"How to: Street Musician Classical Guitar" PE5 Plus

Street Musician Classical Guitar

From an online free photography site, I saw and chose A "Street Musician Playing a Classical Guitar." I saved the original photograph to my computer and opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) 

Here I selected the picture for digital painting. I used the Watercolor Sketch setting with some Grain. I chose the Opaque Acrylic Brush and painted it. After it completed the digital painting I used the Soft Cloner Brush to add back in some details to the face, hands, and guitar. I then saved the large file as a bitmap image file.

I now opened the piece in Paint.NET. I found and selected a painted wood texture file. I added this as a new layer resizing it to fit the whole image. I applied the property Lighten to it while reducing the Opacity to 88%. It added a complimentary touch to the image. I also added my signature as a layer sizing it and placing it in the lower right-hand corner. I merged all the layers and saved this iteration.

Next, I resized for display. 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, with compression set to 90%. I saved this file as a JPG with a new name.

I have been endeavoring to learn a new song from Joe Bonamassa (Bad Company's tune,) "Seagull." I played it on my Martin DRS1 and sang along. One stanza in the song is odd to me, that is where the Seagull gets shot down. I don't own guns or shoot anything, so I, for myself, sing it "I'll Never Shoot You Down!" Seeing that I will never record the song for publishing, I did not think that the authors would mind so much. It is just a small change for my taste.

I continue to practice on the Martin and have let my 12-String set for a while. I will bring it out after I get more used to playing my newer 6-String.

"The Lone Street Musician" PE5 Plus

The Lone Street Musician

Another photograph of "The Lone Street Musician." I liked the image from the beginning. A Street Guitarist, possibly a singer as well, presenting himself in a corner of a plaza.

I opened the file in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I began by applying the Pen and Ink Drawing settings. I tried one brush but it was not very clear, and I wanted a clean, bright Pen and Ink look. So I set the Brush to the Dry Ink and painted again. This gave me a better drawing.

To add to the Ink Drawing, I selected the Detailed Watercolor setting. A soft light brush was chosen the New Simple Water Brush. I digitally painted again. This gave me a Pen and Ink Watercolor image.

The next step was to increase color depth of the piece. I selected Equalize from the Effects. There I set the Black Point to 21.2% and left the White Point at 100%. I altered the Gamma to 60%, and this punched up the color. I saved this large file with a new name.

Next, I opened the file in Paint.NET. I selected the Line Brush at 3 points, with a Backwards slash setting. I hand painted a light border with the brush. I opened my signature file, copied it, and added it as a new layer. Using the property Multiply, I then merged the layers. I saved this file at 100% compression.

I now only needed to Resize the piece for display. I adjusted it to 72dpi, 1220 X 1049, with 75 as the compression. I saved this file with a new name.

"How to: Red Espresso" PE5 Plus

Red Espresso

I have recently found a few new free to edit photographs from Pixabay, Picjumbo, and a few others. I had an email to myself of the sites which I promptly deleted today upon doing some email clean up. It is a listing from Kim Garst's Blog online. So I hope I can find it again.

I did not keep track of the source of this photograph I chose to digitally paint, but it was a large file size with great dpi and depth of colors.

I first opened it in Paint.NET on my laptop. I did some Adjustments using Curves for depth and increasing the Saturation to 110. I saved this file.

Next, I used Picasa's HDR tool with light settings for that sharp look and feel. I saved again.

I reopened the image in Corel's Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) Here I selected to do an Oil Painting with Acrylic and Oils Brush: Opaque Detail Brush. It was a small brush which gave the oil painting much detail. I saved the file with a new name.

I added my signature layer in Corel's PhotoPaint, and saved this iteration. Then I resampled the file for display here. I used the settings 240dpi 1220 X 813 and saved with a new name. An optimzed JPG with compression at 75 and smoothing at 25.

With the Oil Painting having a white surrounding area I decided to add a Frame. I used Picasa's Museum Matte tool, giving it a red matte. I saved this iteration, slightly larger with the Frame and matte added.

