Sepia Calla #4

Guest - Oct 10, 2005 03:55 PM EDT
Amazing! Holy cow, I didn't know that you could make just three or four colors blend so well! Marvelous.

Guest - Jul 14, 2005 07:12 PM EDT
Hmmm... my eyeballs are little burning coals already today after hours of unsatisfactory work on a crystal composition last night. After reading your comments, Frank, I'm inspired to start again today - I know that degree of work is the only way to get top results.

Guest - Jul 14, 2005 06:45 PM EDT
Thanks for your comments guys. Deb, On the edges first I use the lasso selector tool while the image is enlarged by about 500% so you can see the pixels. Then I inverse the selection, fill with black and feather the edges. Then I enlarge to about 1000% and use the eraser tool with black set as the foreground color and erase any little pieces that might still be there. Then I use the blur tool set to about 15% and with a very small brush, I go around the whole images smoothing the edges. I also use levels and curves adjustments on most images. There was an area on the lower petal that was just about burned out so I cloned some color and then used the dodge and burn tools. Usually I use a lot of layers and save as a psd file so I can make small changes, then after my eyes are red and my hands and wrists numb, I make some sharpening adjustments and QUIT.

Guest - Jul 14, 2005 04:49 PM EDT
A really good image. I'm afraid there is no secret to masking except hard work and attention to detail, I've tried many methods and they all seem to be not quite good enough.

Guest - Jul 14, 2005 02:41 PM EDT
Exciting to see that you're still experimenting and exploring, Frank. The sepia addition gives it a very soft touch - beyond me at present :). Have you ever tried playing with the Tone adjustment filters and see what happens if you tweak the highlights, midtones or shadows? You might just bring out the lighter area a tad and add a little more depth (always easy to see something on someone else's work, isn't it? ). P.S. Your edges are wonderfully smooth - I have problems with those.