Bringing out the wooliness...

I was experimenting with this Bison image I had posted earlier in the wildlife forum, think it's a start, but maybe a little hard on the eyes in it's current form. However, I discoverd that it really worked well as a blended layer to bring out more dimension and depth to the Bison's wooly coat in the OP. This was created using Topaz Detail, Adjust, and PB Oil.

The second frame shows the original posted image, I had used some curves to reduce contrast to try and bring out the wooliness of the coat more, but it still seems somewhat flat looking.

The third frame shows the same image with the blended layer appied twice in soft light, and luminosity modes at about 20-30%.

Original posted image:
I had used some curves to reduce contrast to try and bring out the wooliness of the coat more, but it still seems somewhat flat looking. See next frame...

With blended layer appied twice in soft light, and luminosity modes at about 20-30%.

Brendan, great job on this! Your finished image reminds me of a woodcut. The flowing hair makes one want to study the image. If this were mine I might add a small amount more to the grass

Brendan, For some reason I wish you had a bit more of the neck and back. Still it's a very nice comp and I live the B&W painterly look w/ the high key background. Beautiful!!:S3:

I like your bison. The flow of the lines are very intriguing and it works well in black and white.

Brendan, this is really a cool effect. It does bring more depth. Nice work.

It does look like a woodcut! Nice work. I think it would benefit from some work around the eye and the snout to differentiate them a bit from the rest of the animal. I really like the effect as I love woodcuts. You've given me an idea to play with. Of the second two images, the last one works best for me.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, Dave, Denise, Judy, Indranil, and Anita. Much appreciated!

Very Cool! Love the curlies!

Nice work Brendan! Good comments and suggestions above. I would probably work on the eye to get some contrast into it. Good one!

Hey Brendan,
I 'm loving this one!!! Super!!!