"How This was Done - A Snowed in Cabin" PE5 Plus

A Snowed in Cabin

Even though we have had a mild Winter here in Michigan, we have a considerable bit of Snow coming our way this week. Thus, my selection for an image today. "A Snowed in Cabin," taken from a photograph from Morguefile. I opened in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5).
 
I went to the Effects first. I Sharpened the image, adjusted the colors with the Original Luminance Saturation set to 72%. I saved the large file. In PE5, I clicked on Use Open Image to select the file for Digitally Painting.

I chose a Pastel Drawing set, Chalk, Pastels, Crayons Square Hard Pastel Brush to paint with. Next I hand painted back in some details: Trees, Windows, Log Ends. I used the Soft Cloner Photo Painting Brush. I saved this iteration.

I used Picasa3+ and applied the Museum Matte to frame the image, saving again. Then opening in Corel PhotoPaint, I created a Black 2016 Signature file and saved that with a white background. I copied that to the clipboard and pasted it as a layer into the open "Cabin," image. I merged the layers and saved once more.

I Resampled for display at 72dpi, 1220 X 938 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintained Aspect Ratio. I saved the new file with a different name at 75 Compression, and 25 Smoothing, as a JPG file.

If you enjoy my Digital Visual Artworks Comment, Plus, Like, Tweet your appreciation! All responses will be deeply appreciated! Do so now!

Do you Enjoy Indie Music? Look below to play some of my Original Songs while you view the Artwork.

"How this was Done: Street Scene Stairway Pastels" Corel

Street Scene Stairway Pastels

• Street Scene Stairway
  • Corel Painter Essentials 5
    • Effects; Equalize
      • Black and White Points
      • Black 0%
      • White 65.9
      • Gamma 38%
    • Adjust Color
      • Uniform Color Setting
        • Hue Shift 0%
        • Saturation 82%
        • Value -25%
    • Select Pastel Drawing
      • Chalk, Pastels, Crayons
        • Square Chalk Brush
        • Straight Line setting
        • Size 14.3
        • Opacity100%
        • Grain 12%
        • Rough Charcoal Paper
  • Corel PSP Pro X3
    • Added Signature
      • Placed as new Layer
      • Sized to fit
      • Placed on image
      • Property Lighten
      • Merged all Layers
      • Saved iteration
        • Resized for display on Blog Post

Another fine photograph from Morguefile Free Photos. I did miss a step I took in the outline: I used a new layer to paint on for the Sky, using the Eye Dropper to select a blue from the image. Sometimes my notes get a little skewed! My apologies to the reader for my error.

"How this was Done - Musicians Digital Collage" Corel - Picasa

Musicians Digital Collage

As a Musician I enjoy seeing them working their craft. I garnered a few photographs of Musicians from Morguefile and selected four of them to present as Digital Visual Art. The selected four of the photographs I had downloaded from the Free Photos on Morguefile. I decided to do something a little different with them. I chose a Fiddle Player, Banjo Player, Acoustic Guitar Player and an Electric Guitar player. I had a Band without drums, not unheard of for Folk Rock Bluegrass.

I opened each one separately in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and digitally painted them. The settings were the Watercolor Sketch, Rough Paper, Saturate Color, Dry Bristle Brush. I did each of the photographs with these settings for uniformity of execution.

After I saved each one I opened Picasa 3+ and selected them individually to use to create a Digital Collage of all four. I applied Picasa's Collage tool and set it as 8.5" X 11" format, Mosaic setting. I shuffled the photos until I had a balance of the four painted images. I generated the Digital Collage in Picasa. It was saved automatically as a large JPG image.

I opened that Collage in Corel PSP Pro X3. Here I applied the Smart Photo Fix tool, upping the color and the highlights just a bit, with a suggested brightening setting. I then used the Saturation Vibrancy tool on the Collage. I thought about applying the Curves to it but the colors were just right, so I did not. I added my signature as a layer and sized it and placed it with the Property of Lighten, merging the layers. I saved the large iteration.

As is my custom I next resized the piece for display in PSP Pro X3, 72dpi and full color.

