tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14208987494286742662024-03-13T09:05:28.662-07:00NebulopathyTheresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.comBlogger1069125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-6918175699403267452024-02-29T13:37:00.000-08:002024-02-29T13:37:24.867-08:00Day 29: Bad Magic<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>.</p><p>If I were plotting Thingadailies, I would be ending on a high point — maybe an image that showed off all the skills I've learned this month. But no. I'm ending the month with something random, which is totally in keeping with previous Thingadailies.</p><p>After trying to find something I wanted to do, I settled on this tutorial on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lna-15Yqoc" target="_blank">Glowing Magic Effects</a>, which would be practical for me to learn. Unfortunately, I wasn't really in a "follow the directions" sort of mood, and also, it turns out I have no idea how to determine the saturation of a color. So I diverged from the tutorial pretty quickly.</p><p>Still, it was kind of interesting, so I'm leaving it here. (Also, I have to post <i>something</i>.)</p><p><b>Step 1: Draw the basic shape with a color that has 50% saturation.</b></p><p>Or, if you're me, ignore that thing about saturation because it's a word that doesn't <i>really</i> have any meaning, and pick a color and draw a shape.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrSgNDZkt2W6MdcGQTpkk2TtJpYRlh4St3n042NiRNS2K-wH-LdBA2sAvzoIud2WUqTTAae_KYYqYgDRhnIzzAUwXpr4pkA757mr_84qDEGuVxzwb-HK2VJ35XX3frEUcfc2C2-E3388swmNENTZ1EJg4pI9FSktC5HSpaIq0_ZQhO1gZPxvH3t0aVyBw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1912" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrSgNDZkt2W6MdcGQTpkk2TtJpYRlh4St3n042NiRNS2K-wH-LdBA2sAvzoIud2WUqTTAae_KYYqYgDRhnIzzAUwXpr4pkA757mr_84qDEGuVxzwb-HK2VJ35XX3frEUcfc2C2-E3388swmNENTZ1EJg4pI9FSktC5HSpaIq0_ZQhO1gZPxvH3t0aVyBw" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Sketch out the curves so it looks more smokey</b><p></p><p><b>Step 3: Increase the saturation and add highlights.</b></p><p>The interesting thing here was switching the pen mode to "dodge". Also I had started messing with colors by this point.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNuKlQwsCAJ3A0lUUblF5im5J9vqptRs8tvz7Sx8zDzE03Yv7FlkdH1iah9qnUQPDRUN8G_LR9e0naVZGrIXZYpVfbIuNIoO9Fta1ZZ6Pv9NyC78rnmPOYsU_1qJ6AsZoP_iCYiKX8esfBnCDnidFqAn4WB_JPFHLKQ98aroZBXjrkh7dZ1QfU8oui4D4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="1904" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNuKlQwsCAJ3A0lUUblF5im5J9vqptRs8tvz7Sx8zDzE03Yv7FlkdH1iah9qnUQPDRUN8G_LR9e0naVZGrIXZYpVfbIuNIoO9Fta1ZZ6Pv9NyC78rnmPOYsU_1qJ6AsZoP_iCYiKX8esfBnCDnidFqAn4WB_JPFHLKQ98aroZBXjrkh7dZ1QfU8oui4D4" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 4: Ignore the tutorial and start adding random colors.</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPOUcdNWDfa7QUIQNFh8CC2Ly3QRLeaSghTg5cCedyo6C8YZeRrXtn0H-oUzkxEabw0LsDIKziRdZpS8chQjqqlhn0PcMB6prwzpPKYokDGATht8CCVU1v74-biKIFGwN7v_9h_u6Ct6S5xP68zX1Oz9RvzvztoSY7bBHq6dByTaCJZYi5w7VuwTt4T54" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1900" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPOUcdNWDfa7QUIQNFh8CC2Ly3QRLeaSghTg5cCedyo6C8YZeRrXtn0H-oUzkxEabw0LsDIKziRdZpS8chQjqqlhn0PcMB6prwzpPKYokDGATht8CCVU1v74-biKIFGwN7v_9h_u6Ct6S5xP68zX1Oz9RvzvztoSY7bBHq6dByTaCJZYi5w7VuwTt4T54=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />Does it look like a stream of magic? No. Did I follow the tutorial? Also no. But I did end up with kind of a cool swirled thing.<p></p><p>That's it for Thingadailies! Join me next year!</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Switch the pen mode to get different effects. Dodge is a fun one.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Just added the tags and it turns out the "Not following directions" was a tag that already existed. Excellent branding, T!)</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-88783489816432799462024-02-28T16:54:00.000-08:002024-02-28T16:54:29.846-08:00Day 28: Northern Lights<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Today I decided to follow <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkySzVY_OKg" target="_blank">this tutorial on creating northern lights</a>.</p><p><b>Step 1: Find a picture of the night sky</b></p><p>DepositPhotos is my friend here. (Depositphotos_243388432)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcnqr50zdrKupvyHbM1wwSk4Ylz_hRtDqbfekhAda0Uk7JN3-cF7eFHBs1sLogovJJABZLxgU9-BHkj5O53CkklrOp87NEcBWl9xHBPl8iCm4Wz3w48dnv3cjwRntbf7ihH1gO8IrAg09b2Axk0dmwXd_Y14RZFPQsxEA6rIjt-YAGFAzn5rWFB2HhH7g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1476" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcnqr50zdrKupvyHbM1wwSk4Ylz_hRtDqbfekhAda0Uk7JN3-cF7eFHBs1sLogovJJABZLxgU9-BHkj5O53CkklrOp87NEcBWl9xHBPl8iCm4Wz3w48dnv3cjwRntbf7ihH1gO8IrAg09b2Axk0dmwXd_Y14RZFPQsxEA6rIjt-YAGFAzn5rWFB2HhH7g" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Add a purple gradient as a background to the northern lights</b><p></p><p>The first time I did this, the purple disappeared when I switched the layer to overlay mode. I ended up desaturating the original picture and then adding the overlay. (Was there some other way to do that? I don't know.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf1Kp1I6y62XfhW4yWUIba0I-hwsqxBsQfnswPJBA4aniPA0ql_v5biLM9F7XUWklwpzAOTf6b9wJmrgI1509kfAqDLTuCoIoDc6nIm9d3yZ0CkqA_Td7bYSm8inticxakCbkOKE1UIM0t68QhfruKQ_vNGZNKjNfCkdlUeog7unxry8LgID5CZ-ESbmA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1468" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf1Kp1I6y62XfhW4yWUIba0I-hwsqxBsQfnswPJBA4aniPA0ql_v5biLM9F7XUWklwpzAOTf6b9wJmrgI1509kfAqDLTuCoIoDc6nIm9d3yZ0CkqA_Td7bYSm8inticxakCbkOKE1UIM0t68QhfruKQ_vNGZNKjNfCkdlUeog7unxry8LgID5CZ-ESbmA" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2mAFrKkRFussQiiBxgCTfnIqjdDM5GQdw4PthI3Xh1h9I5RDcD0rBCClhcAcL38_2likBoBSUXKMukAh4NyJwzW560plpObrxclL9Zx_aC11uUyeud9gnL3dJOcBa7wY4egXbV0X7O6strAdp5dxjgFUn9zCYmEjfslaE7BCt1l8hGKSZZjUJ7cHshkA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1464" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2mAFrKkRFussQiiBxgCTfnIqjdDM5GQdw4PthI3Xh1h9I5RDcD0rBCClhcAcL38_2likBoBSUXKMukAh4NyJwzW560plpObrxclL9Zx_aC11uUyeud9gnL3dJOcBa7wY4egXbV0X7O6strAdp5dxjgFUn9zCYmEjfslaE7BCt1l8hGKSZZjUJ7cHshkA" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Step 3: Add some green</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">In this step, I used a brush with the jitter turned up so it gave me a bunch of somewhat random blobs.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4K3ukfRNFv8wQrSzdoEbRxZAo0bS9MO87rQ7ZdSCfkoANHJweaZ7tAXvDAt1ohnVH34RZ6LS7ILivTHlpPOU_q6R9ltLc3D1JdCXwHIgfLLBuT_UgFyu2H6Er6nRbwVuNOEknxqUrDWU6TGYJLd6k9lXRZ_f7MI3qtsD8kxedpW72JRzm1q0J8yMxO94" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="1468" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4K3ukfRNFv8wQrSzdoEbRxZAo0bS9MO87rQ7ZdSCfkoANHJweaZ7tAXvDAt1ohnVH34RZ6LS7ILivTHlpPOU_q6R9ltLc3D1JdCXwHIgfLLBuT_UgFyu2H6Er6nRbwVuNOEknxqUrDWU6TGYJLd6k9lXRZ_f7MI3qtsD8kxedpW72JRzm1q0J8yMxO94" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div></div><b>Step 4: Linear motion blur</b><p></p><p>For whatever reason, I couldn't get the linear motion blur to work until I resized the canvas to something smaller, which was fine in this case because I started out with something huge — I resized it down to 3500x2500 pixels. It started out as 11850 × 7908. But still, I'm not sure why GIMP just didn't do anything with the linear motion blur instead of... crashing or something obvious like that.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXD3cpbsd2lSPDID5jb5ARAyMUxdzR-ajGRtOs1L3-FIu2OmQuhyOa8z8KTzNFuMupx1tudQL53pvqPg7wm0VLwp6lkDcjxSoWEvK2fMwQK23n7wUqfCkzEUGh9RfeioxFRA4hMurJfDTXZHSRHWt44LS8uS2_6s5_RozMNCDgBYqUMAHa9rzRNa3iqn4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1852" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXD3cpbsd2lSPDID5jb5ARAyMUxdzR-ajGRtOs1L3-FIu2OmQuhyOa8z8KTzNFuMupx1tudQL53pvqPg7wm0VLwp6lkDcjxSoWEvK2fMwQK23n7wUqfCkzEUGh9RfeioxFRA4hMurJfDTXZHSRHWt44LS8uS2_6s5_RozMNCDgBYqUMAHa9rzRNa3iqn4" width="320" /></a></div><br />You can see things are starting to take shape.<p></p><p><b>Step 5: Repeat (on different layers) those steps for a couple other colors</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUk90PulpjhVEyfc1HpuOvGrQLlzZw0M8fWh7n31UBAQAKfYlaDA-udsvJ_b0xbAtPMmsHrIKzqJdOVhd-gOXt10lXY8Yu_V1PfbSFe_79qz01tNpwN6UCntHZmmyLSBigpCTuTNiJuXeaSSYq82nALGds9vX70Ma4lWBFvQypliihgMyMYU0V-iE90ZI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1864" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUk90PulpjhVEyfc1HpuOvGrQLlzZw0M8fWh7n31UBAQAKfYlaDA-udsvJ_b0xbAtPMmsHrIKzqJdOVhd-gOXt10lXY8Yu_V1PfbSFe_79qz01tNpwN6UCntHZmmyLSBigpCTuTNiJuXeaSSYq82nALGds9vX70Ma4lWBFvQypliihgMyMYU0V-iE90ZI" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 6: Firm up the lower edge</b><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfocE9R8OrBWD4t2-KoCZuayRPPAUYAvmR7FBtd1zvxwAUuyi98wcngM93rolfRdrjgF7yx2FZG77QgGOOe0DRA9kbbLnHD9Q9mltXktjEckuOEjnvz5KuaVUe5ulpkixL0lYaeWWaMpxvSCeEc6ZsKrl30FfRDwDIbyqmu4zLpKmMJW2To72XG0vezA8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1896" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfocE9R8OrBWD4t2-KoCZuayRPPAUYAvmR7FBtd1zvxwAUuyi98wcngM93rolfRdrjgF7yx2FZG77QgGOOe0DRA9kbbLnHD9Q9mltXktjEckuOEjnvz5KuaVUe5ulpkixL0lYaeWWaMpxvSCeEc6ZsKrl30FfRDwDIbyqmu4zLpKmMJW2To72XG0vezA8" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 7: Warp it</b><p></p><p>Yes, this is where GIMP really falls down. So I moved into Photopea.</p><p>(Why didn't I use Photopea from the start? Mostly because I'm familiar with GIMP. But also because Photopea has a bunch of moving ads on the side and I'm too cheap to pay $15 to make them go away for three months.)</p><p>After warping it, we did another linear motion blur, this time horizontally, in order to get rid of the lines.</p><p>I think I switched the layer combination to "hard light".</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOec45kj7xPk0mm990REYJFsuXiB5UtfDPlTjeTRPaTpDYtU4QZECB2r8BUCN9y1MlP8f5c-ZvNHogoN2dkP0T97F-g_YdIcz6hm2-AqOlMmERydtoOFp8s0QnHX7W78OHkVH8_6DJ-zQabF5gtFGUdx5wq5YrFIejIe77mGyZ4h3RDnJLULpe1K1r58o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1270" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOec45kj7xPk0mm990REYJFsuXiB5UtfDPlTjeTRPaTpDYtU4QZECB2r8BUCN9y1MlP8f5c-ZvNHogoN2dkP0T97F-g_YdIcz6hm2-AqOlMmERydtoOFp8s0QnHX7W78OHkVH8_6DJ-zQabF5gtFGUdx5wq5YrFIejIe77mGyZ4h3RDnJLULpe1K1r58o" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 8: Repeat</b><p></p><p>Copy the layer a couple times, warp the layers, and change the opacity to make things blend.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiET-e1T_89w9bUSRzpvGzjBJALFAGx-PhSACO0giwNrYuUSIk2Je-sdjdSD6eV4WRLa4DcG1omzWqdZ3_Nsx3SLBJ1GOFlIQTGpPhfkkVtkNi0En3z5VFkHVvQShhyfNq7KLGUml8gIa-WJCanxFbT9cPSAesO8ux6Da6iHACwyROleyE6BXMwTYQYsxY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="3746" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiET-e1T_89w9bUSRzpvGzjBJALFAGx-PhSACO0giwNrYuUSIk2Je-sdjdSD6eV4WRLa4DcG1omzWqdZ3_Nsx3SLBJ1GOFlIQTGpPhfkkVtkNi0En3z5VFkHVvQShhyfNq7KLGUml8gIa-WJCanxFbT9cPSAesO8ux6Da6iHACwyROleyE6BXMwTYQYsxY=w400-h268" width="400" /></a></div><br />And there we are. Northern lights!<p></p><p>I think I could have blended the lower band of light with the green band a little better, but it's a decent first try.</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>To warp in Photopea, Edit->Free Transform, then click the Warp button on the upper right.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-48603052030928228022024-02-27T18:27:00.000-08:002024-02-27T18:27:32.214-08:00Day 27: Everything is Better with Glitter<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. We're currently working on a version of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOtmY-h6y0" target="_blank">Cat Butterfly Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial</a>.</p><p>Today we're going to finish this image and prove that everything is better with glitter!</p><p>When we left off yesterday, Sabrett was facing the dragon:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmndf8LnSHFY06ZRzDBOB4OXGWDF_mQH2oxfvq9ozay8_xa8qVOWO26-zGi2k5qJxRCwgfjaQpYiF3WYA1kzjGw6TIEQZ8-bP777Tg0yrqDesMGX5bRMxubd77Q2sCLSQQK6Enufd0Da667LBqLvMUI37A7zYDohoDAHn0_V-b7Qapxe4LrZgnDc8iwdA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1456" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmndf8LnSHFY06ZRzDBOB4OXGWDF_mQH2oxfvq9ozay8_xa8qVOWO26-zGi2k5qJxRCwgfjaQpYiF3WYA1kzjGw6TIEQZ8-bP777Tg0yrqDesMGX5bRMxubd77Q2sCLSQQK6Enufd0Da667LBqLvMUI37A7zYDohoDAHn0_V-b7Qapxe4LrZgnDc8iwdA=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Get some glitter/sparkles</b><p></p><p>(Yeah, I went ahead and spent another $0.33 on this. Trust me, I'll use it again.)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjtc0u0536gBF2WlPffuDi70PL4icoBTYL-TXgshlYFHSO5y8hMMPU_98hJjYmbXHv0FMjqCrtjwdXTKXhQtK7ROnXYXBf21ZnUNJLXfJdyRrRN1Kt7ZKCZzTrftPXnv3R-9n_YK0kQBIBEjIxXSPzHSFfQOUp8eqmfceQLTXKpGgn1kmnW-90rTaiHvM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjtc0u0536gBF2WlPffuDi70PL4icoBTYL-TXgshlYFHSO5y8hMMPU_98hJjYmbXHv0FMjqCrtjwdXTKXhQtK7ROnXYXBf21ZnUNJLXfJdyRrRN1Kt7ZKCZzTrftPXnv3R-9n_YK0kQBIBEjIxXSPzHSFfQOUp8eqmfceQLTXKpGgn1kmnW-90rTaiHvM" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Use the "screen" option to infuse the sparkle layer into the image</b><p></p><p>I spent twenty seconds looking up what "screen" actually does, found the equation that explained it, and decided I would just accept it pulls bright things in and makes them brighter. We ended up with this:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTF51U0d7yok2d5fSh-0p2n5T9MCymtTRZhSb8_tilu12_-pIPPb3bpIEQDpmfvcbiu82mmDZPNK5so_zBVqMY_R7MMVMTWzUp2jCsCC5o_N_bTQmhtfstyL5G5G8msULd77lXUb5j40z6sPawf3sG-mYWtl_BVq-msZnZIC4MQxm3b0D8AF4nXMSghoE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1458" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTF51U0d7yok2d5fSh-0p2n5T9MCymtTRZhSb8_tilu12_-pIPPb3bpIEQDpmfvcbiu82mmDZPNK5so_zBVqMY_R7MMVMTWzUp2jCsCC5o_N_bTQmhtfstyL5G5G8msULd77lXUb5j40z6sPawf3sG-mYWtl_BVq-msZnZIC4MQxm3b0D8AF4nXMSghoE=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Create one visible layer and change the "camera raw" settings to make it look better</b><p></p><p>Okay. So for the most part, GIMP contains nearly every feature found in Photoshop. But this was one of the exceptions. It looks like I could download some filters to do this. Honestly, if I knew what I was doing, I'm sure I could do all of it through the other features already available in GIMP.</p><p>But today I saw a link to <a href="https://www.photopea.com/" target="_blank">Photopea</a> — a free Photoshop analog that runs in your browser — and I wanted to try it out. So I exported my file as a .psd file and pulled it into Photopea. I'm pretty impressed with how responsive it is. And it had most of the "camera raw" settings that were used in the tutorial.</p><p>Anyhow, I increased the temperature and contrast and it looks very spiffy. I'm calling it good.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl0iAI1m5FM2zxZJmTM6oS6nPGVDLabyo1tvnznrYaGVuUXYnmZe_DYL40DQgFHXBQRa46C04p_Ctyeat_EDF_U2XGTq_DHMSokwRMYqTaWdRpf5Mjv5Uck0ygoCoXO8JTG17-zj4Md7I2ln8bHmIfNiu75DK4v-DSvs9-7lmYjguHy_Yk-QLkuUl9-p8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl0iAI1m5FM2zxZJmTM6oS6nPGVDLabyo1tvnznrYaGVuUXYnmZe_DYL40DQgFHXBQRa46C04p_Ctyeat_EDF_U2XGTq_DHMSokwRMYqTaWdRpf5Mjv5Uck0ygoCoXO8JTG17-zj4Md7I2ln8bHmIfNiu75DK4v-DSvs9-7lmYjguHy_Yk-QLkuUl9-p8=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div>It would look even better if I'd started with a less blurry kitten picture, but we can't have everything.<p></p><p>What should I do for the next two days? I'll wander through some available tutorials and see what I can find...</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>To get the sparkles to shine, use the "screen" option.