, Protect Highlights and Shadows 0.01, Detail 2.47, Detail Boost 1.04, and check Process Details Independently; Creative Effects Diffusion Softness 0.17, Diffusion 0.69, and Diffusion Transition 0.50; Local Adjustments Detail Brush (Brush Size 110, Opacity 0.45, Hardness 0.01 and Edge Aware 1.00) and painted over eyes and some of the facial features in the face; with Burn brush painted in (using a small Brush Size 10, Opacity 0.23, Hardness 0, and Edge Aware 1.00) some of the hairs around the face and up to the ear; and using the Color Brush with the same settings painted in the eyes and a bit of the nose; Finishing Touches Silver and Paper Tone set to Tonal Strength 0.19, Balance 0, Silver Hue 42.58, Silver Tone Strength 0.46, Paper Hue 46.48, and Paper Tone Strength 0.48; Quad Tone Color 1 Region (black) set to 0.00, Color 2 Region (R3/G36/B22) set to 67.18, Color 3 Region (R214/G223/B238) set to 146.6, and Color 4 Region Set (white) set to 255.0; Vignette Center – had to center on the right eye since clicking on the image in a whitish area left a noticeable white blog – think it is a glitch in the plug-in, Vignette Strength -0.25, Vignette Size 0.01, Vignette Transition 0.17, and Vignette Curvature 0.50; and Transparency slider set to 0.89). On a New Layer some clean up was done to remove distracting objects. On a stamped layer on top (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E), Nik Analog Efex Pro 2 was applied (settings for my preset SJ Blown Out Beach: Basic Adjustment Detail Extractor 18%, Brightness -10%, Contrast 13%, and Saturation 0%; Light Leaks Strength 13% and Soft First leak upper left with control point placed in upper right to darken down the corner showing Texture Strength set to 68%; Lens Vignette Amount 36%, Circle under ct in Rectangle, and Size 72% with the vignette set over the left eye; and Levels & Curves Opacity set to 70% and just bumping up the end of right bottom curve to 0/2 in the RGB curve, and dragged down the curve in the middle of the Luminosity slider to pop the picture a little). Nik Viveza 2 was added on another stamped layer and 6 control points were added – each corner was darkened down a little and softened by moving the Structure slider to the negative side, and a control point was placed on his face to brighten it up to draw the eye. Back in Photoshop a New Layer was created and just the eyes and nose were sharpened. On a final stamped layer my free SJ Thin Double Edge Frame layer style was added and colors sampled from the image. That was all that was done – just basically followed my Plug-in Workflow (see Digital Lady Syd’s Plug-in Workflow)…..Digital Lady Syd
Topaz Labs AI Gigapixel
Check out AI Gigapixel stand-alone software for upsizing your images. It’s incredible! And it can now be used as a plugin when in Photoshop. Also Topaz Labs Photo AI has some great sharpening and denoise tools along with Photo Video AI.
Luminar Neo
Click here to visit Luminar for more info and check out their new AI Filters.
GRUT BRUSHES – Photoshop Brushes for Digital Artists
Click here to visit GrutBrushes.com
And be sure to check out his Free Brush of the Week and Brush Sampler! These are the best brushes you can find!
Topaz Studio 2 and Legacy Topaz Labs Filters
Unfortunately Topaz Studio 2 and other Topaz Lab filters are no longer available for sale as of 2020. If you had bought these filters and would like to put them back on, here is a link to the Legacy Apps where they can be downloaded again. Below is an example of the wonderful Remix AI Filter from Studio 2. The wonderful Impression still works fine in Photoshop right now along with Adjust (all versions), ReStyle, and even PhotoFXLab!
On1 Photo Raw
Wonderful software to use as a substitute for or plugin with Photoshop. Many great filter effects and lots of AI capabilities!
