Silent Tears

MyFreeCopyright

MCN: C9MNL-D3XYR-DQ1DT 

Part of my new series of images for licensing on Arcangel-Images - use this code: SYST-0229

When I created the book cover for Elemental Rising, I bought a simple papier-mâché

mask, which I wanted (and did) to include in the final image. However, I also wanted to create an image with just the mask. This is the image I made with it. :-) There is something about masks... something magical and a little scary and something a little sad. It always makes me think of Carnival in Venice but also of the Phantom of the Opera.

Created with my own photographs in Photoshop, no stock used.

Dissembling - Wood for Trees

 

 

 

 Sixth in a new series called Dissembling

dis·sem·ble  (d-smbl)
    v. dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling, dis·sem·bles
    1. To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. See Synonyms at disguise.
    2. To make a false show of; feign.
    To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance.

    From The Free Dictionary

The series is about the different guises and masks we wear.

This particular image is about the way we disguise ourselves so we fit in and don't 'stick out' by making ourselves look and behave the same as everyone else. Thus, we, in our individuality become almost invisible and we don't notice the wood or even a single tree for the multitude of trees.

Credits

Model

• Portrait by Blair-W

Stock

• Autumn In Transilvania by UmbraDeNoapte-Stock
• Grass Stock by bagnaj97
• Roots-stock by FractalAngel-Stock

Textures

• 6 Faves Texture Sets 4 by Shadowhouse

Actions

• Perfect Portrait 3 Action by TheCoffeeshopBlog
• Freebie Actions (Veruca Salt) by Apples & Sisters

Brushes

• CS3 Great Hike Foliage Brushes by mynti
• Spanish Moss Brushes by redheadstock

All others images/textures/brushes my own

MCN: CGVL6-2ALQN-VD6HJ

Dissembling - Deep Water

 

 

 

This is the fifth in the series.

dis·sem·ble  (d-smbl)
v. dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling, dis·sem·bles
1. To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. See Synonyms at disguise.
2. To make a false show of; feign.
To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance.

From The Free Dictionary

The series is about the different guises and masks we wear.

This particular image is about the fact that we hide most of ourselves in 'deep water' or rather below the surface and only someone looking closer will see if not all but more of what we hide in our everyday lives. It's very rare to find a person where what you see is what you get.

Credits

Model

• Portrait by Blair-W

Stock

• Blue Marlin Fish by FantasyStock
• Orange Ghiribaldi Fish by Della-Stock
• Sea World: Yellow Fish by Della-Stock
• red jelly by mange
• Aquarium 140 by Falln-Stock
• Shark 3 by silencingstars-stock
• tentacles2 by mysilentsky-stock
• shell 12: coral by cyborgsuzystock
• underwater stock 1 by bobbistock

Textures

• 6 Faves Texture Sets 1 by Shadowhouse
• vintage blue texture by beckas
• snakeskin texture by beckas

Brushes

• Splash Brushes by Baringa-of-the-Wind

Actions

• Perfect Portrait 3 Action by TheCoffeeshopBlog

All other images/textures/brushes etc my own.

MCN: C36GU-41U3B-H81AD

Dissembling - Beauty Pageant

 

 

Second in my new series called Dissembling

dis·sem·ble  (d-smbl)

v. dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling, dis·sem·bles
1. To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. See Synonyms at disguise.
2. To make a false show of; feign.
To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance.

From The Free Dictionary

The series is about the different guises and masks we wear.

This particular image is about the efforts we make and the pains we are prepared to take to be beautiful and to adhere to the beauty standards and trends of our time. From designer eyes (coloured contact lenses) to makeup to surgery to turning ourselves into animals or vampires (and so on) there are many ways to hide ourselves until we cannot tell where the mask ends and we begin. The saddest thing of all is that we seem to forget that outer beauty is nothing without inner beauty. However, any inner beauty we possess is often overshadowed by the pursuit of outer beauty.

I am not saying that a little makeup is evil or that you shouldn't look after yourself and make the best of your assets, however, in recent years the concerns with our 'outer' shell seem to have taken over any concerns we have with our inner selves, the content as it were. From trying to be size 0 to wearing the latest fashion to cosmetic surgery we seem to have forgotten who we are and where we come from.

