New Look For Portfolio

[smoke665]

Working on a new look not sure it really works so a little feedback would would help. This has three adjustment layers of micro contrast in the highlights, midtones, and shadows, each with clipped dodge and burn layers. An oil paint layer added to enhance the fur. B&W adjustment layer, six or seven curves layers, gradient fill, pattern fill, texture fill, etc. I was trying for a little play on light and shadow with a Chiaroscuro effect. Anyhow C&C on the image as it stands....yes/no/needs more????

fall old master look.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

 

[K9Kirk]

I'm not that heavy into editing and can't give a professional opinion but I can say I do like what I see, a lot. I especially like the oil paint layer and the blend of colors used in the hair. I think the shadowing is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. It's way, waaaay better than any velvet painting of "dogs playing pool".

 

[smoke665]

It's way, waaaay better than any velvet painting of "dogs playing pool".

I don't know, just think how many copies of that one have been circulated over the years!

Thank you for the kind words.

 

[zombiesniper]

I really like this. He/she has a very stoic look.

If the crop were further out I'd almost expect the dog to be in a high-back chair with a whiskey and cigar.

This would make a nice canvas print. One adjustment would be needed for canvas though. It seems that it has a canvas texture to it already. This would have to be undone prior too printing.

As for the layer adjustments, I think you did a great Chiaroscuro effect.
I don't really do a lot of adjustment so I couldn't give any suggestions on it.

 

[jcdeboever]

Looks very painterly. When I was doing oil painting, one of the keys to realism was puting down a ground coat of silver gray or yellow oxide. Silver for cool, yellow for warm. Your dedication to getting a look is inspiring as I have a lot of work to do in that area. Mostly, my challenge is what look do I want? For me, I ultimately want it to to make my work recognizable.

 

[smoke665]

I really like this. He/she has a very stoic look.

If the crop were further out I'd almost expect the dog to be in a high-back chair with a whiskey and cigar.

This would make a nice canvas print. One adjustment would be needed for canvas though. It seems that it has a canvas texture to it already. This would have to be undone prior too printing.

As for the layer adjustments, I think you did a great Chiaroscuro effect.
I don't really do a lot of adjustment so I couldn't give any suggestions on it.

Ms Sadie might be inclined to partake in a glass of wine, but she doesn't do well on the hard stuff, makes her wild and crazy. LOL

When printing on canvas there's a shift in luminosity and color. I group my texture, pattern and targeted adjustment layers to better visualize the end result. It's easy to turn off a layer to print, however I've found that printing with the pattern on a matte paper with a linen imprint gives a nice look as well.

Thanks for the kind words.

Looks very painterly. When I was doing oil painting, one of the keys to realism was puting down a ground coat of silver gray or yellow oxide. Silver for cool, yellow for warm. Your dedication to getting a look is inspiring as I have a lot of work to do in that area. Mostly, my challenge is what look do I want? For me, I ultimately want it to to make my work recognizable.

Having the time available allows me the opportunity to explore many areas, rather than concentrate on a specific style, which keeps it interesting.

Your point about base color didn't go unnoticed. Chiaroscuro is a "ground up" process where the black goes down then the shadows, midtones and finally the highlights. Duplicating that process in digital requires consideration when shooting, then a bit of separating and reengineering the data in the file post. I'm not quite there, but getting closer. In this image I used a color range to select the shadows, midtones, and highlights for manipulation on individual layers.

I can't find the link now, but some time ago Adobe commissioned a PS wiz to recreate Caravaggio's St Matthew and the angel. It took him a little over a week of work and 650 layers, but the result was amazing. I remember one comment that the artist made is there were many times during the week that he had to get up and walk away. Just like with oil on canvas, your vision can wane. However in oil, if you don't like a brush stroke or color, another quickly changes it. In digital it may require adjustments to a multitude of layers. Keeping track of all those in your mind can be challenging.