Member Photos to Play With

[Sonya]

Another one:

[Sonya]

Happy New Year to all of you! Meant to post a card elsewhere but no time

So here is a tribute to Phyllis instead as the Innkeeper. Had great fun getting her face to portray -

innocence


sin


beauty


ugliness


(had better duck down at this point; surely I'll be kicked out of the inn now)
and finally a couple of these of which I couldn't figure which to post:

[Blacknight]

I had a hard time getting past innocence. Really like that one!!

[Blacknight]

FraxFlame and some layer blends and color adjusts.

[lylejk]

...binge. Used Tangent Deformation and Copystar distortion for the mirror effect on the darks.

[phyllis stewart]

Sonya and Phil, thanks for all the weird and wonderful looks! Lovvve all of them!

Lyle, clever look... good idea!

[Sonya]

I had a hard time getting past innocence. Really like that one!!

Yes, isn't her face so young, like a child's? Was going to make a card from it, but the contrast with the others was interesting enough to make me post all of them

Love your ice nymph look! Fire is nice too, but ice is prettier

Lovvve all of them!

Thats so very gracious of you Phyllis, first to like them, and then to club them with BK's versions!

...binge. Used Tangent Deformation and Copystar distortion

Can't ever understand the terms you use, but the results are so very arresting!

[lylejk]

Yes Sonya; I'm a little whack that way. lol

Tangent Deformation and Copystar are Unplugged filters (no longer free from those people, but I believe you still can get the free version of all the Unplugged filters here: )

[Sonya]

I'm a little whack that way.

I think you understand filters very well: exactly what they will do to the pixels and how to manipulate that to get an artistic effect. Of course the corollary is that you understand what composes the effect!

[BitN]

hey sorry haven't been able to thank everyone for all your wonderful retouches i love them all though. thanks

[Blacknight]

One more.

[phyllis stewart]

Phil, hey, I like this a lot.. thanks!

[lylejk]

Still working on this Grundgy Gouche technique Phyllis. This time, no cleaning steps were done (i.e., all done using filters and layer properties). The exact steps are still a little convoluted though. I used Irfanview to run Impressionist with the Default Chalk Preset (increased the brush size) to start things off. Copied the result into GIMP and used Neon Edge Detect (played with adjustment sliders) and set the result to Grain Extract (eliminated black with Cybia's Alphaworks filter). Used the original set to Color and blended that back to taste. Now other things were done too, but the above will get you close (and anyway, that's all I remember doing; lol). Oh yeah; used Xero's Artworx filter and a Texturizer Script-fu for the texture blend.

[phyllis stewart]

Lyle, your grundgy style suits me!

[lylejk]

The formula of madness. lol

GIMP's Edge detect Edge filter, Little Inkpot Chalkaholic, GREYCstoration filter, Invert, Grain Merge over the original, Dup, GIMP's Dilate filter (set to 50% Opacity; give that taped stroke look). Did some other things too, but those steps were just color and sharpening enhancment steps. Still am not cutting my ear off though. lol





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[phyllis stewart]

Lyle, cool! I feel so... so wavy! What fun!

[Francisco]

I couldn't resist....thanks for letting me practice.

[phyllis stewart]

Francisco, I lovvve it! Thank you!

[Francisco]

I'm ecstatic that you like it, Phyllis. I think it turned out a bit too dark, to be honest. This pp was performed on my laptop, and when I look at it on my desktop, it looks a bit dark. I can't really see the work on your husband's eyes unless I'm looking at it on my laptop. I know I need to calibrate my monitor. I have been reading up on it. It shouldn't be a problem in the near future.

[Alcar]

Just practicing with the art history brush.
Alan

[phyllis stewart]

Al, I've never been AH brushed before...it tickles! I like the way it abstracts my face, hiding all the wrinkles.

[fmr]

Expressive portrait with hammered metal foils .

Maybe a bit too weird or too wild …. ?

[phyllis stewart]

Flo, that's so cooool! I feel like I'm in a sci fi movie. Looks like the force is with me! Or I just got struck by lightning and will have super powers. I'd like that!

[fmr]

You already have Super Powers , Phyllis !
Don' t you know this ......?

[phyllis stewart]

Flo... flattery will get you everywhere!

[fmr]

Metal Foil

Another portrait , softer than my previous one , but more conventional ....

[lylejk]

Used this cool online program to create the maze.




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[phyllis stewart]

Flo, how did I miss this coool pic? Love the 3D effect, and best of all I sparkle with gold! Hmmm...can you make that happen in real life?

Lyle, you made me look a-MAZE-ing!

[fmr]

Golden years

Phyllis is standing in the garden of the Hesperides , at the end of the world , far away from this valley of sorrow .

Her two sisters are singing a lullaby to the unsleeping dragon , the garden keeper .

The crystalline tune of the lyre entwine the melodious voice , and together they raise in volutes in the air, with a sensuous mood.

The idyllic garden is full of a great variety of luxuriate vegetation and splendid plants and flowers.

Here , all is beauty, calm and voluptuousness.

The senses are overwhelmed by all kind of sumptuous sensations.

The vesperal air is full of the voluptuous and elating perfumes of the flowers.

Phyllis, languorous and dreamy, is listening to the ravishing tune in ecstasy.

This is heaven on earth.

[phyllis stewart]

Flo, what lovely poetry to go along with a warm and comfy feeling pic. I am always most at peace on a sunny day surrounded by nature, and your image shows that... thanks!

How did you know this, anyway? I once wrote a poem called, "Heaven"... it's here somewhere... anyway, it starts:

I know what Heaven looks like,
It's not clouds up in the air.
It's hills and fields and forests;
I know for I've been there.

Etc., describing a lovely place I know.