Credits

Model

• Portrait by Blair-W

Textures

• NF Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• 6 Faves Texture Sets 1 by Shadowhouse
• Bokeh Set 2 by Shadowhouse
• Another Mixed Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• Rich Tones Texture Set by Shadowhouse

Actions

• Perfect Portrait 3 Action by TheCoffeeshopBlog

Brushes

• Eyelashes Photoshop Brushes by redheadstock
• Stitches and Sutures Brushes by redheadstock

All others images/textures/brushes my own

MCN: CC79G-BQLCU-BAKS5

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected

Dissembling - Age of Technology

 

 

First in a new series called "Dissembling"

dis·sem·ble  (d-smbl)

v. dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling, dis·sem·bles
1. To disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. See Synonyms at disguise.
2. To make a false show of; feign.
To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance.

From The Free Dictionary

The series is about the different guises and masks we wear.

This particular image, the first in the series, is about the way technology changes us. From the internet to the way we interact with each other to the way it allows us to hide who we really are and what we look like to the effects it has on our every day lives from the way it brings us closer together to the second hand nature of many of the things we experience.

Just in case you're wondering, I don't think technology is an 'evil thing' but I think it sometimes changes and affects us and the way we live in unexpected ways and it's important to consider what is happening to us with technology more and more taking over.

Credits

Model

• Portrait by Blair-W

Textures

• Odds & Ends Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• Daguerreo Texture Set by Shadowhouse

Actions

• Perfect Portrait 3 Action by TheCoffeeshopBlog

All others images/textures/brushes my own:

• MM Industrial Textures Set - my own
• MM Sky Textures Set - my own
• MM Crack Brushes Set - my own

MCN: CMMHE-CFN3A-KRY3V

Photo Manipulation Tips & Techniques: Blending

There are many ways to blend images for photo manipulations in the various image editing programs. The examples here are all done in Photoshop CS4, however variations of this should work in other programs.

The first step is always to choose the right images and to prepare them, check out my my tutorial Tips & Tricks for Photo Manipulations

One method to prepare images for the foreground is to use masks. Masks can be used in a variety of ways, not just for isolating objects from their background but also to blend them. So here's some info on masks.

Masks

Using masks for preparing images
This has one big advantage over other methods. Unlike other methods it's easy to undo a mistake when you remove too much of the object. I find it also easier to get closer to those areas that are not quite object and not quite background especially if you use a soft brush. Other methods you could use for this step is the Extract filter (not available in some versions of PS and other programs), pencil tool, magic wand, colour select etc. Find the one you are most comfortable with.

Here's how to use the mask:

1. Open your image.
2. If it is a JPG or other flattened image, use Duplicate Layer and create a copy of the image above the original.
   
3. Make the original image invisible so you can see what you are removing with the mask (just click on the Eye button next to it).
4. With the new layer active, click on the Mask button. Another rectangle is shown next to the original image in the layer dialog.
5. In the toolbar select the Brush tool. The colours at the bottom change to black and white.
6. Now you can start removing the background. Use a large brush to remove the bulk of the background, then use a smaller brush to remove the background close to the image.
7. In the next step I add a new layer below the masked layer and fill it with black. This shows me any areas I might have missed. I do the same again with a white layer.
8. Once you're happy you can either right-click on the mask (make sure it's selected) and click on apply mask to remove the masked area or keep the mask.
9. Sometimes it's useful to keep the mask as it will allow you to make changes to it later or enables you to select the object and fill it with a texture. More of that later.

Tips:

• Should you remove part of the object you can always change the brush colour to white and paint in the masked area. Change back to black to remove more.
• Use a brush with a soft edge as it will leave an area of low opacity around the object that will allow it to blend better with a background. You can always remove unsightly areas that show on your chosen background later on. However, if your mask is too perfect it often will look like a 'cut-out' in a paper collage, rather than part of the whole.

Using masks to blend images
Masks of objects are invaluable if you want to fill your object with a texture which won't affect the background.

