"Eye, Nose, Lips 1A," Canon - Corel

Eyes, Nose, Lips 1A

Throughout my Archives I keep finding images, many pencil sketches, of interest to me. I found four today and selected the image you see. "Eye, Nose, Lips 1A," is a pencil sketch of unknown date. I scanned in the pencil sketch with my Canon MP495 with a small amount of cropping. I like the way the face fills the screen, viewed in large mode.

I took this scan and opened it in Corel Painter 11. There I used Watercolor Brushes, Tinting Brushes and Liquid Ink Brushes on it. I painted it for bold color but fairly realistic coloring. I used Painter's Mixer to blend up a flesh tone for the Tinting process for the face. I applied the Liquid Ink as Eye shade color and freckles, using the palette I created with the flesh tone. I saved that iteration at 300dpi.

I opened CorelDRAW to create an Initials copyright symbol. I used Candara Font and drew the characters closer together. I added the copyright symbol and date expanding the characters to fit. Then using a bold line I drew a box around the Initials and copyright. Grouping that I saved it as a native CDR file. Copied and pasted it into the image.

I saved the file again. I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and added a 25 pixel black border. Using the Image Information I added a Title, Copyright Information, and Equipment and programs used to create this image. Saving that at the large size I resized to display here and saved that file.

So here I am sharing another older image with a new twist to it, the Corel Painter 11 twist. I used my Wacom Tablet which is ancient and acts like a mouse (i.e. no full screen coverage,) but it still paints better than a mouse.

There is no driver for my Wacom Graphire tablet for Windows 7 32-bit, so I use it carefully as I paint, moving my hand position to the part of the screen I need to be at. It is tedious but worth the time it takes and it paints nothing like a cumbersome Mouse.

NOTE: I researched for a compatible Wacom Driver and selected an older Driver that was compatible with Win XP; I downloaded that and it installed with that compatibility set. Now My Wacom Tablet is working as it should covering the entire screen and is very sensitive to use, more than previously. Kudos to Wacom for this Driver! 

"Freehand Drawing Vintage 1980, Acrylic coated Pastel Man" Corel - Canon

Old Man Sleeping India

Pencil and Pastels Man Acrylic Coating

Digging through my past works that my son found stored away I have these to share today.

"The Old Man Sleeping India," was a freehand drawing made from a photograph that my Dad took while stationed in India during the Korean War. It is a circa 1980 Color Pastels Pencils Drawing.

The second image is a fictional "Man's Portrait," done freehand in Pastels, this was drawn on old packing paper, with the brown of the paper showing through. I took a few photographs of it and this was the clearest, I used the flash so you can see the Acrylic Coating Media I used to preserve it.

With both photographs, taken with my Canon Rebel XTi, I adjusted in Corel PSP Pro X3. Cropping, some color enhancements with Saturation, and a framing with boarder on the second image.

"Freehand Drawing Retro Pencil Sketches" Corel - Canon

Blunt Cut Hair Woman Pencil

Large Eyes Man Pencil

MAC - Amiga - IBM Computers on Iceberg

Not much to explain in the way of workflow on these Retro Pencil Sketches. I scanned two of them in with my Canon MP495 and captured the third with my Canon Rebel XTi camera.

Some adjustments made in KPT Collection, Corel PhotoPaint, Corel PSP Pro X3; in regard to sharpness and clarity and size for posting. As you can see the Pencil Sketches are from 1998 and I don't recall the original date of the Computers Sketch.

I wondered about where my thought process was when I added the Three Competing Computers on an Iceberg! Go Figure! Computing power has come a long way since this MAC and Amiga and IBM PC!

"Garden Lady Colored Pencils" Corel - Canon

Garden Lady Colored Pencils

My son was rearranging a closet for us and found a case with some of my older Freehand Drawings and Paintings. "Garden Lady," is one of those. I got out my Canon Rebel XTi and took some photographs of the artworks. This one is the first one I worked on for display here.

I copied my Medium sized photographs to the Hard Drive and viewed them, deleting a few that were very poor quality (operator error.) I opened "Garden Lady," in Corel PSP Pro X3. I did some cropping, and used Saturation Vibrancy and Color Curves on the photograph. I imported my signature PNG file, which unfortunately it had some pixelization to it.

I added a Polaroid frame and a border to the image. I saved the iteration with Image Information including Copyright, Title, Artist. I then resized for sharing here.

I have a few other images to share in subsequent posts.

"Pucker 1 - Freehand Young Woman" Corel, Canon

Pucker 1

Found images are so much fun sometimes! Here is a "Young Woman With Puckered Lips," ready to give a kiss to someone. Who? I don't know, he is not the subject of the image. I did this circa 1990's and scanned it in with my Canon MP495 into Corel PhotoPaint. I adjusted the Tone Curve for depth and added my signature and saved the large iteration.

I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3, using Saturation Vibrancy on it for a boost to the colors. I saved with Image Information that iteration. Then I resized it for display.