<br /><br /></p><p><br /></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-26166492544360142642024-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:002024-02-26T20:37:31.580-08:00Day 26: Needs More Dragon<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. We're currently working on a version of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOtmY-h6y0" target="_blank">Cat Butterfly Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial</a>.</p><p>Here's where we were yesterday:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdKXnImpUMeHN2__Q8Yj8cJt90IFmcptSJb-INNiS5Tglha-HP2JrRnhq9Mg40xQ0wo84q10SZOW1y5t_S7mrf7mFn1Aaovax31IfDg2DrH5XmMSlQz7gEZS_IjxARdErcK69N7h-3-cD5KtGgBOQ2XEhjMElk6c_pzQ_iiQ1qmwJcQW5X3AuXzpOs3Kk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1490" data-original-width="1996" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdKXnImpUMeHN2__Q8Yj8cJt90IFmcptSJb-INNiS5Tglha-HP2JrRnhq9Mg40xQ0wo84q10SZOW1y5t_S7mrf7mFn1Aaovax31IfDg2DrH5XmMSlQz7gEZS_IjxARdErcK69N7h-3-cD5KtGgBOQ2XEhjMElk6c_pzQ_iiQ1qmwJcQW5X3AuXzpOs3Kk" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The further I get, the more I think my background choice was a mistake, but this is how we learn things, right?</p><p>Moving right along...</p><p><b>Step 1: Add the <strike>butterfly</strike> dragon</b></p><p>I already own this dragon image, so I decided to use it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3sRln1X80i0kWUhC0PYMkQ1-YYuNplw_Ui8kCKtnyUhpP6ylqwVIxqG-Pjh4N68QP3bMyYuXniLsKJ1qGJxZJWMQ0PU1GLK8W2DnDoaZi4hNSxvtrvWZ7cbEAK_osnnYa_IratSTsx8g29ggLT-cs9Luhn3fg5Qa-uWy6pG4t_fruhKlCiZIG0awlAA4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="10000" data-original-width="10000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3sRln1X80i0kWUhC0PYMkQ1-YYuNplw_Ui8kCKtnyUhpP6ylqwVIxqG-Pjh4N68QP3bMyYuXniLsKJ1qGJxZJWMQ0PU1GLK8W2DnDoaZi4hNSxvtrvWZ7cbEAK_osnnYa_IratSTsx8g29ggLT-cs9Luhn3fg5Qa-uWy6pG4t_fruhKlCiZIG0awlAA4" width="240" /></a></div>It's an odd image. I feel like I should be able to easily change the colors, but I've never successfully managed. This time, I tried this:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii2CXnTBKjccK7MP1RAY-FUCPtNrO85yFxCl1-R5v9x9XOr_dn0w8McEZxJCTCGt0oMTHo8OeQaB3M8VsjGTTZKgiHtqTtUJlAVolBsQchLStGWe4wOu_ESquU4ul0tqyvgqregVajdoK3eOqoSyTdENwp1N-Oeo5AYMBOuqIELpIYzn70qpBQcHMGJ2Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="1068" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii2CXnTBKjccK7MP1RAY-FUCPtNrO85yFxCl1-R5v9x9XOr_dn0w8McEZxJCTCGt0oMTHo8OeQaB3M8VsjGTTZKgiHtqTtUJlAVolBsQchLStGWe4wOu_ESquU4ul0tqyvgqregVajdoK3eOqoSyTdENwp1N-Oeo5AYMBOuqIELpIYzn70qpBQcHMGJ2Q" width="232" /></a></div>It doesn't look great, but I'm hoping the it will be okay since it will be tiny and have a bunch of shining lights obscuring it.<p></p><p><b>Step 2: Add shining lights</b></p><p>Okay, so the tutorial added an image to do this. I thought (and still do think) that I should be able to do this by adding a supernova followed by gaussian blur. And it sort of worked, but I'm not sure if it doesn't look as good because I didn't start with the bright colors of that butterfly or because the supernova didn't produce the same effect.</p><p><b>Step 3: Light up the cat</b></p><p>I tried a bunch of different things (color balance with masking, airbrush painting directly, using the burn/dodge tool to make the back of the cat darker) and I'm not completely satisfied, but it's...okay?</p><p><b>Step 4: Add a light reflection in the cat's eyes</b></p><p>This helps a lot.</p><p>Anyhow, here's the current image:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQYN4UvhXafMqh0lQO50tWpoAtQISZdqcgJqNCYoe71LRl--gsxyHzCRJqfNoyJ1lcTxgFOPbLtI7JDPOpgB2QuFkcdKabXcvnVFyaZw7RU_o38epMCBZgqp2-eTg8KFmL2mqItAJZYTvz2SBwd3BwGT6U8_YtqHhfDqeU2hidbHgKfqKZ8XUD5shc_c8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1456" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQYN4UvhXafMqh0lQO50tWpoAtQISZdqcgJqNCYoe71LRl--gsxyHzCRJqfNoyJ1lcTxgFOPbLtI7JDPOpgB2QuFkcdKabXcvnVFyaZw7RU_o38epMCBZgqp2-eTg8KFmL2mqItAJZYTvz2SBwd3BwGT6U8_YtqHhfDqeU2hidbHgKfqKZ8XUD5shc_c8=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow we add glitter/sparkles, which was one of the points of this exercise. Stay tuned!<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Picking a tabby or solid color cat would have been easier than using this photo of a calico, because overlaying colors has different effects depending on whether the fur is light or dark.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-57788648920278526152024-02-25T15:03:00.000-08:002024-02-25T15:03:54.865-08:00Day 25: Needs More Fur<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. We're currently working on a version of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOtmY-h6y0" target="_blank">Cat Butterfly Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial</a>.</p><p>When we finished yesterday, things were looking a little odd.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiPYKgz25VTvMV8jlW_k99YqzEr-_NvrXhZqxY98kPgz6zrtFdIiskzFz0kVV0RtIxZE-B1sfM4HedCt598xTRy27ozsaWMFRDvHucWGky6KM-clbeDfyQW8O7EUDCWEDrlFEkAlQUw58EFWlsYwrBJO5zVLVFpeSwIWxMqwQJ8zxjryS_OEWLOY5XN3k" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1008" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiPYKgz25VTvMV8jlW_k99YqzEr-_NvrXhZqxY98kPgz6zrtFdIiskzFz0kVV0RtIxZE-B1sfM4HedCt598xTRy27ozsaWMFRDvHucWGky6KM-clbeDfyQW8O7EUDCWEDrlFEkAlQUw58EFWlsYwrBJO5zVLVFpeSwIWxMqwQJ8zxjryS_OEWLOY5XN3k=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Though really, can you really go wrong with a kitten in the picture? I say not.</p><p>Today is all about trying to make it look like the kitten and the background belong together.</p><p><b>Step 1: Darken the kitten and adjust the color balance</b></p><p>Presumably people who know what they're doing have a logical process for this, but I just tried to make it so the kitten and the background might possibly exist in the same universe. It still looked like I'd copied a picture of a kitten onto the background, but this made it closer.</p><p>Light will be added back later, so don't panic (yet) because it seems too dark.</p><p><b>Step 2: Fix the kitten's whiskers</b></p><p>This happens at the very end of the tutorial, but it was bugging me, so I did it now. They really ought to be a little thicker, but I think I got close.</p><p><b>Step 3: Add more fur. No, more than that. Keep going.</b></p><p>The key to making it look like this isn't a cut/paste of a kitten is using the smudge tool to recreate the kitten fuzz that got shaved off when removing the background. And the more I added, the better it looked.</p><p>So here we are!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia7ZaBVZ-e2uDFhRp2X0vrMKXjLyh5zVm7DBXcW6ObTp-n8MENKcOrPSxLKvuUegRkEspYEoinjroZKt6HCGjVAez5u-_DOJ35GbnUBdgpriRSnYKNWg_sN2k3mjAhvABL0WbGLQEuiXXZbQh90-Y_SkWaEQsq7WjOcLBQu7fjv4X9TH2ecYK1VpiO0sw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1490" data-original-width="1996" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia7ZaBVZ-e2uDFhRp2X0vrMKXjLyh5zVm7DBXcW6ObTp-n8MENKcOrPSxLKvuUegRkEspYEoinjroZKt6HCGjVAez5u-_DOJ35GbnUBdgpriRSnYKNWg_sN2k3mjAhvABL0WbGLQEuiXXZbQh90-Y_SkWaEQsq7WjOcLBQu7fjv4X9TH2ecYK1VpiO0sw=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Tomorrow, I'll add the butterfly (or whatever I use instead of a butterfly).</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>If you increase the flow rate above zero when using the smudge tool, it adds in the foreground color. (Yes, I found this by accident and couldn't figure out what was going on. But I can see this being useful.)</p><p>Also there's a "Sample merged" option in the smudge tool which makes it so you can smudge from any visible layer.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-42827935905119642122024-02-24T14:18:00.000-08:002024-02-24T14:18:05.216-08:00Day 24: Time for Something Lighter<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. After the doom and gloom book cover of the last few days, I've decided to go back and do a version of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOtmY-h6y0" target="_blank">Cat Butterfly Manipulation Photoshop Tutorial</a> both because it's lighter and also because I want to try what they did with the sparkles near the end.</p><p>But since I have no idea how they're sourcing their pictures, I'm going to find my own. So it won't be identical.</p><p><b>Step 1: Find a cat</b></p><p>Ha! This was not a problem. I went with this image of my former foster kitten, Sabrett, of the reluctant weaners litter<br />.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVeI36aJj_C75Wiy7qI5bhxCEibdyJOWHdCby9in_wcHrVTMEMpld5rEZHstn0wykmCTYXmYZygcFPz0G9bzLODpHT2WPzQrd987KSWuWENwAT3Wcav3U3pRKMRQvAbcdQZHJ1fTL4FfM5pQJ0WjK5_fuk3PUkT2yqcJgmYq1AHvZ2wVFz3JFG_RRxRF8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVeI36aJj_C75Wiy7qI5bhxCEibdyJOWHdCby9in_wcHrVTMEMpld5rEZHstn0wykmCTYXmYZygcFPz0G9bzLODpHT2WPzQrd987KSWuWENwAT3Wcav3U3pRKMRQvAbcdQZHJ1fTL4FfM5pQJ0WjK5_fuk3PUkT2yqcJgmYq1AHvZ2wVFz3JFG_RRxRF8" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sabrett is on a lovely purple background, which might be a bit of a problem (because it really doesn't blend with her fur), but we'll work about that after I've chosen a background for the image.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A bit of quick and dirty isolation, and we have this. If I choose a dark enough background, I think the purple tinge around the edges won't matter. But if it does, I'll need to go in and clean up the edges more. Because of that, I'm holding off on adding hair to make it look less like the cat has been cut out. (I'll revisit this later.)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9sjuw3AZfzGvkVquEDc1k1PGqg5vydixu8ZY3_1I_qQNr75FaPpm4ouAk8DeWPIcvX0lKsKkAjZHUSzvu1ZY0NhGWFJLm4SYuFmrC4_Z-dercoDony335-jjNkXfmlC160fdp7NVfKBUc_IyU-aK3priDpfJtRHiEIIk4mDJ5pzRyyDqQWt3MJMadWTA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="1794" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9sjuw3AZfzGvkVquEDc1k1PGqg5vydixu8ZY3_1I_qQNr75FaPpm4ouAk8DeWPIcvX0lKsKkAjZHUSzvu1ZY0NhGWFJLm4SYuFmrC4_Z-dercoDony335-jjNkXfmlC160fdp7NVfKBUc_IyU-aK3priDpfJtRHiEIIk4mDJ5pzRyyDqQWt3MJMadWTA" width="278" /></a></div></div><p><br /></p><b>Step 2: Find a background</b><p></p><p>The tutorial started with a city at night scene, blurred it, and added a blue overlay. I'm starting with this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQEX-ZJdooTo2xMu7MRt6Lf05k3SJGNazGcSqwAoDAvwAbXk-2hrVKlQeC-ZlUDh2PXYDAgzEW11SSCjo7sYMC6VVynh_rgr5vZurKKx-MKi_8fJOE0diqyiQq4sUyvXJuotAl_Z0B5gCmVx3vTFEMhsnLCZB5QTQ6Xtf8RLeLGD1IlidW9mmyeykGY0I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQEX-ZJdooTo2xMu7MRt6Lf05k3SJGNazGcSqwAoDAvwAbXk-2hrVKlQeC-ZlUDh2PXYDAgzEW11SSCjo7sYMC6VVynh_rgr5vZurKKx-MKi_8fJOE0diqyiQq4sUyvXJuotAl_Z0B5gCmVx3vTFEMhsnLCZB5QTQ6Xtf8RLeLGD1IlidW9mmyeykGY0I" width="180" /></a></div>In retrospect, the linear nature of the city scape might be a better choice, but I'm going to run with this for a while. Anyhow, I darkened it and messed with the colors, and now I have this:<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHVoBB-vTumPe7CtluaMkvyseog5SziR5LrikxAaaDokqq8nceP-5JZ4dv9yPzw5mDPzhkF5bEo0lnHIuuMdTe35rR2i5AuhyegYSA4kKZgwBglhCfB3rcc3OUjng1ZtlEX73ohWoSAFHUAXbve7JbxKY-KtIPwv-oc5_YbBgMjZC50-qMSVMNZRDEgR8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="998" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHVoBB-vTumPe7CtluaMkvyseog5SziR5LrikxAaaDokqq8nceP-5JZ4dv9yPzw5mDPzhkF5bEo0lnHIuuMdTe35rR2i5AuhyegYSA4kKZgwBglhCfB3rcc3OUjng1ZtlEX73ohWoSAFHUAXbve7JbxKY-KtIPwv-oc5_YbBgMjZC50-qMSVMNZRDEgR8" width="320" /></a></div><b>Step 3: Rescale the cat</b><p></p><p>Really happy I didn't spent too much time on the back half of the cat now.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijzcWROrLWrJOn_RlUNNHQYbNPxaVABDY_A-tA9KgJeQQgMSm3X7m6qUFBl0AnO8uTGDQeC60fl5b1PDYXcBeKkK_RB1uN3cSyfJWi5BAXFU7wSNsgd6959fBd1En7CMJzcH5woPc6dk8JfCuhY4yuin2cnWtWPEMyVz8gXmOhJbsDOvWQ5Xthcb5UT08" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1020" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijzcWROrLWrJOn_RlUNNHQYbNPxaVABDY_A-tA9KgJeQQgMSm3X7m6qUFBl0AnO8uTGDQeC60fl5b1PDYXcBeKkK_RB1uN3cSyfJWi5BAXFU7wSNsgd6959fBd1En7CMJzcH5woPc6dk8JfCuhY4yuin2cnWtWPEMyVz8gXmOhJbsDOvWQ5Xthcb5UT08" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br />I promise this will look better soon! But right now, I need to go bathe the current foster cat in lime sulfur and bleach the heck out of the bathroom, so it will have to wait.</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Don't give up on the project because it looks like crap now. Wait until you've really screwed it up.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-71702622611107981902024-02-23T12:04:00.000-08:002024-02-23T12:04:52.443-08:00Day 23: Let's Finish This<p>Hello, and welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>!</p><p>My current project is a re-imagining of the terrible AI-generated cover image for this book:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqOZvU0u7Q2sm93kBTeKioSbNPfmkWe0ehcYaBSnNJKXraLaXO1r5J8Nia6ztxxM0fdQmpC2VRZik3uvEXJmM2kMsLJF_g2S9gpA7r2Tlt1jqDtJ85trT83hDjh_BMvgXaOSeZM7Om5RIy5F7PEHTVGr5Sji1s5TaFiu-uy3-yw3EJ5WZHJ54PRhiuamU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqOZvU0u7Q2sm93kBTeKioSbNPfmkWe0ehcYaBSnNJKXraLaXO1r5J8Nia6ztxxM0fdQmpC2VRZik3uvEXJmM2kMsLJF_g2S9gpA7r2Tlt1jqDtJ85trT83hDjh_BMvgXaOSeZM7Om5RIy5F7PEHTVGr5Sji1s5TaFiu-uy3-yw3EJ5WZHJ54PRhiuamU=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div><br />After a few days of working on this, I've realized I just don't like the original image at all. Everything is in deep shadows and you might as well just slap the title on a black background and call it done. So... I'm finishing this up today and I'll work on something else for the rest of the month.<p></p><p>Also, I forgot to take screenshots as I was working, so this will just be a before and after.</p><p>This is where we left off yesterday:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYo7Tt795cXdRyiPxnoeUh7CvOHXgqspiU3m1ShS73AGs9VEaYYIfHxOIIEaIiiyavl3AMeyFk8O6-yuOj3imSnzhkLRjqGoXtZKoy5TP5ymKL-k9T5gFSWR9pMfz2Q1TvdWFmz1jCStJdH4jluadVH-sE3MLtZn8mlUSsMQ52XFJxkoiDF6pqDvHJlnA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="1188" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYo7Tt795cXdRyiPxnoeUh7CvOHXgqspiU3m1ShS73AGs9VEaYYIfHxOIIEaIiiyavl3AMeyFk8O6-yuOj3imSnzhkLRjqGoXtZKoy5TP5ymKL-k9T5gFSWR9pMfz2Q1TvdWFmz1jCStJdH4jluadVH-sE3MLtZn8mlUSsMQ52XFJxkoiDF6pqDvHJlnA" width="159" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 1: Add a castle or building. </b></p><p>Yes, if you squint at that picture, there's a building on the other side of the gate. This is Depositphotos_23183842. (I think I've now spent an entire dollar on my spite-recreation of this image.)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEdWJl7N9Nrehz1a73cX1dp6ZgZc8NX4lL6qwGKzYDP-E4u42AWw5rzbB1MMWBiWCnow6SnjuW5jz8Al3YkxDa7PUAPYOTjI7t_bGcaQZnJcAVzQqiOiFURkk7k7K47uNCf9gMHYnA98Q3eQte4lauphISjJjhvOXiXsrEXwrjS_yH9hvDry_rPAp405o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5000" data-original-width="5500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEdWJl7N9Nrehz1a73cX1dp6ZgZc8NX4lL6qwGKzYDP-E4u42AWw5rzbB1MMWBiWCnow6SnjuW5jz8Al3YkxDa7PUAPYOTjI7t_bGcaQZnJcAVzQqiOiFURkk7k7K47uNCf9gMHYnA98Q3eQte4lauphISjJjhvOXiXsrEXwrjS_yH9hvDry_rPAp405o" width="264" /></a></div>I decided to go with the castle piece on the right.<p></p><p><b>Step 2: Get rid of some of the bars on the gate</b></p><p>Once I had the building in place, it was obvious the gate was occluding too much, so I removed half the bars. It still looks very solid, but now it's possible to see the castle.</p><p><b>Step 3: Add a light on the castle</b></p><p>Okay, this wasn't really part of the original image, but I felt like it needed something to relieve all the freaking dark gray and black. I made the light yellow so it would echo the color on the rose.</p><p>Hey, it's my picture, so I can do what I want.</p><p><b>Step 4: Add some yellow highlights on the plants surrounding the gate.</b></p><p>Again, mostly this was just to relieve the tedium of this image, though there's a bit of this in the original.