The July Tutorial Discussion-Retouching Images

[Gare]

To get back to this month's tutorial, what I tried to do is to let the problem lead to the tools and not the other way around. Me, I don't get a lot out of "survey books", that define a tool or feature and then tell you what it does, and then show you an example.

The examples this month I thought were based on a problem, a need, and where to go from there. Photo-retouching is completely dependent on a specific photo. The Cadillac photo was a need-based retouching job—the company wouldn't let me take the plastic barrier chains off for even three minutes. The sections that needed replacing were so small that Photoshop couldn't be used. I used feathered Fractal noise to replace the parts at almost a microscopic level.

So there are opportunities when the Color Select is appropriate, Magic Erase suits certain needs, Gary P. showed how to use the command to remove "keystoning" from an image that has bad perspective, and the list of tools goes on. I think they've all been covered to some extent.

What I'm trying to do is suggest which ones fit a problem, and then address the problem.

My Best,

Gary

[stygg2003]

Here's my first two attempts at re-colouring as shown in the tut. The first one being the croc. and the second one of Gary's can pic. All done in PDG7.

Stygg

[Gare]

Flawless.

I appreciate the fact that you continued on your own with a different image: it shows you understand how to improvise and this can be turned into problem-solving around an office.

The pod from 2001 now looks like it belongs in a used car lot, price negotiable, and no one could find the correct matching colour panel for this model after an asteroid collided with it.

Or perhpas HAL 9000 is colour-blind?



Nice work, Stygg. I'm sure I'll be posting more example images later in the month.

My Best,

Gary

[angelize]

I decided to have a bit of practice with the backspace to fill in the hole trick and take you up on the spot/stripe challenge. I gave the seahorse a colour change and some spots and made a bit of a discovery trying to apply a hue change to a masked area of a photo that already has been hue changed doesn't work but I did find a workaround, I just made a bitmap copy and masked out the spots on that and changed the hue of the spots no problem.

[Gare]

Clever girl!

Folks, when you run into a rut with changing a shape or images, always, always note the resolution of what you're working with if it's a bitmap, and then Ctrl+Shift+C to make a copy at the same resolution. This lets you do stuff you cannot ordinarily, especially adding something to a Live Effects image. IOW, you can't, but you can make a copy of it.

Frances I like what you did, its inventiveness, and from a photorealistic aspect, the thing works.

+3 !

It's an alligator water pistol. I did own a sea horse water pistol, but the Little Mermaid borrowed it and never returned it.

-g

[angelize]

Actually looking at it again I did make one mistake with the green spotted alligator can anyone else see it?

[stygg2003]

Did the Tic-Tac tut. and got beat. I was never any good at noughts and crosses. While I was doing this tut I thought I'd try a change colour and levels on the top edge and left edge of the board, just to keep my hand in, so to speak

Stygg

[Gare]

You win, Stygg! The noughts have it.

Gosh, whoever played against you, the crosses, was very tidy when they made their moves.

*A good example for all: retouching falls into three categories:

• Invisible work: cosmetics adverts, color and tone orrection globally or locally, and so on. This is the hardest to execute, and Stygg's example here of killing the highlights on the left side of the board is a good example. Barbara took the photo years ago so I know what it looks like, yet I had to pull it to compare it to Stygg's version. His work is invisible, it passes a casual observance.

• Surreal work: Erik Johansson (I feel, at least) is the undisputed Master of surreal imagery these days. His work is all over the web and his gallery is HERE. I think it's possible to do this sort of fantasy work in a convincing way with Xara. Erik uses Photoshop; he's said so in interviews. Plus he sets up his photography in advance to make the fantast editing easier (and sometimes possible) later. Surreal work sort of demands the first quality, the invisible work.

• Unsuccessful work. This category, sadly, is found far too often in non-commercial work. If you've seen a piece that almost works, it looks like and strikes the audience as an uncomfortable composition due to the failure to 100%, absolutely nail the retouching.

Therefore, I'd recommend that you try invisible retouching before trying fantasy compositions. Unless you're winking at your audience and deliberately want to present a childish retouching composition. There's some charm in an obviously botched design. Perhaps once in your career.

My best,

Gary

[stygg2003]

That is some work by Erik Johansson Gary and I'm certainly no where near those capability's but I can say yet again I've learned a lot from your tut. Looking forward to the second part as I've never been to happy about the mask tool nor, come to think of it, the clone tool. When I've done cloning in the past, I've used Zoner Photo Studio, so I should really brush up on these tool in Xara.

Stygg

[Gare]

@Stygg—
Check your PMs. I sent you a link.

@ the entire thread—

I've been in the "Imaging Biz" in one job or another for about 40 years, and I can unequivocally assure everyone that there will always be a new Pop Star, a shining Kid On The Block. I love Erik's clever work. And last year I loved some other artist.

My point is you don't try to hit a moving target. You know your own skills, your shortcomings, limitations, and you focus inward on realizing them, not always outward and comparing yourself to a temporary star in the Heavens.

Is that a fair philosophy you can appreciate?

I can tell you that it works for me, and makes me feel good about my own work.

As far as masking goes, actually, next month, I'm going to show something that's very simple for cloning, that people might just not have considered. I have a backlog of "unethical" uses for Xara's tools.

I'm pleased to tell you that I fooled Charles once. He asked me how I did something that looked extremely complex or impossible and the solution was to go around the wall instead of over it, to use a metaphor.

And I'll also demonstrate the conventional way with the Photo tools, to be both traditional and heretical.

These guys can be done is Xara. The trick is to photograph enough replacement material when you do the photography.

Both these sets of clothes are overweight, aren't they?



—gary