January 2012
Digital Art Seminar Schedule Truly Scene Blast from the Past
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is creating some magnificent art this winter. Here in Nebraska it still doesn’t feel like winter. It has rarely been cold, only a few times dipping below zero. The most exciting news and information is the Digital Art Summit kick-off. The summit will begin next month, you can reserve your seats beginning in just a few days. You will notice there is no Reader’s Gallery this month. What is missing… ? You! We need you to send us a few images of your stunning artwork to be featured. You can send it to tim@digitalpaintmagazine.com. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply and Speak kindly.
Tim
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Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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In This Issue 2012 Digital Art Seminar Schedule Cartoon
by Victor Lunn-Rockliffe
Truly Scene
By John Stevenson
Old Masters Alphonse Mucha By Nadia Lim A Blast from the Past How to Make a Note Card Using Your Own Art in Corel Painter by Joan A Hamilson Cover
Tatiana - Snow By Michael Campbell
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Marketing Buzz:
Getting Your Video Specifications Right for YouTube by Tim O’Neill
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Schedule for Digital Art Summit Webinars Times are all 11:30 am Eastern, 12:30 pm Central, 1:30 pm Mountain and 2:30 pm Pacific Dates and times are tentative for some of these webinars. We will be firming up the schedule in the next week.
Kick OFF! Monday February 20 Darrell Chitty Wednesday, February 22 John Stevensen - FREE Friday, February 24 Heather Michelle Tuesday, February 28 Ryan (free) Monday, March 5 Michael Campbell Thursday March 1 Donal Jolley Wednesday March 7 Jim Cunningham Wednesday March 14 Jeremy Sutton Friday March 16 Larry Lourcey Monday March 19 Odwin Rensen Wednesday March 21 Jenifer Hudson Friday, March 23 Tim ONeill Monday March 26 John Stevensen
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Title: How to Paint from the Heart, Not only from the Head By Darrell Chitty Course Description: We will explore those fundamentals necessary to create fine works of art but this course will focus more attention on the internal conflict that every artist experiences between the head and the heart. The objective of this webinar is to encourage the student to turn loose of technique and to allow the heart to become the driving force to creative freedom. Bio: Darrell has dedicated the last 32 years to transition from an accomplished master photographer to become a master artist. Two personal characteristics best describe his personality: Persistence and Creative Passion. He holds two masters degrees, an MBA and a Master of Photography. Presently he serves as a professor of Fine Art at a local college, maintains his own business as an artist serving clients throughout America and is a published author of books on the history and unique beauty of his beloved Louisiana. His work can be reviewed on his website: www. darrellchitty.com
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Mixing Cloning, Freehand Drawing, and Layer Masks and Modes By Donal Jolley Author and illustrator Donal Jolley uses Painter cloning capabilities with some traditional (and easy) hand-drawing techniques to quickly achieve beautiful effects that can make even modestly talented digital artists’ work truly shine. Using creative layering and masking techniques, An experienced teacher, Jolley takes viewers through an easy-to-follow tutorial on selecting good photographs for rendering, using layer modes and masks to achieve better textures and wash effects, and provides some helpful tips to the less experienced sketch artists. Along the way he describes some of his own drawing and masking methods that make the color and hand-drawn quality of his work richer. Art has always been an integral part of Donal Jolley’s life. The son of a nationally recognized artist, he grew up to the familiar scent of the traditional art studio and in the company of accomplished contemporary artists. His introduction to the art world was not in a classroom with facts and tutorials, but with the molding of the heart of an artist. Donal is a self-taught artist. A fourteen-year career in fine commercial printing saw him working with well-known Southern California designers, and he often found himself teaching them how to get from concept to ink on paper when technical issues required advanced trainings and techniques. When Apple revolutionized the print world, Donal’s life was changed as well. After learning the basics of Photoshop 2 and other design applications, he changed his career path to digital art and design. He was certified to teach digital design and Photoshop at the college level in the state of California, and spent several years teaching Photoshop and Illustrator to students and professionals alike. Donal is the co-author of “Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter,” contributed heavily to “The Photoshop WOW CS*” books, including designing and building the covers, and has been featured in other books and magazines on Photoshop and digital art. Donal is also a cartoonist and spends a lot of time working with children. Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Donal lives in Johns Creek, Georgia with his wife and son. Watson, his African Grey parrot, is his constant studio companion and Wacom pen destroyer. Donal Jolley don@donaljolley.com http://www.donaljolley.com Atlanta, GA 6
