Aquarell Meerkat

[Inge Schepers]

Hi everyone,

Another "Out of the Box" experiment, and another first for me. I had seen some images here that had been edited with Dynamic Auto-Painter and I really liked them. I needed some time to fiddle with the tool and some other filters / plugins, to get the kind of result I wanted. This is the version I am most pleased with so far.

This is what I did:

1. Photoshop CS4 + Topaz Adjust, psychedelic preset
2. Photoshop CS4 + Topaz Simplify, custom settings
3. Dynamic Auto-Painter with Aquarell preset
4. Photoshop CS4 Curves Adjustment Layer to darken only the dark parts a little

Steps 1 and 2 were inspired by the following tutorial on Topaz tools: http://www.flickr.com/groups/topaz/d...7618171464122/

Comments are welcome. :)

Inge

[Ken Childs]

Inge, I like the results! It has a nice watercolor look to it.

[Mark Fuge]

Nice image and I like the base of your application, Inge.

My one suggestion would be to add some color saturation and contrast to the image. The best way to add color saturation, that I found in PS4, is with the Hue & Saturation adjustment, under Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. Go extreme for each color and adjust back until you find your vision. Then when all the colors are right, check the master to see if there is any possible improvement to make it match your vision. Also check the Brightness/Contrast adjustment, after the hue/saturation. I made a very slight contrast adjustment. Most was done under H/S.

I've attached a quick example to show you what it would do. It is not finished to my tastes, as I just wanted to show you the effect, but I cannot make it look as you would to meet your vision. However, I offer the suggestion to maybe bring out your vision.

Remember that while we all are here to help you, it is your image and vision, as to what you want to create. Especially in OOTB, which can get quite wild at times! :eek: ;) :D

You did well for your first attempt. You mentioned a problem with the ink outline and your vision. Another suggestion that may do what you want is Poster Edge. For each filter, I'm sure your aware, you have to make the adjustments until you find your vision. Don't go with the default, after the first one. ;) That is only there to show you what can be, not what you want it to look like.

Good Luck and enjoy your search for your vision. The fun has just begun.

[denise ippolito]

Inge, I think Mark's repost looks good, Very nice PP work and thank you for the workflow. Cute little critter.:) I like the way the border fades out.

[Patti Edens]

Inge,

I love these little guys and your image is a really nice one to show off their playfulness. I like the treatment you have done, especially the way the foliage in the background looks and the white border. Thanks for providing the details of your workflow. It really helps me to learn. I have finally downloaded a trial version of Topaz and the tutorial will help.

Patti

[Inge Schepers]

Thanks for all your comments.

Mark, I like what you did. I played with saturation briefly, but was worried that it might look a little too saturated for watercolor. After looking at your version, I think a little more saturation does look better after all. I do think some aread in the face look a little too red, but that could easily be fixed with a layer mask.

[Kora Baker]

Inspired playing, Inge. Really out of the box. I do like Mark's color boost. Kora

[Mark Fuge]

Thanks for all your comments.

Mark, I like what you did. I played with saturation briefly, but was worried that it might look a little too saturated for watercolor. After looking at your version, I think a little more saturation does look better after all. I do think some aread in the face look a little too red, but that could easily be fixed with a layer mask.

No problem, Inge. As noted, I just did a quick one to let you see the difference. I agree, if it were mine I would spend some time fine adjusting the color saturation. But didn't want to spend the time then to do that. Life got in the way! :eek: :D

Your base image is good, now you just need to fine tune it for your vision.