"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 to: Freehand Oil Pastel with Watercolor Paper Texture" Corel

Freehand Oil Pastel with Watercolor Paper Texture

Today I spent some time looking through some Older Freehand Drawings of mine done in various mediums. I found a color Oil Pastel Drawing of a Fictional Man's Portrait I had done, without a date on it. I know I had done it some time ago, but don't remember what year I drew it in.

I had just recently received some very nice Watercolor Paper Textures from Stockvault's Friday Freebies. I wanted to use one as they are new to me. I opened Corel PSP Pro X3 and went to my Textures folder, selecting one I loaded it into PSP Pro X3.

I then scanned in the Freehand Oil Pastel Drawing into PSP Pro X3, with Acquire Twain. I scanned at full color. After it loaded into PSP I resized it to 75% of the original, copied it to the clipboard and pasted as New Layer on the Watercolor Textured Paper. There I adjusted the placing for best effect and viewing, size matching the size of the Watercolor Texture Paper.

I then applied the Layer Property Multiply for transparency to allow the Watercolor to show through. Using Adjust, Smart Photo Fix I altered the Layered Portrait. Settings were: Brighter +23; Shadows -30; Highlights +20; Saturation +50; Focus Original 50; these were to my satisfaction and applied. I merged the two Layers.

I then loaded my Signature File, copied to the Clipboard and Pasted as a New Layer onto the image. I Sized and Placed the Signature, applying the Layer Property Multiply, and merged that with the piece. I saved the piece as a 300dpi RGB 8 bit JPG file.

I looked at it enlarged in Picasa Viewer and decided it needed a small Black Border, I added that at 10 pixels wide. I saved the large image again. Then I resized for display on the blog and other Social Media.

If you like the piece please Share it to Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, or any other Social Media you use. If viewed on a Computer you can share it in multiple ways as a link. Be sure to click on the Headline to make certain you are sharing only this particular post. I you desire to browse my other artworks and posts click the HOME button and scroll down to the Tag Cloud for reference to differing subjects, or use the Search tool for specific searches.

While you scroll down on the pages you will notice my CDBaby Kiosks of some of my Music. The first one will play four songs in a row in Full Preview, the entire songs! Or you can select from the other CDBaby Kiosk for 30 second Previews of all my songs currently available on CDBaby. Select "Playlist," for Full Previews of these other tunes.

"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.

"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 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.

"How it was Done - Very Tired Young Driver Image" Corel

Very Tired Young Driver

Today I have reached the milestone of 1,330 blog posts! Thank you for sharing with your friends!

Unsplash sent me their most recent group of Free Hi-Res photographs today. I selected the photograph of a "Very Tired Young Driver." I immediately was drawn to this image, the individual, his hat and shirt, and the amount of light in the entire image.

I opened it in Corel PhotoPaint. Here I applied the Threshold tool for some more white space. I had in mind a Texture Blended image, so I searched for a texture that I already had, not used yet. I located this Concrete Texture. I opened it and copied to the clipboard. I pasted it as a new layer and used the Property Multiply for transparency.

Next I used the Tone Curve to lighten the colors with some depth. I added my signature and saved that iteration. I then opened the image in Corel PSP Pro X3 and applied the Smart Photo Fix, adjusting the Shadows. I added some Vibrancy with the Saturation tool, this brightened up the colors a bit more.

After all these steps I resized the image for display, still in PSP Pro X3, then saved that iteration with my other recent Textured Portraits.

Comments, Shares, Pluses and Purchases always are welcome. Consider purchasing some of my Artwork as a Poster, framed or otherwise through my Zazzle Store. Go to My Art and Music for Sale page and send me an email of your selection from the blog history, I will upload my largest file to Zazzle and send you the URL to the Poster Page. Then you select size, matte frame, paper type. You can purchase it as just a Poster if you would like. Investigate my Zazzle Store for products and other Artwork there.

While you are here on the blog page, scroll down to the Music Kiosks from CDBaby to listen to Full Previews of my Alternative Folk/Rock Tunes. Try before you Buy!

"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.