Fractalius Owl

[Mike Rodriquez]

(Scroll down to find response with updated version of image.)

Looking down at me.

This is a mama owl, perched in a tree at my brother's house. She was about 12-15 feet high, and I was maybe the same distance away. She's apparently quite tame, and will pose for a long time as long as there are no sudden movements or sharp sounds.



I like this particular Fractalius setting; it almost looks like a pen and ink drawing.

I do wish my photoshop skills were better for what are unfortunately obvious reasons to those who know what I'm talking about. Still, practice makes perfect :)

Here's a link to the original image.

[denise ippolito]

Mike, Big welcome to OOTB! Really nice first post and I like the fractalius effect. I might tone down the whites just a bit. I wish the BG wasn't as busy. Still a nice capture.:)

[Kora Baker]

Welcome, Mike. Love Mama Owl! Nice fract work. Like denise I find the BG a bit busy. Also find the blue a little bright for the delicate tones of the rest of the image. But hey, very well done!:) Kora

[Harold Davis]

hey, mike. welcome to OOTB!! i like the work here. i dumped it into Ps and tried a B&W version of this. it works really well!!!!!! really smoothed out the bg that way. i might only lighten the eyes just a little bit. nice job!!

[Paul Lagasi]

Mike, Screech Owl's are perfect for this look...they always look a bit scruffy nice effect, you should try some of the above suggestions they'd really help..

[allanrube]

Agree with others on bg. The only thing I might try to do is lighten the eyes.

[Mike Rodriquez]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll post a new topic with an updated version of this image once my 24 hours is up :)

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Mike you don't have to wait for the 24 hours, Just reply to your own thread with the rework, you are not starting a new thread.

[Mike Rodriquez]

Here's my latest version of Fractalius Owl.

I used the Topaz ReMask 2 Photoshop plugin to extract the owl and eliminate the background. I wasn't sure what to for a background, so I tried a light solid color.

I also created a copy of the eyes from the original version, and blended them in; I think it works pretty well. (Thanks to Denise Ippolito for the idea; she used it to great effect on an image of a fox.)

Thanks again for all of the great feedback!

Here's a link to the 2 images side-by-side.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Like the repost Mike and the loose look of the frac work. Good PP'g.

[allanrube]

I agree - great job on the repost.

[Kora Baker]

Really great job on the repost, Mike. Way to go!:)

[Cheryl Slechta]

Mike, welcome to OOTB and a great image:) The repost is really nice.
Well done.

[Jack Faller]

The repost is a real improvement. I like it as it is, but think it could be improved if you could lighten the more saturated yellow fringing. Clean extractions are always tough. Nice work with this one.