</p><p><b>Step 5: Add some trees</b></p><p>Aside from some random branches growing out of nowhere, the original doesn't really have trees. But there needs to be something breaking up all the fog. The AI-generated version accomplishes this by have random "stuff" appearing in mid-air, which fools the eye until you look at it and wonder WTF that thing hovering in the sky is supposed to be.</p><p>I used silhouettes of trees I photographed during my walk yesterday. Free trees, baby!</p><p><b>Step 6: Add the rose</b></p><p>I'd created the black & gold rose a few days ago, so I imported that and messed with it for a few minutes to add some more shine. I definitely didn't succeed in making it look like metal, but I think it fits in the image anyhow.</p><p>And here's the final image. You can probably see more detail if you click on it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhZfEQFtxmGLig15jmkCBIuf7gapzF-XhsH5POQ-eIv0BoyhWMaBDDuaFi9B-mKmD1YPJ5scrjnQ0ZHdxHSPl_N4fFRaCJvA-GC3aMjs_vJCy6SyL2Ao8ySdHMZVyQb_aioZBCFkooYkk25nDQrOZTlEG8TYCI3OoFMgW51jTf4J_K31xRtu7MU1hYoGw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhZfEQFtxmGLig15jmkCBIuf7gapzF-XhsH5POQ-eIv0BoyhWMaBDDuaFi9B-mKmD1YPJ5scrjnQ0ZHdxHSPl_N4fFRaCJvA-GC3aMjs_vJCy6SyL2Ao8ySdHMZVyQb_aioZBCFkooYkk25nDQrOZTlEG8TYCI3OoFMgW51jTf4J_K31xRtu7MU1hYoGw=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div><br />I'm too lazy to figure out the typography in order to really compare the two images, but overall, I think this turned out pretty well. It's certainly not any uglier than the original.<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Pick a practice project that isn't so dark next time...</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-64241158605532790012024-02-22T16:35:00.000-08:002024-02-22T16:35:19.975-08:00Day 22: The Wall<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>!</p><p>In case you've forgotten, I'm doing a low-budget, no-talent recreation of this AI-generated book cover. For science!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXFhCJfuJiBtT0XCIv5vOoZr05k8V7_x8GufrdYTgpKmw_LhBGB8MrLHVNXwUeFAjeSel-wF1fHP7-ziwm5oD6ltwrTlPL2CsxKiTofwOecoUYvUkW1ITC7a3WXyvcpH61PdXIi5TmQC4YVJAo-Bfs4SPP07IAozVQ12OV51kLZjgYEQidAInYbLl9vas" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXFhCJfuJiBtT0XCIv5vOoZr05k8V7_x8GufrdYTgpKmw_LhBGB8MrLHVNXwUeFAjeSel-wF1fHP7-ziwm5oD6ltwrTlPL2CsxKiTofwOecoUYvUkW1ITC7a3WXyvcpH61PdXIi5TmQC4YVJAo-Bfs4SPP07IAozVQ12OV51kLZjgYEQidAInYbLl9vas" width="155" /></a></div><br />When we left off, I had a gate, an arch of thorns, some spooky background fog, and a rose that I haven't imported into the main project yet.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAjQCJdpHK-eR4S118I1qOUfEdPFhYWKnEwbomVVVoQq2lQ1s9yzCGaflUJp6ECFE2OfIMtNQ-l3XpyN9KBKMbmCopDzA39U1tGGDwVOsT7zM72oilOxfA-jabI8MToeg-zxxNHW6BJw53k_FxaAZuVMFFli-sWkRw9vddHhPulZVBtKqGKqXFK1uh0G8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAjQCJdpHK-eR4S118I1qOUfEdPFhYWKnEwbomVVVoQq2lQ1s9yzCGaflUJp6ECFE2OfIMtNQ-l3XpyN9KBKMbmCopDzA39U1tGGDwVOsT7zM72oilOxfA-jabI8MToeg-zxxNHW6BJw53k_FxaAZuVMFFli-sWkRw9vddHhPulZVBtKqGKqXFK1uh0G8" width="197" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Step 1: Make the gate more substantial</b></p><p>I decided the bars on the gate needed to be thicker, so I selected everything, increased the selection by 5 pixels, then dumped black everywhere. I did reverse that in a couple places because it looked too chonky, but I think this works better overall. (I'm still debating whether to take out a few bars — it will probably depend on how it looks when I add the castle behind the gate.)<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDK9Ya5_bTqn9WicbYx4mV73K6qXMhn_HQDwx8K643BmE1teqR8XQ55E-NxqK6mvFR3j38GlRCO9EK9UPOr4dY8ZmqC3-P-1zckFNA3bx44T0Lusk7BuqHE6xY2jYegbGCHize9GPRJAdD6gJJWLktRPkj3EkYwtNUT5l4XchkrH-RT09ZZUB_RIQLoTI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1784" data-original-width="1180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDK9Ya5_bTqn9WicbYx4mV73K6qXMhn_HQDwx8K643BmE1teqR8XQ55E-NxqK6mvFR3j38GlRCO9EK9UPOr4dY8ZmqC3-P-1zckFNA3bx44T0Lusk7BuqHE6xY2jYegbGCHize9GPRJAdD6gJJWLktRPkj3EkYwtNUT5l4XchkrH-RT09ZZUB_RIQLoTI=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Add walls around the gate</b><p></p><p>Sure, the original has something that may be stone walls or at least pillars of some kind. And I probably could have found something in DepositPhotos that would have done the job, but I decided to see what I could find in my neighborhood. Hey, I'm out walking the dog anyhow.</p><p>I found a few stone fences that I probably could have made work, but then I found <i>this:</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikFQzxC4K_d8EaYfHbsh4WqL3MgpX5VxcIbyz1V6zkA7RVq8y9qr-z8CnWh-1ewT0ybc44Ls9qIOy_zQmDdea9rQBEhHKHP9h24abfLhbpoektCaojAV4NsRyqikHZSQbtp2JbNTVQURqV4cZPEEjdvfvRQPb8rhglDHzmC6QACo5qG8dOpIG6Y59fcyo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikFQzxC4K_d8EaYfHbsh4WqL3MgpX5VxcIbyz1V6zkA7RVq8y9qr-z8CnWh-1ewT0ybc44Ls9qIOy_zQmDdea9rQBEhHKHP9h24abfLhbpoektCaojAV4NsRyqikHZSQbtp2JbNTVQURqV4cZPEEjdvfvRQPb8rhglDHzmC6QACo5qG8dOpIG6Y59fcyo" width="320" /></a></div><br />One of the things the bizarre AI-generated image offers is a weird sense that things that aren't living (like metal gates) may be alive. So I decided to add more life into my version by using ivy as my walls.<p></p><p>First we get rid of the sky, then we bring the ivy wall into the main picture. It starts out like this:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0jURl8NcKqNtFkT2YsakQg5PDFJnMhWi1-8wZy5s30NPYduCx_DD5bto-Njz5bbKaZkGEzPrk-xxHWCIIyQmPHPkKnk1oRgTsIEkMNA7L1FDrBnZsBKx9DeB1WJw8W_CELjkwaPvf7JE_odjrLkdihrXqdi-zAo0Wgggw8c5h9ApelL2pTFACc4XZ9EY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1202" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0jURl8NcKqNtFkT2YsakQg5PDFJnMhWi1-8wZy5s30NPYduCx_DD5bto-Njz5bbKaZkGEzPrk-xxHWCIIyQmPHPkKnk1oRgTsIEkMNA7L1FDrBnZsBKx9DeB1WJw8W_CELjkwaPvf7JE_odjrLkdihrXqdi-zAo0Wgggw8c5h9ApelL2pTFACc4XZ9EY" width="239" /></a></div><br />And yes, that looks horrible, but we're going to desaturate everything and make it so dark you can't see anything anyhow...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisw6oWH6Bjd3ejSJqrmzHUCPDJiFG6rAeVq8HAVpAqtU_4-pGV7wbQuRKLmRiBPxF83j6SjULCuWFe4Y9xeLqtf3RWujLTQBhSbKiox1E-xqewumd6K0I_ub_REJk2QdP0jAFSFe3DaqE9GvP9iMUAdvTnR39M3n1gkTQQopmZgLd8mIDTFU0m90HpWZs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="1188" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisw6oWH6Bjd3ejSJqrmzHUCPDJiFG6rAeVq8HAVpAqtU_4-pGV7wbQuRKLmRiBPxF83j6SjULCuWFe4Y9xeLqtf3RWujLTQBhSbKiox1E-xqewumd6K0I_ub_REJk2QdP0jAFSFe3DaqE9GvP9iMUAdvTnR39M3n1gkTQQopmZgLd8mIDTFU0m90HpWZs=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So there we are. Tomorrow I'll add a castle, and maybe some trees.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Adopt a dog so you have a good excuse for taking pictures of random objects in your neighborhood.</div></div><br /><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-78657811394921420732024-02-21T16:06:00.000-08:002024-02-21T16:06:17.687-08:00Day 21: The Gate<p>Welcome back to <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>!</p><p>To refresh your memory: I'm currently working on a terrible interpretation of this craptastic AI-generated image. (On a book that got <i>sprayed edges</i>! Why would you make a special edition book and use this image?)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-xPZqvlPz8cp2SVkyM3amQALFKMHKjq_QAvBbkiHACI_aIiXbtzimXsZa9iPLK3yJohbWWjcUHdRF5JMgzQ9pjrR4mLGS6DLo_Zq_XnaSwY7qfxGFdlCYZyXQB34MOVLc0_H12DJNYN9ITZEs9s3jxk2nNb8fxbLmEutrROrD36VRXC_xl9suaurcGs/s773/gothikana_small.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-xPZqvlPz8cp2SVkyM3amQALFKMHKjq_QAvBbkiHACI_aIiXbtzimXsZa9iPLK3yJohbWWjcUHdRF5JMgzQ9pjrR4mLGS6DLo_Zq_XnaSwY7qfxGFdlCYZyXQB34MOVLc0_H12DJNYN9ITZEs9s3jxk2nNb8fxbLmEutrROrD36VRXC_xl9suaurcGs/s320/gothikana_small.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p>Yesterday, I worked on the rose/cabbage. Today, I messed with the background layer and the gate.</p><p><b>Step 1: Make the arch</b></p><p>I couldn't find a gate with an arch in the stock photos, so I decided to make my own. If I'd really wanted an arch, I probably could have found something decent in the Daz3D store, but that way lies <strike>madness</strike> large credit card bills. So instead, I bought some thorns.</p><p>(Side note: I thought it would be easier to buy an image of brambles or something thorny, but all they have are a bunch of thorn crowns. Many, many thorn crowns. Far more than is reasonable. Looking for thorn pictures on DepositPhotos leads you to the religious torture porn section that should be in a little room at the back of the store.)</p><p>Anyhow, I got this image:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDCmrpy9qh6MANFv02YvPNkxu4qdGh2wq5-sFKVwuO47q24BTcBznBeSRqQqWrNwZB3tZEs43DgPdN_vAJar-iocSZ-cCa7XreM_ba9qCD1PUkgQU5uZorpSs20ouS1Hxp2zwzI0LH0cpXPlwjeVwZL93687ZwDoGlQX9F9ck-5kbMt_w4Ky4CKunAJbo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDCmrpy9qh6MANFv02YvPNkxu4qdGh2wq5-sFKVwuO47q24BTcBznBeSRqQqWrNwZB3tZEs43DgPdN_vAJar-iocSZ-cCa7XreM_ba9qCD1PUkgQU5uZorpSs20ouS1Hxp2zwzI0LH0cpXPlwjeVwZL93687ZwDoGlQX9F9ck-5kbMt_w4Ky4CKunAJbo" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With some judicious copying, stretching, bending, and masking, I create this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhl-lHIFYhisEXHEiMMUDfsO50_3dGCXVZz7qYh154g0ExB-87-peMP0n4Okh6TE-RuMseoh_k2KKVznRYDhThnJ1QcaF_AWe0j8a3FpyqXCmXSTQka8cu4ALXBM2OpmpHlfGyx2x220TZuykJsRFAcjsTk04o2c7L8C1lNaUbJkMasxuhz5deNEFzV5pI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="854" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhl-lHIFYhisEXHEiMMUDfsO50_3dGCXVZz7qYh154g0ExB-87-peMP0n4Okh6TE-RuMseoh_k2KKVznRYDhThnJ1QcaF_AWe0j8a3FpyqXCmXSTQka8cu4ALXBM2OpmpHlfGyx2x220TZuykJsRFAcjsTk04o2c7L8C1lNaUbJkMasxuhz5deNEFzV5pI" width="209" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I will not lie. There was much laughter about having veered off into a ditch at this point in my progress, but I think it sort of comes together later.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><b>Step 2: Get some gates</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>I found some reasonable gates on DepositPhotos, though they weren't as separated from the background as I would have liked. But after some messing around with the levels, I succeeded.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-mKvcqyiBINLoj2goMkYSWLz49qgWUNKiCk1fIqRyCdQftvt9kpS1I4mB6jGsljm_zESXWceWyaNG_AbZuDyuWXWmqWGAEfQ2a6_Eu---7FgfrnOCrUTP-es_QZD7AzGNqX4iEAq3BUwOr19g--aqFhBt5105tiV4d2yj_fxYGeqSozgcEqd0FpYTtas" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-mKvcqyiBINLoj2goMkYSWLz49qgWUNKiCk1fIqRyCdQftvt9kpS1I4mB6jGsljm_zESXWceWyaNG_AbZuDyuWXWmqWGAEfQ2a6_Eu---7FgfrnOCrUTP-es_QZD7AzGNqX4iEAq3BUwOr19g--aqFhBt5105tiV4d2yj_fxYGeqSozgcEqd0FpYTtas" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I might lop off the spike at the top later. I'm still thinking about it.</div><br /><b>Step 3: Make a foggy spooky background</b><p></p><p>I just used the airbrush tool, which is now my favorite tool. I may go back and mess with this, but it's close to what I wanted.</p><p>Anyhow, this is where we currently are (with the rose waiting to be imported from the other file after I finish messing with it.)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRw4q9_r5399WIA5mpSJ2uSrN3zDQlYm2JsvrkcYtNTBPHotQDJUAgVpRTkRhQpntGdf1LZnTyNK6ofs-eb8t6dzqUD5qx8MCGO_-KRW3b2Lmy-FRN-P5GV1jr7TcMcPbevgKWIZV7CW6KvgPqHcaatjyo4Yh8v-V-u_DLtGQUfYttMZv1Oi5SdWjfugc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="882" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRw4q9_r5399WIA5mpSJ2uSrN3zDQlYm2JsvrkcYtNTBPHotQDJUAgVpRTkRhQpntGdf1LZnTyNK6ofs-eb8t6dzqUD5qx8MCGO_-KRW3b2Lmy-FRN-P5GV1jr7TcMcPbevgKWIZV7CW6KvgPqHcaatjyo4Yh8v-V-u_DLtGQUfYttMZv1Oi5SdWjfugc=w275-h400" width="275" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>I mean, yeah, it's objectively bad, but I think it's heading in the right direction.</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Don't try searching for thorns in DepositPhotos.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-70469179230644716582024-02-20T14:29:00.000-08:002024-02-20T14:29:00.437-08:00Day 20: Switching Gears<p> Welcome back to Thingadailies!</p><p>Now that I have completely <strike>butchered</strike> mastered the tutorial, it's time to find something else to work on. I was going to start on this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POOtmY-h6y0" target="_blank">Cat + Butterfly + Sparkles tutorial</a>, but I decided to wait on that because I heard about the latest "publisher uses crappy AI art on a book" catastrophe.</p><p>If you want the full explanation, this <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@emmaskies/video/7333047012000156959" target="_blank">video</a> covers it pretty well. But if you just want the short form, this is the cover in question:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWE5E5-jkuIyQldYD-W8JtskhDiDtZE15uoF4HAKDOjbANRvdb_UiB06Phb7Uy53yZ9SHUedXKFmTnMNxAg5n-CTtfIdOdo5FNGs9nHz70IwdrolC_GaPpVURZilcLzqNoYOwP_WhXMvEoBYY3ehAh7h-uv_s0fvUEJh0NhC_s4mZ_cHamlzXoaayXV_I/s773/gothikana_small.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWE5E5-jkuIyQldYD-W8JtskhDiDtZE15uoF4HAKDOjbANRvdb_UiB06Phb7Uy53yZ9SHUedXKFmTnMNxAg5n-CTtfIdOdo5FNGs9nHz70IwdrolC_GaPpVURZilcLzqNoYOwP_WhXMvEoBYY3ehAh7h-uv_s0fvUEJh0NhC_s4mZ_cHamlzXoaayXV_I/w259-h400/gothikana_small.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><p>The darkness covers a multitude of sins, but the more you look at it, the worse it gets. Like all AI-generated images, things sort of make sense until they don't. Like gates that contain floating bits of iron and aren't symmetric...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgxtN5Ad1gyfpUWjc-aeLPbAUzoTTLG6lqEvvVneix-_k1xN8mhsj_sFF1VgCVweAtMEGj1rRmW4oNUE3wCNHInT4e1vtbOgQHWGCKTdddtBTWZW1Ld50gITIp41DyEopfSR-TBLFmX4i2uNVbCHLLpOFohaK4yP8y43KSfoP6_rSMC7re84RrIxJtK1A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="654" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgxtN5Ad1gyfpUWjc-aeLPbAUzoTTLG6lqEvvVneix-_k1xN8mhsj_sFF1VgCVweAtMEGj1rRmW4oNUE3wCNHInT4e1vtbOgQHWGCKTdddtBTWZW1Ld50gITIp41DyEopfSR-TBLFmX4i2uNVbCHLLpOFohaK4yP8y43KSfoP6_rSMC7re84RrIxJtK1A" width="195" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And the branch randomly growing out of... iron? a clump of weird leaves? The rest of the tree doesn't exist.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidk2YMGD0OZ6Ndc6VBUiQTTrfsWAayzU6SGOHysLlIYezRIpHHI5EPekr0z8B1KKrizU4qgIWc3asCtab1oSEVRoEMt-yfZtyZeJzs0WbGRmk5U-1ycFDdH86E3fU6VTcttwpspNU2PJ5iyUwHA8WTSR0yJEBKerl1XoQ4aXxDtqLs48egZtUxClk9v7U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1352" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidk2YMGD0OZ6Ndc6VBUiQTTrfsWAayzU6SGOHysLlIYezRIpHHI5EPekr0z8B1KKrizU4qgIWc3asCtab1oSEVRoEMt-yfZtyZeJzs0WbGRmk5U-1ycFDdH86E3fU6VTcttwpspNU2PJ5iyUwHA8WTSR0yJEBKerl1XoQ4aXxDtqLs48egZtUxClk9v7U" width="311" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And the nearby random crud, which could be birds or leaves but is really just random crud floating in the sky:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFrGDkIhoKQi83c1VGuTAVzOQaHqT31dDicmEKFrrnh03aj9XJySPUe_zOHBjO9swQEudOll9UpAkpQN-rMejMGxp7T-Hc-kb31lv23DsbUxnV1vEVxF-nBdYpmIsc_SG2VuJpXxSjsdQo0F5AXXglNui1uc4alyAhyRZY8lhYoGZHxIpnIq1-HSxaY0U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1018" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFrGDkIhoKQi83c1VGuTAVzOQaHqT31dDicmEKFrrnh03aj9XJySPUe_zOHBjO9swQEudOll9UpAkpQN-rMejMGxp7T-Hc-kb31lv23DsbUxnV1vEVxF-nBdYpmIsc_SG2VuJpXxSjsdQo0F5AXXglNui1uc4alyAhyRZY8lhYoGZHxIpnIq1-HSxaY0U" width="240" /></a></div><br />Anyhow, the really annoying thing for me is that if you look at the original book cover, the image isn't that complicated. A <b>good</b> artist could create the same composition and it would look a whole lot better.<p></p><p>So, of course, my next thought was... Here we go! My next project!