Art Techniques Digital Challenge "Resolution"

Based on my resolution which is a continuation of the one I made last year along with a few additions, I completed my challenge piece.

Digital Montage Studio Last Challenge 2010

Cindy provided a tutorial called "Galaxy under the Sea" and used a seed pod to resemble seed weed in the ocean.  I elected to use a dragonfly for my challenge.  I wouldn't put him in the sea, but I would put him in the sky.  What do you think?

Digital Whisper challenge #80

We were to use the healing brush options to make the skin in the following photo more attractive.

If you look closely you will see some freckles and other blemishes probably caused by too much sun exposure.

Below is my finished piece using the healing brush and also a blur and mask technique by Matt Kloskowski.

This was a fun challenge which included adding more color to her lips and I also added a flower to her hair.

Final - Day 12 at DW Christmas Challenge

For the final challenge, we were to use the drummer  boy image, frame it and add some musical brushes.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Day 11 - Digital Whisper 12 days of Christmas

We were provided the picture with the piper and one member, Rian, also provided a puzzle tutorial if we wanted to use it.  I had to modify the puzzle somewhat because I didn't have the puzzle texture with CS4 version of PhotoShop.  I used a puzzle action. 

Interesting Tutorial - DW Christmas Day 10 Challenge

We were to use our choice of three vintage handkerchiefs provided to make a brush and use it as a background for our digital piece.  Below is what I came up with.  Love the markings that appear on the horse from the handkerchief brush, almost like a branding.

Two Digital Whisper Challenges this Week

The first challenge was on the Digital Whisper Blog and included a holiday wreath for us to use.  Below is what I created.

The second challenge was for the ongoing Twelve Days of Christmas at DW.  For day nine we were to use two images provided, one a beautiful mountain snow scene and the other a ballerina.  We were to blend the two images using a tutorial that was also provided.  It was a bit tricky but here is mine:



Peace on Earth

With all of the joy and celebrations this time of the year, my challenge piece for Art Techniques Digital is a tribute to honor the men and women who have and currently serve our country in the armed forces.  May peace be with them and their families this holiday season.

Catch-up time

The photo to the right was for a "horizontal type tool" challenge at Art Techniques Digital.


The swan was a challenge at Digital Whisper where we were to use our feather background, the swan image and the ballerina to create a blending piece.


Here is a copy of the feather background I created for the previous challenge at Digital Whisper.

Again for Digital Whisper, the challenge was WINGS.  The darling angel is from Altered Artifacts. I added the wings to meet the challenge.

Digital Whisper Challenge - Light Effects

This coming week I will be busy with stamp club, an open house and other duties associated with the Christmas holidays so I decided to do this week's challenge tonight.  We were provided three images of statues and I selected an angel.  Kimmie at DW also provided a tutorial on light effects which I attempted to follow; however, my clouds around the angel did not turn out quite like the one in the tutorial but I am pleased with the smoke effect and will definitely try this one again.

Art Techniques Digital Challenge

LIGHTS - Digital Whisper Blog Challenge

Below is the photo provided for this challenge:

And, this is what I created.





REFLECTION

The final challenge for 2010 at Montage Studio is "reflection."  We all look back at the year and most of us are grateful for family and friends a roof over our heads and food on the table and most of all for our freedom.  However, I look back and also realize that the time went so quickly, the world is spinning out of control and Washington can't seem to focus on the problems for good solutions.  All in all, I still have faith and hope that the new year will be a better one for all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Art Techniques Digital Winter Scene Challenge

I actually took this photo in 2008; however, with our recent snow storm (which looked very similar to this one) it worked well for the challenge.

DW Blog Challenge - Collage Sheet by member, SADIE

One of the members at Digital Whisper, Sadie, provided a beautiful collage sheet to use for this week's challenge.  It was more vintage all in pastel shades with gorgeous script in black.  I altered it by going to 'curves' and selecting a 'negative' option.  Because we are so close to the holidays and for those of us who celebrate Christmas, I thought it would be timely to use the Madonna-32-moonlight magic image from Deviantart. I extracted the image, feathered the edges and selected a couple of filters to change the apperance.  I also added a star brush in the top left-hand corner. 

Sadie, your collage sheet was gorgeous as offered and I know I will use it for future pieces.  THANK YOU!

Second experiment with the pyramids

This one is a little far out replacing the sand with water, don't you think?

Advanced Digital - BLENDING

This was a hard assignment because we were to extract the sky from the pyramids and also extract the pyramids, duplicate the pyramids and bring back the sky and blend them all perfectly using the burn and dodge tools for shadows and highlights.

Mine is far from perfect but here it is:

Montage Studio November Challenge FIRST LIGHT

I almost missed this challenge but had a little extra time today so created a piece "First Light."  When I think of first light I recall the long, cold winters as a child and the use of candles or kerosene lanterns when the lights went out.  I used a paper background by Holliewood at Deviantscrap for the winter scene and candle brushes by Falln Stock along with a brush by Acme Graphic, Starburst.

Art Techniques Digital

I took the day off just for me and joined a new Yahoo group, Art Techniques Digital.  The challenge for this week is an angel image from Dover and the tool of the week is brushes.  Here is my result:

I used a winter scene "December Afternoon" by Eirian Stock-DeviantArt and snowflake brushes by Hawks Mont plus a set downloaded from Brusheezy.

Montage Studio Poster-Water Effect - TAKE 2

Montage Studios - Poster-Water Effect

W E L L . . . mine did not turn out at all like the workshop and I'm waiting to hear where I went wrong.  I was to liquify the bottom set of trees and had no luck with the filter.  Here is what I ended up with on my first attempt.  Need to try this one again and also work more on my blending techniques.  I did like the reflection in the water, though.