Thus, you have the image for today, "Red Espresso."

"You Won't Get Away With That With Me!" PE5 Plus

You Won't Get Away With That With Me!

I grabbed some very nice photographs from UnSplash recently, free to edit and modify. I had some time on the computer enjoying working on this post. I have done many Older Men images. So I thought, when I saw this photograph with so much personality I had to work with it. A classic Older Woman with Glasses and a Bright Hat.

I opened the photograph in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I began by applying the Effects: Equalize to increase color, then added the Woodcut effect. I minimized the heaviness of the woodcut for a better image. I saved that and used the resulting image to digitally paint. I selected the Watercolor Sketch, admittedly one of my favorites. But instead of using a watercolor brush I chose a Photo Painting Brush: Bristle Oils Cloner Brush.

This gave me a wonderous image. I next used the Soft Cloner Brush to brush back in by hand, some details. Clearer Eyes, eyebrows, glasses and her fantastic wrinkles. I saved that large iteration at 72dpi.

Now I went into Paint.NET and added my signature layer and merged it down. I used the Curves to add some more depth to the colors. I also Upped the Saturation of the colors set at 110. I saved again this time at 150dpi.

I used Corel PhotoPaint to resample for display. I selected an Optimized JPG at 150dpi, 1220 X 915, Anti-aliased, and Maintained the Aspect ratio. My compression was set to 75 and the smoothing to 25, I saved the display image with a new name.

I have been enjoying working on my art on my Tablet. I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 tablet. I like the PicsArt App and the Autodesk Sketchbook App for creating art for blogging, Facebook, Google+ and, Twitter. Still learning to use the tablet for artwork, but having a great time doing it.

I have been jamming with my Martin DRS1 6-String Acoustic Electric Guitar. I found some great Jamming Backtracks on YouTube through QuistTV called QuistJam. First class jamming backtracks, I did subscribe to their feed. I am not a lead player yet, but I am working on learning scales like the Pentatonic Scales and others by ear. By myself and headsets I don't disturb too many in the neighborhood. I really enjoy the A minor tracks a lot, as I can fit the Pentatonics in and practice the scales, and try Improvising around the backing. Now to get an amplifier for some real action!

"Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck" PE5 Plus

Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck

A little something different today. A "Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck," is the subject matter. I opened the photograph in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5). There I applied the Equalize tool, Sharpened the photograph and, Brightened it a bit.

Next I saved the file and used the image for Digital Painting. I did a Detailed Watercolor with the Soft Cloner Photo Brush. I next added more color and depth with the Illustration settings, a Digital Wash Brush. I added some line work with the Colored Pencil Drawing set, a Dry Ink Brush. I saved that iteration.

Opening in Paint.NET, I adjusted the Curves to add depth. Also, I adjusted the Saturation at 110. I added my Signature layer and sized and placed that with the property Additive. Merging layers I saved again.

I used Picasa 3+ to Warmify the colors and saved again. I next opened the piece in PhotoPaint. Here I resampled the file to 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintained the aspect ratio. Before saving the display size image, I applied the Local Equalization tool, used the Tone Curve for added depth set at RGB. I saved the display file with a new name.

I am still learning about using Debian 8 Linux OS on my little Dell 1100 Inspiron laptop. I have tried to attach my Wacom Tablet to it and it worked immediately. I did an eyes and nose sketch with the touchpad and I then used the Tablet and Stylus to draw a full face. I also connected USB to an Epson Printer Stylus Photo 1280 I am trying to fix.

The printer was recognized and it attempted to print, which is the problem as it has not been printing. Blank pages came out. I think the print head is shot. Still playing with the printer to see what cleaning solution will do for it.

Overall my experience with Debian has been good. The laptop is slow to respond, with only 256MB RAM. But it is fun to learn any new computing tricks.