</p><p>(Also, Karen complained that so far this Thingadailies, there hasn't been a spectacular fail. This ought to take care of that.)</p><p>Note that I said a "good artist" could do this. I am <i>not</i> a good artist. I'm not even halfway competent. But let's see how close I can get!</p><p><b>Step 1: Get a rose</b></p><p>First off, I'm not sure that thing on the book is a rose. It might be a cabbage. But I feel like a rose is more in keeping with the dark romance theme, so I went with a rose.</p><p>I spent something like $0.30 on this picture of a rose. (Depositphotos_246638650)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiV-R4vkR84u6LQfODBk0_gpcpLwBV3bpB6Qhrmg7_yPcJE7DcTTcZn4WQufFyqfeKMau_APd6o-ChR-FLqVP5JUTFj6H-SYpyGh_C3zIYVLJpYgSyuLSSwd-OH9I6hBkVhgcJ8jXmrkIB7gcpoicLJgH8KmBgqPbnnpjd0PqIochOhfYL7cyb9QQ05Jg0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiV-R4vkR84u6LQfODBk0_gpcpLwBV3bpB6Qhrmg7_yPcJE7DcTTcZn4WQufFyqfeKMau_APd6o-ChR-FLqVP5JUTFj6H-SYpyGh_C3zIYVLJpYgSyuLSSwd-OH9I6hBkVhgcJ8jXmrkIB7gcpoicLJgH8KmBgqPbnnpjd0PqIochOhfYL7cyb9QQ05Jg0" width="285" /></a></div>It's a very nice rose and somebody else has already done the tedious work of isolating it from its surroundings.<div><br /></div><div>Do I know how to make something look like gold metal is coming through? Absolutely not. But I'm going to try my best.<br /><p></p><p><b>Step 2: Desaturate the rose and drop the levels</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCOKrdDcUfwGSxp9wE27SXMO3I5aKFv3PrQSvtwPSSrodlr3E-PnZxLDJq0_MDCF8O9nkaQh3qgivtS3cIoPjvvJVSx8ZuY6q2Q5PE7nTjs4ZiwIaMdj9xEdLt0h9ICMEgvin9NqOANg29G3GvrsVVhoFEAot3EluSBR4HfzaQoYWwEnbRMZtPcY7IV4Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="926" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCOKrdDcUfwGSxp9wE27SXMO3I5aKFv3PrQSvtwPSSrodlr3E-PnZxLDJq0_MDCF8O9nkaQh3qgivtS3cIoPjvvJVSx8ZuY6q2Q5PE7nTjs4ZiwIaMdj9xEdLt0h9ICMEgvin9NqOANg29G3GvrsVVhoFEAot3EluSBR4HfzaQoYWwEnbRMZtPcY7IV4Y" width="293" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Add some <strike>gold</strike> yellow highlights</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjywERwSVCfsdo-dEzPy0ARLfAol0kATfmFqZ00JWguDOez5NpkNnnB1uDrL-d1bOMK3iAOGPmVHo1-HUYkVb2Pak27XI9ZAy-xxrgxepkeXoQMKM4xN6BKGWW8Oosug5KZmy7CErCWeVrdof0TKHiuFVj3URmuLqOAhGCiZb45cD3XLDnaE8t_vjHiccw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="962" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjywERwSVCfsdo-dEzPy0ARLfAol0kATfmFqZ00JWguDOez5NpkNnnB1uDrL-d1bOMK3iAOGPmVHo1-HUYkVb2Pak27XI9ZAy-xxrgxepkeXoQMKM4xN6BKGWW8Oosug5KZmy7CErCWeVrdof0TKHiuFVj3URmuLqOAhGCiZb45cD3XLDnaE8t_vjHiccw" width="292" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Add some orange to the highlights</b><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-QCO0244yRpkU3YRzh0yyTmSEzBPopqOn-PqKsFC6lf-3TJCozs21OMHQKVVYRmLDHLpqlUFNmeAy_GyUaNauVB0xp7N_OryR8PeAzlYvFpHHVvIloWmNVuukYvcBN0LJRhsmGgFRZ2_lTEi2uabVWO2r3LCfPrK6P6ymExN5Ib7v6qs5Tnn5Rk3gpKA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="952" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-QCO0244yRpkU3YRzh0yyTmSEzBPopqOn-PqKsFC6lf-3TJCozs21OMHQKVVYRmLDHLpqlUFNmeAy_GyUaNauVB0xp7N_OryR8PeAzlYvFpHHVvIloWmNVuukYvcBN0LJRhsmGgFRZ2_lTEi2uabVWO2r3LCfPrK6P6ymExN5Ib7v6qs5Tnn5Rk3gpKA" width="294" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 4: Add a layer shifted toward white to add more light in some areas</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg638wsLgiWVVoK3M0XLL2vIrRoc1G5GqjEjNekqQdx7_DW84FRn7IRutASk4b6NsLr2kJdcscaxgEazyr8Afu5PNU5KL8vhQbVdIGoWYIHifzoVE4Pt1JPI-xtjEJ-SO1NGo9kIuhAXc6XhzwXRpYW4deQmB679do_Gxr9yA8I08SEwavgMCcTSEUqsz0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="942" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg638wsLgiWVVoK3M0XLL2vIrRoc1G5GqjEjNekqQdx7_DW84FRn7IRutASk4b6NsLr2kJdcscaxgEazyr8Afu5PNU5KL8vhQbVdIGoWYIHifzoVE4Pt1JPI-xtjEJ-SO1NGo9kIuhAXc6XhzwXRpYW4deQmB679do_Gxr9yA8I08SEwavgMCcTSEUqsz0" width="284" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 5: Do it again, but more!</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP1_MhYKbONkR0DcYBW7HzJOu1LNtRtcxTTIhRo7eEi1YqnWDTKojZw36uwweD2bSn-S2C63R8KMsxBwG_A8E6MNx04XSlHd8jmr6Yna2eeEi4BFAGgjjRLoN3lkha4mZEWlFvrjjTP1yONl_MK2TUh2HDzT46FKC2xQYqovnKR3E1Lia1Fjbk2tCYwPs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="958" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjP1_MhYKbONkR0DcYBW7HzJOu1LNtRtcxTTIhRo7eEi1YqnWDTKojZw36uwweD2bSn-S2C63R8KMsxBwG_A8E6MNx04XSlHd8jmr6Yna2eeEi4BFAGgjjRLoN3lkha4mZEWlFvrjjTP1yONl_MK2TUh2HDzT46FKC2xQYqovnKR3E1Lia1Fjbk2tCYwPs" width="293" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Okay, so that's where we stand at the end of the first day. Does it look like the one on the book? Not at all. But for me, I think this is pretty good.</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Publish your own books so you don't get saddled with an AI nightmare of a cover (unless that's what you desire).</p></div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-7161212391664148502024-02-19T14:45:00.000-08:002024-02-19T14:45:36.288-08:00Day 19: Works for me!<p>Welcome to day 19 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1107s" target="_blank">18:27</a></p><p>Ending point: (The end of the video)</p><p>There was a lot of stuff going on here, and I only caught some of it. But when has my lack of understanding ever stopped me? Onward!</p><p><b>Step 1: Put the birds in motion</b></p><p>The birds got a little linear blur, to add some motion.</p><p><b>Step 2: Blur the background</b></p><p>By adding just a little median blur of the background image, the foreground objects stand out more.</p><p><b>Step 3: Create a new layer from everything visible and add a vignette filter</b></p><p>That darkens the corners a little.</p><div>At this point, he messed with the colors a bunch. He desaturated the picture, but I decided I liked mine better the way it is. (I have simple tastes. I like overly saturated pictures. So there.)</div><div><br /></div><div>He also added more fog behind the man, which I think would have made him stand out more if I'd followed directions. Live and learn!</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow, here is the final version:</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1vhH7VlGgAFDnOaQbfU62cD8qprEehroNO3d_dt_LdJXnvjpFi6Ujnd3T5_PaUa-IrxpD8YXcvej77twIHXDCdBc2TJlp2pxYZqJsbTNVe2-gtQrvadR80tUWKas8oLmZVqpEsPZgdZiAkVF-j-CNWKmJFvYcodGwdKeKkNwN3MwsdexFCZ4kZtDn5dk"><img alt="" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1vhH7VlGgAFDnOaQbfU62cD8qprEehroNO3d_dt_LdJXnvjpFi6Ujnd3T5_PaUa-IrxpD8YXcvej77twIHXDCdBc2TJlp2pxYZqJsbTNVe2-gtQrvadR80tUWKas8oLmZVqpEsPZgdZiAkVF-j-CNWKmJFvYcodGwdKeKkNwN3MwsdexFCZ4kZtDn5dk=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />I quite like it.</div><div><br /></div><div>What will I work on for the rest of the month? I don't yet know. I'm torn between finding a similar tutorial and just using some of these techniques on my own pictures...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Blurring the background a bit and adding a vignette frame work well to pull the eye toward the objects in the front and middle.</div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-28567659177054413502024-02-18T13:46:00.000-08:002024-02-18T13:46:49.951-08:00Day 18: Rock On!<p>Welcome to day 18 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1034s" target="_blank">17:14</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1107s" target="_blank">18:27</a></p><p>It's a stormy Sunday and it turns out that I've just about reached the limit of my ability to follow directions. (Hey, it lasted 17 days longer than I thought it would, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.)</p><p>Here's where we started today:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lQf6-IC3rjtm2NlxBQdvfx7HftxTYN0uG93VOE6tn2pE0baYdPa-7bpnjqCF8fHSfuhQnCd01o2f-Mi0qjVsD1xbE48Isj0MrDE19blumpPRU6Z6TXUkwDRkjRd6zJ_OgZZ4yIGPC26qd0OBjmz7MWjn9oVsUraLlveIcvEGLcXbsI6e1tGThEQVuRk/s1594/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%2012.46.24%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1594" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lQf6-IC3rjtm2NlxBQdvfx7HftxTYN0uG93VOE6tn2pE0baYdPa-7bpnjqCF8fHSfuhQnCd01o2f-Mi0qjVsD1xbE48Isj0MrDE19blumpPRU6Z6TXUkwDRkjRd6zJ_OgZZ4yIGPC26qd0OBjmz7MWjn9oVsUraLlveIcvEGLcXbsI6e1tGThEQVuRk/w400-h224/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%2012.46.24%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 1: Time to rock!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bring in the rock2 image. Then squish the bottom rocks, flip it around, warp the top rock a bit, and place it so it all looks like steps over on the right side of the image.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojpMdOpf90oQz6zkfhrh_hU033ByVKvjUk-gqoJGL5_Zb2anQR0x9yc4qWkY7NIFLYpjqRM0Qlj8AGWIlXrzCI7Jzqx0q9j_5ZlShUNQHupWC2CQsMtioF39F0Ms3rzcCHBPberXUJE1dNIRNsaa6gvTWp2c4m0iNL0LV1DPGEZK333gUpyDDnQ0Ums4/s1024/Rock_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojpMdOpf90oQz6zkfhrh_hU033ByVKvjUk-gqoJGL5_Zb2anQR0x9yc4qWkY7NIFLYpjqRM0Qlj8AGWIlXrzCI7Jzqx0q9j_5ZlShUNQHupWC2CQsMtioF39F0Ms3rzcCHBPberXUJE1dNIRNsaa6gvTWp2c4m0iNL0LV1DPGEZK333gUpyDDnQ0Ums4/s320/Rock_2.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And we get to this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-baSpw0TwUUN64m93bSgpxxSnP03yHvvaxFIDohWDI3mdHiP97w8gfwVPh8C9xwYSBX7zW1Ut-KE1YC9lrxQSDulXFZNbtO_1YoBqUsFa0CUl-_fUsYKn8jh1zSIsEky7U6GSu-SB6z_UmJEHQuggj5ia0iprR8mtcz7GAyOi-Pb1YUEek7HqOXwwZJs/s1588/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%2012.56.42%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1588" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-baSpw0TwUUN64m93bSgpxxSnP03yHvvaxFIDohWDI3mdHiP97w8gfwVPh8C9xwYSBX7zW1Ut-KE1YC9lrxQSDulXFZNbtO_1YoBqUsFa0CUl-_fUsYKn8jh1zSIsEky7U6GSu-SB6z_UmJEHQuggj5ia0iprR8mtcz7GAyOi-Pb1YUEek7HqOXwwZJs/w400-h224/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%2012.56.42%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 2: Make the rock look like it belongs in this picture</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As always, we start out by adjusting the levels so it's all darker, then setting up a mask to allow the lighter areas where the sun would be hitting the steps to come through.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here's where I went off script. He adjusted the color balance and kept the rocks gray, like so:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7CZFukk5kKpb83dFTLLzviAH7HllaL53nUv_5RPF9uitYJ81b31C7BVW6HMuQwyUChDxGHDaK0ahF-bIPBMLs40I2d5A1ZhVe9zfIBac15JeEaJy3yD2ZjbeOsJPYTGUgW5YFwZSAZMwUFH1XAgWy5kqXcTjvjUMwLAqbDa3wC3noaoUGCszTaiJZko/s616/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.34.13%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="616" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7CZFukk5kKpb83dFTLLzviAH7HllaL53nUv_5RPF9uitYJ81b31C7BVW6HMuQwyUChDxGHDaK0ahF-bIPBMLs40I2d5A1ZhVe9zfIBac15JeEaJy3yD2ZjbeOsJPYTGUgW5YFwZSAZMwUFH1XAgWy5kqXcTjvjUMwLAqbDa3wC3noaoUGCszTaiJZko/w400-h283/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.34.13%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But I liked it better with a hint of green, so I did that instead:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMzYCc15mhZgpu8C5gwWJEO06xaL8nSVMGFMxs7l0SaZROTZnNO_F3NcpDINSGUQunIPas9aKvBUjg9e0M0OPxFelWA1xxQhpEPYwDReEkLDz_VuaWr_owpDknHn04t1HZrweZwxEU0dG2lqWZV717zzuSa69Az9j8qlKXPtYiYmD5t_Acg47lYdwGuY/s1590/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.13.32%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1590" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMzYCc15mhZgpu8C5gwWJEO06xaL8nSVMGFMxs7l0SaZROTZnNO_F3NcpDINSGUQunIPas9aKvBUjg9e0M0OPxFelWA1xxQhpEPYwDReEkLDz_VuaWr_owpDknHn04t1HZrweZwxEU0dG2lqWZV717zzuSa69Az9j8qlKXPtYiYmD5t_Acg47lYdwGuY/w400-h224/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.13.32%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">His look more like steps than mine do, so maybe that was a better idea. I don't know.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 3: Add a clump of flowers. Or not.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At this point, the tutorial adds a clump of flowers next to the left side of the bridge. I was already frowning at it and considering skipping it even <i>before</i> I realized that I had — once again — positioned the left side of the bridge in the wrong place so I didn't have room for that stupid clump of flowers. I'd already moved the stupid bridge once and I don't like the flowers, so I just left them off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's what they looked like on his. There may be some scene composition reason to have them there, but meh.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUzI08kq4XBeU6t1Zht35NU5V3NCYF9ZTs1rQOSjmIr1cX9KypkjtWZ2lkhrmAhbwO0A31HLhyGPQECtJ8XBxSE-NMtEP-VjFKUe3r3xze0v7cvkBW3HD8DC1TKt6nuDw6693pezwPotMR67IjT9vdIFbFfVVoL4nit14GuQE-UsPv7gPmVpe2p_7Q64/s670/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.40.31%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="670" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUzI08kq4XBeU6t1Zht35NU5V3NCYF9ZTs1rQOSjmIr1cX9KypkjtWZ2lkhrmAhbwO0A31HLhyGPQECtJ8XBxSE-NMtEP-VjFKUe3r3xze0v7cvkBW3HD8DC1TKt6nuDw6693pezwPotMR67IjT9vdIFbFfVVoL4nit14GuQE-UsPv7gPmVpe2p_7Q64/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-18%20at%201.40.31%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So there we are at the end of day 18! I think I'll do the last part tomorrow — he does a lot of minor tweaking that I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate, so there's no point in dragging it out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The scale tool works on selections, not just entire layers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-63371731398255696502024-02-17T18:31:00.000-08:002024-02-17T18:31:07.416-08:00Day 17: Birds!<p>Welcome to day 17 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1003s" target="_blank">16:43</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1034s" target="_blank">17:14</a></p><p>Happy Bleach & Lime Sulfur Day! Yes, the cat with ringworm has been bathed and the bathroom bleached, and now it's time to add some birds to our picture.</p><p>We started with something like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWPl42YbgcMknCsfL1fOZVT2QUiFarQ3YLlA6hBp7RHK8o3gMyx9AVIQ0qUCiLHz07CC0UaVtvFENkKkPClWFjT9b3NY0ZYhNsRXti-Klwe5WHw5e7rFjY_gsE3V2sboozYFDLTPATj30Tacwi43y_zRaKJa5FODC5IcgH3DVikPiW5E8WdCv1QuyPmVM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1594" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWPl42YbgcMknCsfL1fOZVT2QUiFarQ3YLlA6hBp7RHK8o3gMyx9AVIQ0qUCiLHz07CC0UaVtvFENkKkPClWFjT9b3NY0ZYhNsRXti-Klwe5WHw5e7rFjY_gsE3V2sboozYFDLTPATj30Tacwi43y_zRaKJa5FODC5IcgH3DVikPiW5E8WdCv1QuyPmVM=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 1: Bring in the birds</b></p><p>The birds were on a transparent background, so I literally just needed to open the file.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ8VpgLWODVj_FCcq92fwK_lxH1yFaZh9iC8f8XwjUwupIEzDLAAfQWA4vmxD8BIJYxXYUfqLChaOYyLBFmHawggU5q5G7jNLusAZgpn5Pp__CBkPHsMmDV2cLccLPoHEGbd8nUgsE42ppvwyWL2aUN7YBBmR0I4-Kq_eRVExDrY1XPub5xKPUdkRi9V0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1906" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ8VpgLWODVj_FCcq92fwK_lxH1yFaZh9iC8f8XwjUwupIEzDLAAfQWA4vmxD8BIJYxXYUfqLChaOYyLBFmHawggU5q5G7jNLusAZgpn5Pp__CBkPHsMmDV2cLccLPoHEGbd8nUgsE42ppvwyWL2aUN7YBBmR0I4-Kq_eRVExDrY1XPub5xKPUdkRi9V0=w400-h243" width="400" /></a></div><br />Can you see them? They're black and hard to pick out, right?<p></p><p><b>Step 2: Invert the birds</b></p><p>They aren't flying upside down. We're just inverting the color. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg06vQD6dvjUCEF0tASO5JvLbOXVaY9RaI4Grx9EsY3oiV9gvh8mCqj3hQbYfWKYaXTtpdm6cnhKmjnT0ayxB8BfRu9Na1azATmdJ3vIi5MNgC6zpurO9dzTQldvaXfHNxTZWlKia9wo8eHrOyllcCa7oAL3bZM9yx8COwuA9cD7FST3B4iDHG_RI_PMZc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="1574" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg06vQD6dvjUCEF0tASO5JvLbOXVaY9RaI4Grx9EsY3oiV9gvh8mCqj3hQbYfWKYaXTtpdm6cnhKmjnT0ayxB8BfRu9Na1azATmdJ3vIi5MNgC6zpurO9dzTQldvaXfHNxTZWlKia9wo8eHrOyllcCa7oAL3bZM9yx8COwuA9cD7FST3B4iDHG_RI_PMZc=w400-h245" width="400" /></a></div>Much more visible. But they're a little too white.