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Four Picture Triptych with Topaz ReStyle

Image of white flowers in a pitcher using different color schemes from Topaz ReStyle
Well everyone probably knows by now that I love this little Photoshop plug-in from Topaz (see sidebar for website link). The original image was a low resolution Shutterstock stock photo (I could not find it on the website anymore) from Advanced Photoshop Magazine No. 25 CD from many years ago (not one to use stock photos but I loved this pitcher and flowers image). I actually did quite a bit to the original image – expanded it using Content-Aware Scale so there was more space on the left side, added my little tree I created in Corel Painter (it is getting a lot of use this season) and set it to Darken so the white background did not show up, added  Shadowhouse Creations Tree Brushes Set #2 deer, and added Kim Klassen‘s beautiful Maybe and Peace Textures both set to Soft Light. My free SJ Snow 2 Overlay slight blur was applied at 79% opacity to just the pitcher to give it a ceramic dotted look. Next Kim’s Overlay 1 brush was used so it could be seen only in the window panes by using a layer mask. The font was Tramyad set to 40% layer opacity with an Inner Glow layer style added. Next a Levels Adjustment Layer was added to bring back contrast to the image and a High Pass Filter was used to add localized sharpening to the flowers only in a black layer mask. That was when the upper left green image was saved. The next three images all used different presets in Topaz ReStyle with some minor changes. I would list the presets, but two of them are from presets I used on other images. The frame texture is one I created in Corel Painter and added a Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer to it for the soft tan color. I love all four image effects! This is the biggest problem I have with ReStyle! Decisions, decisions! If you have not tried out this wonderful plug-in, download the trial and see what you think! Lots of fun!…..Digital Lady Syd

Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Topaz ReStyle
Using a Tych Panel to Show Off Your Images

01/14/2014 | Categories: Just Being Creative | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Visiting the Country


This is an image of several dachas in the countryside outside the City of Minsk in Belarus. This image had very little processing done to it – just three filters stacked in Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (Brilliance/Warmth, Midnight using the Neutral Color Set, and Detail Extractor). A Curves Adjustment Layer was added and several power lines were removed following my Get Rid of Those Power Lines Fast – with Paths and Spot Healing Tool! blog. The overlay is the same one created for the top image in the blog linked below, and was added with a dark green Color Fill Layer clipped (ALT+click between the layers) to it so it looks dark.  See my How to Create an Overlay Out of a Texture blog on how to create this overlay. I like the soft diffused effect the filters created…..Digital Lady Syd

01/09/2014 | Categories: Photoshop Filters | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

What a Dolling Picture!

Image of a Doll from Savannah, Georgia
This is a rather crazy image of a doll in a lion outfit that I decided to do some processing on. The RAW image had a lot of window reflection, but for some reason I just liked the way the sun lit up the doll and hair on the right side. I do not even mind the white blown out spectral spots – it sort of added to the wintry old feel. In the original file had a lot of spectral highlights that looked like snow. Alien Skin Snap Art 4 was applied in Photoshop using the Impasto Detailed preset and two Detail Masks to bring in the facial features. Then I added my free SJ Snow2 slight blur overlay set to 34% layer opacity. A Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer was clipped (ALT+click between layers) to the overlay to give a little light peach color to the snow. Nik Analog Efex Pro was applied for a little vintage feel. The last step was to add a Curves Adjustment Layer to add contrast to the image. That was it – for some reason I really like this image!…..Digital Lady Syd

01/07/2014 | Categories: Photoshop Filters | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Bamboo Forest Abstract

