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I read the descriptions of the book Learning First in Black and White by Diane Solvang-Angell, and was inspired by this chart, specifically the Five Basic Removals, for managing negative/positive space. This image uses one of those five basic removals. The concept seemed so simple but it took me a long time to figure out how to do it in iColorama. I figured out how to use various masks to create the shapes I needed. I used Metabrush and iColorama's Form/Escher to get an interesting background. Finally, I used bird brushes to add additional visual interest to the overall image.
I started with this photo from Pixabay, a source of copyright-free images. I like the blank slate of her face.
In iColorama, I used Form/Warp to make her face fill the canvas and give her a more intense expression. I also used Style/Flow preset 1 to smooth the face.
Because this image is a vertical, and I want to work in landscape mode, I searched in my camera roll for an image with a large canvas. I tested the size by simply importing it into iColorama. When I found one, I used the brightness slider in Adjust/Exposure to make the canvas white. Then I used Effect/Blend to blend the image I wanted to work on onto the blank white canvas, using my fingers to position it to the left side. I saved.
I wanted to make a flat background, so in the image of the woman, using Brush/Paint, I used the color picker to select a shade of background blue near her head, and then with a large hard round basic brush, I painted all over the canvas. I saved.
I created this image in Metabrush. You can see how I made this brush here.
Using Effect/Blend, I opened the flat blue image, and I blended the warped woman onto it, and applied. Then using Effect/Distort, I distorted the Metabrush image over the woman.
I added contrast using Adjust/Levels. I used Brush/Paint to paint catchlights in the eyes. Then I used Style/Flow preset 1 to smooth the catchlights, using an inverted brush mask.
I made this mask in iColorama using Style/Threshold and then painted white and black in Brush/Paint to clean it up.
Using Effect/Blend, I opened the image of the woman, and I imported the above mask. I touched the Photo button on the lower right of the screen to bring in the flat blue background. I applied and removed the mask.
In Effect/Blend, I blended the image with itself. I used a rectangular shape mask to cut out this piece. I saved but didn't apply.
I inverted the shape mask to create this. And applied.
In Effect/Blend, I blended in the extracted piece, using my fingers to position it where I wanted it.
In Effect/Blend, I blended in an image of the sky that I had previously photographed and processed in iColorama. Call this Image A.
I blended in the Metabrush image, masking out the square of sky. I added a bird brush into the sky.
Using the color Image A as a brush mask, I used an Escher preset at low opacity. Because Image A is color, it is partially transparent as a mask.
I blended in the sky image over the entire image, using the grey slider under Set.
I used the 3rd preset under Adjust/Shadows to lighten the hair.
I used a preset under Tone/Enhance to modify the color.
I cropped.
I used Form/Tiles at low opacity to add some interest to the background.
I increased contrast using Adjust/Levels. I optimized color in Tone/Enhance.
I created this in image in Metabrush using a bird brush, and the source image was the previous image so that I would get the same colors.
Back in iColorama, I blended in the bird brush Metabrush image at reduced opacity.
I painted in highlights in eyes and lips. This is the final image.
Just for fun, I went crazy in Elasticam!
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