Woman Bending

I made this image from simple curves and shapes using Sketchbook Pro to make a pattern of curves and colors, and to make a few simple shapes to indicate a figure, sun and sky. I used iColorama for some amazing effects, such as the feeling of 3D in the threads of the fabric garment.

In Sketchbook Pro, I made these curves. To make a curve, I chose a Pen and set the color to black, and used the Shape tool (found at the toolbar at the top of the screen) with Circle selected. If needed, I used the Move tool (also found on the toolbar at the top of the screen) to position the curve where I wanted it. I made each curve on its own layer, except a few had two curves on it. Then, I duplicated each of the layers. Then I moved one copy of each layer to the top of the layer stack, and merged them. As a result, the top layer had all the curves on it, as you see here. In addition, I had several additional layers, each with either one or two curves on it. The reason I did this was so that I would have all the curve outlines visible (on the top layer) after I starting adding color in overlapping shapes on the lower layers.

Next, for each of the layers below the top layer, I selected a color and filled the inside of the curve with that color. Then I reduced the layer opacity to 50% and in some cases changed the layer blending mode. For this, the lowest layer, I filled the inside of the curve with light red, and left the layer mode at Normal mode and opacity at 100%.

Then for this layer, just above the red layer, I filled the inside of the curve with blue and left the layer blending mode at Normal mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the blue layer, I filled the inside of the curve with green and left the layer blending mode at Normal mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the green layer, I filled the inside of the curve with purple and left the layer blending mode at Normal mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the purple layer, I filled the inside of the curve with green and left the layer blending mode at Normal mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the green layer, I had two curves that did not intersect. I filled the inside of one of the curves with yellow and filled the inside of the other curve with orange. I left the layer blending mode at Normal mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the yellow and orange layer, I had two curves that did not intersect. I filled the inside of one of the curves with blue and filled the inside of the other curve with purple. I changed the layer blending mode to Darken mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%.

Then for this layer, just above the blue and purple layer, I filled the inside of the curve with magenta and changed the layer blending mode to Overlay mode, and changed the layer opacity to 50%

Now I tried rearranging some of the layers and changing some of the layer blending modes, until I got a pleasing result. I saved the image to my camera roll. Then I imported the saved image to a layer above all the other layers. I changed the layer opacity of this layer to 50% and I changed the blending mode to Darken. Then I used the Move tool to resize and reposition the image on the layer to get a nice composition. I tried not to have too many curves landing on the same spot. The result is a more complex pattern. You can skip this step if you are happy with the image as it was. I saved this to my camera roll.

I opened the image in iColorama. I used Adjust/EQ preset 2 at low opacity. This adds some tonal depth to the image.

Because some banding was introduced in the last step, I used Style/Simplify preset 1 at medium opacity.

For a more dramatic look, I used Style/Flat preset 18 at low opacity.

Now I used Style/Water preset 16 at medium opacity. I saved but did not apply. I’ll call this Image A.

Now I used Style/Tensor preset 6, using the previously saved Water image as the secondary image. I experimented with the Amount and Opacity settings. Then I used Adjust/Levels to increase the brightness of the image. I saved this image to my camera roll. Let’s call this Image B.

I used Style/Triangle preset 6 and experimented with the Size slider. I saved this image to my camera roll. Let’s call this Image C.

I used Effect/Blend to blend Image B and Image C. I believe I used the Color blending mode. I’ll call this Image D.

Using the same project that we were working on before in Sketchbook Pro, I imported Image D onto a layer. Then I imported Image A onto a layer above the image D layer. I changed the layer blending mode of the Image A layer (the layer on top) to Hard Light, with this beautiful result.

I rotated the image to landscape orientation. Then on a new layer above all the other layers, I painted with a black brush to make this shape.

On a new layer below the black layer, I painted with a blue brush over either side, and changed the layer blending mode to Multiply. This gives the impression of a blue shawl, while the use of Multiply mode allows you to see the underlying pattern through the blue paint.

On a new layer below the black layer, I painted with a yellow brush over the center, and changed the layer blending mode to Color. This gives the impression of a yellow garment, while the use of Color mode allows you to see the underlying pattern through the yellow paint.

On a new layer above all the other layers, I used the circle tool and a yellow pen to make a yellow circle. I used the Fill tool to fill the circle with yellow. Then I used the Move tool to position the circle where I wanted it. I also used a yellow pen to outline a “sky” area on the upper right, and I used the Fill tool to fill this area with yellow. I saved to my camera roll.

I opened the image in iColorama. I used Style/Water preset 16 low at low opacity, low texture, and no distortion. This softens the image somewhat. I used Adjust/Levels to adjust the contrast a bit. I used Effect/Raise at low opacity for emphasis. As a final step, I used Effect/Sharpen at low opacity to sharpen the image.