Image of a bamboo forest in Hawaii in abstract art
Got inspired by a short tutorial called Dustin Abbott’s Autumn Abstract with Snap Art 4 on Alien Skin’s website where he created this really interesting abstract painting. The image above is of a bamboo forest on the Big Island in Hawaii. I wanted a little less abstraction so some of the bamboo could be seen but the beautiful Hawaiian forest colors were the main interest. Therefore, I only used a Motion Blur Distance of 594 pixels. Next in Snap Art 4 Dustin Abbott’s Autumn Abstract preset (he graciously lets you download the preset in the tutorial link above) was applied. Back in Photoshop a layer mask was added where a few of the trees were painted back softly just to exaggerate the foreground tree shapes. Next Topaz ReStyle (see sidebar for website link) plug-in was added. (Started with Olivine Pastures preset to keep the Hawaiian green and pink colors intact. Color Style Hue Third -0.14, Sat Primary -0.28, Third 0.20, and Fifth -0.17, and Lum Third 0.63 and Fifth 0.59; Texture Strength 1.00; Basic Opacity 62%, Blend Mode Screen, Color Tint 0.16 and Sat 0.20; and Detail Structure 0.31.) The last step involved adding another of my favorite plug-ins, Nik Analog Efex Pro. (Used these filter settings:  Basic Adjustments with Sat at 24%; Dirt & Scratches 82% using the last Organic thumbnail; Photo Plate Corroded –  2nd down 2nd over – at 20% Strength; and Levels & Curves with RGB and Luminosity Curves pulled just a little down and over at 81% Strength.) I think the image depicts exactly what I wanted to express – mainly emphasizing the gorgeous colors and the soft vertical feel of the forest. Give this technique a try and see what you can do……Digital Lady Syd

Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Alien Skin Snap Art 4

01/02/2014 | Categories: Photo Art, Photoshop Filters | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

Happy New Year!

Image of wintry scene created using Corel Painter and Photoshop
Happy New Year! Hope you all have some New Year’s Resolutions for next year, or at least one like me. I do not do well with this sort of thing so I try to keep myself focused on maybe just one or two goals for each year. This year my major digital goal is to learn Corel Painter better and try to understand the program so I can pop in and out of it like I do Photoshop. Above is just a little image I created in Corel Painter and Photoshop wishing you the best of times for the coming year. It was a lot of fun to create. The path, trees, and much of the snow were all painted in Painter using several of Karen Bonaker’s various snow brushes and David Gel’s Snow Time 2009 brushes (both of them have all kinds of fabulous free brushes). Then I popped into Photoshop and created layers for each of the following image elements. The cabin, foreground trees, deer and moose were all from my favorite Shadowhouse Creations Rural Objects and Tree Brush Set 2 – I use them all the time! Kim Klassen‘s Let Go texture was set to Darker Color to get a more textured and nicer color of green for the background color. Also my free SJ Snow 2 Overlay slight blur was added at 86% layer opacity. The font is Tramyad. Once again, I hope you all have a great New Year!…..Digital Lady Syd

12/31/2013 | Categories: Corel Painter | Leave A Comment »

Wintry Dahlia

Image of a white dahlia
Loved how this beautiful white dahlia bloom came out – and once again it used two of my favorite Photoshop plug-ins. First applied Trey Radcliff’s Yesterepoch preset to flower in Lightroom. In Photoshop sharpened up the image using Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Detail 3 using these settings: Detail Panel: Highlight – Small Details 0.42, Small Details Boost 0.45, Medium Details 0.54, Medium Details Boost 0.40, Large Details 0.48, and Large Details Boost 0.44. Back in Photoshop filled a layer mask with black and painted back just the edges of the flower that I wanted emphasized – this kept the petals in back less in focus. Added one of my textures that I made in Corel Painter with a layer mask so the flower did not have texture applied, and set the layer to 32% layer opacity. Next opened Nik’s Analog Efex Pro plug-in and used a preset I created called Very Basic Set up. It contains just the Basic Adjustments panel (Detail Extraction 30%, Brightness 35%, Contrast 25% and Saturation -30%), Bokeh filter (Blur Strength 24%, Boost Highlights 94%, and centered on middle of flower), and Lens Vignette filter (Amount -33%, slider set under R in Rectangle, Size 77%, and also centered on flower middle). Back in Photoshop added a Levels Adjustment Layer to give just a little more contrast. I really liked the soft textured feel to the flower…..Digital Lady Syd

12/26/2013 | Categories: Photoshop Filters | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Snowmen Passing Through!

