Jim100361 - My Stuff

[jim100361]

You're going to hate me ... but I think the lens flare spoils a very nice manipulation.

Have you tried Red Ochre's pack ? : http://forums.getpai...e-plug-in-pack/

1. Given how bright the sun is supposed to be vs the original background and wanting to provide a realistic perspective, I personally thought the lens flare (though not necessary) was a pretty good thought. It's okay though that you have a differing opinion, but it's simply a touch I wanted to add to it. So, no I don't hate you, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I agree in the sense that it didn't have to be added, it is though an "artistic" choice of my own choosing. Thank you though for the input.

2. I'll consider downloading and installing the pack you've referenced, though I doubt at this stage (of my development) that most of them will be of much use to me. I did like the sun flare effect though that is shown in one of the examples, but the others (sorry, my own preference) don't really "grab me".

Here's a "fix/upgrade" from a previous piece that others have commented on:

The Previous Version:

[jim100361]

And here's yet another piece:

LMAO, you folks must be getting tired of my "Ovation Guitar" adverts!!

[NinjaManDan21]

Wow jim you've got tons of grand stuff in here. Love your work, how long you been doing this kind of thing. I don't appear as (nor present) yourself like a noob soo you couldn't possibly be one.

[jim100361]

I've been using Paint.net for quite awhile. I just didn't know how to do a great many things. I never delved too deeply into the various effects that paint.net offered, so I've never really been able to put it to any real use. For instance, up until about 2 weeks ago, I wouldn't have been able to have done the last picture because I didn't know how to get transparency effect or the motion blur and a great many other things (like the light reflections in pictures, orbs, etc), and manipulating layers, etc.

That is why I recently started visiting these forums and the tutorials and such. I wanted to improve my capabilities with it. Not to mention the advice people offer to improve my work, that is by far one of the best things here. It's always great to have another set of eyes with an artistic perspective to help.

Edited November 19, 2011 by jim100361

[jim100361]

Just to clarify ... I like the thought of the lens flare, it adds to the depth of a nice photo manipulation; it's just the execution of it that doesn't look quite right. ( Only trying to pass on the help extended to me when I first started here ... not meant to be uber critical in any shape or form, apologies if it comes across like that )

BTW the guitar looks much better

No harm, no foul. I searched google images since your reply and I agree. The flares can probably be adjusted in the following ways:

a.) Some overlaps

b.) Modify the angle more downward (probably more towards the girl seeing that is the brightest part of the picture).

c.) Maybe adding a ring or two, as well as varying the flare sizes more randomly as opposed to incrementally.

I didn't take offense, I just thought you were opposed to the flares themselves from an artistic perspective vs the method I used. Thanks for the input.

Edited November 19, 2011 by jim100361

[jim100361]

Maybe this'll do the trick:

[NinjaManDan21]

Oh gosh for that last picture you must tell me hoe you cut the girl and bech out soooooo nicely it's unbearablely perfect. I MUST KNOW!

[barbieq25]

The drop shadow has helped a lot with the text. Don't be afraid to move the slider so that there is barely any visible shadow. You can adjust either one so that there is the barest hint.

I love the new image. Very nicely done & you have such great ideas too.

[jim100361]

Oh gosh for that last picture you must tell me hoe you cut the girl and bech out soooooo nicely it's unbearablely perfect. I MUST KNOW!

I always start out using the magic wand, and after that it's just a matter of zooming in (enlarging the picture often to something like 600%) and then just erase a click at a time to erase everything else remaining. Most of the time I ever so slightly erase a some of the edge of the image itself to avoid getting light outlines. Also, using the magic wand, don't be afraid to adjust the setting as needed to highlight either more or less of the background (another thing I only recently learned about in paint.net). Anyways, it may take an hour to erase to extract what I desire, so you'll need patience.

[jim100361]

The drop shadow has helped a lot with the text. Don't be afraid to move the slider so that there is barely any visible shadow. You can adjust either one so that there is the barest hint.

I love the new image. Very nicely done & you have such great ideas too.

Yes, I adjusted it for the different pictures. In the case of the picture with the girl on the parkbench, because the logo was in the trees and there was a lot of dark areas from the branches, I thought the heavier black worked better.

The newest image (I'm assuming you're referring to the "Hand of God" picture), I thank you. It's a funny thing about that picture: Originally I was contemplating some way to once again display a guitar in the image, so I posed the question to myself as to how I would do that with the background that I was using. My first thought was to add a view from a porch or deck, and place it in the lower left corner of the picture and with that I could then place the guitar leaning against the rails. This took my search into different modes, initially looking simply for "porch view" and then to "sunset porch view" and "sunrise porch view". I wasn't able to come up with anything that (excuse the pun) "struck a chord" with me, so I gave up on it (at least for now with such a dark background picture). So then I asked myself how else I could put a guitar into the photo. Since I already used a picture with a dock in the water, I didn't want to do the same thing, so I thought about "suspending" the guitar in mid-air. So I naturally had to take the concept further as I thought it wouldn't look right with simply that (most of the time (but not always) in the pictures I try to have at least 3 different elements added to the picture - the background, the guitar and something else). This way the picture doesn't become to overwhelmed by the elements and detract too much from the background - the guitars I choose are usually something that would go with the background (color-wise), in this case it's not may not be quite so apparent as other models, but this one is known as a "sunburst" finish on the guitar. Anyways to accomplish this suspended guitar I came up with the concept of God giving the gift of an Ovation guitar.