So I am a Producer of Bands now! I created this group and they sound great! Well, if you could hear them like I do in my head, I am certain you would appreciate them.

"10 Minute Digital Collage - Textured Young Lady" Corel

Textured Young Lady Portrait

Another 10 minute Digital Collage is the subject today. I opened a Texture from Stockvault Friday Freebies of Yellow Painted Concrete in Corel PSP Pro X3. I also opened a portrait of a Young Lady from the Morguefile Free Photos in Paint.NET. In Paint.NET I changed the image to a Black and White photo, I applied the Artistic Ink Sketch, Coarse pen to that.

Saving that I opened it in PSP Pro X3 and placed it as a layer on the Texture. I adjusted the size of the Young Lady to fit the large Texture. Using the property Multiply I added transparency to the portrait. I added my signature and then upped the Saturation Vibrancy. I merged the layers and removed EXIF information from the image. I then simply resized for display. I adjusted the Curves to add depth to the piece and saved it.

All in all it took around 10 minutes and a tad to complete this Textured Digital Collage of the Young Lady.

"How to: Anger - Bearded Man Digital Watercolor" Corel

Anger - Bearded Man

I found this photograph, grayscale, on the Morguefile Free Photos site. I was touched by the Anger of this Bearded Man. I decided to paint it to add to my recent collection of Bearded Men paintings. My first step was to open it in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto paint it, grayscale, as a Pastel first. I stopped it before it was finished. Then I used the Watercolor Sketch with Dry Brushes set, Rough Paper and finished the auto painting.

I saved that iteration and opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3, I altered the image to a RGB 16-bit format as JPG. Saving that I opened it in Corel Painter 11.

Here I selected the Digital Watercolors Coarse Brush to paint Freehand. It automatically went to my default color Palette with colors, flesh tones and earth tones appended. I used that palette to paint. I like the Digital Watercolors because they paint on the one layer that is loaded and allows you to follow the shadows and features closely.

I selected the colors I wanted for this image as I went painting it freehand with my Wacom Stylus and Tablet. This is an older Legacy tablet that to my delight works in Windows 10! I adjusted the brush and colors as I was moved to. I did not touch the background of the piece as it had a great look and good colors for this image.

I finished painting and saved the large iteration. I then opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 and upped the Saturation Vibrancy by 33 for more punch to the colors. Here I added my signature as a layer, then resized it and merged the layers together. Saving once again I then opened the file in Corel PhotoPaint to resample for display size, saving that iteration as well, with a new name.

It has taken me a few hours to do this particular piece, eventhough it is done Digitally. I also have to remember each step I take so I can relate the workflow in my posts. So I type up the description of that and it takes a bit of time as well. I finished up about 2:00pm EDT, for this posting Saturday, and will schedule it for Sunday. As I will be busy then and I will also post to Google+, Facebook, and Twitter for those who follow my works and descriptions of "How To" do the images later.

"How To - Acoustic Electric Guitar Player" Corel

Acoustic Electric Guitar Player

I garnered this photograph doing a Music search on Morguefile Free Photos, "An Acoustic Electric Guitar Player," performing. I opened in Picasa and applied the HDR tool increasing the strength and radius. Saving that I opened in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and applied the Gouache Style to it. I saved that iteration.

Opening in Corel PSP Pro X3 I applied the Smart Photo Fix, brightening it up and increased the colors a bit. Still in PSP Pro X3 I upped the Saturation Vibrancy by 33. So far I like what I had but it was lacking something. So, I went searching for a Texture in my Folder for them. I found one I liked that added Crackle to the image.

As I worked with the Texture I altered the opacity, allowing the crackled lines to show, but lightening the rest of the Texture background. I blended the two images together. I believe I used the property Multiply. I added my signature as a layer and merged all layers.

Check out my Music as you scroll down to the CDBaby Kiosks below, I have Full Preview of each song and they are for sale, but you can listen before you buy! Also my Art is for Sale see my Page about that for details, just click the link listed in the Home row.

