Possum Roadkill

The right eye, (his right, our screen left) is looking too much inward and it makes the eyes a little crossed. Other than that, very nice ! Looking forward to seeing it a little farther along. I have never tried to do a person's face. People scare me.

LOVE IT ! Very nice ! Good luck !

Yes, you left them on a piece of paper that was wrapped around a brick that was thrown through my window. So that was you? You should have seen what the people who didn't like it did. j/k ! No seriously, I just read your comments in the Abstract Images section and I really appreciate them. I do have a long way to go on the space scape thing though. I think they are getting a little better, but still not nearly as good or as realistic as some of the others on here. Thanks ! Isn't it funny how sometimes you can create something really cool just by goofing around and trying things out? That's what the Out of the Ice image was. It seemed like I would try something and then I would say wow, that's really cool, now how did I do that? On The Seeds of Life image, I really do have to give Ash and Frozen byte the credit due because of their well written tuts and innovative techniques. Man I really did learn a lot from that image and reading their tuts. Highly recommended ! Uh, jellyfish? Ok I can see that in them too. I didn't think of that. You know you really could do a cool jellyfish using some of these techniques ! That would be awesome ! The title Seeds of Life comes from a piece of music by Thomas Dolby in an animated video Beyond the Mind's Eye. It was a collection of 3D animation that he wrote the score for. It looks pretty amateurish now but at the time it was very innovative because 3D animation was in it's infancy. If you ever get a chance to see it, you should. It has some of Dolby's best music ever. Thanks Helen ! That means a lot coming from someone who's work I find very inspiring and a joy to look at. Again, the colors of the clouds are the result of the technique by Frozen byte. When I read through the tut, I went "yeah as if this will work.....well duh ! it was amazing when I started adding the color and ran the blur. My jaw just dropped ! I can't wait to try another one. I can't tell you how much this forum means to me. That people would be willing to share this kind of knowledge is the most wonderful thing ever. And the people I have met here are just some of the best people I have ever met. What a place !

polar inversion? never heard of it. :wink:

One comment on your orb. The part of the shadow that is within the orb is too dark and should be more transparent. Other than that, very nice ! Very pretty color too.

Wonderful ! Thanks so much. What a great assortment. This will be so helpful, thanks for the tip !

Wow thanks for the tip ! I downloaded the smoke brush set and there are a whole bunch in there ! Wowzer !

Wow the faucet is so nicely done. I don't know how you do such nice clean work. It is always so perfect !

Just work 3 times the finished size, flatten and resize down to your desired size. Makes working in details much easier when working large.

I'm glad you added your gallery. Very nice stuff. I particularly like the juggler with the dreads.

Good, I'm glad I didn't. Looking forward to it. Your new avatar is duly noted...... .....So freakin cool too !

@ Welshblue, You are correct, a drake is a male duck and a mandrill is a monkey. In fact it is one of the largest monkeys and has a blue and red face and a bright red bum. Awesome tree ! We see a lot of trees like the one on the side of the hill in southern Indiana and Kentucky but they are often Red Cedar. They seem to grow in places where other conifers will not. I have seen many fir like the one in your image though while in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan around Lake Michigan. Oh and PLEASE do the tut on the stone wall !! PLEASE !!!! Not only do you do the best wood textures (along with Goonfella) but you are the stone master with your walls. The best ! @yy10 Really nice images. If I didn't know that you did them in PdN, I would say they were scans of water colors. Very nice technique. Keep it up ! @ KillerK That is a beautiful image. Simple yet elegant. Very well done. @ Theonlychad. Steak as art? Sure why not? You might try a texture like what Welshblue uses in his wood. I know that sounds crazy, but think about it, wood and meat both have a grain to them. Eh? Has anyone else noticed that Ash has a new avatar?

That reminds me of the Cthulhu myth by HP Lovecraft, ever heard of it? Lovecraft can make you REALLY paranoid Tell me about it. He wrote some really creepy stuff. I looked up the Cthulhu on Wikipedia and yes, I have seen him before but under different names. Google Image search has some really great paintings of him/it. I just posted this in my gallery. I'm trying to learn a few things and also trying to get away from another piece I am working on and there is no better way to do that than to experiment with an abstract. I know, it's a little over done and too busy, but I really enjoyed it. It's called Seeds of Life...

Maybe a slight transparent dark gradient? Or maybe a slight red tint? I don't know, that's a tough one. Does look cool though as it is !