"How To: Dead Branch and Abandoned House" PE5 Plus

Dead Branch and Abandoned House

Pretty much done with my Pathways Series, I perused Morguefile for some interesting photographs. This particular one caught my eye. "Dead Branch and Abandoned House," looked very intriguing. I downloaded it giving it a new name for my file searches. I created a New Folder for more of my new works, including this one.

I opened the large file in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) and first I applied the Effects, Equalize to lighten some of the colorings, knowing that I would add depth later. I saved that iteration. I selected Use Open Image to select it for painting. My Choice was the Watercolor Sketch (one of my favorites in PE5.)

I went to the Photo Painting Brushes and selected the New Simple Water Brush, and auto painted the image. I then selected the Soft Cloner Photo Painting Brush to add back in some of the Dead Branch Details. I saved the large file again with a new name.

I used Corel PhotoPaint for a few adjustments. I applied the Image, Tone Curve lightening the depth of color. I opened my signature file copied it to the clipboard and layered it onto the main painting. I sized and placed the signature using the property Add for transparency. I saved the large file once again.

I used Resample to make the piece ready for display. 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels with Anti-alias and Maintain Aspect Ratio to keep the picture clear.

I decided to punch up the colors and add a frame like look to the piece. I selected the plugin Filter Forges Photo Effects. Here I used the Lomo effect lightly to add some interest to the final display image. This darkened the colors and added a vignette to the image.

"How Did This Happen? My Adventure with Linux - Stone Pathway" PE5

Stone Pathway

UPDATE: I have been able to get Debian 8 LXDE to work on my Dell 1100! I still have some screen issues with funny lines and some missing words on login, but it is working. Added Audacity for recording and it works with a condenser microphone I have. Having fun with Linux issues!

I recently was given a Dell Inspiron 1100 Laptop with only 256MB of RAM and a 20Gig HDD and a CD Reader. Have you ever tried to install a form of Linux on a computer with so little RAM and no DVD-RW? My experience shows it is very difficult! I tried a number of flavors of Linux: Puppy; Lubunto Mini; Debian; and a 45MB version with a forgettable name.

Hours and hours later after Debian gave me a Login Screen. I logged in - OOPS! Something went wrong - White Screened! Not enough RAM I'm certain. Puppy Slackware version - no lettering on window Icons. Did not know what to pick for what, but I had a nice bunch of Icons on the desktop. Lubuntu Mini same story, Icons but with lettering, but CRASH! Not enough RAM! The 45MB version was a command line screen, not GUI, stuck without enough Linux knowledge for that! It Ran, though.

Days later I have now let the project sit for a time, frustrated, I need more RAM and I have a tight budget for toying around with an old laptop. Fun but time consuming and I have neglected my blog!

I decided to continue with my Pathways Series of Images. I selected this "Stone Pathway," which appears to be in a Park. Opening it in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) I applied the Effects Adjust Color choosing Image Luminance to enhance the colors. Then I used the Equalize tool to add depth to the colors and saved the image.

I selected the saved image to auto paint. I chose the Pastel Drawing, Photo Painting Brushes, Chalk Cloner and Digitally painted the image. Picking the Soft Cloner Brush, I added back in some of the details of the photograph. I saved this image.

I opened it in Picasa 3+ and used the HDR tool with the Radius set low and the Strength Medium-low, and the Fade at 0. I then went and applied the Museum Matte for Framing the image. I saved again.

Next in Corel PhotoPaint, I added my signature layer and merged them. Applied the Tone Curve for more Depth of color. I saved again. I resampled the image at 72dpi 1200 X 823 pixels and set Compression at 75 and Smoothing at 25. I saved with another name for the display JPG file.

This took me a few hours to accomplish, but I am glad to be making Digital Visual Artwork again! I will look into used RAM on sale for that Laptop and see if I can make it work. Someone with a little knowledge of Linux would probably like to own it. If I can just get it working!

