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How to Create a Digital ATC - Page 3
©2005 by aisling d'art
At this point, the card was pretty... but it had no real theme or meaning to it.
And, while "pretty" art can stand on its own merits, I rarely choose to make art without
another layer of meaning. So, I started examining the card for clues.
I increased the contrast and lightened the background layer. I knew
that something needed to go in front of it, and by reducing the "obviousness" of the background, it helped me to focus.
I was still drawing a blank. So, I went to my copy of
Photoshop Secrets of the Pros: 20 Top Artists and Designers Face Off
for ideas. (If it's selling for under $10 at Amazon and you enjoy this kind of art, get a copy. Otherwise, see
if your public library owns it. If they don't, tell them to buy a copy.)
I was inspired by the work of John Henry Donovan, of
5pieces.com.
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I tried inverting color (Image-->Adjust) in strips with five-pixel feathering.
However, once the stripes were dark, I needed to duplicate the layer with the Paris-Draped figure, to make it more
opaque. |
And, I wasn't too sure that I liked the effect anyway. In fact, it was pretty much ick. And, having
set a three-hour deadline--trying to mimic my one-hour ATCs but allow for this documentation--I needed to finish
the card quickly.
| I deleted the extra layer of Paris-Draped so that the figures were
transparent again. And, I desaturated the layer. But, as I was using the Hue/Saturation screen for this,
I accidentally altered the background hues... and liked the effect. |
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I started selecting rectangular areas of the background, and changing the hue of each of them and then switched them back again.
Finally, I worked with the
area nearest the middle and altered it back to its original, natural colors. Then, I chose Select-->Inverse and tweaked
the remaining background image and adjusted it until I was happy with it. Finally, the Paris-Draped layer had to be adjusted
as well, both contrast and hue.
Now, I was getting a theme. The Paris-Draped figure was clearly from the past, and the single band of natural/real coloring
in the image was like a faded memory... only part of it was accurate and the rest was a little surreal.
Next: Finishing the ATC
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