Thanks so much for your constructive comments. I had to walk away from that piece for a few days or risk really messing it up. I'm still thinking about the marble, but I was also thinking a flat (as in no polish) slate table top as well. Like I told Ash, I might just put these suggestions in a new piece and leave this one as a learning experience. I don't know right now. Good eye on noticing the problems with the reflection, and that was not the only reflection that I had issues with, but the really difficult thing for me on this one was the shadow of the glass. I don't know why, but it about drove me crazy ! It might also have to be redone if I change the table top to another material. Again, I don't know right now. I'm trying to clear my mind with some abstracts. Oh thanks :oops: you're making me blush again I've been watching your work and I'm really amazed how fast you are progressing. Please keep it up ! I really enjoy going to your gallery. This is my latest piece. I must be working out some frustration because this one is really over done. Waaaaaaay too busy, but for some reason, I couldn't stop. I learned quite a bit from doing it though and that was really the reason for it. This is pieces of Ash's 3D flower and Frozen byte's Spacescapes tuts put together. Then I added in a couple of pounds of angst threw it into a blender and poured it out on my mouse pad. It's called Seeds of Life.....

this is one of the most awesome tuts on this forum without a doubt. thanks !!!! I combined elements of this tut with Ash's 3D flower (modified) for this piece. Yeah I know, it's probably a little over done.

Simply one of the most stunning examples of what PdN can do if you are willing to learn it. Very fine image. One of the best on the forum. You can, just keep at it and keep learning all you can. Listen to the greats on this forum, glean every ounce of information from them you can. But most of all, tell yourself you can and then let your imagination fly. It's like I tell everyone I work with, don't be afraid of it, you won't break it, so just have some fun.

@ game_freak Very nice ! Also a very nice exploding planet and a good job on the light rays. Yes I can see the faces in the gold images. They look kind of like a glowing Shroud of Turin. I see the image now. Thanks for reposting. Very nice ! Very good on the lightning and the hot molten center of the spiral. Yes, very nice! Yes, I can see that as well. But I didn't say what it was....it might be an eye....of a much larger being.....frozen in ice.....and now awake......and coming to get me........ But I'm not paranoid or anything.....no not me......I don't see a terminator in it at all........... :shock:

@ Welshblue You have the most amazing imagination and the abilities to go with it. What an amazing image your I-Pod is. So very clever ! @ Sokagirl Good job on the recycling. I knew exactly what you were talking about. There are a number of us who recycle things that just don't get finished or fit into something but we feel the need to hang on to. There is always a reason we do something even though we may not recognize it at the time. @ Ace9Star9 Nice job on the exploding planets. The light rays are exceptional and your choice of colors is spot on the money. Keep it up, I can't wait to see what you do next. @ Frontcannon For some reason I cannot see your image. I keep hitting the refresh button but it never appears. From your description, I would really like to see it. @ Topezia WOW ! Another wonderful smudge piece ! This one is completely different than the last and shows your range of styles even while using the smudge tool. Have you written any tuts on the smudge tool or do you have any tips to share? I use it from time to time and just realized today that I could change the brush. I know, everyone knows that ! I would be very interested in gaining some insight from you on the uses of this powerful tool. I used it a little on this piece below. I wanted to do an abstract today to take my mind off of another project. I was experimenting on some new things and this kind of fell into place. I call it.... Out of the Ice....

Thanks Oma ! You might like this piece. I've been experimenting with other methods that we have discussed and this space craft popped out of the ice. I call this Out of the Ice....

Yes, I agree. And with all that water in the air, it seems that some of the drops would be hitting each other and splashing around. Yes it would take too long because I merged down layer after layer of water drops. Almost every drop was placed individually (especially the hummingbird) , but copied from other drops. There are only about 5 original drops in the image. The rest are modified copies. I plan on doing another image like this and will certainly use your suggestion.

Oma the flowers you have done recently are simply beautiful. The tulip is one if the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I didn't know that you make movies as well. I have Windows Movie Maker and Pinnacle Studio. I use both on my video projects. I didn't know that you could make custom titles/frames for Movie Maker. That would be very useful for my projects. I would love to see your projects.

Just checking, I didn't miss the knight did I?

The rainbow lines image is very nice.

And? I mean, yes I am happy with it for a first attempt, but since you are the one who mentioned doing it with no photo, I thought I might get a .... Well Possum, you need to look under that magic bush there to find out how to.... and over there under the giant slab of marble you might find a clue to ....... and at the end of the rainbow you are sure to realize that you should..... Oh, OK, I'll go back and read all your tuts again, then again and a third time. Then I will search through all the posts for the little tid bits of knowledge you hide amongst the stars. And then I will be back with another image that just doesn't look like glass or water. I just am not making the connection to the transparent. Too big for my walnut sized brain. I can't take credit for the concept or really much at all in this case except I really did paint the entire image with no photos ! In the image manipulation section I posted an explanation of where the idea came from. It was a tut from a photoshop site and I just kind of did my thing with it. It was Ash's idea to do the whole thing without the stock photos. So you see, I just painted it, it really wasn't my idea at all. And see, you have added an idea to the mix. I really like that idea too. Soapy water? Like maybe from a basin of soapy water and something made of soap bubbles rising out of the water? Soap Monster ! Too Cooool !!! Actually the table top is my crappy green granite texture I did a while back. So it's supposed to be shiny like a granite table or counter, but it kind of sucks. I knew I should have used something else ! How about some shiny marble? I could also do a reflection of the water drops on the table top? That would look cool. Yes ! I think that might fix that part of it. But I still don't get how to make it look transparent like water. Man my head hurts !