Fantastic Floral Expressions by Heather Michelle Bjoershol Spring is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate it’s vibrance by painting your favorite floral snapshots! Learn how to use a few special brushes tocreate stunning pastel and heavy oil interpretations of flowers. You’ll learn some tips ofthe pros using paper textures, and see how a few easy tweaks will transform your brushes into masterpiece rendering tools! This webinar may also be applied to still lifepieces, portrait props, and more! You don’t need any organic painting experience to follow along. Heather will be demonstrating in Painter 11 and Painter 12. Heather Michelle Bjoershol was born with a paintbrush in hand. From early on she would paint anything with any medium within reach. In 2004 at her first PPA competition Heather’s work won her top honors in her PPAstate convention and a Loan Collection print later that Summer. Having worked in high end studios for several years in production, marketing, and sales, Heather decided to create her own Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
business, HeatherThePainter.com where she Many paintings of Heather’s are featured in PPA offered top Loan Collection of the line digital artistry wholesale to books over the last 6 years. In 2011 she taught photographers and labs worldwide. In an all day seminar at Imaging USAin San Antonio, TX on how to utilize Painter to create Decemeber, 2005, two of her portraits, “Little Impressions of John Singer Miss“ and “Not a Girl, Not Yet aWoman,“ were chosen Sargent. Heather has been teaching Corel for Ballistic Painter at workshops and PPA affiliateschools Publishing’s for the last five years. In 2011, she completed “Painter“ her Masters Degree in book. Among Electronic Imaging. Her thorough and easythousandsof to-follow Corel Painter tutorial DVDsseries entrants only “Breaking Out of the Box” have received rave a 135 artists reviews. In 2012 Heather will receive her were chosen to Master Artist degree from the PPA. represent the “Heather is a wonderful teacher. Any time world’s most you have a chance tolearn from her, I highly talented recommend doing so. You will learn a lot.” digital painters. In 2006 Corel has used -William Branson III Heather’s image “Little Miss” in their M. Photog., Cr., F.Ph. photography magazine ads in North America www.HeatherThePainter.com and Europe. In February of 2007, Corel named Heather as one of their Painter Masters and has included several of Heather’s paintings in their advertising for Painter X and XI. Her painting, “Blue” was featured on the back of the Painter X packaging and can be seen in variousmagazines as their ad image all around the world. Several of her paintings arefeatured in Painter XI’s advertising and within the program’s revolving gallery. Heather has been interviewed and featured in various magazines such as After Capture, The Official Corel Painter Magazine, French Photography, and DigitalPhoto Pro UK. 7
Fine Art Women’s Portraiture By Jennifer Hudson Description: Learn some of artist Jennifer Hudson’s most intricate, signature techniques for creating some of her most beguiling and sensitive photographs of women. She will guide you through her artistic process, and how she translates inspiration to arrive at her personal style. Learn expressive and innovative posing techniques, surprisingly simple and beautiful lighting ideas, brave styling, and fresh perspectives for studio photography. Learn a new level of expression and sensitivity, how to finely tune the body, and to work naturally and intuitively. Learn Jennifer’s techniques for processing her digital images, antiquing them, and finishing them for final printing and presentation. Website: www.jenniferhudsonfineart.com Jennifer is one of the modern generation’s visualists creating beguiling images that are both artistically stylized and meticulously crafted. She has an uncanny eye for high fashion, finding beauty, understanding the physique and the intricacies of the human body, the manner in which light will play in a scene and upon a subject, the delicate balance and rhythm of composition, and most importantly, how to powerfully portray human emotion. Founder of one of Fort Worth, Texas’, premier wedding studios and Olive Avonlea Couture Photography, located in Boston, MA, Jennifer is a savvy and energetic image-maker and entrepreneur. Achieving sufficient merits with her PPA Masters and Craftsman degrees in just three years, along with a host of trophies and awards in every category including ten Kodak Gallery Awards, ten Fuji Masterpiece Awards, and five WPPI grand awards, she is a celebrated talent in the PPA and WPPI ranks, and has exhibited work in fine art galleries throughout the country. Jennifer’s work has been published in many esteemed print and online as well as a host of regional professional photography publications. Jennifer is a dynamic and emotional illustrator of the human heart. With an innate ability to plumb the antique, the work is soulful; seeking the use of the forgotten or discarded, mechanical in nature, eerie and quiet. With a classical music and orchestral background, she breathes life into her inventions with an air of subtly that only inspired thought Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
and a delicate, intent hand can achieve. Jennifer is currently working in Boston, Massachusetts. She is an international speaker and lecturer whose programs are sought after year after year by many professional public and private photographic organizations. She has just completed her latest major body of work entitled “Baptism”, a narrative series exploring a young woman’s spiritual re-incarnation, and is currently working on her series entitled ‘Medic’ which explores the breadth of human relationships during illness and recovery. Jennifer’s work is currently exhibited and collected in many outstanding photography galleries and private collections throughout the country.