"10 Minute Digital Collage - Woman and Wood" Corel

Digital Collage - Woman and Wood

A 10 minute "Digital Collage - Woman and Wood." I used Corel PSP Pro X3 in Windows 10 to create this Digital Collage. Two photographs, one from the Morguefile Free Photos and the other a Texture photograph from Stockvault Friday Freebies.

I opened the dark Woman's Portrait in PSP Pro X3 and used the Threshold tool set to Outline White for the face, hand and hair. I opened the Wood Texture and copied it to the clipboard. I pasted as a new layer into the Woman's Portrait.

I adjusted the large image to show it's interesting cut wood natural lines. Then I applied the Saturation Vibrancy to the wood. I also used the Curves tool to lighten the wood colors a tad. I placed it where I wanted it and merged the layer using the property Multiply. I added my signature as a layer and merged that then saved the large 300dpi image.

I then resized the image to display size for this post. It only took 10 or so minutes to create this piece. Two Photographs, One Program.

Took longer to describe my process and workflow!

"How this was Done - Bearded Homeless Man" Corel

Another Bearded Homeless Man

I received this photograph of another "Homeless Bearded Man," from Morguefiles Free Photos. I opened it in Picasa and applied the HDR tool upping the Strength and Radius to give it a lot of grain.

Saving that, I opened it in Corel Painter 11 and used the Digital Watercolors Brushes to paint it. I varied the brushes from a Wash to a Dry brush, and used different sizes of brushes as I painted. I saved that large iteration to a JPEG format.

I opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3 and upped the Saturation Vibrancy by 33 for a punch to the colors. I added Image Information, Title, Artist, Date, Comments, and my signature as a layer, to the file and saved again.

I reopened in Corel PhotoPaint and resampled it to display size for this post.

I want to also mention I am CURRENTLY USING COREL PRODUCTS in Windows 10! I don't know what happened but Windows 10 began supporting my Legacy Corel Products! So I upgraded to Windows 10. I like it thus far, has many options for News and local weather and such. And most of my Apps (programs) are working fine in Windows 10.

I added VLC Media Player to my arsenal of Apps and listened to music the whole time I was creating todays piece. Not a glitch with the Apps I had opened at the same time.

Must say I am pleased that Microsoft and Corel were able to support Legacy Corel Products! Thanks to whom ever was listening to my posts!

How this was done - "You Cannot be Serious" Corel Painter 11

You Cannot be Serious

"You Cannot be Serious," is the image I created today. Using a portrait photograph from the Morguefile Free Photos I downloaded this afternoon, I Digitally Painted this piece.

My approach was fairly simple. I first opened it in Picasa (the update) and I heavily applied the HDRish tool to the portrait. I increased the Value and Radius, both. This highlighted the lines and pores of the face, as well as the shadows and highs.

I saved that iteration and opened in Corel Painter 11. There I used all Digital Watercolor Brushes, a Wash Brush and a Dry Bristle Brush to paint this very Serious Man's Portrait.  I Appended the Flesh Tone Palette and the Earth Tone Palette to the basic color starter one. I selected lighter values to begin with and built up the shadows and lines gradually with darker Flesh Tones.

I painted the small parts of his shirt a purple I had selected for some punch. I decided that I would mirror that color in the face around the shadowed areas. It tied the image in together nicely. I saved that iteration.

Next in Corel PSP Pro X3 I upped the Saturation Vibrancy by 33 and then added as another layer my signature with the property Lighten. I merged the layers. It was already a small display size download, so no adjustment was needed there.

"Young Lady and Young Man Portrait" Corel

Young Lady and Young Man Portrait

"Young Lady and Young Man Portrait," from the Morguefile Free Photos. I liked the colors in this photograph, and the smiles on their faces. I selected it based upon these qualities. I opened it in Picasa 3.9 and utilized the HDRish tool, increasing the radius and value. Saving that file I opened it in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4.

Here I used the Pastel Drawing settings, Soft Pastel Tapered Brushes. Afterwards, I added back in detail with the Soft Brush in the eyes, and smiles, mouths. I save this file as a TIFF formatted file. I opened that file in Corel Painter 11 and began to paint digitally with my Wacom Tablet and Pen.