1. Click on the mask in the layer to make sure it's active, then right-click. See the menu below. You can apply the mask, and do all sorts of other stuff, however, the one you want for this is Add Mask to Selection. Click on it. You can see the marquee around your object.
2. Open the texture image next.
3. Select it, then copy it.
4. In the mask image, click on Edit, Paste into and paste your texture into the object. You'll notice that PS automatically creates a new layer with a copy of the original mask.
5. Select the Move tool in the tool box. You can rotate, scale or modify the texture image now. Warp works well on curved objects
6. Use the blending modes and change the opacity to achieve the desired affect.
7. Here I've pasted an image of the background into the masked selection and used the blending mode 'colour' to blend the colour of the chain with the background:

 

 

Using gradient masks
Gradient masks are a fabulous tool to blend two or more images together.
In this example I've chosen an image of the sky to blend into the image so far.

1. Open your image, select it and copy it into the current image.
2. Click on the mask button with the image you just copied as the active layer.
3. Select the gradient tool in the toolbar. Ensure the gradient tool is the one where it is black on one side and transparent on the other.
4. Make sure the mask is selected and use the gradient tool. Experiment. You may need to apply the gradient tool several times on various areas to achieve the desired effect.

In the image you can see I used the gradient to remove the bottom part of the sky image leaving just the top. The blend mode is Screen. I also moved it behind the chain layer.

 

Using Channels
Channels are very useful as you can select only parts of an image easily and use them as textures. It works particularly well with clouds or texture images with high contrast.

1. Open your texture image.
2. Select the Channels tab.
3. Select the channel with the highest contrast (in my case it's the red channel).
4. Hold down CTRL and click on the chosen channel. The progam now selects all the lighter areas for you.
5. Copy and paste the selection into your image.
6. Move the image into position and use a soft eraser if necessary to remove parts of the texture image that you don't want. Choose a blend mode. Overlay or screen work well with lighter textures like clouds. With other textures or depending on your image and the effect you want to achieve, multiply may work too.

 

Tip:
Sometimes it may prove necessary to enhance the contrast on the image you want to use this way – use Levels or Brightness/Contrast to achieve a high contrast image.
You can invert the selection in the channels tab by pressing CTRL+I to select the darker areas instead of the lighter ones.

Using Textures
Textures can be used in many ways – to add colour, to give coherence to a manipulation that includes several images, to add texture and interest, to age, to give a grungy look... the possibilities and effects are endless.

1. Open your texture image.
2. Select and copy it
3. Paste it into your image.
4. Play with the blending modes until you have one that works. Don't forget to adjust the opacity.

I mostly use Multiply, Overlay, Soft Light and Screen, however sometimes I find others work better.

• Colour is great if you make your texture image the top layer if you want to, for example, age your image. Choose a brownish texture image in this case.
• Pin light is good if you want to add a 3D effect to your image, however, it works only with a fairly high contrast texture image.

In this image I've added a picture of sand and used overlay to bring out the colour of the sand and add a little texture.

Tips: Try changing the colour of your texture image using the Hue/Saturation dialog or increasing the contrast by using the Levels dialog. You don't have to limit yourself to just one or two textures in your image, use as many as you feel you need to create the effect you're after. Use the gradient masks to apply them to only part of the image or masks to apply them to particular objects or areas of your image. Each texture as you apply it will be affected and will affect the other textures and layers of the image, so make sure you save your image after each stage.

Using Gradients
I often use gradients and masks on the gradients to intensify the colour in one area of the image.

1. Create a new layer. Ensure the layer is at the top in the dialog.
2. Choose your gradient. One colour plus transparent or one colour plus white. Use the colour picker to select a colour from your image.
3. Fill the layer with the gradient.
4. Change the blending mode.

You can use plain fills in the same way to intensify the colour of your image, to darken it, or to bring out details. Play with it.

Other tips:
If the definition of your object gets lost when you apply different textures and effects, duplicate the object layer, choose Overlay or Soft Light for the blending mode and then use a Gaussian blur on it. If the colour is too intense, turn down the saturation of the duplicate layer.