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The Sketch By Jim Cunningham M. Photog., Cr., CPP The Sketch is a technique that Jim has developed using Photoshop and Corel Painter to simulate the look of a pencil sketch. This technique works equally as well on portraits, landscapes and still life images. As with any traditional pencil sketch this technique can be used to create fine detail pencil sketches or rough free style sketches. Join Jim for this informative session on creating “The Sketch”. With a degree in Marketing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Jim has been a photographer in Little Rock since 1976, and has owned his own studio since 1983. Recipient of 9 Kodak Gallery Awards and 4 Fuji Masterpiece Awards, Jim has spoken at state and regional conventions and has presented workshops at Imaging USA twice. In 2010 Jim had the honor of teaching Corel Painter at Canada’s National Convention. Since 2001, Jim has enjoyed teaching Photoshop and Painter workshops, and feels that digital imaging gives the photographer the ability to create what we see in our mind’s eye. Studio Phone: 501-225-5324 Jim@jecunningham.com www.painterportraits.com
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“Finishing Touches: Taking Your Digital Art To The Next Level”
By Larry Lourcey You’ve just finished painting your digital masterpiece - now how do you make it just a little bit better? Master Photographer and digital portrait artist Larry Lourcey will reveal his tricks for taking a good image and making it better. Larry will discuss techniques using Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop and even some Photoshop plugins. He will then walk you through the final steps - after the painting has been printed. You won’t want to miss this one! Plano portrait artist, Larry Lourcey, holds the designation of Master Photographer awarded by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 2007. Several of Larry’s images have been selected for the prestigious PPA Loan Collection, including an image displayed at Imaging Asia in 2005. While Lourcey loves to create vibrant photo paintings, the breadth of his work includes black and white photography, Polaroid transfers, and photographic collages. He derives his inspiration from master painters like John Singer Sargent and Edgar Degas, while embracing the bold styles of more modern greats; such as Pino Daeni. His work was recently featured in Cher Pendarvis’ “Painter 12 WOW” www.lourceyphoto.com Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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Creating a fantasy landscape painting from reference photos. By Michael Campbell Ansel Adams said dodging and burning in the darkroom were tools he used “to correct mistakes God had made.” With Photoshop and Painter we can create images God had not even thought of! In this tutorial I demonstrate the creation of an idyllic scene of the French countryside in the Loire Valley. I was only there briefly and had to take the reference photos that I have used here , under less than perfect lighting and photographic conditions. The image I wanted to create was not so much a record of the reality of the location but instead an almost dream-like image where the colors and composition of the painting stood as a visual metaphor of the peace and tranquility that I felt as my response to Nature while walking along that river bank. In the tutorial you can work along with me using the same images I took with my point and shoot camera. You may chose to emulate the results I produced, or if you may prefer to place your own interpretation upon the image, thereby making it more of an unique personal expression of your relationship to the Natural world and the peaceful countryside. After having taken this tutorial I encourage students to go out with a camera and capture their own images and elements of a scene which they can build into their own personal creations and compositions. Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Michael Campbell: An exceptional photographer who uses Tamron lenses to capture extraordinary images by Jason Schneider Editor of Popular Photography Michael Campbell is a master photographer of the first rank who has worked, studied, and hobnobbed with some of photography’s all-time greats. He is also a fascinating and multi-talented individual with a background and knowledge base so remarkably diverse that his astounding photographic versatility is the inevitable consequence of who he is, namely a 21st century renaissance man. Born in the UK, Campbell studied physics, math, and chemistry at a top private school, worked at the Kodak Research Lab, earned a Masters in Geology at Leicester University, and, from 1968-1972, was a graduate lecturer in photographic technology at the renowned Kodak Photographic School in Harrow. In 1973, he shot his first portrait, a compelling image of former British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden that Eden used for his best-selling book, A New World.
