Flip,fract,flip,flood!

[Dan Brown]

Well, I took notes on this one! I started off with an image (the pelican) opened in ACR, cropped heavily, opened into CS3, Sharpened with Noiseware Pro.
Flipped,
applied polar coordinates,
flipped again,
applied spherize,
twisted 65 degs,
produced a dup bg layer,
applied fract,
produced another dup layer,
applied difference clouds to this layer, reduced opacity 65%,
applied a strong S curve layer,
flattened,
applied FLOOD.
Next I reopened the original image of the pelican, selected the bird, copied. Back to the creation, I am now working on a flattened piece, so I produced a bg copy layer, then in between the bg and the copy, I produced a blank layer. Finally, I pasted the copied pelican on to the blank layer, applied topaz cartoon, increased the contrast with a negative curves layer. Finally, finally! I erased the top layer to expose the pelican, the original image! And, of course if you follow these step, you will create something entirely different than I did, Gaurranteed:2

[Hazel Grant]

thanks for the steps! I am going to try this with another photo I have. Good learning experience.

Beautiful result for you!!!!!!!!!!

[Kerry Perkins]

Very cool Dan! Thanks for telling us how you got there. I like the colors of your creation and the interesting look of flood. The pelican must be wondering where the heck it flew to!

[Brendan Dozier]

Very cool Dan! Great surreal, dreamlike environment you created, like the rich vibrant colors. The reflections on the water looks great too. The pelican looks like he has arrived at his own Shangri-La. Nice work, and thanks for sharing your creative process.

[Paul Lagasi]

Dan I like the horizon and the reflection you've achieved with this effect. Very nicely done

Your now a member of the 4F club...lol

[denise ippolito]

4F Club! Now that's funny!! Dan, Very creative and lots of great stuff in there. Thanks so much for sharing your workflow. The rays emitting from the top are wonderful.

[Steve Adkins]

Amazing process and result, Dan! Love that flood.