Preserved Topic: Need some advise, help, wisdom - con't (Page 1 of 1)

To carry on with this , here is the URL from the
prev. thread

Both links are 42k and both images are at Quality 80.

I am a little at odds with the lightsource from where it is coming from - top right or just from the right at face level?
- this is the original. And this is where I am with it at the moment.
Added the cheap lipsticks (temporary measure to give her little umph) .

It is an improvement from before but something just doesn't sit right with it and I cann't put my fingers on what it is.
Haven't touched the eyes yet and I am not sure at all on how to approach the eyebrows.

sib


Hindsight/20 - so far this has been one heck of an educational trip in PS - worth every minute.

This may sound dumb but try seenig how her skin contrast with a different color background and then work from there.
I also think that her hair needs more highlights and shadows. Find the light source and work it a bit.


A wise man once said;
"I don't know!?!?"

Yes, it is an improvement. You're right though, some things don't seem right.

For starters, like MalFunkShun said, try getting something into the background so there is something to work against.

Also, the whole thing could use some darker shadows. Nothing drastic, but try a curves adjustment layer, and bring the low end down a little further.

Also, the eyes are far too faint - they look grey and dull. The color of the iris could a *slight* increase in saturation, but the pupil needs a significant increase.

I also think the hair could stand a bit more vartiaion in color and tone. On that same note, the shadows are still coming through as slightly...grey. What I like to do in a case like that is take a low sat/deep hue red and go over it with a low opacity, often set to multiply (the brush itself here). It helps give a bit more depth.

Nice work overall, and heading in the right direction.



[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-26-2003).]

I took the liberty of doing a little bit of a paint over - hope you don't mind. This incorporates the things I mentioned above, and some selective painting on the face and hair -




With the white background, it still looks a bit wrong. Get some color behind there, and it will look a lot better.





[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-26-2003).]

Looking good. DL`s saturation increases helped, too.
On the light source, you can sort of triangulate it`s position from the highlight on her forehaed, the shadow from her nose (and the wisp of hair by her ear) and the shadow from her jaw. Definately above right, perhaps the ceiling. I would gues 5-6 feet away from her.

What a difference :-)

Probaly a stupid question here - but I ran into a problem with some of the blend modes on the layer palettes.
For example when I was in overlay or softlight the layer would not take the color.

Do I have to use the same blend mode for the brush as I have the layer set to? Always thought that was interchangable.

thanks for the help and advise to all of you it is appreciated !!

sib

The blending mode of the brush effects the way the color is put onto the layer.

The blending mode of the layer effects how the layer effects the other layers.

Both depend on what other colors exist already, and I'm not entirely certain on how specific interactions work...

But, sometimes things simply aren't going to show in certain combinations, and is such a case, it really just tells you that it's not the mode you need =) (at least that's how I take it )


So really, just play around with some different settings.

The way i usually go, is with the layer you are painting on above the photo layer, blending mode mormal opacity 100%.

Then I paint a base layer with a very limited pallet in normal mode, about 50-75% opacity. Then I go back in several sweeps of highligh, shadow, and general textural/tonal variations (mostly) in either screen or multiply, at anywhere from 5-50% opacity. I will also use color dodge, color burn, normal, and overlay modes quite a bit more sparingly. I'd say my brush opacity averages around 20%.

I use mostly textured brushes, at any given range of size, as needed. When I use plain round brushes, they are hard edged...no big soft blurry things.

To pick colors, I will generally use the dropper to select a shadow or highlight color, then go to the color picker to adjust to a richer tone of that color...adjusting the saturation and hue as needed by the situation. IMO it's always better to start with a color that already exists in the image, but change it to add the all important vartiations in hue. The last thing you want is a monochromatic picture!

If that helps at all....




[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-27-2003).]

Okay - I think I know where I went wrong here now. Live and Learn :-)

sib

While I'm at it, I guess it makes more sense to go over specifically what I did on that image -

For starters, I worked directly from your version, and not from the origianl. That may be obvious, it may not...

Since all the base color was in place, there was no need to paint that on.

I started with the eyes, picking a blue I thought appropriate, and painting in overlay mode at about 70% opacity. Then I used the same blue, set the brush to multiply and about 15% and ran a line around the iris, then darkened the top part of the iris the same way. Picked a lighter version of the same blue, and painted over the lower part of the iris in screen mode, still 15% opacity. Dropped in some almost pure black for the pupil.

Then I picked a shadow color from the hair, and went to the color picker to lower the brithness/up the sat. Painted in multiply at about 25% opacity over the hair, picking the areas that needed a bit more depth - staying in the existing shadow areas.

Repeat the process, but pick a highlight color. Up the brightness and sat (changed to a bit more yellow hue), and paint in screen.

Then for the face I only played with the shadows, as the hihglights were fine and dandy - picked a color ftom the shadows on the face, and dropped the hue a bit more into the reds, lowered the saturation and the brightness just a touch.

Painted over certain areas in multiply mode, at various brush sizes and opacities as needed.

Topped it all off with a curves adjustment layer - upped the highs, dropped the lows.

And....I think it took more time and effort to type that than it did to actually do it!



[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-27-2003).]

http://solaseireann.com/lee/doris-sample3.jpg

That's what he wants. Sometimes the path to perfection is using the program the way it should be used. Have a nice day. (don't worry I'm not coming back..just needed to tick off someone *L*)

Are you sure?

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave - Eagles, Hotel California

You're always welcome to come back, you know...in fact, you can't really leave...didn't you know that?

Nicely done, but you're infantile attitude certainly doesn't do you any favors ettie (and weren't you the one who said you were too *old* for this place???).

In case you've missed it, the point of things like this is to help people, or to get help. Feel free to offer some help, ettie - you obviously have the know-how. Of course "perfection" is an awfully strong word for that result. Nice as it is, there are still some very fatal flaws.





[This message has been edited by DL-44 (edited 01-27-2003).]

Ohh nice work people, Dl Thanks for that second break down on how ya did it,

ettie wtf??? why do a good job and in the same breath make an idiot out of yaself, you obviously have some talent, why not share it, personality clashes happen here its simple fact, move on from it....

Nice Work Ettie !

This is not what he wants or anyone else in here. It is all about what I want to learn - Techniques and different ways of doing things.

I will leave it at this for now.

Have a nice eve.. :-)

sib

PS: I don't believe we meet before except over some comment about exuberant prices of a piece of cheesecake in Seoul. I am 46, female and yes I drive a KIA ( that Intrepid looked awefully good but out of my reach) !