What-Iffing . . . sketches

Spending time wondering "what if" is time well spent. How else will you know what will work, what won't, what sorts of photos work best, and what techniques produce the best results.

Sure, you might create a LOT of really bad work, but so what?

If you don't experiment, you will be in the same artistic box, day after day.

Here are three of my latest experiments with turning photographs into sketches (sort of). I'm not 100% pleased with them, but there's something rather appealing (at least for me) about what I made.

I like how words and tiny details show up clearer in the sketch than they do in the original photograph. I like the outlines. And I like the transparent-ish colors.

The only way I know how I made these pictures would be to go back to my original photographs and take a look at all the layers -- which I leave intact. I have yet to develop a "recipe."

Yes, experimentation is time-consuming. No, this isn't for everyone. For me, however, it keeps my mind and my eyes active, and it keeps my art changing. I hope!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

A month of hearts: February 6

Over in my Facebook Photomotivation group, this month's assignment is "hearts." And so far we've seen graffiti hearts, hearts carved in wood, close-ups of bleeding hearts flowers, padlocks in the shape of hearts, etc.

No one has posted a hand-drawn heart, however, so to encourage them, I posted this heart doodle did in a journal in 2009. Whatever it lacks in skill, it makes up for in color!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Turning a photo into a sketch

In Jim Zuckerman's latest issue of "Photo Insights," he shows how to change a photograph into a sketch. He points out that there are a variety of painterly programs that can do this for you, but there's also a way to do it in Photoshop.

So I thought I'd give it a try. I'm using Photoshop CC.

I began with a photograph of the "Capt. Raleigh" as it headed out toward the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. It was a foggy day and the red hull stood out nicely.

In Photoshop I opened my photo and then created a duplicate layer.

I then went to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and moved the saturation slider all the way to the left.

I made a duplicate of that desaturated layer. I then went to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Invert. I selected the "Color Dodge" blending mode.

Next I selected Filter > Other > Minimum. Jim recommends choosing a radius of 3 or 4.

Flatten the image and then use Levels to make any other adjustments. I didn't add color, but Jim suggests giving it a try by going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance.

As you can see, using this formula to create a sketch-like image removes a lot of detail, making your picture look rather stark. Will I use this for anything? I don't know yet. It might be a classic "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" sort of situation!

It's nice to have this in my arsenal, though, just in case I do create something and think that this might be just perfect for the effect I'm looking for. One never knows, does one?

So take a look at Jim's magazine. He publishes it monthly and it contains a lot of cool stuff and excellent information. Quite inspirational. And if creating sketches of your photos is something you do and is something you like, let me know. I'd love to see what you're doing with the concept.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!