I began with the Tinting Brushes with low opacity. Then I switched to the Digital Watercolor Brushes, changing them as I went along. I also used some Blender Brushes, Conte Brushes to add some painterly effects. I saved that iteration as a TIFF file with a different name.

I then opened it in Corel PhotoPaint and added my signature, re-sampling for display, I saved as a JPG file with 75 for compression and 25 for smoothing.

With my Music I have been having some fun attempting to play some Joe Bonamassa songs; "Different Shades of Blue," and "Driving Towards the Daylight." Of course, I am not attempting to play his leads, only to reproduce the songs with Vocals and Chords, Lyrics, playing my 12-String Seagull S12 1990 Guitar. I must admit to mimic Joe is quite a challenge, I've been playing too long in my own style, it is hard to fit anothers.

I also have been working on a New Song, "Come with the Tide." It is a rambling tune with a short Chorus thus far. It may need a rewrite before I release it (probably on SoundCloud.)

"I Still Remain," is still with the Lead Player for his contribution. He has been on vacation, we will see what he comes up with soon. I hope to release that one as a CDBaby song for sale, if it turns out well. We will see.

"Painted Concrete and Young Woman" Corel

Painted Concrete and Young Woman

This image of a Young Woman started as a photograph from Morguefile Free Photos. I also used a Yellow Concrete Texture from Stockvaults Friday Freebies.

I opened the Texture in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 with the Modern Painting set. Saving that large iteration I opened it in Corel PhotoPaint. Once there I also opened the Young Woman Portrait and applied the Threshold tool to it. I adjusted for white space, leaving enough detail for face recognition.

I copied that to the Clipboard and Pasted as a layer over the Yellow Concrete. I sized to fit and used the property Multiply for transparency before I merged the two layers. I added my signature and saved as a TIFF file again.

Still in PhotoPaint I adjusted the Tone Curve for some punch to the colors. I then resampled for display. After I did that I decided to add a Film Frame using Filter Forge Frames.

If you haven't listened to any of my songs on CDBaby, scroll down to the lower portion of the blog. I have two kiosks for playing my songs. The first plays three songs in Full Preview and a Bonus track. The second kiosk you select the song you wish to hear by selecting the graphic below the current song being displayed. All should be Full Preview so you can listen before deciding to purchase. Comments are welcome.

"Straight On Bearded Man Portrait" Corel

Straight On Bearded Man Portrait

I found another Homeless Man Portrait from Morguefile. I liked the way he is looking Straight On at the viewer.

Programs used to create this piece:

• Picasa 3.9 (HDRish Filter)
• Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 (Detailed Watercolor, Dry Brushes)
• Corel Painter 11 (Digital Painting using Digital Watercolor Brushes, Conte Brushes, Chalk Brushes and Blender Brushes saved large file as TIFF)
• Corel PhotoPaint (to add signature and save to display size for posting as a JPG file.)

If I find anymore Homeless Bearded Men photographs I may continue this series. If not I will do some Digital Collage work, which is always an enjoyable challenge.

I am not sure how many of you may feel but I am very curious about the backwards compatibility of the coming Windows 10 Update! I do not think that I will be able to upgrade my Graphics and Digital Painting Programs as it would be cost prohibitive.

So I am hoping that Windows 10 has all these Corel and other programs I use, compatible for me! I would like to upgrade to the newer OS and have been reading up on it quite a bit. It appears that some features are being dropped like Solitaire, which doesn't worry me at all. I just want my Digital Art Programs to be usable with the upgrade. How about you?

"Bearded Homeless Man Red Doorway" Corel

Bearded Homeless Man Red Doorway

Programs used to digitally paint this image:

• Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 (Watercolor Sketch Dry Brushes)
• Corel Painter 11 (Digital Watercolor Brushes, Conte Brushes)
• Corel PSP Pro X3 (Auto Smart Fix, added signature, resized for display)

I used a color photograph from Morguefile for this piece. I have just about exhausted the Homeless Men for digitally painting. I may create some more digital collage works, soon.

