unblur shaken picture

[Sark]

Hi Sally.

Your eye image clearly shows you are a very talented artist. I'm genuinely in awe of anyone who can create such work. What a lot of newbies that post on some of the graphics forums fail to understand is that Photoshop and Paint etc, are just tools. Whilst they can sometimes work minor miracles by just knowing which buttons to press, often the images they see posted on the web and wish to emulate, are the result of artistic ability that goes beyond simply applying the right combination of filters etc. Like you, most digital artists of any merit could produce similarly impressive work using traditional media. Digital technology alone is no substitute for talent, or hard work.

As to some of the images you have had to rescue, my own interest is geared more towards photography and I'm very grateful I do not have to apply commercial considerations to the time spent at my PC. I have done a few rebuilds on family photos that have suffered from being exposed to direct sunlight, but these were mainly just re-colouring/tinting and a few adjustments. Those I've been asked to repair for friends/neighbours are usually older B&W prints that are scratched, torn etc. Quite straightforward really. They rarely assume that really bad images can be saved.

As to the original poster's problem image, it seems to have been blurred from being shot out of focus, or by movement during exposure. Just as a cheap lens produces poor resolution/detail, a poorly focused image will suffer from an even greater drop in image detail. Even Photoshop cannot enhance detail that isn't there. Having said that, it would still have been interesting to see the image, just to see exactly how bad it was and if it could have been improved without a complete work over.

Finally, a question. I'm guessing you use a tablet? I purchased a cheap 12" X 8" pad, but it was not quite as sensitive as I would have liked. It was also too large. I only used an active area that was about 6" X 4". I quickly sold it and purchased a Graphire 3 (5" X 4"). I really haven't got on with this. Whilst it's sensitivity is better it's much too small. It is not so much the active area, but the physical size that is too small. The plastic clip on cover is also horrible, I preferred the acetate sheet method of the cheaper unit. Just wondering what you use and might recommend. I mainly work with Draw and PS. I'll probably only use it for selections and path work.

Thanks

Sark

[sallybode]

Thanks, Sark.

I do have a tablet, a Wacom, but it is older by today's standard and the active area is only 3" x 4". At work I do not have a tablet.

Size isn't that important when working on a computer and using a drawing tablet unless you had a huge monitor. Repositioning the pointer has been working for me all this time and my work is satisfactory. Although it is on my list of fun things to buy if I have the money of course. In which case I will change my tune I suppose.

To me, it is more about knowing an efficient way of working and which way works best. In Photoshop, I use the vector tools when I want to simulate a long stroke anyway, because it saves time. I can get the stroke I want almost every time right away, and since Photoshop can stroke a path with simulated brush pressure effects better than if you did it by hand, why bother getting a bigger tablet.

Sure, if I got a bigger tablet, I'd take my smaller one to work and use the new one for my experiments at home. After all, it is a cool toy.

Most of my work is done either in DRAW, PhotoPaint, Illustrator (I like the brush strokes which are available) and of course Photoshop. At home I paint about as much in PaintShopPro as in Painter because of the mixing palette gives great effects.

Yes, I draw and paint well by hand. And sculpt. Sculpting aids drawing in being able to feel the three dimensions that you are simulating with pencil and paint. It was required study for learing anatomy along with life drawing. Today, I don't know if people see the relevance. And when I am not sure of where to begin, I sketch by hand first, somtimes even scanning in my drawing as a basis of a new design.

A person with an artistic eye is more observant visually. You can't draw what you can't see. And if it is in your head what you are drawing, you are still seeing the final result in your brain.

If I do web graphics, I do like to use Xara a bit more.

Heck, I like to use them all. I find a lot of use for PhotoImpact, it has great textures.

Nothing does everything, you just use each program as a tool, choosing the one for the best effect, the best way from point A to B.

And when I am not doing artwork, I design knitting and crocheting. And compose music, write poetry.

I had a teacher tell me that you work on the whole design and don't concentrate on the details of one area, but leave the details till last (except f you want to render one area completely in developing a style for the whole peice--othewise you can have drawings which are out of perspective--a real waste of time). Most of my drawings are executed fairly quickly, but to give it the last bit of polish, takes more time than building up the components.

Outside of being female, I think I would have fit in well in the Renaissance. I am interested in just about everything.

Your tenacity to figure things out, qualifies you in the same light.

[Sark]

Hi again Sally.

I'm really surprised a tablet is not a crucial tool for you. I had expected you to be using an Intuos, or a larger Graphire at least. I guess it just confirms how talent is the primary tool in creating good artwork.

Your comments about design reminded me of a quote I read over twenty years ago in a book by the photographer Snowdon. "Decorate design, don't design decoration. I guess it just clarifies what you are saying. Of course with art, rules are there to be broken sometimes, but I think this is still a very valid universal statement for most art forms.

Whilst I would be kidding myself to think I could be a Renaissance man, I do have a broad interest in all things creative. Whilst I sometimes regret not following an artistic career path, I've always been aware that the commercial aspects can be restrictive sometimes. Those that can do exactly as they please and make a good living are a very rare breed, "Artists" in the fullest sense of the word I guess.

For now I'm happy playing with Draw and Photoshop and saving for my first Digital SLR. Who knows, maybe next year, if Corel get Draw 13 right, I'll have nothing to complain about and have time to have ago at creating my first web site.

Sark

[sallybode]

To Sark,

To me, the Renaissance individual has a zest for life just for its own sake, I happen to be forutnate to be working in a field which suits me. I have often not been able to do that. I find myself far less tired in the evening because I am not hating my work. Hate is too strong a word, I was finding other work boring. And I hate being bored. To me, I have so much more to offer if left to my own devices, not meaning to sound conceited here, but obviously that is how some will take it.

To explore and to learn in whatever capacity a human being is able, makes them what a human being was designed to be. We are more than spectators, shapers of destiny. Not because of anything else but the joy of doing it.

To see if far more than just optical, the vision inside the head is always more than could be accomplished with the hands. Even before I am done with one project I am thinking about what to do on others. So I am sometimes terrible about finishing things as I want to jot those ideas down before I lose them permanently.

I don't get a lot of sleep.

Sometimes that lack of sleep spills over into my writing as it did that one day.

I take vitamins. I don't drink, used to. Stopped that long time now. My husband is an avid snorer. So I get help with my insomnia.

Got to go,
Sally