December 10, 2016

CATURDAY ART ~ A CHRISTMAS BAUBLE

For more Caturday Art, sponsored each week by Athena and Marie,
please click here.

This has to be one of the "most fun images" we've done with Photoshop in a long time!  So, of course, I have to talk a little bit about it ... it started with an image of Zoey over a stock photo of Santa. Then I started adding beads and ornaments and gift packages and just about anything holiday-ish that I could think of ... then I added double borders of red and green with sparkles.  Still not satisfied I smart-blurred the whole picture, deepened and brightened the colors.  It was already an image with about 16-photoshop layers!  But seemed too ordinary and average.  So I started playing with the shape, and when I made it into a fish-eye shape realized it would fit into a circle and a circle is - of course - an ornament!  Fun!  But putting it into the ornament was the hard part.  So the ornament went to the "back" and was made dark, and a copy of the ornament was brought to the front with about 50% opacity, with the fish-eye image as flattened Layer 2, now in the middle.  Play with the inner shadow tools some; play with the outer shadow tools ... blur and soften the edges ... add a little light flare.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is it done?  Never.  Nothing in photoshop is ever really done, you can (like the energizer bunny just keep going, and going ... unless you're a professional, which I'm definitely not).  And in my mind, none are ever perfect either ... there's always a way to make an image bettter, or different ... just try and try again.  Whatever ~ this crazee bauble was tons of fun! 

25 comments:

  1. I love it, that is "real" virtual art... ;o) I always wanted photoshop and begged for 87 years... and then I learnt that I can't handle it. I thought it is like a magic thing what can realize my ideas automatically... but.... well, I'm back at paintshop pro LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's super nice!!!

    The Florida Furkids

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that is fantastic. Glad you had such a good time doing it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicely done--I love it! Thanks for sharing how you did it too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW we are so glad you can do this magic stuff for
    us challenged non tech folks.
    Santa looks super on the ornament.

    xo Astro

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is so fun and festive! I am always amazed at how skilled you are at turning just an ordinary photo into something as lovely as this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gorgeous!!
    I also just love to get lost in Photoshop...if only there were more hours in the day... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. that is soooooooooooooooooo pretty!!! Love it! It is so unique! xoxo catchatwithcarenandcody

    ReplyDelete
  9. That would be WAY too complicated for the Momster to follow:) But it sure is beautiful AND perfect in our eyes. Hope your tailbone is doing better.

    Woos - Lightning and Misty

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sammy says you are in need of Purryers & POTP - sending some from here in frigid NE Ohio !

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sending Ann some healing thoughts. I understand, my Mom is a grandma and she thinks she's a Ninja and she fell a couple of years ago with "black labs on ice!", and ripped her inner meniscus in half. Ouchy! What you had sounds like it will hurt a LOT More than that. We are keeping you in our thoughts and sending healing prayers.

    Abby Lab and her family, LB and EJ

    ReplyDelete
  12. Whoa! What a work or art or labor of love.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such an elegant bauble!!! Hugs, Carol, P & P

    ReplyDelete
  14. WOW. That is so creative, Ann! What a terrific, artistic, and FUN bauble!

    ReplyDelete