I am still working on the song, "I Still Remain," so it is not quite finished for sharing yet. Watch this space for its release!

"Blue Woman in the Woods" Corel

Blue Woman in the Woods

Instead of doing some Digital Painting, I wanted to do some Photography Texture Blending. I found a Womans Portrait from Morguefile, and a Texture from Stockvaults Friday Freebies. I began by opening the Woman first in Corel PSP Pro X3 and adjusted the Threshold to darken it. I then opened the Blue Texture file and layered it over the Woman. I sized it to fit the portrait. I then added to the image by adjusting the layer opacity properties. I upped the Saturation Vibrancy for the Blue Texture to stand out. I saved that file as a TIFF file format.

I opened the Woman in Corel PhotoPaint and used a differing form of the Threshold to allow some flesh-tones to show, along with the white space. I opened the previously Textured file and layered the two, using the property Multiply for transparency. I added my signature as a layer and merged them all.

I ended up with a multi-textured piece, with wood bark and the Blue, along with some Flesh-tones on her face. In the end I blended four or five layers to create this piece. "Blue Woman in the Woods." I saved that file iteration. I resampled for display and saved a final for post image.

NOTE: My New Song: "Wait Until Morning," is in process at CDBaby.com, I will be posting it soon. Keep in anticipation for this love gone wrong song.

"Full Beard, Long Hair" Corel

Full Beard, Long Hair

I made the time to do this Digital Painting this afternoon and evening. Using another Mans Portrait from Morguefile I painted the image in Corel Painter 11. "Full Beard, Long Hair," began in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 as a Watercolor Sketch in grayscale.

I saved the large file and opened it in Corel Painter 11. There I used the Digital Watercolor Brushes on the face and beard. I switched to another layer for Liquid Ink Brushes to add details to his hair and beard. I also used the Inks for the background and added some more Digital Watercolor for dark contrasts.

I saved the large image after layering in my signature and merging Layers. I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 for Saturation Vibrancy set at 33. I saved the image and resized for display here.

I have been working on two new songs for placing on CDBaby. I am completing the mixing now on one. The other is over eight minutes long and needs some thought and revising to make it practical for selling. Right now, I am enjoying working on it and don't mind its length.

Watch this blog for a posting about the new song soon! Per usual I will have it set for Full Preview for your consideration.

"Woman Laying Down Portrait" Corel Painter

Woman Laying Down

I selected this photograph from Morguefile to Digitally Paint. I did not have to adjust the colors as I opened in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. There I auto painted using the Watercolor Sketch settings. I saved that iteration and opened in Corel Painter 11.

There I used a Gouache Bristle Brush with low opacity to begin adding some different color to the image. I added color to the face, the background, and her blouse. I also added white and light brown to the eyes. I appended the Flesh tones palette to the color palette and began using some of the light flesh tones. I added some to the face, and also to tie the composition together I added to the blouse.

I switched to a Blender Brush and did some softening of the bristles. I left the roughness of the eyes outline and eyebrows as I felt they looked painterly.

I saved that iteration and opened in Corel PSP Pro X3. There I added my signature and a Platinum Frame as layers. I merged all layers and applied the Saturation Vibrancy and a Paper Texture to the piece.

I also played a bit with Curves for some depth to the colors, Everything was complete and I saved the Large iteration. I Resized at 200dpi to display size and saved with another name. Here you see the result.

Be sure to  click on the image for the larger view! You will see the texture better as well as the image details. This is one more in my current series of Digital Painting with Corel Painter. I am enjoying this series very much, as I hope you are as well.

Note: As for my Music I am still allowing patrons to hear the full songs at CDBaby, before considering a purchase. I feel this gives one a better idea of the songs and is beneficial. 

In March, I will be releasing a series of songs that deal with the trouble one can have with Self-centered people. A song about such a person, A warning song, a reckoning song. Then I will finish with a song about the wonderful world around us, as healing takes place. 