This was a fictional gal, done freehand with Pencil, Pen and Ink and Pastel Pencil. I am glad I ran across her sitting loosely in my files and not still in a Journal. A delightful subject.

"Man Pencil Sketch - Painted" Corel Painter 11

Man Pencil Sketch

Man Pencil Sketch Painted

Journals give one insight into the past and inspiration for the present. This "Man Pencil Sketch," is circa 1996, but with an updated copyright on it. Why? Because I am reusing it in a new format, a scanned in image using my Canon MP495. I did this in Corel PhotoPaint and adjusted the Tone Curve to enhance the shading, adding my signature, too.

Saving the large iteration, I opened in Corel Painter 11 and used Tinting brushes and Watercolor brushes to paint this image. I used Corel PSP Pro X3 for adding Image Information like Title, Artist, Copyright, and programs used. I also resized in PSP Pro X3 for display here.

"Woman Pencil Sketch Digitally Painted - Compare" Corel Painter 11

Woman Pencil Sketch Painted and Framed

Woman Pencil Sketch Before Painter 11 

Journals are fun to browse and find interesting doodles and sketches you've done before. I scanned in this Woman Pencil Sketch with my Canon MP495 and decided to paint it in Corel Painter 11 ( still have not been able to upgrade to the latest version.)

Since I lost my custom brushes on upgrading to Windows 7 32-bit (my own fault for not backing up my brushes folder,) I used the standard Watercolor and Digital Watercolor Brushes along with some Tinting Brushes for a color version. I do love the Ornate frame I chose to frame the painted version. But I have to say that there is something to be said for the Woman Pencil Sketch all on it's own. It seems special all by itself, to me.

I added Image Information to the images in Corel PSP Pro X3 and saved the large iterations, unframed and framed. I resized for display with my signature, though the original sketch was done circa 1996.

If you have a favorite let me know! Comments are always welcome. 

"Journey Through My Journals Continues" Corel, Canon

Freehand Young Lady Pencil Drawing

Three Freehand Faces on Colored Paper

Stone Village Evergreen Trees Printout

I keep finding differing images in my Journals. I have a Portrait of a Young Lady, done freehand in Pencil to share. Scanned in with my Canon MP495. I also have Three Freehand Faces on Colored Paper, the paper being dark red but the scan went pink on me, go figure scanners and settings. The last one is a photograph of Evergreen Trees taken at the Stone Village in Jackson, Michigan, years ago.

I used Corel PhotoPaint and Corel PSP Pro X3 for these. I did some slight adjustments for clarity. I am enjoying this trip through my Journals and am constantly surprised at what I find. I had completely forgotten the Freehand Pencil Drawing of the Young Lady. I was glad I found it again to share. Such a simple exercise in drawing, and such a nice result, in my humble opinion.

After some adjustments I had done to these cropped images (cropped during scanning,) I saved the large iterations after adding some Image Information in PSP Pro X3. Then I resized them for display.

Notice anything different? No 2013 Signature, These were done circa the 80's and 90's. I would not care if anyone shared them. But would request that credit be given to me as the Artist, thank you.

"Vector Women, Digital Collage - Dual Faces" Corel - Canon

Brown Hair Green Eyes Vector

Multi-Colored Hair Vector

Dual Faces Collage

Digging further into the detritus of my Art Garden of Journals I discovered some images I wanted to share. Both of the first two images are scans of printouts. They originally started out as Vector Images done in CorelDRAW, saved onto Iomega Zip100 disks I no longer have access to.

I used my Canon MP495 Printer All in One to scan them in and crop. I used Corel PhotoPaint to touch them up slightly with a touch of Tone Curve. I added my signature and saved large iterations and then resampled for display.

The Third Image is a Digital Collage of three scans. One is a Pen and Ink sketch of a German Immigrant Woman. Another is a Pencil sketch of a Sad Man. The last one is the base of color, which if I remember correctly, was a Painter 8 playful painting using varied brushes like Liquid Ink. I cropped and layered all three images, some Tone Curve adjustments and Saturation Vibrancy, as well. Again I added my signature and saved the large files and resampled for display.

"Grunge Bird of Paradise - Oil Pastels" Corel - Filter Forge

Grunge Bird of Paradise - Oil Pastels

Another Journal image I located, I did this freehand drawing, a fictional "Bird of Paradise in Oil Pastels." I took the scanned in image and cropped it in Corel PhotoPaint. I opened Filter Forge's Photo Effects Vibrancy and boosted the colors a bit.

I then used Photo Effects Grunge tool to add some texture and a grunge frame. I added my signature and saved that larger iteration. I then opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and added Image Information, Title, Artist, Copyright, etc.

I resized for display here.

"Yellow and Purple Lilies Texture." Corel - Mayang's Textures

Yellow and Purple Lilies Texture

One more Journal image, a freehand Drawing in Pen and Ink and Oil Pastels. "Yellow and Purple Lilies Texture."