In 1979 Campbell came to the USA to work with the world-renowned photographic artist and teacher Paul Caponigro on Caponigro’s acclaimed book, The Megaliths, which included iconic images of Stonehenge and other European stone circles, then traveled to California where he stayed with Ansel Adams. As a result of this inspirational visit, Campbell wrote a major article on Adams, and later another piece on the American photographic master, Brett Weston, for the influential British Journal of Photography. What followed were stints as a portrait photographer, university professor of photography, and manager of a major portrait studio. All during this time Campbell was continually creating outstanding and profound images in genres ranging from portraiture, fine art photography, advertising, sports, landscapes, and equestrian photography. http://michaelcampbell.phanfare.com/5088376
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Black and White to Paint By Tim O’Neill Do you have any black and white images from your film days or maybe an antique photo you would like to paint? Join Tim ONeill in creating a painting from a black and white image. We will go over how to colorize the black and white file first using Photoshop, then we will paint it in Corel Painter
Welcome To Perfect Photo Suite 6 By Ryan Kristin Join us as we go into detail to show you the NEW Perfect Photo Suite 6. With four brand new plug-in applications added to Suite 6, it is the largest single release in the history of onOne Software. This is the perfect opportunity to learn all about the new products and features of the Perfect Photo Suite and to have your questions about it answered! Ryan Kristin is a Regional Account Manager with onOne Software. Ryan travels the country to show photographers the award winning software from onOne and how it can not only save time in the digital post process but also make it streamlined and easier. Ryan has been shooting his own photography for almost a decade. His favorite subjects are landscape and travel photography. www.ononesoftware.com
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Odwin Rensen Born in a town nearby Rotterdam, The Netherlands, he discovered at a young age his creative abilities. He started drawing many different things and by doing so he found his love for making portraits. Although he went on a different path in his professional career, his ambition to be an artist never left him. Throughout the years he found the ideal mix to combine his passion for painting and curiosity for technique in the form of Digital Painting. He started out with photography and photo manipulation by using Adobe Photoshop. After mastering Photoshop he began making so called smudge paintings where a photo is altered to look like a painting by using the smudge tool. After making smudge paintings for a while he felt that there was something missing. Photoshop did not give him the right tools and freedom to paint the way he would like to, so he stumbled upon Corel Painter, a piece of software specialized in digital painting. This gave him the ability to move away from the smudge technique and started painting in a more traditional way. He still uses photos as a reference, but builds up his paintings in many different layers, adding more and more detail. His style could be described as classic as he is a great admirer of the old Dutch masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer. His ultimate goal would be to become a modern time’s Rembrandt. In recent years he is getting more known for his digital portrait paintings as his work can be found in some Dutch art galleries and fairs. Also has his work been published in several digital media magazines like Advanced Photoshop and Official Corel Painter Magazine. For more information on commissioned portraits or general questions: Odwin Rensen odwin@studioodwin.com +31 6 26096394 www.studioodwin.com www.facebook.com/orensen
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PostworkShop Pro By John Stevenson artistic transformation software, that is easy to use, and produces unique and intriguing images
PostworkShop – an introduction (a free webinar) This session will form an overview of the PostworkShop program in its current Pro Edition release. The program itself has a wide variety of features, enabling many different types of artistic endeavors – in this instance we will concentrate on drawing and painting effects. The webinar itself presentation itself will be divided between: (i) covering some of the primary attributes of PostworkShop, and, (ii) providing insights into proceeding from photographic input to transformed, artistic outputs. Unique features of PostworkShop which will be highlighted: · the built-in Style filters, over 400 in total - for drawing, painting, graphic illustration and photo-filtered effects · alternative workflow options - a standalone application, with four complementary editors, plus an Adobe® Photoshop® plug-in · the multi-role manual painting engine - as a seamless, freestyle addition to the auto-painting mode, with pressuresensitivity support for graphics tablets - also for photo-sampled cloning, or Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
retouching – all with sets of custom brushes and with full control of transparency - also for the preparation of image masks · save-as-you-go Projects - keep a step-by-step record at all stages of your work · a dedicated browser for stock images - access the entire Fotolia collection of photographs and illustrations from within PostworkShop
PostworkShop - getting projects done! (a follow-on paid/subscription webinar, with a 50% software discount) PostworkShop is unique and easy-to-use software for artistic image transformations. With auto- and manual modes of operation based upon an unparalleled collection of builtin Style filters and brushes. The user can create signature artwork in simple workflow routines, using either the standalone application or an Adobe® Photoshop® plug-in. The participants In this webinar will be provided all information needed to complete two specific projects. Initially though, the presentation will begin with short reviews of several example outputs, looking at the “before-and-after” aspects of each and covering some of the primary artistic characteristics which PostworkShop has brought to each one individually. In the first project exercise the concentration will be on using the built-in Style filters in combinations (essentially building up multilayered transformations, based upon both