Digital Watercolors Visual Art by Kirk Mathew Gatzka

"How To: Forest Pathways Continued" PE5 Plus

Forest Pathways

I selected another Forest Pathways photograph for my Series of images of recent days. I like this one for the Trees and the less traveled path. I first opened in Paint.NET and applied the Artistic Ink Sketch tool. I had the color set high, and the Ink Medium. The trees looked great but the sky was washed out a bit. I increased the Saturation from 100 to 123 and this helped the sky colors. I saved the file.

Next I used Painter Essentials 5 from Corel (PE5.) I did an auto painting of the Pencil Drawing with the Pencils, Pens, and Markers, Dry Ink Brush. It was very light. I next switched to the Impressionistic Painting for more punch to the image. I selected a Digital Watercolor Dry Brush and auto painted again. Fantastic colors now embellished the image.

I hand painted some details back in using the Soft Cloner Brush to bring out the trees a bit more clearly. I saved that file.

In Corel's PhotoPaint I opened the Forest Digital Painting and the Ink Sketch I had done earlier in Paint.NET. I copied the Ink Sketch to the clipboard, closed it and layered it on the Painting. I adjusted the layer with Curves to lighten the colors a tad. Then I adjusted the Opacity about 75%. I merged the layers and applied Saturation increasing it also.

In Picasa, I tuned the image by increasing the Shadows. I added a Border and Matte and saved again. In Paint.NET, I Flipped the image Horizontally to have the Pathway Curve to the opposite way, as the other pathways images in the Series seem to go the same way. I added my signature layer and merged the layers. I saved again for the final large piece.

To resampled the file for display I used PhotoPaint. I resized it at 120dpi, 75 Compression, and Smoothing at 25 for a smaller footprint. I renamed the file and saved for display here.

Just a reminder that I am going to Introduce a New Song on CDBaby the beginning of February 2016. The Song is "I Still Remain." Simple format without much fuss in the mix. Vocals and my 12-String Seagull Guitar Played and sung live into the Line 6 Pod XT Live and recorded on my computer. Look for it's release!

Also a mention for Grammarly the Free Grammar program. I used it to write and correct this blog post in Blogger. It works well and has a Premium version that would enhance anyone's writing. I recommend it.

"How I Did This: Pathways Digital Watercolors" PE5 Plus

Pathways Digital Watercolors

Continuing with my Series of Pathway images I used this photograph of a Forest Pathway and applied Digital workings to it. I have not heard any comments about my Videos so I am going to use narrative discussions for the time being until I receive more feedback from you the viewer/reader of this blog.

I opened the color photograph in Corel PhotoPaint. Here I decided to start with a Grayscale image. I went to Color Mode and altered the photograph to grayscale. I then added back to the image RGB 24-bit color format. It remained grayscale, but now I could paint it in RGB colors. I saved the larger iteration.

Next step was to open the image in Painter Essentials 5 and Digitally Paint it. I selected the Watercolor Sketch set, with a small Digital Watercolor brush and auto-painted the image. I took that and saved it.

I then Hand Painted the image, with my Wacom Stylus and Tablet, using Digital Watercolor Brushes, I selected various brushes including a Broad Water brush. I selected to choose from the basic color palette multiple greens and browns to paint by hand. This gave a variety of depth to the piece. After I was done hand painting I saved the file with another name.

I had Picasa 3+ open and I went to Increase the Saturation tool and did just that, adding some punch to the hand painted image. I also selected the tool Warmify and applied that at a low setting. I saved again.

Back in PhotoPaint, I layered my signature with the property Add for transparency. I merged and saved again. I had found that I had older Filter Forge Filters to add to my PhotoPaint Plugins, so I did that using the Troubleshoot Compatibility on the setup files in Windows 10.

I applied Filter Forges Photo Effects Vibrance, more depth of color, and the Frames effects giving it a Film Frame. At that I looked at the image set to view large on my screen and was satisfied with the results. I saved the large file, then Resampled it to a 72dpi display size for this post. I used 75 compression, and 25 smoothing as I saved the display file.