I used a Mayang's Texture of glass cubes much like ice cubes strewn about, to add the texture to this image. I used Picasa 3.9 to open with Corel PhotoPaint and cropped the floral there. I Then used the layer property multiply with an opacity of 50% for the Textured Glass fragments.

I added my signature and saved that iteration. I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3. Here I used the Saturation Vibrancy to add punch to the colors. I added Image information: Title, Artist, Copyright, etc. I then resized for display here.

I will be searching some of my other Journals for additional inspiration to share here. I am going to talk with my son, the experimental photographer, to take some photographs of my guitar for future guitar based images, soon.

"Angle Knight" Corel - Rust Texture

Angle Knight with Paint Peeled Rust

A Pen and Ink Drawing from my Journals coupled with a Paint Peeling Rust Texture. I entitled it. "Angle Knight."

I used Corel PhotoPaint to layer these two images, one of a freehand fictional Knight with a rust texture. I applied the Knight over the rust texture and cropped to fit. I used the property Multiply for the Knight. I also used PhotoPaint's Tone Curve for depth to the color.

I saved the iteration after adding my signature in white. I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used the Saturation Vibrancy for more punch to the color. I added some Image Information, title Artist, Copyright information, etc. I saved that iteration. The largest I worked upon was the size needed to display so I saved it and posted here for today.

"Simply Orchid - Rust Textured" Corel - Textured

Simply Orchid - Rust Textured

"Simply Orchid - Rust Textured," is a Journal entry of an Orchid done freehand out of my imagination. I opened the file with Corel PhotoPaint and cropped it a tad. I used the Tone Curve on it to boost the depth and colors of this floral.

I searched my external drive Rust Textures folder and found a yellow paint and rust texture. I layered this onto the Orchid image. I applied the property Multiply, and adjusted the Opacity to 80. I merged both the layers and added my signature in white saving the larger iteration. I then resampled for display.

"Brown Haired, Green and Violet Eyed Young Woman" Corel - Mayang's Textures

Brown Haired Green and Violet Eyed  Young Woman

Yet another Pen and Ink and Pastel image of a Brown Haired, Green and Violet Eyed Young Woman. I am sharing these from my Journals of freehand drawings and poetry.

I used this scanned in drawing and layered it with one of Mayang's Textures, a eucalyptus tree bark texture, very mild and it adds to the overall image.

I used Corel PhotoPaint to layer the texture adjusting it's property to Multiply and it's opacity as well. The drawing I had applied the Tone Curve for a punch to the color and some depth.

Musically I have been having trouble with my Line 6 Toneport UX1 and my Fisher receiver/amp for recording. Last night I found the song "Killing the Blues," known by it's recording by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. I attempted to record it and got a fair take. I set my Gearbox software for the microphone to "Warm and Clean," so it was a little bassy for me. Next try I will use "Bright and Clean," to see if that makes a difference.

I exported it as an MP3 and it sounded a bit muddy. I am having a lot of trouble with the Gain on the Toneport, too low and nothing to record, too high and I get distortion in the background. It is so touchy since a power surge zapped my equipment. I still can get it to work though, I tried plugging the microphone directly into the computer's motherboard sound card and it was absolutely terrible! So I began to play with the Toneport, Gain, Volume, Gearbox settings, etc., again. I will find that balance some place in the settings!

I also am getting familiar with Win 7 32-bit's setting for recording and playback. It too is very touchy, but I hope it proves up to the task so I can record some Covers and possibly some new original songs.

Doing the recording helps me practice and see how I am doing in singing and guitar playing, Practice!

"Textured Blue Eyed Young Man Portrait" Corel - Mayang's Textures

Blue Eyed Young Man

Another of my Journal entries updated with Mayang's Textures. I am continuing to seek these freehand images, done in Pen and Ink and Pastels and adding texture to them. I have a few really nice ones as I have been displaying in my most recent posts.

I select the Journal scanned in image, then search for an appropriate texture from Mayang's Textures and layer them. I first boosted the color of the Young Man's Portrait using Corel PhotoPaint's Tone Curve. I then selected the texture, this time a stony texture that I rotated and layered over the scan. I used the property Multiply and reduced the opacity a touch for the texture, to allow details show through.

I merged the layers, saved the large iteration with my signature and resampled for display here.

For the middle of my day I participated in an HOA "Let's Talk About It." hosted by +George Miller. We talked a bit about art and music and how being creative can help those experiencing depression. We differed in a discussion about which guitar was harder to play the 12-String or a 6-String guitar. I feel that the 6-string is harder as you must be very accurate in finger placement. But On a 12-string you have other strings as a "backup" if you happen to play a slightly sloppy chord. Two others disagreed with me.

It was stated that the 12-String Guitars strengthen your hand as you are playing twice as many strings. I could not disagree with that.

Practice is what is very important with any musical instrument or the creating of art works, traditional or digital. So practice was agreed upon.