Drawing and Painting components). A second, and more complex, work effort will then be covered. Here attention will center upon assembling a custom Style from the PostworkShop Building Block filters. Finally, PostworkShop’s manual painting engine (the Bitmap Editor) will be reviewed, focusing on its use in image enhancement(s) either via the production of masks or photo-sampled painting. John Stevenson has been taking photographs since childhood, first experimenting in the early 1960s with an Agfa Isoly roll film camera (producing square format transparencies in glass mounts). He first produced digitally composed images in 1995, printing his own work on canvas using a Hewlett-Packard DesignJet machine. Some of this pioneering work was exhibited via his participation in the Art League at the Torpedo Factory, in Alexandria, Virginia. A first solo exhibition of all-digital work – A Shifting Light - digital photorenditions – was presented at the Foundry Gallery in Washington D.C. in 1999. Currently he is the Director of Business Development with Xycod Kft., developer of the PostworkShop digital art studio platform, http://www.postworkshop.net, and also a columnist for Digital Paint Magazine. Some of his most recent exhibited work has featured backlit digital transparencies – a retro homage to that very first camera. 14
http: //cargocollective.com/victorlunnroc Curatorial Curiosity Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Victor Lunn-Rockliffe 15
TrulyScene a column: some software development notes John Stevenson john.stevenson@xycod.com
Introduction In my column a month ago, I tried (real hard!) to concentrate just upon some first principles of image layering in digital painting applications. More specifically: the prospects for gaining very different artistic transformations of just a single portrait photograph were explored, with a reliance on auto-painting (or, more accurately, auto-rendering) routines alone. And more particularly: involving layering as it is implemented in newer (i.e., more contemporary and/or less traditional) digital art software applications. Well now, this month I would like to take at least half a step further forward. To explore what options are opened up by blending different image layers one into another. Again portraiture alone will be utilized for example purposes – but, generally, subject matter in this category is the most difficult to reinterpret via auto-rendering routines. So, in other words, other subjects (landscapes, still life studies, and so on), where a higher degree of artistic abstraction can be introduced, could have been used here and likely with some bigger freedoms.
upon the pragmatics – what can the different modes lead to which is useful. The example outputs obtained from blending two very different photographic images together are often used as a first step in this latter case. A good summary made in this way can be found here: http://www. myinkblog.com/an-explanation-of-photoshop-blend-modes/. Others have focused on looking for specific applications of each individual mode within photographic image correction or enhancement. For example, here is the first part of a four “chapter” series: http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/blend1/blend1.htm.
The Baseline - Blending Photography Adobe’s Photoshop™ has essentially established a standardized set of Layer Blend modes, whereby one image Layer can be inter-mixed with another. Photoshop CS5.5 – the latest updated release – contains twenty-seven individual modes in all. Over the years, two sets of explanations of the different blending outcomes have been attempted and refined. The first is based upon figuring-out the mathematics involved. The second centers not on this analytical approach, but Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
our first source image - viewed in Photoshop, as two duplicated Layers - © Yuri Arcurs - Fotolia 16
One possible configuration that is put aside in these explorations is selfblending, where a photograph is duplicated so as to gain two identical Layers (as in the screenshot above, with the Layers shown at top-left). There is little (actually more-or-less-nothing) to be gained from this. In this configuration, most of the Blend modes yield no change or trivial changes in the resulting blended output. And where there are changes – for example, by use of the Soft Light contrast-enhancing mode as illustrated in the screen capture image below – the same type of enhancement can be obtained in a more controllable way by alternative means (by the use of Adjustment Layers as a case in point here).
self-blending of the source image - via Photoshop, using a Soft Light blend
Better than the Baseline - Blending Transformed Photography What is integrated into Adobe’s software code is of course proprietary. But many other digital image manipulation program developers have implemented the Photoshop Blend modes, by category and by name – either identically or to good approximation. Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
One digital painting (or rendering) technique, which does not seem to be have been explored much at all, in any of the manipulation programs, relies on the very simple scheme of layering which is outlined in the sequence of graphics below.
blending in PostworkShop - step one - the initial setup The concept here is to blend together multiple, but only slightly different, versions of the original source photograph. This is very straightforward to accomplish in PostworkShop. A single auto-painting Style can be used with just modest variations to some key parameters. The primary thing to note is that the individual image Layers can have just small differences in their spatial and color layouts, but obtained from the same auto-rendering routine. This overall “not-quite-selfblending” scheme is made possible because of the transformation of the original source image to gain an essentially infinite number of artistic reinterpretations. 17
blending in PostworkShop - step two – towards gaining a more refined output The step two illustration (above) may be – depending on the specific subject you chose to work with – as far as this project needs to be taken. Here there are two uppermost Layers now made visible, which in this case are identical (by duplication), and which have Blend modes set to be complementary one with the other. The example used here has the intermediate Layer set to Darken, with its Opacity at something less than 50% and the topmost layer set to the complementary Lighten mode with its Opacity set above 50%. There are two other complementary Blend pairings which work well more-or-less universally in this configuration: Hard Light (for the middle Layer) plus Soft Light (for the uppermost); plus secondly, Luminosity and Color respectively also. So the alternative configuration included in the next screenshot provides an example of the Hard and Soft Light combination.