"Hazel Eyes with Map Textured" Corel

Hazel Eyes with Map Textured

I began today's image with the Hazel Eyed Woman's Portrait, from Morguefile. I opened the file in Corel PhotoPaint. I sized to screen, and then applied the Threshold tool to it.  I left quite a bit of her hair and the left background the same. I saved this file.

I used the Wand tool to select white space created by the Threshold tool. I then loaded a map file into the fill tool, and using that I filled the face and neckline.

I used Filter Forge's Photo Effect Vibrancy on the face with the Map to add color.

I opened a burgundy Texture file from Stockvault and copied and layered that over the rest of the image. I reopened the same base Portrait and Cut out the lips and eyes and placed them on the image, merging all layers. I did use the Tone Curve on the lips and eyes to deepen the color as well before merging.

If you look closely at the Map, you will see the, "Vicinity of Detroit, Michigan" as well as part of "New York, and Cincinnati."

NOTE: As a reminder my Songs (singles) for sale at CDBaby all allow you to hear the full song now prior to your considering buying them. Feel free to have a listen to them. Comment if you wish. If you have a CDBaby consumer account you can Review the song on it's page.

NOTE2: Take a look at my new Facebook Page and Please like it! https://www.facebook.com/KirkMathewGatzka.Music.Art

"Two Women Dual Textured with Map" Corel

Two Women Dual Textured with Map

Another image with layering of a Public Domain Map, showing Michigan and surrounding areas. The Dual Textures are the Map and a Stone Texture from StockVault. (The brownish tint to the Map is the Stone Texture.)

I began with the Women ( from Morguefile) in Corel PSP Pro X3, I used the Threshold tool for white and black space. I left enough detail to satisfy me for their faces and hair. I next copied and layered the Map with a slight change with Curves for the depth of colors.

I selected another Stone Texture and adjusted the darkness of the Stone to a light color before applying the property Burn (or was it Dodge?) one or the other. This gave the brownish tint to the Map.

I added my signature and merged all layers, saving the large iteration. I viewed the full image and found that the Map made a nice border for the sides but too much white on the bottom. I opened in Corel PhotoPaint and added a black border to the entire image. Here I also resampled the image for display with compression set at 75 and smoothing at 33, with the JPG Optimized. I saved that and then posted to "gatzkART!".

NOTE: You may noticed I have another Single Tune For Sale at CDBaby to the right. Called "The Roof," it is a three track instrumental done with my 12-String Guitar in the Alternate Tuning of DADGAD. It is a mellow and soothing Tune that builds to a climax. Go to the link and have a listen to a short excerpt about 30 seconds long. You can buy it there or click off the tab to close the purchase page. Thank you for your considering some of my music.

"Young Woman - Mountain Map" Corel

Young Woman - Mountain Map

I found some Public Domain Maps through a search. The one I used today in this image is a Comparison of Mountains from all around the World. I opened the Young Woman's portrait in Corel PSP Pro X3 and applied the Threshold tool. I turned that into largely into white space. I wanted to go light and not dark with this image.

I copied and pasted the Mountain Comparative Map onto her and played with the properties. I came out with one I liked. I also upped the Saturation Vibrancy of the Map for more distinct color. I added a black border to set it off along with my signature as a layer. I merged all layers and saved the large iteration.

I tried experimenting with the Export; JPG file settings but the higher I set the compression the more it pixelated the image. I just Resized it and saved as normal JPG, display size.

"Vintage Europe Map Textured Woman Portrait" Corel

Vintage Europe Map Woman's Portrait

Today I used Corel PSP Pro X3 to create this image you see. I opened the Woman's Portrait first and applied the Threshold tool for black and white space. I did some adjusting of the portrait to balance the black and white favorably. I got the photograph of the woman from MorgueFile. The map was garnered by searching for free vintage maps.

I used the layer property Multiply, on it to allow the map to show through onto the white space. I adjusted the Saturation by 33 and played a bit with Curves to add depth to the image. I added my signature and saved the large iteration.

Resizing to a display size was next. It was a very simple and straightforward creation. I am searching for public domain maps to use in future images, Leave a note if you know of any good sites for that, thank you.