Autumn Pathway - Art by Kirk Mathew Gatzka

"Street Musicians" Picasa - Painter Essentials 5 - PaintDotNET

Street Musicians

I gathered up a few new Guitar and Musician based themed free photographs. "Street Musicians," is the first piece I Digitally worked on. I opened in Picasa 3+ and applied the HDR effect, Radius was Medium, and the Strength or Value was Fair.

Saving that I opened in Painter Essentials 5. Here I used a Modern Painting set with Acrylics and Oils Real Wet Brush. After Digitally Painting that I used the Photo Painting Brush Soft Cloner to add detail to each of the Musicians and a tad to the background trees. Back in Picasa I applied a Black on Black Border and saved again.

Opening it with Paint.NET I applied Adjustments, Curves to add depth, and added my signature layer with the Property Lighten. I then merged the layers. I saved the large iteration at 120dpi.

I Resized /Resampled in Irfanview at 72dpi for display with another name.

"How I Did This: Cabin in the Forest" Painter Essentials 5 - PaintDotNET -Irfranview

Cabin in the Forest

The "Cabin in the Forest," began as a photograph from Unsplash Free Photographs. I opened the file in Painter Essentials 5 and used Effects Tonal Control - Equalize for brightening the colors.

I selected the Watercolor Sketch set, and used an F-X Brush called Glow to Digitally paint the image. I then added back in some details using the Photo Painting Brush Soft Cloner by hand. Using Effects, Apply Surface Texture I chose 3D Luminance to add Texture to the piece. I added back in some details with the Soft Cloner Brush lightly.

I saved the large 3000 X 2000 pixel image at 72dpi, with a new name. Next I opened in Paint.NET.

Here I applied some Adjustments, first in Curves I lightened the image depth of color, then using Saturation I increased colors by 115% from 100%. I added my Signature Layer using the Property Lighten and merged the layer down. I saved that iteration with the same name.

I needed to resize for display here on the blog. I opened the file in Irfranview. Here I resized the piece and resampled the compression for a smaller JPG file. Please click on the file for a larger view and notice the details and texture.

My CDBaby Kiosks are still lower down on the page for you to sample Full Previews of my music. I encourage you to listen to my Independent Music which I call Alternative Folk Rock. All ten songs are for sale at only $0.99 apiece, with the exception of, "Hello, Hello!," which is a shorter song, reminiscent of the Beatles 70's era. Click on the arrow on the second Kiosk to select a new song to hear and the image and titles will change. Remember Full Previews of all songs are available for your listening to all ten songs. Have a click or two!

"Digitally Painted Doors Digital Collage" Painter Essentials 5 - Picasa Plus

Digitally Painted Doors Collage

I created this collage from free photographs that I got from Unsplash. Some of them I had done earlier, and as I wanted to present a Digital Collage of a Series of Doors I did a few more.

The Aqua Door and Windows with the Ocher Wall I opened in Painter Essentials 5. I used the Artist Brushes set, with Impressionistic Blender Jitter brush. I also used the Photo Painting Brush - Soft Cloner for details.

In the upper right hand corner, the Brown Door and Shutters I opened in Painter Essentials 5. Here I applied the Watercolor Sketch set with Photo Painting Brush, Grainy Variable Pencil selected. I used Picasa to up the Shadows and in Paint.NET I added my signature layer with the property Multiply for transparency.

On the Burgundy Door with Foliage I used GIMP's Oil Paint and added Texture to the entire image. Very simple changes in color with Saturation and Curves for depth. (Lower right hand corner.)

The Green Door and Windows with the White Wall, I used Painter Essentials 5, Watercolor Sketch with Photo Painting Brush, Chalk Cloner. Then I added a touch of the Colored Pencil Drawing set using a Grainy Variable Brush. In Paint.NET, I again upped the Saturation and depth with Curves.

I grouped the images all in their own Folder named Doors. Opening Picasa 3+ I selected them all and chose Create Collage, Repositioned a couple of the images and made the large Digital Collage.

I used Irfranview to resize the JPG file for display at 72dpi.

