Embedded Files
I started with some sketches I had made that reminded me of the Matisse cutouts because of the naked female form sketched simply in all curves. I used iColorama to color them and set them against a black background. Then I added some other elements to tie the three figures together. I felt this line by Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream was apt, as if spoken by these spirits: "I serve the Fairy Queen, To dew her orbs upon the green."
I started with this sketch of mine, done with pen on paper. It is actually three sketches of the same live model done on the same piece of paper. I photographed the page and and cleaned it up and brightened it in iColorama using Adjust/Levels and Style/Flow at low opacity, as well as Effect/Denoise presets 1 and 4 to de-alias the lines, which is sometimes needed after Flow. Then I used Effect/Sharpen preset 3 at low radius, which is also often needed after Flow.
In iColorama, I used Adjust/Channels Preset 6 to invert the image.
I used Adjust/Exposure and lightened the image using the brightness slider. Then I used Tone/Tint to apply a color. I used Adjust/Hue to fine-tune the color.
I used Preset/Gradient preset 1, and selected black in the color picker. The whole canvas turns black, or whatever color you pick (provided you are in Normal mode). I used a brush mask to paint away the black over the figures, revealing the blue underneath. I started with a large soft brush, which slopped out of the lines, to make sure I completely covered the figures. Then I used the brush mask eraser with a smaller brush to erase the areas that had slopped outside the lines, zooming in to get as accurate as I could. This image shows my progress midway through, where there is still some blue outside the lines. Since this step takes some time, I was sure to export the mask every so often, just in case something happened before I finished. That way I could take up later where I had left off, if I needed to.
Here is the result. I was tempted to stop right here, since my inspiration had been the Matisse cutouts. I exported the completed brush mask so I could use it again later.
I decided to color each figure a different color. So I imported my brush mask. Then for the middle figure, I used Adjust/Hue to change the color, then I painted on the mask over the left and right figures so that the new color would be applied only to the middle figure. Then I applied, and removed the mask. Once more, I imported the modified brush mask, and once again used Adjust/Hue to choose a new color, this time for the left figure. Then I painted on the mask over the middle and right figures so that the new color would be applied only to the left figure. This image shows my work part way through this process.
Here are my three figures, each a different color. This could also be a good place to stop, but I wanted to add some elements to hold the figures together.
I used Preset/Grids Preset 31 to place these curved lines across the figures. I tried different colors and slider settings to get something I liked.
Once more I used Preset/Grids Preset 31 to place curved lines across the figures. I chose a new color and different slider settings. You never know when you are finished with your image: I could have stopped here, but I decided to go for a magical effect using light.
I used a preset in Texture/Leak to add a lighting effect to the left figure. I tried different positions and opacities until I got something I liked.
I used a different preset in Texture/Leak for the right figure.
I used a different Texture/Leak preset for the middle figure, using an inverted brush mask to paint the effect only on her figure, not wanting more light to spill over onto the left and right figures.
I used Effect/Multi preset 1 or 2, at medium opacity. I tried different slider settings and opacities.
I like the Multi effect, but now there are too many colors. I want to get back to my original color scheme. I started by simplifying the image, using one of the presets under Adjust/B&W.
I blended the earlier simple image of the three colored figures onto the black and white image, trying different blending modes and slider settings.
I applied Effect/Raise preset 1 at low opacity and Effect/Sharpen preset 3 at low opacity, to emphasize the lines. I was happy with this image and could have stopped here.
I decided I wanted some tonal variation in the vertical dimension. I used Effect/Blend to blend the black and white sketch onto the image in Normal blend mode, and used an inverted brush mask to paint the sketch only onto the top and bottom of the image. In painting the mask, I used a hard triangular brush to achieve a jagged edge to the mask.
Leaving the mask in place, I used Effect/Blend to blend the previous Raised image onto the work at medium opacity. I tried different blending modes and slider settings.
With the mask still in place, I used Adjust/Levels to increase the contrast or the top and bottom of the image. Then I used Effect/Txtcurve to add a quote by Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The text doesn't stand out well against the complex pattern; it is almost subliminally there.
Finally, I used Effect/Light to add a night sky to the top of the image, perhaps giving more of a suggestioin of a midsummer's night.
Google Sites
Report abuse