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Here I show how I created two different versions of the image I call Mona Lisa, after the famous painting by Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. I gave this name to my image because of the slight turn of her face and the eyes that follow you (although the first version does not have such eyes!).
I started with this photo from the Rijksmuseum website, which provides high-resolution images free to use and modify for any purpose, in their Rijksstudio.
In iColorama, I cropped to the size I wanted using Form/Crop, and saved as PNG.
I opened the image in Metabrush, and painted it. I worked in Shatter mode, using a large hard square brush. Metabrush has built-in help, that can help you locate the controls I mention.
This is the brush image I used in Metabrush:
These are the brush settings I used in Metabrush:
I saved the Metabrush image as PNG, then opened it in iColorama. In iColorama, I applied Adjust/Tonelab preset 4 at medium opacity (similar to Dehaze in Lightroom), and I cropped it.
In iColorama, I applied Style/Coherence preset 1 at medium opacity.
Still in iColorama, I used various tools under Tone to alter the color. I also used Effect/Denoise presets 2 and 4 to smooth the image a bit and reduce the effect of aliasing. I also used Effect/Raise for a slight 3D effect, and Effect/Sharpen (I recommend presets 4 or 7, which give a more muted sharpening effect).
Now for Version 2. Here I went back and in iColorama, and in Effect/Blend, I blended the original image with the Metabrush image, using the Difference or Negative blend mode, and the Lightness and Gray sliders under Set. I like to experiment with all the sliders, blend modes and settings.
Here I applied Adjust/Tonelab preset 4 to add clarity and depth, Style/Coherence 1 to smooth the image, Effect/Raise for a slight 3D effect, and Levels to increase contrast.
I want to add some eyes to the image, so she doesn't have such a blank stare. To do that, I used another Rijksstudio image:
In Effect/Blend in iColorama, I blended in the eyes from the Rijksmuseum image. First I need to align the eyes in the two images. To do this, in Effect/Blend, I brought in the Rijksmuseum image using the Photo button in the bottom right of the screen. I reduced the opacity to 50% so I could see both images, and I used my fingers to resize and align the top image (the Rijksmuseum image) with the bottom image, so the eyes are as close to the same position as possible. Then I moved the opacity back to 100%. Now I need to use a mask, so I can change the eyes but nothing else. I touched the Brush Mask button on the left side of the screen, which brings up the brush mask bar, and I touched Invert on the brush mask bar. I touched Zoom on the right of the screen and used my fingers to zoom in on the eyes. Then I touched Zoom again so I could paint the brush mask. I decreased the brush size on the brush mask bar, and I painted over the eyes, which has the effect of letting the eyes from the Rijksmuseum image come through. While painting the brush mask, if you make a mistake, you can touch Erase, then paint your correction, then touch Paint, and continue painting the brush mask. Then, keeping the brush mask in place, I used various tools under Tone to change the color of the eyes. When I was done, I touched the Remove button on the brush mask bar to remove the brush mask.
I enlarged the eyes and mouth using Form/Deforms preset 5.
I changed the shape of the head using Form/Warp, and applied a slight blur using Effects/Blur preset 16.
I used one of the presets under Texture/Leak to give the effect of a colored light source off to the left side illuminating the face. Then I added more Blur 16. I darkened the background using Adjust Shadows to darken the entire image, then I brought up the brush mask bar and touched Invert, and painted the effect over the background with medium-sized brush.
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