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blending in PostworkShop - an alternative, to step two, in the Blend mode pairing utilized There are also very simple extensions of this scheme which can be used as finishing steps, to bring more focus (i.e., detail) back to the subject. And to reduce the overall uniformity of the transformation as a whole. The simplest possible implementation of this – again in PostworkShop – is shown in the illustration which follows. Here a masked portion of the original image, centered on the model’s face and hands, has been added at the top of the Layers stack. In this instance, it is present without further alteration or rendering. It was created, via a Selection, in Photoshop. (It is of course possible to auto-render/-paint this Layer, then duplicate it and to use the very same scheme of complementary Blend modes so as to fully finalize this overall transformation.)
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blending in PostworkShop - the basis of a finishing step
Additions and Expansions Another and fairly obvious possibility, which is supplementary to this scheme, is to build the set of Layers that will be blended together according to their tonality. By that I mean: starting with a base Layer which just contains a rendering of the deepest and shadowed tones in the source photograph and then successively adding Layers which “carry” the mid- and upper-level tonal details. Next month’s column will provide more guidance on this. What follows below in this instance is a summary, starting with the source itself.
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our second source image - © olly – Fotolia To keep things straightforward (by basically removing some of the visual clutter), the subject of the photograph – the model and the chair which she is sitting in – was first isolated from the background. Again this was done as a precursor step in Photoshop, via a Selection and the erasure of the surroundings, so that the backdrop is made transparent. (It is this substitution with transparency, as is introduced at this step, which will be specifically addressed next month.) blending in PostworkShop - a variation of the first scheme, with tonalities now separated between three Layers The (strange looking!) graphic on the next page attempts to provide an insight into this. The four image panels included are progressive; they each record the output gained from the layering, one step at a time. The basic rendering involved used just a single Style here (as before) – and again this was the Random Painter filter block available within PostworkShop. Though the intent this time was to reinterpret the source image with something like a pastel crayon or charcoal drawing effect. The graphic shows how shading and detail can be built-up in a very systematic way. It should be noted that all of the individual Layers can 19
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be subjected to adjustments, independently and one at a time, until the final result is obtained.
Wrap-up In summary then, I have set out some digital rendering options both painting and drawing “like” in their outcomes - which can be realized using state-of-the-art (sic), contemporary software. It is realized – believe me please – that there are no manually laid down strokes or embellishments in the schemes included here. But note: these may be added to the auto-rendered work at any stage. Our objective, at Xycod, is simply to provide a studio approach to digital artwork – an opportunity for users of our software to experience a whole range of alternative work practices and to produce image transformations that their clients will find imaginative, intriguing and/or engaging. Those of you who use the PostworkShop software may have noticed that the screenshots included in this contribution differ slightly from what you see in the current commercial release of the program (v.2.1). This is because I used a beta version of v.3 of the software for the work which is included here. We expect to be able to make PostworkShop 3 available within the next month. There is now a blog which features the new components and workflow options which will be found in this new release – you can find it here: http://blog.postworkshop.net/ I’d welcome any feedback or questions you have – please send them by e-mail to: john.stevenson@xycod. com There is also a newly assembled Tumblr blog website, at http:// trulyscene.tumblr.com/, which will be used to feature some of the same Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
work as is contained in these columns. My plan is to make it also a part of the exercises which will be presented in two upcoming webinars, as part of the 2012 Digital Art Summit (and as was announced in the last issue of this magazine). At least one of these sessions will cover the concept of mixed media in the digital art studio – as referenced by the final example illustration below.
an artistic transformation - “mixed media in the digital painting domain” 21
The Old Masters Alphonse Maria Mucha By Nadia Lim Rejected by the Prague Academy of Fine Arts with a recommendation to “Find yourself another profession where you’ll be more useful,” Alphonse Mucha went on to have a dramatic impact on the world of art and design. Even though he repeatedly disavowed being part of any art movement, he is recognized as a founding father of Art Nouveau, a movement that influenced artists, architects, and artisans across the world – Eliel Saarinen, Gustav Klimt, and Rene Lalique, to name a few.