<p></p><p><b>Step 3: Make the birds gray</b></p><p>Yes, the levels window is your friend here. I also squished the birds a bit.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheVFufsUtVyP9nhld64_6wMzeGqJbHqsAknZUq52DUEVdjwUZ2N6aXQEI_1hzpp21Rq81ngq7JpAxbAONjCnS1KPCZfISiW5rj6Y9bFFJLAdgJcdvStHXPl3ACMTHRZbkzgFASy-jkL7UXWOc3snVx-VGwzXO-9sZpjw0WwUkunjmUttFyPwzWBt6m3xM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1946" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheVFufsUtVyP9nhld64_6wMzeGqJbHqsAknZUq52DUEVdjwUZ2N6aXQEI_1hzpp21Rq81ngq7JpAxbAONjCnS1KPCZfISiW5rj6Y9bFFJLAdgJcdvStHXPl3ACMTHRZbkzgFASy-jkL7UXWOc3snVx-VGwzXO-9sZpjw0WwUkunjmUttFyPwzWBt6m3xM=w400-h231" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 4: Futz around with the light hitting the forest.</b><p></p><p>Okay, so I did a little of this, decided I liked the original lighting better, and then split the difference. Is this an improvement? I'm not sure. But it's there, even if I can't see the difference in these screenshots.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_rhUsvdPcjwbVPC5CDxkygeTXUnYsfnChMDBGS5fzhqlNWR39mP5RXLMOXb5kYgmKQ6xXUp686VWX_3WQaL0ocwEdpQ69puz_PCfW3FoCQG65ygrLgGFjPb2nYwlwN-roo5IYdA3siFx20drW_m630OMyjEswRCVhqTaIdtyeu6XkF2xpsCtEOfjMTIQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1586" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_rhUsvdPcjwbVPC5CDxkygeTXUnYsfnChMDBGS5fzhqlNWR39mP5RXLMOXb5kYgmKQ6xXUp686VWX_3WQaL0ocwEdpQ69puz_PCfW3FoCQG65ygrLgGFjPb2nYwlwN-roo5IYdA3siFx20drW_m630OMyjEswRCVhqTaIdtyeu6XkF2xpsCtEOfjMTIQ=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We're getting to the end of the tutorial. Tomorrow, I add rock steps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip of the day: </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Birds add that bit of movement this image needed.</div><br /><p></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-63050563705052192762024-02-16T15:35:00.000-08:002024-02-16T15:35:04.999-08:00Day 16: Tone Down the Man<p>Welcome to day 16 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=952s" target="_blank">15:52</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=1003s" target="_blank">16:43</a></p><p>Today was all about making the man look like he belonged in the same picture.</p><p>We started like this:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjRoV7RPyh-Fc0Lk45jCFsUnmFxJqQWvMJo-bMyWNa3-g-QFjIewsZUMPeABb8963ozXK4ZtyyoVh1NK-FLw6z-KulA3EzWPjxXV2znxjTpY5k_S0nOs9nKL0oHIaRdQdeww3K4gIvVT2VIQGEDlmOOybGpKHnVtem0nPb07r7ZNI6G7obYtb-74fksZ0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1186" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjRoV7RPyh-Fc0Lk45jCFsUnmFxJqQWvMJo-bMyWNa3-g-QFjIewsZUMPeABb8963ozXK4ZtyyoVh1NK-FLw6z-KulA3EzWPjxXV2znxjTpY5k_S0nOs9nKL0oHIaRdQdeww3K4gIvVT2VIQGEDlmOOybGpKHnVtem0nPb07r7ZNI6G7obYtb-74fksZ0=w400-h342" width="400" /></a></div><br />He's standing partially in the shade of a huge tree and that's not what it looks like now.<p></p><p><b>Step 1: Drop the levels & saturation</b></p><p>This is the first time he's changed the hue & saturation in this tutorial (that I can remember). It's a minimal change here, because dropping the levels was such a huge change. </p><p>After that, there's a bit of masking on the right side to put in highlights.</p><p>Anyhow, this is what we have:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9W7ae9y2ZW-f4hQkdRWI7UTjkVRx-RkD3-Ep-szJ1c_DpywuxuWf6ebGykFsDsI_oSus3Zk0Y-N5XZpR1hjfpG-19COxMOAge24xRYfIAYM_8re_1shQ-AvqhfP0RqLdZyzTw6OuaGovuETnS1TCYBFmt-7kjcCW9o2Rrpw5DZcKfiId_7a00jsxdLU4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1298" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9W7ae9y2ZW-f4hQkdRWI7UTjkVRx-RkD3-Ep-szJ1c_DpywuxuWf6ebGykFsDsI_oSus3Zk0Y-N5XZpR1hjfpG-19COxMOAge24xRYfIAYM_8re_1shQ-AvqhfP0RqLdZyzTw6OuaGovuETnS1TCYBFmt-7kjcCW9o2Rrpw5DZcKfiId_7a00jsxdLU4=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 2: Draw in some shadows.</b></p><p>There's probably some best practice about putting in a guideline to show the angle of light so all your shadows go in the same direction... I'll have to look into that. Anyhow, I added some shadows.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUz2nNHwGTwyRFR4guLM5oE3dXUH4sme6dQ08U3GpjpjfPY_enZVwI-DjSoCw61qrB2hTvZ-rIT0Eu8XU-7ECucU_x0u5lOyL1zdEzt5RZz-jBPQ0OvWpTIF1wSyu2i84rifywMlPC--OG3vdDtrwj0UwUNQHsTAj2EvqoxS9RHWvrQyUIxyw_fcqJhuE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1250" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUz2nNHwGTwyRFR4guLM5oE3dXUH4sme6dQ08U3GpjpjfPY_enZVwI-DjSoCw61qrB2hTvZ-rIT0Eu8XU-7ECucU_x0u5lOyL1zdEzt5RZz-jBPQ0OvWpTIF1wSyu2i84rifywMlPC--OG3vdDtrwj0UwUNQHsTAj2EvqoxS9RHWvrQyUIxyw_fcqJhuE=w400-h343" width="400" /></a></div><br />And that's where we're going to leave it for the day. Tomorrow, we add birds.<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>The shadows coming from a distant light source should ideally all be parallel.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-21584753766890451862024-02-15T15:57:00.000-08:002024-02-15T15:57:24.331-08:00Day 15: How to Turn a Man's Head<p>Welcome to day 15 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=932s" target="_blank">15:32</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=952s" target="_blank">15:52</a></p><p>I just got back from driving a cat up to a rescue in Santa Rosa and I'm starving, so this will be quick.</p><p><b>Step 1: Off with his head!</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7ou7bD07THVTEkm8i-ed5H5XClVBa4vclqgDnoXtb8mHvcrdBfLTM6P9n5fqPOHA4nTY0VMoDZ5zLZ-DrTXvpSYAPAfqTh8Ro8WqDhVjhANEq-PmbVJ9W_x2IdC3uFC4X6-YT5YclGu4lB46jVqbgkHmNRLHlfioBzdvIYT7s4v26Bjn5HHeulRaEHMg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="1666" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7ou7bD07THVTEkm8i-ed5H5XClVBa4vclqgDnoXtb8mHvcrdBfLTM6P9n5fqPOHA4nTY0VMoDZ5zLZ-DrTXvpSYAPAfqTh8Ro8WqDhVjhANEq-PmbVJ9W_x2IdC3uFC4X6-YT5YclGu4lB46jVqbgkHmNRLHlfioBzdvIYT7s4v26Bjn5HHeulRaEHMg=w400-h364" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Technically, I masked it, so it was still there, but it sounds better this way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNxyiCRYtpuZytRb4_EXI2hlGW_HA3jjDV-Iuy6G8vPyjTS4mU7IGHiDIFEZl4gcxW8o81ljRIyQhhx7niLsTTgRoOM5d5m8W7EXyU7ZoslUOncnQymuNcKgx76SXGbzsos1pWdEU7LSW84spWdJ8zKGb0AFm_5Bv-gIBiOH_flPG9aHwgnu6PScU6UCs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1514" data-original-width="1770" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNxyiCRYtpuZytRb4_EXI2hlGW_HA3jjDV-Iuy6G8vPyjTS4mU7IGHiDIFEZl4gcxW8o81ljRIyQhhx7niLsTTgRoOM5d5m8W7EXyU7ZoslUOncnQymuNcKgx76SXGbzsos1pWdEU7LSW84spWdJ8zKGb0AFm_5Bv-gIBiOH_flPG9aHwgnu6PScU6UCs=w400-h342" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 2: Twist his head around</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From your backup copy of the layer, copy his head and flip it around.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwIGbH4MmXzSa4rS4CZsZ4nBXuJYLXPzyTG9AIrtSs14pupQJagcCKknpezVTNPUY7XXRs6sZays_TD_dJFKqsxjH2KoRpUPz_tBng8W2Y5ZKS53ZbrsIIb-dTk1CxvOIimflMH8qxuDVlmdn5sYHIC3Oo6Muim2F3bctjYBRZJYsPERJ9Mf5Bt0nETbI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="756" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwIGbH4MmXzSa4rS4CZsZ4nBXuJYLXPzyTG9AIrtSs14pupQJagcCKknpezVTNPUY7XXRs6sZays_TD_dJFKqsxjH2KoRpUPz_tBng8W2Y5ZKS53ZbrsIIb-dTk1CxvOIimflMH8qxuDVlmdn5sYHIC3Oo6Muim2F3bctjYBRZJYsPERJ9Mf5Bt0nETbI=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>(I can't believe this actually worked and leads to a pose that looks realistic, but there we are.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 3: Add the man to the buffalo image</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did have to scale the layer up a bit (because I'd reduced the resolution of the man a few days ago), but he doesn't look too pixelated. If I was going to redo this, I'd reduce his size but not quite as much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibKfaiberwEowI0MQ8Bkx5nBqFeRaxa3jUox-d5dgqSTaBw6BWtWiqFgz3DpgnqJNfjhS8MWF7IS6YlotdsXemHS-TUVABkpltb7NlHgJayb2-q79usOHNdDKKUqC3T4oNqqdHGOjRhl4DNWzCbq_RLfJ4Mkz-Y44ME7NXEDOjOG5LtIwgedC-RDHWci4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="2142" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibKfaiberwEowI0MQ8Bkx5nBqFeRaxa3jUox-d5dgqSTaBw6BWtWiqFgz3DpgnqJNfjhS8MWF7IS6YlotdsXemHS-TUVABkpltb7NlHgJayb2-q79usOHNdDKKUqC3T4oNqqdHGOjRhl4DNWzCbq_RLfJ4Mkz-Y44ME7NXEDOjOG5LtIwgedC-RDHWci4=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow we do some color level stuff to make him fit in and then some highlighting and shadows.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found the "Copy visible" option under the edit menu, so I don't have to collapse all the layers before copying a composite into another image.<br /><br /></div><p></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-49129814685608164012024-02-14T18:19:00.000-08:002024-02-14T18:19:34.269-08:00Day 14: He Needs a Bigger Staff<p>Welcome to day 14 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=890s" target="_blank">14:50</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=932s" target="_blank">15:32</a></p><p>The buffalo image remained unchanged today because I was working on replacing the man's arm and giving him a longer and wider staff. (Yeah, the jokes there are just too obvious, so I'll skip them.)(Well, I won't write them down. I totally made them all in my head.)</p><p>Let's begin!</p><p>This is where we left off on man2 yesterday:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7HsVBDfQ8o4d95HVEI9xXXS8I5ivY1cJqhtry8ENdt5ox5tbCQMjkSqEfYWT5jSnw48bKTlx8G0AxYYqEIS3yw6Kchtlxf9eyKP6rq2v8JFlqp3AfIYFNtrbqXmOrqWD73jrvmWtkGF2690lvTJK0GLrt33a_yWTlhX412IOSaMlSh3Lv5ONJWnaZZe8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7HsVBDfQ8o4d95HVEI9xXXS8I5ivY1cJqhtry8ENdt5ox5tbCQMjkSqEfYWT5jSnw48bKTlx8G0AxYYqEIS3yw6Kchtlxf9eyKP6rq2v8JFlqp3AfIYFNtrbqXmOrqWD73jrvmWtkGF2690lvTJK0GLrt33a_yWTlhX412IOSaMlSh3Lv5ONJWnaZZe8" width="137" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 1: Select the right arm from man1</b></p><p>This is man1. (Completely unrelated: Why would you take pictures in a coat, hat, and staff and wear black loafers? It boggles the mind.)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyHf_yqa_458qaKVh4QAq5e3PFubJoJzoLyrWRi6iPZ-3fBbjbOWOFN_mNRZCDdFP2B1e5EmW220Z4ADLhIM8W1D-xsrfGT4efbhTs0Uvwn4AVfKLi9II6nRK4wlI9N01duS9xNgFMkgcPZ_fzEVBApR1Quq9ld5_4W-Q9wxt41Znbifq-p-Zq7tW5UCY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2336" data-original-width="1575" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyHf_yqa_458qaKVh4QAq5e3PFubJoJzoLyrWRi6iPZ-3fBbjbOWOFN_mNRZCDdFP2B1e5EmW220Z4ADLhIM8W1D-xsrfGT4efbhTs0Uvwn4AVfKLi9II6nRK4wlI9N01duS9xNgFMkgcPZ_fzEVBApR1Quq9ld5_4W-Q9wxt41Znbifq-p-Zq7tW5UCY" width="162" /></a></div><br />I could have just used the free selection tool to copy the part of the image I wanted, but the video uses the path tool. It would be good for me to learn how to use the path tool, because you can do other things with a path. So I used the path tool to outline what I wanted, like so:<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPwkGQtc6Sm15lJPoJA6KADe-u8OtiwC5FsTDHtgF8JgytnDNy5zq-2Bii0PvFNvzD_O0x_ZjlVXgwgzeNA6IHV92nA1kwG4TfY8xG_oxUAmFAfmgyZVqgnq1uCDCMw1Xhck2VbG3Ej6MvFOR_df1DxqJoRHLlM7WEJ4yNh7Q95j7T-mBqU2nC12468fg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="1078" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPwkGQtc6Sm15lJPoJA6KADe-u8OtiwC5FsTDHtgF8JgytnDNy5zq-2Bii0PvFNvzD_O0x_ZjlVXgwgzeNA6IHV92nA1kwG4TfY8xG_oxUAmFAfmgyZVqgnq1uCDCMw1Xhck2VbG3Ej6MvFOR_df1DxqJoRHLlM7WEJ4yNh7Q95j7T-mBqU2nC12468fg=w273-h400" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Except... When I tried to turn that into a selection, it all went away because it turns out I wasn't using the path tool but the cage tool (which is similar but clearly not the same). Sigh. So then I found the path tool and did it all again. Then I was able to turn it into a selection.<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoj3Dtv6SuVz8yD0y_Zq3j_Iy1M3bpc2Yyi1OwHkl6vwohA-T6p9TQNFPBZdQgWa-llS8ohuVhdmlnWPo7qMAHpPorgGs2whOhRdtipfFgPyJHqbnkyaHU4n4JGjveYJX7jji9ZmqHcXz2H9LnSsDJ5SriV3tGYHtW6IY9He5c5byyrQsQBXlvCLcqZb4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="928" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoj3Dtv6SuVz8yD0y_Zq3j_Iy1M3bpc2Yyi1OwHkl6vwohA-T6p9TQNFPBZdQgWa-llS8ohuVhdmlnWPo7qMAHpPorgGs2whOhRdtipfFgPyJHqbnkyaHU4n4JGjveYJX7jji9ZmqHcXz2H9LnSsDJ5SriV3tGYHtW6IY9He5c5byyrQsQBXlvCLcqZb4=w245-h400" width="245" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 2: Copy the selection and put it on man2</b></p><p>Remember yesterday when I crashed GIMP using the Foreground Selection Tool because the image was too large, so I scaled the image down? Right. So man2 is about 600 pixels tall. But man1 is 2000 pixels tall. So there was some resizing to be done.<br /></p><p>Only after I finished that did I realize the edges of the new arm looked fuzzy. Yes, "Feather edges" on the selection tool strikes again! (Surely there's some way to make that not the default. I should look that up.) The good news is that I didn't have to trace the path again. I was able to go back to the existing path, turn it into a selection (<i>without</i> feathered edges), and copy the arm. Then it gets put in place, like so:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqUUmGjYWkqMN0BMX4l23c4OfvJhGAYGn-kWNJNJy6YHksiQJxkpl7f7dS_ZiKmMuTb5B-0f_1u3Zs9ygOqnmv3KS2VWvndXZ9pbfoTXORkR8g0ujTnjW6XdcCR5RvfFrsz1FwS_dynSQCde6FEGmqK-nOxERUFL_VfJbyEJs1J_IoMQzogiYA7iHxJgk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqUUmGjYWkqMN0BMX4l23c4OfvJhGAYGn-kWNJNJy6YHksiQJxkpl7f7dS_ZiKmMuTb5B-0f_1u3Zs9ygOqnmv3KS2VWvndXZ9pbfoTXORkR8g0ujTnjW6XdcCR5RvfFrsz1FwS_dynSQCde6FEGmqK-nOxERUFL_VfJbyEJs1J_IoMQzogiYA7iHxJgk=w242-h400" width="242" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Lengthen the staff and make it <strike>thicker</strike> wider</b><p></p><p>Clone tool is your friend, here.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWnCpiGWam0FiaJpo_sXO2OhVUt9p-Do7-bC4qcobbLNeZZUfA5xm4IiqYBg1ouSvBawTOMDTnCDmf_SebZfvHikEM8TuPiy0RgID9VMJGqjKRyA59uWMi9ncKaReGwjTRtoE-Ded__Z5rjar5HAgmQVcF54S7DHSMheM3c9NmjLnm5B4MhnNBSvqCKgk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="616" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWnCpiGWam0FiaJpo_sXO2OhVUt9p-Do7-bC4qcobbLNeZZUfA5xm4IiqYBg1ouSvBawTOMDTnCDmf_SebZfvHikEM8TuPiy0RgID9VMJGqjKRyA59uWMi9ncKaReGwjTRtoE-Ded__Z5rjar5HAgmQVcF54S7DHSMheM3c9NmjLnm5B4MhnNBSvqCKgk=w205-h400" width="205" /></a></div><br />I've decided to leave the decapitation for tomorrow.<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Make sure the stupid "Feather edges" setting is turned off.</p><p>Also, the cage tool is not the path tool.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-58653739741100755582024-02-13T18:03:00.000-08:002024-02-13T18:03:44.267-08:00Day 13: How to Get a Man<p>Welcome to day 13 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=875s" target="_blank">14:35</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=890s" target="_blank">14:50</a></p><p>Today I learned how to use the "Foreground Select Tool". More importantly, I learned how <b><i>not</i></b> to use the Foreground Select Tool. But more about that later.</p><p>When we left off, we had something that looked like this:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpdFnjiW0d-NMhrjcDEsOEL3_Jrud_GMDxTQUEShTJ5hYnnMOq_4MG0fI14tvfpLjhPIhYsQkhoGuzFRCLAqKHdNjy87qQ07FKZx7gxjb5GkHGTpdRv5RMT4jZSmPRmbEdHTq3aZT01g8wbaR6J6uKTTdZacLjyZkYOMLsK7Ikh24ZE_yZzuO3747JN3s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1758" data-original-width="3198" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpdFnjiW0d-NMhrjcDEsOEL3_Jrud_GMDxTQUEShTJ5hYnnMOq_4MG0fI14tvfpLjhPIhYsQkhoGuzFRCLAqKHdNjy87qQ07FKZx7gxjb5GkHGTpdRv5RMT4jZSmPRmbEdHTq3aZT01g8wbaR6J6uKTTdZacLjyZkYOMLsK7Ikh24ZE_yZzuO3747JN3s=w400-h220" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Add more fog</b><p></p><p>Literally, he added a layer called "More fog". So I did that. It adds some nice depth to the forest.