From Cell Phone to Objet d'Art! The Process....
Never has there been a better time to create stunning images for clients. The tools at our fingertips endless. The trick is to have a vision and to master the skills to implement it! My goal in this post is to breakdown the process in this particular painting. Each image I am blessed to work with requires its own set of adjustments and edits. When I take the image personally, the process is easier as I am in control of the lighting and composition. When provided an image from a client, particularly from a cell phone, as incredible as they are these days, the process is vastly different.
First it starts with potential. This image of the subject, in this case sisters, was loaded with possibilities from the get go. The client was able to capture a special moment with his granddaughters, which can be elusive to achieve in the studio, since trying to wrangle young, shy children into a specific pose can be difficult. So, while I love to start with my own photos, clients can often take authentically touching photos due to the spontaneous nature of the shot. The drawback is deciding on or creating a background, adjusting the lighting to match the composite, then painting the final image. That, my friends, is the process. So Let's break it down.
First, you need to decide on a background, preferably one that share's the relatively same perspective as the image you'd like to composite into the scene. I have curated a number of beautiful images to use in backgrounds (an entire external drive to be exact!). That said, I'm not opposed to exploring the new technologies that Adobe has to offer. During a recent workshop with Judy Reinford (click here for her amazing seminar) I learned how to implement Adobe's Firefly AI (part of the Photoshop CC membership) using their ethically curated Adobe Stock. I decided to use this knowledge in creating a base for the painting, as I wanted a field of daisies. It came up with a pretty decent rendition of what I wanted to use. So, step one was completed.
The second step was to prepare the subjects for the composite. I began with making an extraction of the girls, now an amazingly easy process in Photoshop. I don't stress about the preciseness of the extraction, since my end result will be to paint the repaint most of the image. If the perspective is off on the image, I often take it into Lightroom to adjust this in the "transform" portion of the develop module. (See image below). Often, just clicking the "auto" selection will do the job.
Next, I slowly start building the color and contrast of the image using several adjustment panels. (See the second image below). Studying the background I will add multiple adjustments to add saturation, warmth, and brightness along the way. For instance, I may add a warming filter to create a warmer tone on the subjects' skin in addition to a hint of red by shifting the midtowns in the color balance adjustment. I may want to change the coloring of the dress using the same process. Conversely, I used the Hues/Saturation adjustment to, say, remove the blue cast on the whites of the cap and shirts. I build as I go until I feel confident that subject will blend with the general coloring of my background. (While I could change the tones of the background as well, I decided to maintain it for this image.) There are times I extract my image and loosely composite it into the background and layer adjustments from there. Both work. I have to share that there are MANY ways in photoshop to do the same sorts of things, and it becomes intuitive the more you become familiar with all the tools. If you are not familiar with the adjustment layers click here for an educational video provided by Adobe.
Lastly, using my Wacom tablet and Art pen, I digitally repainted a great deal of the image in Photoshop, carefully selecting from a variety of brushes to achieve the final result. Learning how to digitally paint an image requires a great deal of time and practice, but is highly addictive!! This is mainly achieved using the "mixer brush" within the brushes panel. While I was exposed to this process over a decade ago, I have attended numerous workshops to perfect this skill. Instructors such as Sandra Pearce, Kimberly Smith, Judy Rienford and Richard Sturdevant helped pave the way. I took this knowledge one step further by enrolling in Michelle Parsley's indepth digital painting course (called "Elevate Your Art"), which includes a great deal of art theory and her personalized brushes that add to the authenticity of the final product as an art piece. It's definitely a longer course, with assignments designed to build on your skill level. All of these instructors are amazing! Many of them have held workshops with your local or state PPA affiliates. So if you are not a member, now may be the time to join! You will most likely be able to purchase the rebroadcast, depending on the affiliate.
I hope you have enjoyed this very general blog which highlights the steps of this painting. Once mastered, the possibilities are endless and are only limited to your imagination (and the quality of the cell phone image, lol).
Enjoy! And keep creating!
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