Born in Moravia (now the Czech Republic) on July 24, 1860, he gained a choral scholarship and received musical
training, but expressed his love of art through decorative painting jobs and theatrical design. Despite his father’s insistence that he work as a court clerk, Mucha ended up in Paris at the height of the Impressionist movement, even sharing a studio Meditation c.1886
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with Paul Gauguin for a time. Very much a proponent of the idea that everything should be a work of art, Mucha designed a life-sized advertising poster for Sarah Bernardt, the most famous actress of the time. The poster was so successful that Mucha received a deluge of business, not just for paintings, posters, and illustrations, but for theater sets, carpets, wallpaper, and jewelry. The “Mucha Style” became “Art Nouveau” as other artists began copying the form characterized by pale pastels and ethereal women framed by lush patterns. As Art Nouveau took off, Mucha went from starving artist to household name. Along with paintings and bronze busts, he produced advertisements, designs, illustrations, and postcards. After helping to design pavilions for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Austria for the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris (along with the Fair’s posters, catalogue cover, and banquet menu), Mucha’s fame spread around the world. The acclaim brought him to the USA, where he toured on exhibit, earned portrait and decorating commissions from the elite, and taught at art schools in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
The coronation of the Serbian Tsar.
Mucha working on the Slav Epic, 1920.
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Financed by Chicago millionaire Charles Crane (heir to an industrial fortune and deeply interested in the business and political affairs of Eastern Europe and the Middle East), Mucha began painting The Slav Epic, a large-scale series chronicling and celebrating Czech history. In the eighteen years it took, he worked on other projects, including designing postage stamps and currency for the newly-independent Czechoslovakia (he used Charles Crane’s daughter as a model for Slavia on the 100 koruna bill). In 1928 he presented the city of Prague with the last of twenty giant canvasses, many of them 24x30 feet. The welcome they received was much cooler than when he’d presented the first 11 in 1919. Despite the public’s appreciation, the changed political climate meant different groups had complaints about his “old-fashioned” style and message. 23
In one of those ironies of life, his sponsor, Crane, was strongly proHitler, but when the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia, Mucha was among the first arrested. The 78-year-old’s weak health didn’t stop the Gestapo from interrogating him. He died on July 14th, 1939, shortly after his release. The Nazis banned the public from his funeral, but over 100,000 attended anyway. Mucha’s belief that everything can be art continues to influence the evolution of art and design. The Slav Epic is on display in the Czech Republic, but in 2011, amid much controversy and protest, the paintings were moved from a castle in Moravsky Krumlov (where they had been displayed since the 1960s) to the Czech capital of Prague.
Sources http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/mucha.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Richard_Crane http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=haruspex &id=I106042 http://www.muchafoundation.org/MBiography.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slav_Epic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Mucha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau
Image sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Mucha Joan of Arc poster http://www.dailyartfixx.com/?s=mucha Les Saisons La Nature http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/alphonse-mucha/soap-factory-ofbagnolet-1897 Soap Factory of Bagnolet, advertising http://www.pricejb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/slav-epic/19.htm The Abolition of serfdom in Russia, from The Slav Epic
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Soap factory of Bagnolet
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How to Make a Note Card Using Your Own Art in Corel Painter Setting up your Card Template: Open a document the same size as your card. This tutorial is based on a 6.25 in. x 9 in. card. The cardstock is Red River Aurora Fine Art White. I use Corel Painter to make my cards because I don’t have Photoshop. From Canvas Menu choose Show Rulers and then Show Guides. Set guides as shown in illustration no. 1. Width – 0.25, 3.125, 6.0 Length – 0.25, 4.5, 5.0, 8.75 Make sure there is a ¼ in border all around. This is an unprintable area with my printer.
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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Areas of the Template 1. Printable Area – area within the red boundaries. Printer does not print to edge of card, so you need to allow for this in your design and placement. 2. Center of card lengthwise and widthwise – blue lines. 3. Design Area – within green boundaries. You need to keep all of your imagery within this area. 4. The center line lengthwise is the point you use to line up the center your imagery and the center of the text on the back outside. 5. The center line widthwise is where you measure the top of the image from the fold in the card. It has to be at least ½ inch to be consistent with the bottom margin, which will be ½ inch as well, when printed. 6. I have found that being precise about the measurements makes for a more professional look to the finished card.
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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Design Decisions I chose a really simple design for this card because I didn’t want to detract from the lines and shapes in the painting. I placed a pale violet box around image, and then a rusty coloured one, slightly larger, to frame the painting. I found that anything thicker or darker made the eye go the box too much. The original painting was a square format, but I stretched it lengthwise to make it fit in the design area better. Some images don’t take kindly to this stretching, so be careful when you try it. Most of my paintings are rectangular in shape, so they actually fit the design area quite well without much embellishment. I want it to look like a tiny watercolour in the end, so keeping it simple enhances this. Don’t forget to flip your outside text horizontally and vertically after committing it, so it will be the correct way up when the card is folded over. This is a quick and simple way to use one of your paintings as a Note Card.