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5mMRRH8HwgF_TYl1nZ6EhKEC1dSWTSrvUoKj5sk7YmXmyN7kGjCAG-pC20lC2kljjK8zo-W_7F9XXeRrCZ6gjiIJQ1TS2gONdohi7Z1oCKbeOVNGehWNz2U7XFqUJR-CGMxcuHtPzAEKvsiJmeMIHyuD2lm5pS-aaf_UHFH4bzC3n1HEd7I5mVuXN5YU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="3192" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5mMRRH8HwgF_TYl1nZ6EhKEC1dSWTSrvUoKj5sk7YmXmyN7kGjCAG-pC20lC2kljjK8zo-W_7F9XXeRrCZ6gjiIJQ1TS2gONdohi7Z1oCKbeOVNGehWNz2U7XFqUJR-CGMxcuHtPzAEKvsiJmeMIHyuD2lm5pS-aaf_UHFH4bzC3n1HEd7I5mVuXN5YU=w400-h219" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b>Step 2: Get a man</b></p><p>We're doing a Frankenstein joining of two images of the same guy. It's his right arm from one picture, his body from another, and then his head gets chopped off and flipped around. This is the kind of thing I would never figure out on my own, which is why I'm doing this.</p><p>So we start with this image:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI5wiHyWq3x6vRb6CsNc8G1Cp6qoB8tHhXukexqYHVPmor9u_wTjusc1z_wO7vc00hL6vT0zT7CyWy4x2YrFwDBItHQLC_m1_jhcNxpDwqzlDhNPYSU1JQOeZGU-xoD42fCthyx10Dma-1MqvASwotcDG4ZAH90Ps9xs3BDyYTusbi5b9K3aJ4BAZiLpM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2833" data-original-width="2247" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI5wiHyWq3x6vRb6CsNc8G1Cp6qoB8tHhXukexqYHVPmor9u_wTjusc1z_wO7vc00hL6vT0zT7CyWy4x2YrFwDBItHQLC_m1_jhcNxpDwqzlDhNPYSU1JQOeZGU-xoD42fCthyx10Dma-1MqvASwotcDG4ZAH90Ps9xs3BDyYTusbi5b9K3aJ4BAZiLpM" width="190" /></a></div><br />And I thought, hey, this is fine, I'll just chop off his arm. Except then I realized I needed to get rid of the background. Dammit!<p></p><p><b>Step 3: Get rid of his baggage</b></p><p>Isolating an object from the background, even with a background as relatively simple as this, can be a pain. And tedious. So today I decided to learn a new skill: the Foreground Select Tool.</p><p>This tool is not self-explanatory (you have to draw a border around the object you want, then double click on it, then draw some lines on the area you want to keep and iterate on that until you're satisfied), so I brought up the documentation.</p><p>And the very first thing in the documentation is a giant warning on a red background saying that the feature uses a lot of memory. And then it gives advice on how to cut down on the memory it uses.</p><p>So what did I do?</p><p>Yes. I ignored all that and crashed GIMP. What can I say? I may have flaws, but at least I'm consistent!</p><p>So I brought up GIMP again (and redid the fog because I hadn't saved the image). This time, I cut the man down to size first; there's no point in removing the background on the large image if I'm just going to shrink it in the end. (Okay, that many not technically be true, but it is for what I'm doing.) So I brought him down to 500x600 pixels, and Foreground Select Tool worked like a charm!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_HN9Mdm-BNXYvDIFi5jDBG1o9cYy1bC-Zm9OwCf637eesi1sp7ZwXu4biJzOR1rHNya5_-ZgXXMlxpqvwlWLJRuBLYrUigPW-EJsWC-XpPlTm0Wj-feDSoFMCdIMoQIIw9e4ZmlCJ_9mC94ZYZMdYRYV_vouAqGloXfOVkjPM_0vZ0ayLlFxWSA4GFcc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1722" data-original-width="1368" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_HN9Mdm-BNXYvDIFi5jDBG1o9cYy1bC-Zm9OwCf637eesi1sp7ZwXu4biJzOR1rHNya5_-ZgXXMlxpqvwlWLJRuBLYrUigPW-EJsWC-XpPlTm0Wj-feDSoFMCdIMoQIIw9e4ZmlCJ_9mC94ZYZMdYRYV_vouAqGloXfOVkjPM_0vZ0ayLlFxWSA4GFcc=w318-h400" width="318" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 4: Chop off his arm</b><p></p><p>This was just a matter of using the free select tool to select the arm and masking it, but the edges looked weird. That was when I discovered I had "feathered edges" turned on by default. (I didn't actually know this was a feature that existed. Much learning happened today.) After I turned that off, removing his arm was simple. So much easier than surgery.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqb2VII2HCUJl3M0Ux-GACIIHkI48_FDsZjnv4FA7vpWraNkXfSifHpg08lIkXrDk4Su4bgSnZEtAMcJUk1sHxJqfWcpYb1PoGO7cUoAEezkP89Nlo_jGa-M7A35c0EOGMMsz0iTOH-o4yxmJneChvuc2QnHATwMDTvVbdfwfZvWfPTe0hOwRXBI2qEAM"><img alt="" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="582" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqb2VII2HCUJl3M0Ux-GACIIHkI48_FDsZjnv4FA7vpWraNkXfSifHpg08lIkXrDk4Su4bgSnZEtAMcJUk1sHxJqfWcpYb1PoGO7cUoAEezkP89Nlo_jGa-M7A35c0EOGMMsz0iTOH-o4yxmJneChvuc2QnHATwMDTvVbdfwfZvWfPTe0hOwRXBI2qEAM=w197-h400" width="197" /></a></div><br />And that's where I left it. Tomorrow I'm going to learn to use the path tool a little better, so that will be exciting. He'll get an arm again.<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>If you're about to use the Foreground Select Tool, stop and think. Does the image need to be that large? Does it really? Are you sure? Have another think.</p><p>And save your file before you start.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-70026933447934985022024-02-12T19:00:00.000-08:002024-02-12T19:00:47.909-08:00Day 12: Actually, the Bridge Goes Over There<p>Welcome to day 12 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=833s" target="_blank">13:53</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=875s" target="_blank">14:35</a></p><p>Gotta be honest with you. Most of today was spent modifying the things I did yesterday. But this is how learning happens!</p><p>Here's where we were yesterday:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjYdJwgxGPLEkeTeA2nnck3M5fXErDwkaNR5DdgRyry1V_i6pr4-zBlY-fe3Z0dKen5V_4ibwj6kydvmwAOBm5Ah8MenQAXpfGX2Z5VCd9gASzSrSdO6N1rzTUdEGRG4SUJpC1EnpGYTSQKvA8MnfNiVT3VuQlNwI-Y18Lzs9qpO4aOK9HFoHjIn3Wujk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="2142" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjYdJwgxGPLEkeTeA2nnck3M5fXErDwkaNR5DdgRyry1V_i6pr4-zBlY-fe3Z0dKen5V_4ibwj6kydvmwAOBm5Ah8MenQAXpfGX2Z5VCd9gASzSrSdO6N1rzTUdEGRG4SUJpC1EnpGYTSQKvA8MnfNiVT3VuQlNwI-Y18Lzs9qpO4aOK9HFoHjIn3Wujk=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Fix the bridge on the left side</b><p></p><p>So when I went to make sure the cliff and the bridge weren't occupying the same space, I realized I'd anchored the bridge to the wrong bit of rock on the left side. I could have left it like that, but I decided to fix it for the sake of completeness. (Also, I have to turn in my novel to my critique group tonight, so I am procrastinating.)</p><p>I had to warp the thing again and fix all the highlighting and shadows and everything else.</p><p><b>Step 2: Fix the bridge on the right side</b></p><p>Yeah, only after I'd finished messing around with everything did I realize I'd anchored the right side of the bridge to the gap in the rocks. Not structurally stable. So I redid everything yet again.</p><p><b>Step 3: Make the bridge post shadows point in sort of the same direction as the shadow of the tree trunk.</b></p><p>I mean... There probably shouldn't be a 60-degree difference between shadows there. So I redid those. And it's still not perfect, but I'm not sure it's visible anyhow.</p><p>And here we are:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizbKNMHuSmDwuv5ZD6sxwfnHO6ImQNEUieWTWlJlZS-iiBGtsg_3oWCewtVEIKh16uOSz_R8i1tWhB1RmSOns7GUaY4lMnsTNA4kjfOKGJ68roZr8jELd6hn18Zw3r-Ohir-tUetboUdvTyH6D9YXiErun1jz5R3YE7f0LIYi71Nz4m0eu9hIYUTJ8HcE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1602" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizbKNMHuSmDwuv5ZD6sxwfnHO6ImQNEUieWTWlJlZS-iiBGtsg_3oWCewtVEIKh16uOSz_R8i1tWhB1RmSOns7GUaY4lMnsTNA4kjfOKGJ68roZr8jELd6hn18Zw3r-Ohir-tUetboUdvTyH6D9YXiErun1jz5R3YE7f0LIYi71Nz4m0eu9hIYUTJ8HcE=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow we add more mist and then chop some dude's arm off. It ought to be interesting!<p></p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>If you're going to redo something, make sure you don't have to fix <i>another</i> part, too. Avoid fixing it yet again!</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-5762540434981399502024-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:002024-02-12T18:47:43.433-08:00Day 11: Burn the Bridge<p>Welcome to day 11 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=732s" target="_blank">12:12</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=833s" target="_blank">13:53</a></p><div>I'll be honest, I was mostly going on vibes today and not bothering to stop the video ten thousand times to figure out exactly what was going on. My version may reflect that. Sure, it's fine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our starting point:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfvcbgGbqEAu87v24gi7ynmEpBdJ6SxG5fCebHEytyn-cREpCbGGKnG2zBPpHt9N8Vcnkhsr7bLKT69ujVwcWTjGAlC4lbGclsRpEJk2_sr_GhDg8aoxOCY1vb4YDEWpeXNngMOBz54wiEockBnYJreybaWSQDod4wf1SHmD9HjqMgMMTDtL-83-i8zmw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="2128" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfvcbgGbqEAu87v24gi7ynmEpBdJ6SxG5fCebHEytyn-cREpCbGGKnG2zBPpHt9N8Vcnkhsr7bLKT69ujVwcWTjGAlC4lbGclsRpEJk2_sr_GhDg8aoxOCY1vb4YDEWpeXNngMOBz54wiEockBnYJreybaWSQDod4wf1SHmD9HjqMgMMTDtL-83-i8zmw=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><b>Step 1: Import the bridge</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Once again, this bridge has been extracted from its background. I'm actually not sure it's a real bridge — it may be a render.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwmO16oYoTsI-5c1aS14G1SDaYSFkCb8AdsrcCFtErPuqC4pRDoSkHD1JOVYA8Bez7x2fLE-DBsu-n77V08sIyUYOpXAZ9xNRBiwf3IS4Qd2EJQonaUXxYaZUqILQUpDTDxe-PqkID4iYMo5rBfLeZAMSqXdHEsVH9i9Vw6SyOfoV1vwXJ6Drfr0tpgNQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1564" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwmO16oYoTsI-5c1aS14G1SDaYSFkCb8AdsrcCFtErPuqC4pRDoSkHD1JOVYA8Bez7x2fLE-DBsu-n77V08sIyUYOpXAZ9xNRBiwf3IS4Qd2EJQonaUXxYaZUqILQUpDTDxe-PqkID4iYMo5rBfLeZAMSqXdHEsVH9i9Vw6SyOfoV1vwXJ6Drfr0tpgNQ=w400-h103" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Make the bridge sag</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This involved using the layer warping tool that I can't find in GIMP, but I made a cage around it and warped the cage. That seemed to work pretty well, though it does fuzz the edges a bit. I think that's only visible when you're zoomed in, but it's noticeable then.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh53Zks-gThhJ-YVL3h0cvijtGkseaJKZZdi3P6omfCnlDL-vN2xt5hTGQ-YR4wqDjLX6BQu7j8dDmS0Y18M5-4--2aeA17RE-ydYniwdmbJ0_lkF8_preJPic6lD-VY4T859pBVT5DPk0gtG9a8USwaj5a98Slhhz90VjBpn1ETC27obIn1LkCcwDkltM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="1458" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh53Zks-gThhJ-YVL3h0cvijtGkseaJKZZdi3P6omfCnlDL-vN2xt5hTGQ-YR4wqDjLX6BQu7j8dDmS0Y18M5-4--2aeA17RE-ydYniwdmbJ0_lkF8_preJPic6lD-VY4T859pBVT5DPk0gtG9a8USwaj5a98Slhhz90VjBpn1ETC27obIn1LkCcwDkltM=w400-h61" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Was this actually necessary? I'm not totally convinced.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 3: Add highlights and shadows.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I think I got close. In any case, this is what I ended up with. Tomorrow I'll deal with the cliff edge on the left that is passing through part of the bridge.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhavphVv7ikooF_VuRfzZC81Wg7tgMv3ocYeXzkgyzBTYuLAG13lQraZuFO0eOyZBg579LtmhhSOetoXVXvMtYNTdHV81IZ6tf2z1tzYt3eFWIE6rJCzAqdFyQyVjuQlqe6JOFFcDWwdZbGXFnXUNZ2X7m5jt6SHfd_p1T3wbHPpnGy2ClNO3rSm2FOCNA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="2142" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhavphVv7ikooF_VuRfzZC81Wg7tgMv3ocYeXzkgyzBTYuLAG13lQraZuFO0eOyZBg579LtmhhSOetoXVXvMtYNTdHV81IZ6tf2z1tzYt3eFWIE6rJCzAqdFyQyVjuQlqe6JOFFcDWwdZbGXFnXUNZ2X7m5jt6SHfd_p1T3wbHPpnGy2ClNO3rSm2FOCNA=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-55960746467577401812024-02-10T18:37:00.000-08:002024-02-16T21:42:14.841-08:00Day 10: Leaf it Alone<p>Welcome to day 10 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=638s" target="_blank">10:38</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=732s" target="_blank">12:12</a></p><p>Today was definitely a low effort attempt. (I spent two hours bathing the foster cat and then bleaching the bathroom, so I'm tired.) But for all that I can see the differences between what I did and how the tutorial went thought it, I don't think my attempt is that terrible.</p><p>Anyhow, we started here:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPcQc6QISItnCGtHy_KiE77Gb-27caRwUe6w9qKofJe5b28094NoSJ3An4u6jarwUkhNX6ZXQkS_2q-P6wAR9f98NWnus1DNWw86itoj9dTJZBx2B_Mwo4zyjMqY1MumLa6B2-SoxDCQzrZxcs1DvMRzQcYadALjhj9xOgi-wBtjNyt1EuFMiQdBjemzY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="3206" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPcQc6QISItnCGtHy_KiE77Gb-27caRwUe6w9qKofJe5b28094NoSJ3An4u6jarwUkhNX6ZXQkS_2q-P6wAR9f98NWnus1DNWw86itoj9dTJZBx2B_Mwo4zyjMqY1MumLa6B2-SoxDCQzrZxcs1DvMRzQcYadALjhj9xOgi-wBtjNyt1EuFMiQdBjemzY=w400-h219" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Add the foliage</b><p></p><p>Again, the foliage image had already been extracted from the background, which is good. Otherwise, I never would have managed. So after the image is opened, we make three (four?) copies of it and place it around the tree, like so:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikjJHoPqCRXqxx-OITwkmzIy4wHuKcXmoidkWVDBxZL7E6qbEZdWbwTnSDT9PQDAdWOf4FFK7klu-uMS7JjKN0O-SdxZ-lbjylec9d1RE6VHIno6ECoEVRwinXApwosvuxoTOV9zuxNmhjQmuiECH-E-2ui6XoV4mPuz8ptlogrPSuqRpCffGtTVK7kGc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1604" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikjJHoPqCRXqxx-OITwkmzIy4wHuKcXmoidkWVDBxZL7E6qbEZdWbwTnSDT9PQDAdWOf4FFK7klu-uMS7JjKN0O-SdxZ-lbjylec9d1RE6VHIno6ECoEVRwinXApwosvuxoTOV9zuxNmhjQmuiECH-E-2ui6XoV4mPuz8ptlogrPSuqRpCffGtTVK7kGc=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br />If you go back to the video, you'll see mine isn't quite the same as his, but whatever.<p></p><p>Photoshop has a way to create a group out of multiple layers and then use layer masks on the group, but GIMP doesn't support that. (Take that with a grain of salt. It turns out I have almost no idea what I'm doing, so this could very well be possible.) Anyhow, I merged all my foliage layers together. So there.</p><p><b>Step 2: Darken the foliage, except where you make it lighter</b></p><p>Levels! I missed him making a highlights layer, but I did one so it would sort of match.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiimmjmRyh9RdyrRp0uyULHPH8l-eCxuC2yfGwfYY1KKcyw98Yt_MQIqB34-7A7yCnPqxlt3fILMHRJojnqadUFLL8o-6-I42qB84OxIbPlwF08-D2BPQ-F6NmGH63JZgqhDh3aWBxMxIvyjcp1JV4ikzam3BTHUcmANgpIf78bSnj20LcE72X5pfAJ8NM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="2298" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiimmjmRyh9RdyrRp0uyULHPH8l-eCxuC2yfGwfYY1KKcyw98Yt_MQIqB34-7A7yCnPqxlt3fILMHRJojnqadUFLL8o-6-I42qB84OxIbPlwF08-D2BPQ-F6NmGH63JZgqhDh3aWBxMxIvyjcp1JV4ikzam3BTHUcmANgpIf78bSnj20LcE72X5pfAJ8NM=w400-h141" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Highlight the edge of the trunk where the light is hitting it.</b><p></p><p>I did this, but I couldn't get it to look the same as it did in the video. His ability to freehand is much better than mine. Meh. Sure, it's fine.</p><p><b>Step 4: Add a darker trunk shadow.</b></p><p>Weirdly, he seems to just airbrush this in using black paint. All this time we've been adding a shadows layer and masking and so on and this time he just painted it? (Unless I missed something...) Anyhow, I did the thing.</p><p>So here's where we are at the end of day 10. Tomorrow, we add a bridge!