Adding a touch of magic!

[naeno]

My kids and I were outside playing yesterday. I needed to take my self-portrait for my 52 this week. My 4 yo daughter picked some flowers for me. I decided to use them for my portrait. I got this pic, which was ok, but just too generally blah for me.



I started playing with it and brought it to this. I thought it was fun to bring some magic into it since everything in my daughter's world is magical and fun!



Using GIMP:
1. Cropped
2. Duplicated layer
3. Colors - Colorfy (to turn the layer B&W)
4. Used Curves and Brightness/Contrast to adjust color
5. Layers - Mask - Add white layer mask
6. Using black paintbrush, painted out the flowers for selective coloring.
7. Merged top layer down
8. Duplicated layer
9. Used the Sparkle brush with different sizes and colors to make some magic!

I hope you like it!

[windrider86]

awsome, just awsome!
i am gonna have to look into that sparkle brush

[naeno]

I'm so glad you like it! I read the mini-rant in the chit-chat section about selective coloring right after I posted this and got a bit nervous.

[ToPpS]

I've seen a few brushes similar to this, that people have used to great effect.

1 Technique that one person recomends is:
To achieve the coloration used in the preview image please follow these easy steps and stop sending me notes asking me how to do this! You will be ignored from now on, I am too busy to keep telling people this:

1: Make a layer with a black background.
2: Make a new layer that is blank.
3: On this blank layer use the brushes in white.
4: Make a new layer, set the blending mode to Overlay.
5: Using soft round brushes of different sizes and colors, paint into this layer and you will the color show up over the flora brushes on the layer beneath.

To make the colors brighter, duplicate or copy the layer with the bright colors, or set the blending mode to Hard Light.

An interesting photographer/designer that you can look at is Kenny Ong

[Boscopix]

Just thought you should know you inspired an idea out of me for the Assignment of the week! I love this effect!

Thanks for sharing! This is what I came up with...if it is not appropriate to put this on here, let me know and I will take it off. Just wanted to say one good idea helps another!

[naeno]

Originally Posted by Boscopix

Just thought you should know you inspired an idea out of me for the Assignment of the week! I love this effect!

Thanks for sharing! This is what I came up with...if it is not appropriate to put this on here, let me know and I will take it off. Just wanted to say one good idea helps another!

That's wonderful! The whole point of Before/After is so that people can take the ideas and use them too.

I will only think it's inappropriate if you win the bag and I don't. (I hope you know I'm kidding. Sometimes print doesn't give the right impression).

Very nice pic! I really like it.

[Boscopix]

lol, sure ...I know sometimes humor get a bit lost on here
Glad you like it though!

I really have all kinds of ideas about this sparkley stuff now, so fun!

Thanks again!

Tonya