"How To: Double Embarrassment" PicsArt Plus

Double Embarrassment

I began today's image with a photograph of a Young Lady with her Guitar. Her hand is covering her face in a gesture of embarrassment. I opened it in PicsArt Photo Studio on my computer. I applied the Effects tool HDR2 to it. This gave me a base image to work with.

I opened another image of a Group of Trees for Texture and adjusted the property and opacity of it to allow the main image of the Young Lady show through. I merged these together. I used the Curves Tool to add some depth. Next, I used the Mask Border Tool for a border to the image. It was coming out as a Sepia toned visual.

I added the clipart of an old Camera in the corner. Then using the Clone Tool I duplicated the Young Lady, thus the title, "Double Embarrassment."

I added the image of my signature and date in PicsArt. I merged all layers and saved the large piece.

I used Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) next. I chose the Watercolor Sketch setting with a Dry Brush and painted the scene. I used the Soft Cloner Brush to add back in details to the face, hands, and guitar. I saved with a new name.

Now I reopened the image in Paint.NET to Adjust the Saturation to about 175. This brought out many additional colors in the image. I saved again as a large image.

For display size, I used Corel PhotoPaint and resampled the image. 96dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, 75 Compression, 25 Smoothing, saving the smaller image with a new name.

I have recently found out that when viewing my blog page on my Android Tablet, using the Chrome browser, I can no longer play any of the songs on the CDBaby Kiosks. This may be Adobe Flash Player related, as I can play them with no trouble on my computer using Firefox, and I have an updated version of Flash Player. So I apologize in advance if you also have similar problems with playing the songs Full Previews. (May also be a JavaScript problem.)

I looked for HTML5 music player code on CDBaby's site but they haven't changed any of it. If you have any difficulty please leave a note on the blog about this issue. Thank you.

"Sketchbook Autodesk Freehand"

New Tablet Art, forgive the crude sketch. I have an Android app from Autodesk called Sketchbook.

I'm not the best with it yet but I'm still learning how to use it.

I used an app called Nocrop for the framing, to allow adjustments to the image. I have a lot more to learn about Sketchbook.  Making art on a Tablet isn't easy.

"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. 

"Steampunk Art Deco Collage" Dover - Corel

Steampunk Art Deco 1

Something different for my post today. I decided to scan in an Art Deco plate from Art Deco Designs / Edouard Benedictus. I used my Canon MP495 to scan in the Art Deco plate. I selected from my Dover Publications Samplers two persons in Steampunk Underwear. I opened the scan in Corel PhotoPaint.

There I assembled the Collage. I copied and pasted the gal and guy and erased the background before merging them. I added Birds to the upper right corner also from Dover. I also searched for other unexpected pieces and found an old Building and Trees Landscape Pencil sketch in my Picasa 3.9 folders.

I copied and pasted that from Picasa and resized it to fit the entire image. I applied the property Multiply and altered the Opacity and added it to the collage. I added my signature to the piece and saved the large iteration. I resampled to a size for display here.

Art Deco - Steampunk - Dover - and a Freehand Pencil Sketch in Sepia tone, all combined in an unusual Digital Collage.

"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. 

"Digital Painting Watercolors Old Sketch" Corel Painter 11 - Plus

Painted Digital Watercolor of an Old Sketch

I was browsing through my Picasa 3.9 folders and ran across this old scanned in sketch I did a long time ago. Kind of small I decided to give it a makeover. I used Irfanview to resize the TIFF file to a larger more workable size.

I saved that file and opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used the Smart Photo Fix on it and saving that I used Picasa's Softener on it. I saved again and opened with Corel Painter 11.

In Painter I cloned the image. Then I selected differing Digital Watercolor brushes and painted the image. I used Liquid Ink Fine Point brush to add the white reflections in the pupils. I saved that iteration with a "pntd" name.

I opened with PSP Pro X3 and added the ornate Picture Frame. Saved the large file again. Opening in Corel PhotoPaint I added the inverted Signature file with the property Add for transparency. Saving the large file I resampled to display size and saved the finished piece.