I am now pretty satisfied with my slight penchant with a Doorway Series, as this Digital Collage served to create differing views of Doorways and Windows. I invite you to click on the image for the larger view, and to see more of the details of each Doorway and surrounds.

"Lead Guitar Player" PaintDotNET - Painter Essentials 5

Lead Guitar Player

I have been thinking about Music lately, my own and others. I decided to do a post about Guitar Playing. I found a really nice "Lead Guitar Player," photograph from UNsplash.

It was actually a very dark piece color wise so I opened in Paint.NET and used Adjustments, Curves, lightening the colors. I then went to Effects, Artistic, Ink. I lowered the number of Ink pen and upped the color to allow the modified colors to show through. I saved that large file.

Opening in Corel Painter Essentials 5 I selected the Detailed Watercolor set. Using Digital Watercolor Dry Brushes I Digitally Painted the piece. With the Soft Cloner Brush I added back in some details, as is my custom.

Going to Effects, Tonal Control I Equalized the Colors, as the painting as a watercolor had dimmed them. This brought the colors back to a balance I liked. I saved that iteration with a new name.

I returned to Paint.NET and applied my signature layer with the property Multiply for transparency. I merged all layers and saved again. I resized the image right in Paint.NET for display.

I recently recorded the song "Good Riddance - Time of Your Life," by Green day with my singing and playing my 12-String. For effect I doubled the singing and playing, on a second track. I used Reverb on both. So I have a experimental Echo sound to the song. I enjoyed doing it but it's not for everybody as the Echo effect is quite pronounced.

It won't be for sale as I do not have the resources to pay fees for a Cover of Green Day's song. But I have been actively seeking others songs to play and record for fun and mixing experience.

"How To: Workflow - Young Man and Woman Portrait" Corel

Digital Watercolor Young Man and Woman Portrait

I truly appreciate the fine portraiture I find at Unsplash Free Photos. I found this Grayscale Portrait of a Young Man and Woman there and downloaded it. I wanted to ply my Digital Visual Art Skills to this image, so, of course I did.

I opened the large file in Corel Painter Essentials 5 and began:

• I selected the Watercolor Sketch set
• Photo Painting Brushes
  • Bristle Oils Cloner
    • Size 15
    • Opacity 88%
  • I hand cloned the eyes and mouths
  • Photo Painting Brushes
    • Straight Cloner
    • Size 21.7
    • Opacity 100%

Saving that large iteration I opened it in Corel Painter 11 and began to paint by hand:

• Digital Watercolors
  • Dry Brush
    • Size varied starting at 29.7
    • Opacity 20%
    • Grain 100%
    • Diffusion 0
    • Wet Fringe 10%
• Background Sky painting
  • Broad Water Brush
    • Size Varied starting at 13.2
    • Opacity 29%
    • Grain 58%
    • Diffusion 0
    • Wet Fringe 50%
• I also used the Liquid Ink Brushes for lined details
  • Coarse Camel Brush
    • Size Various
    • Opacity 100%

I once again saved that larger image and opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3:

• Smart Photo Fix
  • Brighter +28
  • Shadows 0
  • Highlights +10
  • Saturation +10
  • Focus +57
• Hue and Saturation
  • Vibrancy +20

I added my signature, sized and placing it, before I saved the large Final piece. I then resized for display to 801 X 1200 Pixels, 72dpi, JPG file format.

I used Picasa to create the short Movie of the photo steps as the were taken. I have yet to use Camstudio with Windows 10 (free version) to create a YouTube video of my steps and creation of an artwork. 

I did my editing from my short notes I took as I worked on this image, hoping that others can learn from my efforts. Admitting that some of my Corel Programs are older ones, Digital Artists can get the flavor of the workflow and apply it to their current Programs. Most of my writing took place in Open Office the Open Source product. Some additional writing was done here in Blogger's editor.