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi85WUb2DhdgfQLQSQiFXcqAWZujD5alFmRPQ3cD-i1JPdf6mDirk1ho6F0N-5WHeU2cTkAg2xi-fzS0KEXkJHeTRTtAYu6f9F-wdpqEsXyV3hPY2wCP-XtIy50lrCJnxO3AAsH1om4mdzo2cFWPVXRmW3dwEa-CBb4gbGdzkOk-JxQCzku_XN6FKlJSRY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="2128" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi85WUb2DhdgfQLQSQiFXcqAWZujD5alFmRPQ3cD-i1JPdf6mDirk1ho6F0N-5WHeU2cTkAg2xi-fzS0KEXkJHeTRTtAYu6f9F-wdpqEsXyV3hPY2wCP-XtIy50lrCJnxO3AAsH1om4mdzo2cFWPVXRmW3dwEa-CBb4gbGdzkOk-JxQCzku_XN6FKlJSRY=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-86695250973018071212024-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:002024-02-09T13:42:33.150-08:00Day 9: A Tree Appears<h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Personal note:</b></h4><p>Meet Bluebell! She's a mature (geriatric?) cat who arrived at the shelter with a nasty abscess on her face. While she was being treated for that, she developed ringworm, which decreased the likelihood of any rescue group taking her. So she's staying at my place until her ringworm clears up.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcz57RP-uu9fEs6sLQCabMmhyUHvSXHoXDkpZP4K4nJltguJPUqnYIelxjpVBoUN8TXp8yMB-89v_679Fh-Y5RILhgO5Zb3WRbdwCqNwHI-2MUhJUWVpst7w1I-PUWXVel9i_IFcSZK5tXkp_fWEfMaZPwLUNW5oUa8hriCspIeiaFEkJ-VG5lEQMxZ5k" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="2275" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcz57RP-uu9fEs6sLQCabMmhyUHvSXHoXDkpZP4K4nJltguJPUqnYIelxjpVBoUN8TXp8yMB-89v_679Fh-Y5RILhgO5Zb3WRbdwCqNwHI-2MUhJUWVpst7w1I-PUWXVel9i_IFcSZK5tXkp_fWEfMaZPwLUNW5oUa8hriCspIeiaFEkJ-VG5lEQMxZ5k=w400-h256" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a terrible picture. She's very lovely and sweet.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>(Yes, ringworm can be transmitted to humans. My response to the email asking if anyone would be willing to foster Bluebell was "Sure, it's been a while since I've had ringworm." You can make of that what you will.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">And now, back to Thingadailies!</h4><p>Welcome to day 9 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=564s" target="_blank">9:24</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=638s" target="_blank">10:38</a></p><p>Today, we add a tree. For reference, this is where we left off yesterday:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpYzDUvFUGkqKizH6vdoHCd_bYNK4wcuscmv37o0NsbvrSSZb8nNA5HLVgryKeOTmHcMLuKJtCK6e0K932sv05QbocfHjn7Kzb_jOy77_bytZ5PSJNAXW_HmZrUHFEXQzrAlBguZ4Tn5Nw4tUzWOF80U-etxx_Es8k_AQhEwRs14873dCZ53c1B70R1_w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1614" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpYzDUvFUGkqKizH6vdoHCd_bYNK4wcuscmv37o0NsbvrSSZb8nNA5HLVgryKeOTmHcMLuKJtCK6e0K932sv05QbocfHjn7Kzb_jOy77_bytZ5PSJNAXW_HmZrUHFEXQzrAlBguZ4Tn5Nw4tUzWOF80U-etxx_Es8k_AQhEwRs14873dCZ53c1B70R1_w=w400-h228" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Import the tree</b><p></p><p>Thankfully, the tree had already been extracted from its background, so I didn't have to do that.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYpsGZXzzPHd-NZYa-ydU4SdZPX5aGVhOiILoKyATkG1rqJuVclQv0O1BXchC7mVgw2tWkwiOry7Ptlcx9QD9DN4woHj6qfY3__XqC5fuHtVGPGe5xkZECC_23VFJvc3n2SkvEQm4xRkOrdIR-5At3c9eGT5pyL_VUmIIaWu_yDjcLolhC9t3U1iqD2Mo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2079" data-original-width="1992" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYpsGZXzzPHd-NZYa-ydU4SdZPX5aGVhOiILoKyATkG1rqJuVclQv0O1BXchC7mVgw2tWkwiOry7Ptlcx9QD9DN4woHj6qfY3__XqC5fuHtVGPGe5xkZECC_23VFJvc3n2SkvEQm4xRkOrdIR-5At3c9eGT5pyL_VUmIIaWu_yDjcLolhC9t3U1iqD2Mo" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The lowest limb gets trimmed off, leaving this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0UJ-mmx_ybYOj1hmQI4W3mlTi1ieSc8kFnfp63A1g1LI0iyB7nMpGmIueRL0h9UJTr7zkaEQSTkAuDXWQiN7Zdz3KuC9u_hbgRgu6SGM2om_hRidv29_Yn7ROoKLuMTmN_iBNTw3_-BzQfxUdJpN1pLdPJQdXh-hixq323fLtbbr0Y8ejOby15awgX2c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2130" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0UJ-mmx_ybYOj1hmQI4W3mlTi1ieSc8kFnfp63A1g1LI0iyB7nMpGmIueRL0h9UJTr7zkaEQSTkAuDXWQiN7Zdz3KuC9u_hbgRgu6SGM2om_hRidv29_Yn7ROoKLuMTmN_iBNTw3_-BzQfxUdJpN1pLdPJQdXh-hixq323fLtbbr0Y8ejOby15awgX2c=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 2: Clean up the tree</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We remove the tangle of dark branches near the base with the clone tool. (I'm still kind of terrible at using the clone tool, but it's not too noticeable when you zoom out.) And the extra chunk of the trunk gets removed. Finally, most of the grass gets masked out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmWqHfufJsTZ9nRxCW9Gf0OHi629Ak_55q7X5L2K6duSKTFeE7LHCOS99W4pjUA4a0M1WZ_2NjBSIImZ7z4F5jumGKFWhE7ihn2obqPb3UqGVmECZPOyMZXHfGj1xtkXD55-t_h19LjhxamL9wO1AJKf2eKrnR3h_QYfnlSQhSZ-biq0UrlHUJdBq68Aw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1718" data-original-width="1236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmWqHfufJsTZ9nRxCW9Gf0OHi629Ak_55q7X5L2K6duSKTFeE7LHCOS99W4pjUA4a0M1WZ_2NjBSIImZ7z4F5jumGKFWhE7ihn2obqPb3UqGVmECZPOyMZXHfGj1xtkXD55-t_h19LjhxamL9wO1AJKf2eKrnR3h_QYfnlSQhSZ-biq0UrlHUJdBq68Aw=w288-h400" width="288" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 3: Make the tree darker with the color levels</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqn57MSVvX6UFxMbEOf3-A2aTyvQHiPuyrBYT8mkEDBydSrymLwovKXcurk3LmrxBXaYxa98r-iMqWfON2Ddqn9PDb_LEJjus8EVj8LnFEPmTEN4i5GnImBUqGSNO9fdNPK5Qujpc7sZl0tDXHBlFiM1P-XHVFMpLkCWOroBCHYODgJQrTsvVj7ZuckQI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1736" data-original-width="1714" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqn57MSVvX6UFxMbEOf3-A2aTyvQHiPuyrBYT8mkEDBydSrymLwovKXcurk3LmrxBXaYxa98r-iMqWfON2Ddqn9PDb_LEJjus8EVj8LnFEPmTEN4i5GnImBUqGSNO9fdNPK5Qujpc7sZl0tDXHBlFiM1P-XHVFMpLkCWOroBCHYODgJQrTsvVj7ZuckQI=w395-h400" width="395" /></a></div><br />There are actually three layers of adding shadows, each with different color levels and masking. I'm not completely sure I did what he was doing, but I lightened the top branches more than the trunk and fiddled with that a bit.</div><p></p><p><b>Step 4: Go back and adjust the shadows on the cliff so they are consistent with the tree.</b></p><p>Did I do this correctly? I have no idea. How can I be 55 and still asking if I put shadows in the right place. I mean, shadows are not a difficult concept, right? Oh well.</p><p>Anyhow, here's where we are at the end of today:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUScuB4Hueghx2zDX2yulKTYHkbmn9O-LVqTNckcYDxFKvhezT45jvjVPKex446pXldI8WsGzTS6JRPMmJ5McIgVYGTc4lUYqQnASi15ySaXaFS9eWN4hRf7SJ67-_oIIpILLBdqO20v5PKNjw-0_2Pg_WEbLPuMHWtyBdQGRWsiGjsJqtT-n8F9sVsH0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="2136" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUScuB4Hueghx2zDX2yulKTYHkbmn9O-LVqTNckcYDxFKvhezT45jvjVPKex446pXldI8WsGzTS6JRPMmJ5McIgVYGTc4lUYqQnASi15ySaXaFS9eWN4hRf7SJ67-_oIIpILLBdqO20v5PKNjw-0_2Pg_WEbLPuMHWtyBdQGRWsiGjsJqtT-n8F9sVsH0=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />I'm happy with how it is going and I don't yet have ringworm. What else could I ask for?<p></p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-36691060451052133902024-02-08T14:40:00.000-08:002024-02-08T14:40:50.512-08:00Day 8: Sunlight and Shadows<p>Welcome back to day 8 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=467s" target="_blank">7:47</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=564s" target="_blank">9:24</a></p><div>Today we are going to fix the light on the cliffs we added yesterday. This is our starting point:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-E_4SxCMQErZWi77PD4RTFo7sYJMKXIkkEYz0MhXtsxMvzaNpHPQ76X7laDeFBj2LwqLiFL4cf_kk9sr5aTgvYYYivEP5ZbkzTBa60-cgp2w3JePBuch7q6AYJ9Q1othstJ3K3BUi4MnH3hsNmtNU_fEB-jx9S-W-aOFUOPk8RXApLaCZ6JfrrnqfJnw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1596" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-E_4SxCMQErZWi77PD4RTFo7sYJMKXIkkEYz0MhXtsxMvzaNpHPQ76X7laDeFBj2LwqLiFL4cf_kk9sr5aTgvYYYivEP5ZbkzTBa60-cgp2w3JePBuch7q6AYJ9Q1othstJ3K3BUi4MnH3hsNmtNU_fEB-jx9S-W-aOFUOPk8RXApLaCZ6JfrrnqfJnw=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Add shadows</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This should be starting to look familiar. We add a layer, drop to levels so it's very dark, then use the airbrush to mask the top of the stones to allow the lighter layer to show through.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEky5U99jUgzuYUE4Lv_V4YG4Y4VWlt7yDyWz160r2oLG6MnOi3ALtTuSwddpADR00UiyCvl4vtjU7fkk2oTgqjWP5o616lrXmC2y8MI1YXhDVXx2N1s8umBPrH0ulSZUQf3VjekDh8YMtscZQ4ZYMNcEaZkfMVKb-nsS-pds3GtZWr7DnqbUzkX9th8Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="2456" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEky5U99jUgzuYUE4Lv_V4YG4Y4VWlt7yDyWz160r2oLG6MnOi3ALtTuSwddpADR00UiyCvl4vtjU7fkk2oTgqjWP5o616lrXmC2y8MI1YXhDVXx2N1s8umBPrH0ulSZUQf3VjekDh8YMtscZQ4ZYMNcEaZkfMVKb-nsS-pds3GtZWr7DnqbUzkX9th8Q=w400-h146" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post airbrushing to let the original through:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkAFZLbn6FNUTz4iXMgRJuD7elymz_vidXhC2eplKhJyCS9P0H1fJ-_rCA8F0JKbS-Wpru6rqLRtWfvLPjXQNeFEXSni5pcmNP_koP3x9_0g5OjKE2DKcQBw6rjzK_7LRqz8TafynZFukWH72B7aXhJsXbvVFFmFBM6Gw4UhR49Q4mrXVPVDIq4nkFJNY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1610" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkAFZLbn6FNUTz4iXMgRJuD7elymz_vidXhC2eplKhJyCS9P0H1fJ-_rCA8F0JKbS-Wpru6rqLRtWfvLPjXQNeFEXSni5pcmNP_koP3x9_0g5OjKE2DKcQBw6rjzK_7LRqz8TafynZFukWH72B7aXhJsXbvVFFmFBM6Gw4UhR49Q4mrXVPVDIq4nkFJNY=w400-h223" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 2: Cut off a chunk of the rock.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This would have been easier before I copied the layer for the shadows, but I just had to remember to cut the selected area from two layers. (And not from the layer mask. I swear, if I didn't have a decent handle on layer masks, this project would be a nightmare.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikfYYx4qBFq5HPtrfmRyNFhhkxuSmv34Mj_XJkNRLbDGeGaJOGPeJQArLaId-i90uqME5HfbHtWzDs60pD_b6O3QsXv7dzbdd-zyetQFFQXMulai0djJE54hd2ZIRE3fw9OK1i6qDYL6h6PvodkSGXBDQmNlISfJPTCoRYAMwJqwiSltztFkR6N8FVcME" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1984" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikfYYx4qBFq5HPtrfmRyNFhhkxuSmv34Mj_XJkNRLbDGeGaJOGPeJQArLaId-i90uqME5HfbHtWzDs60pD_b6O3QsXv7dzbdd-zyetQFFQXMulai0djJE54hd2ZIRE3fw9OK1i6qDYL6h6PvodkSGXBDQmNlISfJPTCoRYAMwJqwiSltztFkR6N8FVcME=w400-h260" width="400" /></a></div><br />So now it looks like this:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijLTWuO2RGLxX9LwEkf9_RHj7dfV_zKWr5GqjflgI3T7JeQI-KsyQARXEkgoiKuKCOa4IELaLDTKb1C6lGloVG9Jmhj4a2raCYOktEfLaVRwj1YsrO5dknvJWPfa2SXgnkxolYATBBWMCo-U9vzTsOehR7cc9DEP449O5qFX5EmzjAMBoxw-7T38a7xa0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="2012" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijLTWuO2RGLxX9LwEkf9_RHj7dfV_zKWr5GqjflgI3T7JeQI-KsyQARXEkgoiKuKCOa4IELaLDTKb1C6lGloVG9Jmhj4a2raCYOktEfLaVRwj1YsrO5dknvJWPfa2SXgnkxolYATBBWMCo-U9vzTsOehR7cc9DEP449O5qFX5EmzjAMBoxw-7T38a7xa0=w400-h234" width="400" /></a></div>I think we did this in preparation for the bridge, but I'm not actually sure.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point, we used the smudge tool to lengthen some grass that had been cut off, and again, that would have been easier before there were two layers. (Maybe Photoshop allows you to modify color levels on a copy of a layer without actually copying the layer? I feel like there's some difference here. Or I'm doing it wrong. That's always the prime suspect.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 3: Add sunlight</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The layer gets copied again and some color balance magic occurs (mostly shifting toward yellow, which I guess makes sense for sunlight), and then it gets masked and airbrushed to allow through yada yada yada.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Except there was some stuff with changing the layer to layer color dodge with fill 73% that I couldn't figure out how to replicate in GIMP. But I think it looks okay anyhow. Sure, it's fine.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHhDDbN33XPeyOognG7rMRIFv3t8pqJamiMt-Z77lorVDjRtbo9Kdlf0oMM1o7kMeRe6QBebrwad-aOaAGaePNmJD2E_JPagh2r-sV3v830cEBiuIp-BAiMnnqvsLdI2jSq-E8DrZ2sEZ7vTIdgRLC1dzfJd1eQIQI9i05NXrv2wX0FlOuc_w8gcdP3o4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="2736" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHhDDbN33XPeyOognG7rMRIFv3t8pqJamiMt-Z77lorVDjRtbo9Kdlf0oMM1o7kMeRe6QBebrwad-aOaAGaePNmJD2E_JPagh2r-sV3v830cEBiuIp-BAiMnnqvsLdI2jSq-E8DrZ2sEZ7vTIdgRLC1dzfJd1eQIQI9i05NXrv2wX0FlOuc_w8gcdP3o4=w400-h140" width="400" /></a></div><br />So now it looks like this:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbG6x0Lo3BTqIuhNMn7Q3HiH5if53wRTfalHlWlKUvFU9s7lXtccCtLsT8CN-mM0awUjGLAF1QrS0tD9aPJ9ftpWmPYGjGEV6YN94AyOwyHzTfLcuj9lL4vGp4s1T1mHJ7BT-2ygglEzCR5AA666aDeZFoLz1LyUeBOFIssBXq6wwk_5IriqZzENCYceM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1614" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbG6x0Lo3BTqIuhNMn7Q3HiH5if53wRTfalHlWlKUvFU9s7lXtccCtLsT8CN-mM0awUjGLAF1QrS0tD9aPJ9ftpWmPYGjGEV6YN94AyOwyHzTfLcuj9lL4vGp4s1T1mHJ7BT-2ygglEzCR5AA666aDeZFoLz1LyUeBOFIssBXq6wwk_5IriqZzENCYceM=w400-h228" width="400" /></a></div><br />I think it's coming along nicely!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>If you're going to modify the image, do it before you have the layer copied multiple times for shadows and highlights.</div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-17997135124967814562024-02-07T15:46:00.000-08:002024-02-07T15:46:35.455-08:00Day 7: Add the Cliff<p>Welcome back to day 7 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=414s" target="_blank">6:54</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=467s" target="_blank">7:47</a></p><div>I have to say, even though I'm doing the equivalent of paint-by-numbers for photomanipulation, I'm really pleased with how this is going.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's get on with things! Here's what we started with today:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFHrFxErbxjBkuIofhicbD_v4hYe1P8W1FCMHmyH3Qt8sIOqBiGjyoTwIVqQCnfgJfSip4VVyjCxrKGGiyw0d945w9hGLOX1PKK3qrzFWo5VLA00tJuSeV2cB0X1OLKOaD0mQ6UBDvjEHujuanhSnf3iwjTkh2C9w5-HsKudYyeKoW532WyECtyB0zdQ8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1612" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFHrFxErbxjBkuIofhicbD_v4hYe1P8W1FCMHmyH3Qt8sIOqBiGjyoTwIVqQCnfgJfSip4VVyjCxrKGGiyw0d945w9hGLOX1PKK3qrzFWo5VLA00tJuSeV2cB0X1OLKOaD0mQ6UBDvjEHujuanhSnf3iwjTkh2C9w5-HsKudYyeKoW532WyECtyB0zdQ8=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Add fog</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Create a new layer (yes, I forgot this the first time through and had to back up), pick a sort of steel blue color, and then use the airbrush tool with a large (500 px) brush and a very low flow (4%) to add some haze to the forest and along the right side.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx3Kc3EQ17eUiaKjOp_rYrxnhCHe1uGIr9GZ3ijXe4fAtTU3e7GST7SQAoZxgnv936hXr9iASt-sCPOoVRqkHZh5nrxEQv8T6Sglz5fQRMwqCbP3z29LE-QjJU4uz1a4Z5G0AyDPpMeDbCg9xLtVRIdLVPrY7oO_gDA0R9kOyJJT1aJD2O-8rQPiuGePA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1614" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx3Kc3EQ17eUiaKjOp_rYrxnhCHe1uGIr9GZ3ijXe4fAtTU3e7GST7SQAoZxgnv936hXr9iASt-sCPOoVRqkHZh5nrxEQv8T6Sglz5fQRMwqCbP3z29LE-QjJU4uz1a4Z5G0AyDPpMeDbCg9xLtVRIdLVPrY7oO_gDA0R9kOyJJT1aJD2O-8rQPiuGePA=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div>I'd never really used the airbrush tool before, so I didn't realize you could turn the flow down like that. (Okay, yeah, that should have been obvious, but it wasn't.) It probably would have been better if I'd gotten out the drawing tablet because my airbrush strokes were choppy since I had to keep moving my thumb on the mouse. But I think it's fine.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 2: Get the cliff</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the image we started with.