Spooky Grackle Frac

[Judy Howle]

This is my first Frac image that turned out like I wanted out of several I tried it on so that made me happy! He was posed for takeoff and had a spooky look in his eye like he was going to attack.

[denise ippolito]

Judy, I think it does look spooky! I like the way you framed this. The electric look to this is interesting. Can you share how you framed this? I just love it.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Denise! The framing is super-easy. Make a selection that excludes the frame area you want, preferably even all around, with the rectangular marquee. If it's not even just go to Select > Transform Selection and fix it. Then go to Select > Inverse to select the outer part. Press Ctrl J to put it on a layer. Then run levels to darken (or lighten) it and then go to Layer > layer style and choose Outer Glow. Be sure to actually click on it not just check the box so that the options come up as to size, color, opacity of the glow. You can change the blend to multiply and choose black or other dark color for a dark glow. you can also add a stroke or just use a stroke. For more fun, add a pattern overly. Be sure to change the blend to soft light etc. first. Click the little triangle to see all the patterns and to load more, click the triangle in that dialog box. Layer styles are great for framing. (And for text.) Here is one with a glow, stroke and pattern. (Thanks for asking, I like this one with the pattern!)

[Christopher Miller]

Very nice, Judy. That's definitely one sinister-looking grackle! Love the pose and electric look. Nice job with the framing.

[denise ippolito]

Judy, Thanks for the tutorial. I appreciate it. :)

[Kerry Perkins]

Judy, that is one wicked looking bird! I love the little "heart of thorns" feature in the center of the grackle. The fract treatment is electric and interesting. I think the framing is cool and I like the second one better. Thanks for sharing these techniques! :cool:

[Cheryl Slechta]

Judy, the fract works looks great - I especially like his wing patch - and the framing is really nice. Thanks for the tutorial:)