"How To: Young Woman's Digital Watercolor Portrait" Corel

Young Woman's Digital Watercolor Portrait

I liked yesterday's Image quite a bit, so I found another Young Woman's Portrait on Unsplash Free Photos. I began adjustments in Picasa 3+. I first did Auto Contrast then I went to Brightness, there I increased the Highlights a bit, decreased the Shadows, and Increased the Color Temperature. I selected Saturation and increased the color some. Then I used the HDR tool, Low Radius, Medium Strength, zero Fade, and applied that. I saved the Large image.

Next I loaded the modified piece into Corel Painter Essentials 5. Selecting the Detailed Watercolor, I Set to Digital Watercolor Brushes, Diffuse Water Brush, Size 4.7; Opacity 100%; Grain 30% with Concrete Paper. I Digitally Painted the Young Woman's Portrait.

Still in PE5 I selected the Watercolor Sketch set with the same settings for Brush, Grain and Paper. I applied those settings to Digitally Paint over the Detailed Watercolor. Next I chose Photo Painting Brushes, Camel Oil Cloner Brush, Size 24.2, Opacity 72%, using this I retouched the Eyes, Ear, and Lips for some detail enhancement. I saved this iteration.

Using Corel PSP Pro X3 I opened that painted file and applied the Adjust, Smart Photo Fix. I set the Brighter to +28; Shadows to -30; Highlights to -10; and More Colorful to +20 with Sharper to +60. I added a Signature Layer, sizing and placing it I merged the Layers. As I wanted to mirror yesterday's image I went to Image, Picture Frame, and selected a Moss frame, outside image and merged that layer. I also used the Saturation Vibrancy set to 33 to punch up the colors one more time. I saved the Large iteration at 72dpi, RGB, 8 bit, JPG.

Per usual I resized the image for display here online.

It's time to ask again what format for my Workflow do you like better? The Outline Style or Narrative Style? One thing I haven't tried yet is combining the Styles using the Outline for the detailed settings and Narrative for explanations. I may try that if I get some feedback from You my Readers. Which do you prefer? Leave a Comment to reply.

"How This was Done: Digital Watercolor Woman's Portrait"

Digital Watercolor Woman's Portrait

Grabbing a Woman's Portrait from Unsplash Free Photos I began adjusting it in Picasa 3+. I applied the Ortonish tool and was surprised to find a Textured, Vignetted, image. I saved that Large piece and opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 5.

There I selected the Detailed Watercolor setting, Rough Paper, Digital Watercolor Broad Brush, and painted it. I saved that iteration. I loaded it into Corel PSP Pro X3. Here I applied the Curves to add depth to the colors, also ran the Saturation Vibrancy at 33 on the image.

In PSP Pro X3 I loaded a Watercolor Paper from Stockvault's Friday Freebies, which happened to be the same size and portrait shape as the Digitally Painted Woman's Portrait. I copied the Portrait to the clipboard and Pasted as a New Layer to the Watercolor Paper. I had adjusted the Watercolor Paper with Curves as well, more depth to the color. I selected the Portrait and applied the Property Multiply to it. This allowed the Paper to show through with some transparency on the Portrait.

I opened my Signature file and copied and pasted as a New Layer to the two other layers. I sized and placed the signature, applying the property Multiply for transparency. I merged all Layers to one. Still in PSP Pro X3 I selected Image, Picture Frames, and picked a Rose colored frame with the setting outside the picture. I merged that as well.

I saved the Large iteration, then resized for display a 300dpi RGB 8 bit JPG.

"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.

"Steps to: Colorful Coastline - Digital Watercolor" Corel

Colorful Coastline

• Download Free Photograph from Unsplash
• Open in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4
• Paint Digitally as Watercolor Sketch, Rough Paper, Color Saturate, Dry Bristle Brush
• Save large iteration
• Open in Corel PSP Pro X3
• Apply Smart Photo Fix, Increase Colors, Shadows
• Applied Saturation Vibrancy set at 33
• Add Signature layer, merge and save large file as JPG.
• Resize Image for display here.