Oil Painting done in Painter X

I'm still lost in Painter. This was an image I took back in 2005, 3 days after I broke my right arm. It was awful. Tyson's first birthday. So, this week, the lesson was creating an "oil painting" from a photo. I had tried once before to paint this in PS, but PS just can't compare with Painter X when it comes to painting. Basically my goal was to paint the entire image. Not having "any" painting skills what so ever, it was a challenge.

 

The lesson here is that PS can not exist without Painter & Painter can not exist without PS. It was fun, informative, I used a lot of creative thinking to create this end result. Though it might seem a little immature in it's painting style, I learned a lot in both Painter & PS. One must also have a Wacom Tablet to work with.

 

Here's the nasty original :)

 

 

Thanks for viewing. Please be critical, I need improvement :)

HA... I like what you did o the image again. BUT... man (I never say but, shoulders are down a bit) I really liked the black background, at least I think I did. I can't remember. I know everything else looks the same but I think the background was darker.

 

The funny thing is I actually like the origional (I know I am WACKO) But I think the result was REALLY kind of NEAT and soft and sometimes the camera gives usa treat. The one thing about paint and I said this before about a BAD photo. Paint gives us a chance to ENHANCE the colors and the highlights of a photo and bring out the BAD parts of a bad shot and make them GOOD qualities. A bad over exposure makes a good paint job. This is still a WONDERFUL and absolutely great paint job and worthy of the most highest praise. Something about the colors and the eyes just make it so inviting. The dress and the grabe to the necklace are perfect and I just LOVE it and that is why I found it in your portfolio! ONE of my favorites and if the SYSTEM lets me I will give it 7's again ;) ~ micki

:) ♥ it ~ micki

Thanks for the words of confidence:) The other one I did using PS. This one in Painter, it's a lot better for printing. I was able to smooth out some digital blotching, add different textures to different areas, paint her hair (this is our daughter Haylee) & change the background a little more.

 

I hope to have a Giclee print on canvas made of this one. Then, I am going to try to use the clear glazing that lofts to create some different texture on the image. (Not that tacky looking stuff, but with a natural look, like a real painting) It will be a fun experiment. Hands on, self taught, Art Class! :)

 

There's just something about this one that captures the personality of both Haylee & Tyson. Haylee is a very beautiful child, both inside & out. Tyson is a mischievous child (an imp), with the personality of a real character. Of course, he adores his Mom, & vise versa. So there she is, all dressed up, beautiful as ever & there he is teasing her by tugging on her necklace. Does she care? Nope! And he knows it! He's looking at her to see her reaction ("just how far can I pull these beads before she stops me" :) There he is dressed in a silly little party hat. Does he care? Nope! He loves hats!:) The only thing missing is his sunglasses (which he wears almost every time he goes anywhere :) He "is" most definitely a real character!

I spent several hours in Painter with this one. I adjusted the color, contrast & saturation in PS. Then, I painted the hair with oil brushes, using different layers with different opacity settings. "screen" for highlights, "multiply" for low-lights, "default" for mid-lights. I adjusted them way down, in the teens.

 

 

I used an oil brush to push the color around on the skin surfaces, then I used a blender brush to smooth & soften. Also using several layers with the different opacity settings to get the highlights & shadows.

 

I used the "pencil" brush to outline the clothing, hat, etc. I then used a "blender" brush to smooth it out. I drew eyelashes in with the "pencil" brush, adjusting the opacity way down.

 

It is very difficult to see the real detail in this compressed version, but in the large version it is there, very subtle.

 

I used an "Impasto" brush to add lofting to the dress, the balls on the hat, the necklace & his blue clothing.

 

It was an interesting & learning, trial & error, process. I am adding some close up sections of the image so as to be able to see the details better. It was very fun!

 

I always "save" as I go. I start with "A" & go forward. I think I got to "S" on this one :)

Another crop in :)

The dress.

Admittedly, it's a bit amateurish, but..... I hope to improve with experience :) I see now I missed accentuating the little dimple in his arm at the elbow :) I will correct this in the original :)

 

Here's a composite of both the original done in PS & the newer one in Painter. There is a difference.

Old & new

I like what you have done with this image, it turned to be very creative and very pleasant to view

 

Please my friend tell me , are you Jayme Hall , the nurse I used to know on photo.net more than a year back or are you some one else I meet for the first time ?

 

 

 

Thank you my friend for sharing this lovely Artistical photography work with us

 

 

www.camerause.com

It is I. Still a nurse, still taking photos :) We're going to have another grandson in April. This makes 5. Sadly, no little granddaughters :(

 

How have you been? Still working hard I am sure :)

Hello Jayme,its a creative photo! (I have a question for you;Just read some about Corel Painter,and was amazed with what you can do with this programm. Now i just saw an offer on internet to buy Painter 9 for half of the prize as Painter 10. Would you advice to take Painter 10? Thanks, Ellen.)

That's a good question :) I do not know what updates they have added to Painter IX to make it X. So, I would guess it would make a difference just how serious you are about really using Painter. I personally would buy the X, but then I took a class on Painter. Unlike Photoshop, I found Painter to be a little more confusing to use. There are not that many books out there to explain Painter like there are PS books. Heck, I bought the thing a year before I ever figured out how to use it at all :(

 

But... I guarantee you that if you like to play with images & create paintings & add brush strokes, you will love this program. However, you must have a Wacom tablet (or equivalent) to use with it. It is just not an option not to have one :(

 

I hope this helps :)

Thanks Jamie for your answer. I do have a drawing tablet, already for some years.(wacom)

I first will read more about painter, and i will buy then painter 10. Before i ever took photo's, i always liked to draw and to paint. Thats why i like to try it.Greetings, Ellen.

It sounds like this program is perfect for you. I also loved to draw & create. I was never very talented with drawing, but I always wanted to be :) Painter is a great creative compromise for me :)