Image of three snowmen walking in a wintry scene
I guess I just like to make holiday cards – they are so much fun to do. These three snowmen are one of my favorite holiday brushes from Christmas Brushes by Flina. I actually painted the background in Corel Painter using various Karen Bonaker brushes (her Painter brushes are some of the best and she gives many away) – just playing around and it turned out nice and wintry. In Photoshop Painted Textures Thanksgiving Winter Marsh texture was added and set to Linear Light at 55% layer opacity. My free SJ Holiday Greeting PNG Overlay was used for the greetings and set to a darkish turquoise color. The snowmen were added and then on a layer underneath, I painted in the color. On separate layers footsteps were created and snow was stacked. The lights on the tree were from Dirt2 Fantasy Light brushes. My SJ Snow2 Overlay slight blur (in with Overlay set above) was added and set to 30% opacity. This is way too much fun! Happy Holidays!…..Digital Lady Syd

12/24/2013 | Categories: Just Being Creative | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Christmas Flowers!

Image of Mums and Carnations painted with Corel Painer
Recently I set a goal to learn how to use Corel Painter. These Christmas flowers were a perfect choice for me to practice some of my newly developing skills. I love the colors that the brushes created  although I am not sure exactly which brushes I used, but several blending brushes were used. I have learned to keep a custom panel of my favorite brushes set up so I do not have to keep searching for them. (Not unlike setting up your own panels in Photoshop.) After I finished painting it, I wanted to show a few outlines for emphasizing certain area. The original image into Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Simplify and a sketch with black lines on a white background was created. Back in Photoshop, the white was removed using Color Range, and then the layer was moved into the Painter image. A layer mask was added and lines I did not like were removed and the layer was set to 51% opacity. A dark brown Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer was clipped (ALT+click between the layers) to the lines layer. A Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer was added to make the flowers the perfect color of red. Some localized contrast was added by selecting a Curves Adjustment Layer and filling the layer mask with black. Just the areas where I wanted contrast was painted back, which was mainly the red flowers. I love the way Painter and Photoshop work together! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday Season!…..Digital Lady Syd

12/19/2013 | Categories: Corel Painter, Photoshop Filters | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Some Floral Holiday Cheer!

Image of two red gerberus in a wintry scene
Happy Holidays to everyone! Had to post my beautiful gerberas that look so Christmasy (is that a word?). This was so easy to do. Started with my flowers in Lightroom – just the basic slider changes were done. In Photoshop the first step was to add Isabelle Lafrance‘s Fairytale Winter 2 overlay (apparently this overlay is no longer available which is a shame since it is so pretty) – she makes some of the best overlays available. A layer mask was added and the flowers were gently painted back. A stamped layer (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) was created on top and desaturated (CTRL+SHIFT+U). To sharpen the image the layer was changed to Overlay blend mode and the Filter -> Other -> High Pass was opened using a setting of 7, just until I started seeing a little crispness without haloing. Now the Aaron Nace trick is to add a black layer mask and just paint back where the sharpening should be applied – just the parts of the flowers closest to the viewer. On a new layer Kim Klassen’s free Mini Sampler Holiday Brush holiday 10 was applied – I love everything Kim creates – textures, brushes, videos. I added my own text layer using the Bambino font. Then I remember I had been playing around in Corel Painter and created this little fur tree that looks like it was blowing in the wind on a white canvas. Therefore I added to my image and set it to Linear Burn blend mode at 61% – loved the final look. I am still loving Painter! Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!…..Digital Lady Syd

Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Trying Out Some Aaron Nace Techniques

12/17/2013 | Categories: Corel Painter, Just Being Creative | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

A Secret Garden

Image of a little garden in Savannah, Georgia
This was one of my favorite images from Savannah, Georgia, when visiting last month. Not a lot was done to this image although the Puppet Warp command had to be used to straighten out the walls due to the lens distortion. Also Topaz (see sidebar for website link) ReStyle was applied to get the pretty soft light effect – the settings were from a Test Preset when I first got the program so I am not sure where I started. Finished up with a little Nik Viveza 2 to direct the eye to the stairs. This image uses some of my favorite colors……Digital Lady Syd

12/12/2013 | Categories: Photoshop Filters | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

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