You can also duplicate your object layer, then desaturate the layer and make it as dark as it will get. Move it below the original layer, then use Gaussian blur to create a soft shadow. Use overlay or multiply and adjust the opacity for a shadow effect that will give your image more depth.

Play with the commands in the Filters, Render menu. Clouds works really well, especially if you use the Radial blur on it to create sunbeams. Check out Anna's tutorial on how to make rays of light.

Tip: With all filters your can use the Edit, Fade command to change the blending mode and opacity of the filter effect.

There are lots more things you can do to blend images together to make a successful photo manipulation:

• Use a soft eraser (soft edges + low opacity) to blend hard edges into the background.
• Use lighting effects (Filters, Render, Lighting Effects) on the background or texture images to give your image depth.
• Use the channel mask method on your object to increase the contrast of the object and bring out the light source of the original image.

Mainly it's all a matter of trial and error. I save after each stage and leave my masks until I am sure I am finished before applying them.

Finished image

© Sybille Sterk - all images and text my own. Please do not copy. Feel free to link to this tutorial.

Tutorial - Prepare image for t-shirts (transparent background)

There are many ways to create a transparent background for an existing image and many different image editing programs that will allow you to do this.

Any image editing program that has a masking feature will work for this. I have used Photoshop CS4 (TM).

This tutorial is particularly useful if you are preparing images for transfers, e.g. t-shirts, mugs, or similar or for photo collages as it allows you to isolate parts of an image.

Here it goes.

1. Open the image to be edited.
2. Create a new image with a transparent background. For a t-shirt on Redbubble, make it 2400 pixels wide by 3200 pixels high with a resolution of 72 dpi. For other items follow the instructions given by the manufacturer (Zazzle etc).
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Next, select the original image and copy & paste it into the new image you just created.
4. Click on the Layers panel and ensure that your new image is above the background.
   
   
   
   
   Image on transparent background:
   
   
   
   
5. Select the original image layer and click on the mask button to create a new mask.
   
   
   When you create the mask, the Toolbox will change to look like this: black is selected as the foreground colour and white as the background colour. A mask icon is at the bottom.
   If you accidentally leave the mask editing mode, you can double click on the thumbnail of the mask (next to the thumbnail for your image) in the Layers box.
   
   
6. Now, choose a large brush at 100% opacity - the size depends on the detail in your image. However, most images will contain some larger areas that can be removed with a larger brush first. In my case, I want to get rid off all the white areas. Roughly paint out all the areas you can remove without removing the detail.
   
   Don't worry if you miss some areas. You will remove those in the next two steps.
   
   
7. Next, add another layer and fill it with a colour that is not in your image, I filled mine with turquoise. This makes it easier to see areas that are still white. The transparent background pattern often makes it hard to see stray pixels.
   
   
   
8. Now, change your brush to a much smaller size and remove the remaining bits. In my case, I remove the areas right next to and around the stem, petals, leaves and ground.
   
9. In the next step, you will need to ensure that the 'grey' areas in the outline of the image are removed as well. To do this we change the turquoise layer to black. This will show you any remaining problem areas.
   
   Note, how the mask layer thumbnail changes during the process.
   
   
   
10. In this final tidy-up step, you will need to change the opacity of your brush:
    
    Change the opacity to 50% and tidy up any remaining grey outlines and stray areas.
    
    
11. In the final editing step you will need to apply the mask. To do this, right-click on the mask thumbnail (next to your image thumbnail) and select the command Apply Mask.
    
    
12. In this final step of the tutorial you will save the image. I always make two copies, so I can go back to this stage and make more edits if they are necessary.
    
    So, first, save your image in the file format native to your image editing program - e.g. .PSD.
    
    Then, click on File, Save As and click on the file formats drop down box. Select .PNG. Click on Save.
    
    I have shown here both the Save As dialog box and the little PNG Options box that will pop up after you click Save As. In the PNG Options dialog, make sure that Interlace, None is selected before you click OK.
    
    Your image is now the correct size and format for a t-shirt on Redbubble and you can upload it and see how much better it looks without a white background around it. ;-)
    

Have fun!