Digital Digital Paint Paint Magazine Magazine -- January January 2011 2011
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Preparing your image to print: When printing my digital watercolours I have found that reducing the dye concentration to 83/42 % gives me a print that matches the monitor output more closely. Some slight tweaking with Brightness/Contrast is often necessary as well. Without doing this, the prints are too dark with the printer settings and paper I have chosen to use. I found this held true when using Epson’s Radiant White Watercolour paper and other matte finish papers and card stock too. Before you click print make sure the placement of your imagery and text is correct and that you spell check any text‌(Including your name!) You can put text on them if you choose to, or a message inside, because these cards are printable on both sides. The cost of printing these cards is a lot less than store bought ones, and I think they are more meaningful to family and friends because they are much more unique and special with your art on them. I prefer to make Note Cards which are blank inside, so the sender can write whatever message they like and a have room for short note too! Themed sets make lovely gifts, and sell well at Art and Craft Fairs packaged appropriately in wrappers or little plastic boxes. Printer Set Up: These are the settings I use on my Epson Stylus Pro R1800 Printer to print a 6.25 x 9 inch card on Red River’s Aurora Fine Art White Paper Cardstock.
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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Premium Presentation Paper Matte – works well with the cardstock I’m using * (you have to reduce the dye concentration of your painting first, by about 15 %, or it will be too dark.) You can download ICC profiles from the Red River site for the Aurora paper, but I’ve found this Epson ICC Profile SPR1800 EnMtteBst Photo.icc works better. Set up the Paper size by clicking User Defined and putting the dimensions of the paper in. On the first print set up screen choose Portrait orientation because that is the orientation of the card stock in the printer. The imagery is in a landscape orientation on the bottom half of the card for a top folding card. You reverse this for a side folding card. The cost of printing these cards is a lot less than store bought ones, and I think they are more meaningful to family and friends because they are much more unique and special with your art on them. The Red River Paper Website has a chart calculating card costs, according to your printer, including ink and envelope. The Aurora Fine Art Cardstock is $1.25 per card. I prefer to
make Note Cards which are blank inside, so the sender can write whatever message they like and a have room for short note too! Themed sets make lovely gifts, and sell well at Art and Craft Fairs packaged appropriately in wrappers or little plastic boxes. I entitled this Winter Leaves with idea in mind of doing the four seasons. Maybe I should have called it “Hanging In There!” Hope you are all hanging in there and having a great New Year so far! Happy Painting and Creating!
Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
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Marketing Buzz By Tim O’Neill
Video Marketing Part Three Getting Your Video Specifications Right For YouTube YouTube converts all videos, no matter what file format they have been uploaded in, to FLV (Adobe Flash Video) format. So if that is the case why should we be concerned about converting our videos for YouTube Upload? The reality is that some file formats convert better to FLV than others. If you want to get the best quality from your video after you’ve uploaded it to YouTube here are the specifications you need to use, • File format: MPEG-4, MPEG-2, or H.264 • Resolution: 720p or 1080p • File size: Up to 2GB • Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen • Audio format: MP3 • Length: Up to 15 minutes • Frame rate: 30 frames per second (FPS) Bear in mind that these are the recommended specifications but YouTube will accept just about anything you upload. It does pay, however, to work with the original format you have created your video in rather than converting to something such as MPEG-4 before uploading, as each time a conversion is made, the quality of the video deteriorates somewhat. It is important also to be consistent with the resolution and specification right through the production process. If you change resolution when your move the video from your camera to your video editing software, you will again suffer degradation. Always maintain the original frame rate, resolution and codec. To get the sharpest video quality after upload to YouTube, create your videos in the highest resolution available to you. YouTube cannot upgrade a low resolution video but it will downgrade a higher resolution video. Digital Paint Magazine - January 2011
Converting Other Video Formats For YouTube If you are creating your video from scratch, you should have no problems configuring your video to the recommended specifications for YouTube. However, if you already have video in different formats, what is the best option for converting for maximum quality in YouTube? For this task, you’ll need to use video converter software. These specialist software programs will automatically convert your video between various file formats and resolutions with minimum loss of quality. Some of the most widely used programs include ; • AVS Video Tools • M2Convert Professional • Power Video Converter • Movavi VideoSuite • VIDEOzilla • Xilisoft Video Converter • RER Video Converter Using video converter software is a quick and easy process, perfect if you have lots of videos that you want to covnert for maximum quality on YouTube. Making the conversion is a simple as browsing to select your video file, choosing your desired file format and clicking on convert. Having the highest possible quality video on YouTube is vital for your success, as it speaks volumes about your level of professionalism. Most people now won’t tolerate degraded, low quality videos and will simply click on in search of something better. It pays therefore, to take some time to ensure that your video meets the specifications required by YouTube.
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