Digital Whisper - Second Challenge BENCH

At the left is the suggested image provided for this week.  I am sure we will see a lot of creativity by the members because of the diversity of the photo. 

I attempted to include an image of a turkey but couldn't acquire the effect I was looking for so he was omitted.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Digital Whisper Selective Color Challenge

This week two challenges were posted; one easier than the other and I started with it first.  The idea was to select a colored image and using hue and saturation remove the color and then add it back to certain areas.  The Indian image was a challenge because I only wanted to color in part of the upper fringe on his jacket but decided there was not sufficient contrast between his feather head dress and the background so I colored sections of the tree.  The Indian image was from PublicDomainPictures.

Dreaming Stardom Technique - TAKE TWO

 

I like this version much better with the rays facing up rather than down.

Digital Montage Studio Workshop Techniques

For the first technique we were to create a "dreaming stardom" effect, and I used a geisha image from a Rian Geisha collage sheet.  This would have been better using a different image where the rays would point to a focal point.  In this case, perhaps I should have positioned the rays coming up from the bottom to point towards the bouquet.  (I might have to try that.) The second lesson was a woodcut effect.  I felt this one was more successful and I created a more realistic "woodcut" look.  I used an image from a collage sheet by Altered Artifacts.

Collage Obsession TENDERNESS Challenge

I enjoy the images provided from the Collage Obsession Challenge Blog because they are usually Finnish.  Check out this one we were to use for our challenge:

I recently downloaded a sheet by Holliewood at Deviantscrap called Junkyard containing a tin and the cuple fit nicely inside.

It was fun to create this piece.  Hope you enjoy it.

Montage Studios Workshop - Color Wash Technique

We were to select an image to alter adding color to specific selections.  I thought this tank needed some color and downloaded the image from cgtextures.com.

If I had to use this same image again, I would select fewer areas for my color wash.  It is amazing how it turned out after using a filter at the end for a brush effect.

DWBlog Challenge - FABRIC

The photo Kimmie provided of the fabric was beautiful so I elected to incorporate it into my design.

Here is my result.

Below is a list of the sources for the other images I used:  Music by Lomesome Stock DA; man and woman image from the MUSE and the verse from Ginger's House Blog.

Castle in the Clouds - Second Attempt

I was so displeased with the results from my first attempt at this challenge at Digital Whisper that I had to try it one more time.  The mermaid looks like she is jumping from the water which to me is more realistic.  The image credits are listed in a previous post.

Digital Montague Studio workshop - LIVE OUT LOUD

For the current workshop, we are learning to use filters with the idea to make our images pop.  In looking back at my creation, perhaps it would have been better if I had increased the size of the image to begin with.  The photo was by Jonathan Terrey Staff, Getty Images.  No one deserves the spotlight more than Michelle Kwan who I elected for the focal point.  I LOVE FIGURE SKATING.

DW Challenge #74 - Castle

This was a tough one for me because we were to use clouds, a castle and some water brushes.  When I think of castles I think historical or something out of the ordinary.  I chose to do something a little bit differently and had a hard time blending images and getting the colors correct.  I finally just gave up because I have other things that need my attention this week.  Above is one of the images provided.  The other links were for clouds and the water brushes which I also incorporated into my experiment.   The mermaid was from Blacksock stock, Deviantart, and credit to Trisste for her brush used in the hair of the mermaid.

DW Blog Challenge #25 PINK WHISPER

The challenge image was from Stock Xchng - Michaela Kobyakov of Austria.


I have always loved the dandelion and similar blossoms and as a youngster remember picking them to scatter the seeds.  So my experiment was a very fun one.  Hope you enjoy it.  The woman image was from Cajoline Scraps.

Digital Montague Studio Workshop #4

The new workshop starts this weekend, and Cindy provided a Radial Blur bonus technique for us to use until all new members get comfortable with their software, etc.

All of my images were from PhotoXpress and I started out with this beautiful scene of a forrest in winter.

The polar bear image seemed a perfect match and was my selection for the second image.  I found the verse using Google and here is my final piece.

For the radial blur layer I used overlay and for the bear luminosity, changing the opacities until I was pleased with the result.  The original forrest image was reduced to 25% opacity with a normal blending mode.

Digital Whisper Background Challenge

WOW... look at this background image for this challenge.  I love it!

AND, this is what I did to it  by changing the color to a "negative"  and  using the wind option.  I used a hexagon background with a cat image removing sections of the image to reveal the background.  The decorative scroll is from Inspired Art by Pewer 7.  RATHER DIFFERENT FOR ME, but I'm trying hard to get out of my comfort arena and try new things. 

Digital Whisper Blog Challenge WONDERLAND

It is fall here in Idaho so the photo supplied wasn't very appropriate for today's weather -- a gorgeous autumn day.  Below is my interpretation of WONDERLAND and the yellow bird will soon fly north.



Montage Studio BLOG CHALLENGE

Below is the image we were to use for the November monthly challenge.  My digital experiments continue along the line of photo manipulation which involves more than just combining two images into one.

In Mexico the residents feel if they have a picture or painting of the Virgin Guadalupe on the outside of their homes that she will protect their casa.  It is obvious she has returned to this long neglected and weather beaten structure thus I call this the "Ghost of Guadalupe."

All of the additional images were from PhotoXpress with the exception of the Virgin Guadalupe photo which I downloaded from the internet.  Can you tell I am also fond of cacti?