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmOyYJ_OtOamrmcy83PaYOXs9ajHfqs6DNgJR1uWY5vGvmI89QvMEDKAtAmALcFAaEsmcv7_El_2NEeNrsoVPKGSAb--HpIxA020TON5crVpIzGHfUF0ajbySXNxST5339M-lPDTQNoSc8olL2hqkjIthikc8TjlmmOY6XE2Bk-ujWflnNHuzKlnZ9aJE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3488" data-original-width="2616" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmOyYJ_OtOamrmcy83PaYOXs9ajHfqs6DNgJR1uWY5vGvmI89QvMEDKAtAmALcFAaEsmcv7_El_2NEeNrsoVPKGSAb--HpIxA020TON5crVpIzGHfUF0ajbySXNxST5339M-lPDTQNoSc8olL2hqkjIthikc8TjlmmOY6XE2Bk-ujWflnNHuzKlnZ9aJE=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div>From there, I added a mask to remove the background and used the clone tool (poorly) to get rid of some of the vegetation, and ended up with this:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh_wGsCl7NOwU_4pdkyTN46Z_KhOtlg8SHMGp7vZkV7Y9ZRNqY5fIfzPgb4SYNZEl6JNK3-MPKzCRPHYjA3gQjglbOO1_SNvsJFYVTFaKte_JFGl6QPHqORpi9JH-spTQBHnTpompsu2Gn4TT2b8JgpCSl6emNsi0nuHS833tCqRYD25t3jsCFUzEGZ5c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1296" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh_wGsCl7NOwU_4pdkyTN46Z_KhOtlg8SHMGp7vZkV7Y9ZRNqY5fIfzPgb4SYNZEl6JNK3-MPKzCRPHYjA3gQjglbOO1_SNvsJFYVTFaKte_JFGl6QPHqORpi9JH-spTQBHnTpompsu2Gn4TT2b8JgpCSl6emNsi0nuHS833tCqRYD25t3jsCFUzEGZ5c=w400-h356" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Copy the cliff into the main image</b></div><div><br /></div><div>My first attempt to copy the image only copied the black and white mask. My second attempt only copied the original image. I created a "new layer from visible" and copied that. (My other option would have been to apply the layer mask first, but if I'd needed to recover something I'd masked out, it would have been a pain.) Anyhow, I'm writing all this here because I suspect there's a way to copy the visible image without going through a second layer, but I don't know how to do it yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow, I copied and scaled into the lower right corner, then added a second copy (flipped) into the lower left corner, and ended up with this:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuD-LyHFxuMWowAWOr81U9erobPLw9ZNoTp7EdtZEFEeXZhmnJVCD6GK4bp1v3ZkIJSUtFO95-QKTDALia6rsdOf91MGyBBTSqADPaikN-m0uVr9dTxBbivYP1gLFsOqMvy2y49K4bgWxXTy4NV0NAuPA_3cUTZlBCM7Jh4gmCzJZNrz--YUAS3K1LgoM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1606" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuD-LyHFxuMWowAWOr81U9erobPLw9ZNoTp7EdtZEFEeXZhmnJVCD6GK4bp1v3ZkIJSUtFO95-QKTDALia6rsdOf91MGyBBTSqADPaikN-m0uVr9dTxBbivYP1gLFsOqMvy2y49K4bgWxXTy4NV0NAuPA_3cUTZlBCM7Jh4gmCzJZNrz--YUAS3K1LgoM=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow there will be much masking and changing the stuff I added today so the light source is correct, but I think things are going well.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Turn the flow down on the airbrush if you're trying to add haze to your image.</div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-27344231088079832002024-02-06T14:32:00.000-08:002024-02-06T14:32:43.068-08:00Day 6: Let There Be Light!<p>Welcome back to day 6 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=334s" target="_blank">5:34</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=414s" target="_blank">6:54</a></p><p>Today's changes were a big part of why I chose this particular project. In this 80 seconds, we change the direction of the light that's hitting the forest. That's pretty amazing and really useful. One of the challenges of using multiple photos in a composite is that the light source isn't always coming from the same direction.</p><p>(Yes, I feel a little stupid for not figuring out how to do this on my own, but it's one of those things that is only obvious after you see someone else do it. For me, anyhow.)</p><p>Today's starting point:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_LDpHTXFxmGWh2xf7Km6ZrPdeOO0mhv3mP14-6FYm87r54B91peQtg9bBmA7oD9KSTiqLABUtRN8WtVCWLAwbXBHDZFXjkp7uf54ycqYRd-59opqWhvbP8l3IzqNRoZtRylnV9JwmQL-ENDu_Jqs4kPptYHI_YjspO09aA9WgspXc7xwfRzc71Wtb-I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="2142" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_LDpHTXFxmGWh2xf7Km6ZrPdeOO0mhv3mP14-6FYm87r54B91peQtg9bBmA7oD9KSTiqLABUtRN8WtVCWLAwbXBHDZFXjkp7uf54ycqYRd-59opqWhvbP8l3IzqNRoZtRylnV9JwmQL-ENDu_Jqs4kPptYHI_YjspO09aA9WgspXc7xwfRzc71Wtb-I=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 1: Give the buffalo a shadow</b><p></p><p>In this step, I copied the forest layer, darkened it using the levels, masked it, and then allowed that layer to come through around the buffalo's side and where the head should cast a shadow, based on the light hitting the buffalo's face.</p><p>Did I put the shadows in the right place? Eh... Sure, it's fine.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaw9A9cId8TvVOhlJTaBah0LQvUn2pZ0iBB-t1EIaRzUVjhdvaBW54rvHcZ6Ipu75CO4w9lZ29nsE3XJhZnrwJyOX_pbGHFNNLiseaJ3_O541nY0ZjjxlEZP__8CSsfikvtdP8bZV0BhdK9M9vS5mD3wU9MK0NiO_aryjXdE1NsILgDs-_NtVCQPq5N50" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="2146" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaw9A9cId8TvVOhlJTaBah0LQvUn2pZ0iBB-t1EIaRzUVjhdvaBW54rvHcZ6Ipu75CO4w9lZ29nsE3XJhZnrwJyOX_pbGHFNNLiseaJ3_O541nY0ZjjxlEZP__8CSsfikvtdP8bZV0BhdK9M9vS5mD3wU9MK0NiO_aryjXdE1NsILgDs-_NtVCQPq5N50=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 2: Light in the forest</b><p></p><p>Another copy of the forest layer, but this time, I lightened it (using curves) and highlighted the sunny side of the trees. This was duplicated a couple more times with various levels and curves. I have some doubts about my choices, but I'm comforted by the fact that much of this will be covered in a layer of fog tomorrow.</p><p>In progress...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgme6wA2HdnhM8fw8cksdkjN713FkXcvlUmgGc7rFsJrkK0wzx3FpT-ly5GSpQRMTeRWW0yMp-O8YRIAz679829yFqOXEofy61uMMNwFt9Fs1WfyE7P0eEJztQIfPpCKvi-4122JfGsEQS1y78qlK7wyihaWadlbLLfzjeG1r-KFDgZUnJxA2fu1nSnj7E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="2144" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgme6wA2HdnhM8fw8cksdkjN713FkXcvlUmgGc7rFsJrkK0wzx3FpT-ly5GSpQRMTeRWW0yMp-O8YRIAz679829yFqOXEofy61uMMNwFt9Fs1WfyE7P0eEJztQIfPpCKvi-4122JfGsEQS1y78qlK7wyihaWadlbLLfzjeG1r-KFDgZUnJxA2fu1nSnj7E=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />And where I stopped and said "Sure, that's fine."<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzvJDcl-XicX3ZZKUuEA3SDf6Jn74U6gQtRdtmTXIHCuR1Sk6D6nsl2SRxyU15sgilnyNc1Vt0FJ6pnW9gHCnkISiVjf7wBb4iQxpRh3B6FgP6XCi03LOMwKOLxeiQUtJesH4Bz2VdW98rGMIXhm0MJtYUacO3WGrizLx-ysA6HTm8hpRboI58i6BlJXU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="2158" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzvJDcl-XicX3ZZKUuEA3SDf6Jn74U6gQtRdtmTXIHCuR1Sk6D6nsl2SRxyU15sgilnyNc1Vt0FJ6pnW9gHCnkISiVjf7wBb4iQxpRh3B6FgP6XCi03LOMwKOLxeiQUtJesH4Bz2VdW98rGMIXhm0MJtYUacO3WGrizLx-ysA6HTm8hpRboI58i6BlJXU=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><br />For comparison, here is a screenshot from the video at this point:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsIOTWwIhl-t1MpplLnU_G7is71VAaoxcbfjgg2uzBxmfzn7eJb4YkSyHHi1e_K_57qIcGVDbw6QX7W2r8vNdiiXrZnf871Ik0_VRAdEWM1IKShoTnrjPohQpan4wEOBllbMr84eEt609_19IZ3lXpr4jY3vd7ytUXZ9-2WNww4-UtqMJQPzzSqHC3SXQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="790" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsIOTWwIhl-t1MpplLnU_G7is71VAaoxcbfjgg2uzBxmfzn7eJb4YkSyHHi1e_K_57qIcGVDbw6QX7W2r8vNdiiXrZnf871Ik0_VRAdEWM1IKShoTnrjPohQpan4wEOBllbMr84eEt609_19IZ3lXpr4jY3vd7ytUXZ9-2WNww4-UtqMJQPzzSqHC3SXQ=w400-h245" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I mean... my <strike>errors</strike> choices are starting to pile up a bit, but I think I'm doing okay here.</p><p>Stay tuned for tomorrow when I add fog and cover up all my mistakes!</p><p><b>Tip of the day:</b></p><p>Layer groups really help keep things tidy.</p>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1420898749428674266.post-8401612062850918212024-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:002024-02-05T16:30:54.004-08:00Day 5: Clearing the fog<p>Welcome back to day 5 of <a href="https://www.holidailies.org/index.php" target="_blank">Thingadailies</a>. Want to play along? The full video is <a href="https://youtu.be/TN_vWXLu9YQ?si=mP4D58fqEtSq4nrD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Today's starting point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=249s" target="_blank">4:09</a></p><p>Ending point: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_vWXLu9YQ&t=334s" target="_blank">5:34</a></p><div><br /></div><div>A quick note before we start: Karen noticed the background was flipped, so I'm flipping it to match the video, just in case that turns out to be important later. Could I just watch the rest of the video to see? Of course I could, but it's easier just to flip the background image. (And now that I think about it, that changes the direction of light in the background image, so it probably is important...)</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow here's where we are at the beginning of day 5:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOxGUdRsV-wT8rZRYqCT_iDFK2IAuAVJOZHmVre_NdTMh2_BJrzyXXvg8WVJt1MirMNPxYNX2CmD4fCzElWWfukOGiPkMWSSC5fObln9Q4oJAYyVPlW-2ipL5jg0Q7GaUHIHvY-PHBwYK6uk9WO5XKlaFuAK2TBZZFgqFBq_TpE-VtejH7DJ7CBDifTSE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1616" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOxGUdRsV-wT8rZRYqCT_iDFK2IAuAVJOZHmVre_NdTMh2_BJrzyXXvg8WVJt1MirMNPxYNX2CmD4fCzElWWfukOGiPkMWSSC5fObln9Q4oJAYyVPlW-2ipL5jg0Q7GaUHIHvY-PHBwYK6uk9WO5XKlaFuAK2TBZZFgqFBq_TpE-VtejH7DJ7CBDifTSE=w400-h229" width="400" /></a></div><br />And we're off!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 1: Bring in the ivy!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>As always, we horizontally flip it. We've added... four images so far? And he's flipped ever single one of them. I can learn this secret of the masters.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow, I brought in the ivy and positioned it on the horn like so:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FrDmxUTajw3ZGDPKYpyDiqJyO8UsfmkEXDRHILx7Hb8jf6J_eEvxWcfB04LLx_0Jz1AahKUdNfxUSx6jxQHjL_8B68AMZvBp1zrU0uNZTxCagkxUIvM8KU3ZIh3vU1fvuyIL8ajc2wTyhrsPUYV8FlSxcVLbkdfQCVqswUC171qDkmvej0lrW0j1eiI/s1208/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%2012.41.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1208" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FrDmxUTajw3ZGDPKYpyDiqJyO8UsfmkEXDRHILx7Hb8jf6J_eEvxWcfB04LLx_0Jz1AahKUdNfxUSx6jxQHjL_8B68AMZvBp1zrU0uNZTxCagkxUIvM8KU3ZIh3vU1fvuyIL8ajc2wTyhrsPUYV8FlSxcVLbkdfQCVqswUC171qDkmvej0lrW0j1eiI/w400-h374/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%2012.41.11%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Step 2: Color balance magic!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>One thing I've noticed is that he always tweaks the cyan and yellow, but never the magenta. Is this important? I really do need to learn more about this at some point, but for now, I will follow the example. The green became more vibrant. (Right now, it kind of sticks out compared to the jungle toupee.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdwNRVFlEogFDS3FbY_9l7cmCrJHlwFILjwabLEdPoiRRJuXbniHbGp_4hQuJTroH2dyhLVnWyoMrPGWX2CluS4JWtH-W0qUj2VZUmBaI9S1WyM9-lQGBMI8ygAkAzc4UfBnqjpP-jtsjG6GEwio5Zj70bW9fUlNRnPhBPWqljx-p-TmRto8y8-BRmLiw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdwNRVFlEogFDS3FbY_9l7cmCrJHlwFILjwabLEdPoiRRJuXbniHbGp_4hQuJTroH2dyhLVnWyoMrPGWX2CluS4JWtH-W0qUj2VZUmBaI9S1WyM9-lQGBMI8ygAkAzc4UfBnqjpP-jtsjG6GEwio5Zj70bW9fUlNRnPhBPWqljx-p-TmRto8y8-BRmLiw" width="308" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 3: Color levels magic! (Part one)</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Now it is less vibrant, though it still doesn't quite fit in with the toupee.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqpLXxfnHzAGUREcbfmfksbZKI4z9z8PyEnmhiTaZ3YS6Ltsr6PuXN1ydK98lNF-T2ILzKymeXdPI9A7E7IKIoeb4ZR__t5s6-texlMlCA6QMuzIPoY5fJ14_4mJ_aLTLOX-fzGXVRcWYku4IhJcAhnAILv8l2wq0hkoNyxeLWQaubKbCabC17cbO2MWc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqpLXxfnHzAGUREcbfmfksbZKI4z9z8PyEnmhiTaZ3YS6Ltsr6PuXN1ydK98lNF-T2ILzKymeXdPI9A7E7IKIoeb4ZR__t5s6-texlMlCA6QMuzIPoY5fJ14_4mJ_aLTLOX-fzGXVRcWYku4IhJcAhnAILv8l2wq0hkoNyxeLWQaubKbCabC17cbO2MWc" width="271" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b>Step 4: Warp the ivy</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Hm. This is the same thing I ran into before. My warping ability is really not good. But I got something close-ish.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPt7abdbF2k5nNEN4_3JCu2CKlnTM0aErCemmad_wet41tHauxr0oSTZR9arfRV42GIjGnsF2aIuYVi5gpPdqnxHzIoVDHXShkGK-fwMtBSIxT0wjzfeJ87XCD-nupfb2VWJ_1wSnhX3hYqep2Xjq_-i37uHL-k5FTdxnjSJuwr73x1R5BUefyW2q--5I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1284" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPt7abdbF2k5nNEN4_3JCu2CKlnTM0aErCemmad_wet41tHauxr0oSTZR9arfRV42GIjGnsF2aIuYVi5gpPdqnxHzIoVDHXShkGK-fwMtBSIxT0wjzfeJ87XCD-nupfb2VWJ_1wSnhX3hYqep2Xjq_-i37uHL-k5FTdxnjSJuwr73x1R5BUefyW2q--5I" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>Step 5: ???</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There was a little weirdness going on here. He adds a little ivy mustache, then gets rid of that (or hides it?), and then sets the levels using different settings. So... I'm going to do my best to make this work.</div><div><br /></div><div>I messed with the color balance and levels here until it seemed like the ivy matched the jungle. Am I learning something? Or did I just screw something else up and I'm going off piste? I think we all know the answer to that. Anyhow, here's where that got me:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgF0YVzFR82_lrvokttgweb6MzDx-mBBQFjYNE-7ihUhQr_lKv4fDj0lRPmM2Ds22V6kGlsR0m55Cs69TagsrLUIqdIu46fWTbsfJ15JKmxp_7MQuxmeclC5lVZqMyz8LCeDsATutcO6ReCyrI7WSFmztPIxY3dUnRewFtGPPyee8Fov44n0E5NtRuEqp4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1112" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgF0YVzFR82_lrvokttgweb6MzDx-mBBQFjYNE-7ihUhQr_lKv4fDj0lRPmM2Ds22V6kGlsR0m55Cs69TagsrLUIqdIu46fWTbsfJ15JKmxp_7MQuxmeclC5lVZqMyz8LCeDsATutcO6ReCyrI7WSFmztPIxY3dUnRewFtGPPyee8Fov44n0E5NtRuEqp4" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Step 6: Bring in the foggy jungle</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcINO-e0bhjhZri8kSM8OR6fpgvoIThIzkwkiePL7zP3nD49rGkZWBeMicUoCW4HZh6pvb5g4vCK0_Bu_38rYDm5baEU4jqn9XDMePPMHAvXQQMhEY4vCAakP0k_Mr2Du-vniNci_8cg8srJ5r3vdK1cNHngsHhKsHPvomqPDAMFril3IBIKDta0BvZw/s1682/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%201.27.09%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1682" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcINO-e0bhjhZri8kSM8OR6fpgvoIThIzkwkiePL7zP3nD49rGkZWBeMicUoCW4HZh6pvb5g4vCK0_Bu_38rYDm5baEU4jqn9XDMePPMHAvXQQMhEY4vCAakP0k_Mr2Du-vniNci_8cg8srJ5r3vdK1cNHngsHhKsHPvomqPDAMFril3IBIKDta0BvZw/w400-h238/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%201.27.09%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>And then mask out the fog while highlighting the trees. I did my best. Sure, that's fine. Anyhow, here's where we end day 5.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg_L0e_atc07PVKrDMvUTrY0eqRD2Femt0591vTMoc_SBNMlOP2p-LEjRPJv78uLLj3Vi1-CwBLntuaB7WcBE7a_0aM-OqSvLYi1CltIkdVh1vaNTC-XGZcgDdwpYv99LVW7_v4hiKkGfkxPlN_TEQGT76exbA_IvQFsURQwxlwPqFjVOsGeyJu9syDg/s1630/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%202.01.00%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1630" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg_L0e_atc07PVKrDMvUTrY0eqRD2Femt0591vTMoc_SBNMlOP2p-LEjRPJv78uLLj3Vi1-CwBLntuaB7WcBE7a_0aM-OqSvLYi1CltIkdVh1vaNTC-XGZcgDdwpYv99LVW7_v4hiKkGfkxPlN_TEQGT76exbA_IvQFsURQwxlwPqFjVOsGeyJu9syDg/w400-h226/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-05%20at%202.01.00%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Tip of the day:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Lock your finished layers in place so you don't accidentally move them around and end up with pixels on the side where the picture is missing. Oops.</div>Theresa B (of Nebulopathy)http://www.blogger.com/profile/12747200216210698142noreply@blogger.com0