So often times my original "inspirations" don't come to fruition as I initially invision them. Sometimes they just develop from something else that I planned.

EDIT:

As an afterthought (going back to the picture of the girl on the parkbench), I actually think the picture is still incomplete. As you can tell from the original background, it was more of a morning picture with some light fog in the open area of the picture. By adding the girl and bench, I had to adjust the picture with the haze and sunbeams and the lens flare as well as darken the underside of the branches a bit to create more shadow and likewise lighten the upper or exposed portions of the branches and added some shadow to the trees that are in the woods to further the enhancement to the photo. The result as you can see is mostly achieved except for one more thing, I think that the treeline needs some shadow extending out towards the open area a bit to further achieve the transformation, afterall from the lighting on the girl and the highlights added to the guitar, it is supposed to be a very bright sunny day.

Edited November 20, 2011 by jim100361

[nitenurse79]

You have some nice work here Jim. I especially like your photo restoration. It just show the power of paint.net and how creative people really are

[jim100361]

You have some nice work here Jim. I especially like your photo restoration. It just show the power of paint.net and how creative people really are

Thank you, you're very kind (maybe too kind - I've still got a long way to go).

Here is another attempt to transform a picture (again, I'm not totally satisfied with the result but I don't know what more I can do at my current level to improve it).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The ruins themselves don't seem bad, but the sealife are giving me trouble. I've tried softening, feathering, adding some transparency, adjusting light levels, unfocus, and color balance, but any attempt to fade them much more so they appear as more murky images so they will stand out less is giving me trouble as the results keep giving me more defined edges beyond what they are now.

EDIT:

One more attempt:

Edited November 20, 2011 by jim100361

[warfighter67]

Wow Jim, your photo manips are stunning! The ability you have to completely modify a photo's environment is amazing!

[jim100361]

From the tutorial Contouring Text to the Background:

Ha! They thought they had me beat! lol

Edited November 20, 2011 by jim100361

[minners71]

Some nice stuff here Jim especially the photo restorations, in my opinion yours turned out better than the link you put. Have you tried using alpha masking to cut your images out ? You seem to be using the same technique I used to use ( Magic wand and eraser zoomed in ) you can get good results like this but as I am sure you know can take a long time to get a nice cut out image, where as alpha masking does it in a fraction of the time.

Would like to link you to the plug in but cant find it I have looked in the plug in index under A and it doesn't seem to be there, maybe it was part of a pack.

[jim100361]

Some nice stuff here Jim especially the photo restorations, in my opinion yours turned out better than the link you put. Have you tried using alpha masking to cut your images out ? You seem to be using the same technique I used to use ( Magic wand and eraser zoomed in ) you can get good results like this but as I am sure you know can take a long time to get a nice cut out image, where as alpha masking does it in a fraction of the time.

Would like to link you to the plug in but cant find it I have looked in the plug in index under A and it doesn't seem to be there, maybe it was part of a pack.

I have Alpha Masking, but I don't know how to use it to cut stuff out - I've used it for items where the background is already blank, but I don't know how I would use it to cut out something from a filled picture (backgrounds, etc.). Could you give me instructions?

[HELEN]

I looked over your tutorial yesterday and I liked it very much and the end result is fabulous. The text with the watery background is nicely made. If you would use the blend modes (probably Overlay), then it would like the text was part of the water.

[NinjaManDan21]

I agree with Helen on the layer blending. Once you set it to Overlay (or whatever else suits you) then you could also tamper with the hue setting for the text to get the best blend (lighter/darker, greener/ bluer, less/ more saturated etc.) good work all around though!

[jim100361]

OK, first here's the revision (yes, I agree - it's a better representation setting to overlay and adjusting the hue):

Now a before and after I did to create fangs (also found in the tutorial section) utilizing the Liquify plugin:

Before:

After:

I had to try the Liquify method because pics in the existing tutorial use painting to shape fangs and the colors didn't match up and it was easy to tell they were painted. I believe the method used above is probably the best method for anyone wanting to create fangs as it essentially reshapes the existing tooth and thus no off colors.

Edited November 21, 2011 by jim100361

[barbieq25]

Very clever! Looks great.

[jim100361]

Here's my latest piece:

EDIT:

And add this:

Edited November 23, 2011 by jim100361

[barbieq25]

Well that is a fab duo! Those teeth look real to me.

[jim100361]

I made this to show to another visitor in another thread about a question he had:

BTW, the Mustang background itself is what I have on my computer desktop as the wallpaper.

[jim100361]

Well that is a fab duo! Those teeth look real to me.

lol, technically they are real (if you know what I mean).

[barbieq25]

Jim, so true. They are real. I like your humour too.

Now I must say that your taste is excellent! Mind you I truly prefer the fast back. More specifically, 1970 Boss302 in grabber green This one is for sale. I can dream.

Edited November 24, 2011 by barbieq25