August TUT/TECH Challenge - Watercolor

[Sue Thomas]

The laptop I'm using doesn't have all of my recourses installed.  So it's a pretty basic layout. I used a brush which  I already had installed, and a photo I took off my camera.  The depth of field isn't to much, ideal to give that all round dreamy effect, whilst still focusing on the butterfly and the  Alf Alfa flower it is on.

[Guest Guest]

Sue - so beautiful

[Sue Thomas]

Pirkko, thank you for your kind words.  I haven't had the time to scroll through the challenges, but I see, today, the campus is  extremely busy, so much creativity being displayed, by everyone.  Fantastic work, ladies and gentlemen!

[Anne Lamp]

This was created from a screenshot from an Explore live Osprey cam. I had fun playing with it. This is one of this years fledglings flying off the perch (not it's first flight) One thing I did do was activate the original layer at the back and reduced it opacity wayyy down to just fill in some of the areas that I had not brushed in instead of leaving that part white.

[Mary Solaas]

You all are so inspiring that I just had to try my hand at this. Explained in the What are you working on forum that I had trouble at first with it, but I got an answer from Carole and I muddled through to finish up with this.

[Sue Thomas]

I used the photo as a background, blurred and lowered the opacity greatly, added a canvas texture. Thought it would make for a  nice  water colour print, signed and  framed, to be wall mounted.

[Ann Seeber]

Here's a shot of a Red Lionfish that I treated to a watercolor technique. The photo was taken at the Chicago Aquarium by Jackie during her recent vacation. I dressed it up a bit with a mat and frame.

[Susan Ewart]

Wow! Sue and Ann, beautiful.  Sue I love that watercolor background, was it a paper you made.  I was looking in textures trying to achieve that with the settings on certain textures but didnt quite get what I wanted.  The framing looks great on both of your pieces.

[Sue Thomas]

Thank you Susan. As I said, I used the original photo for the background paper, blurred and lightened it greatly. I used the texture, grain fine. Which comes with PSP. As I said in my butterfly serenity watercolour post, which I posted earlier today, I don't have all of my resources on this laptop.

[Sue Thomas]

The settings I used for the texture is: size 150, depth 3. Of course it depends on the size of your project. Everything else are default settings.

[Ann Seeber]

Here's another - all my mats come from PSP Frames and the frames are borders that I buttonize and shadow

[Sue Thomas]

A photo I took after a rain. I was in a frame making mood this evening.

[Sue Thomas]

Ann, nice work on the watercolour technique. I use the buttonize tool for many effects, but not on borders. May I suggest you use the cut out tool. Place a very small light shadow on the right and bottom of the inside of the mat to give a little depth. Also, and I don't know why, but you are missing shadowing on the top inside of the white frame and the outside bottom of the white frame.

[Susan Ewart]

Thank you Sue, for the explanation. Now I understand what you meant about the background layer, it just takes twice (or more) for the words to pernitrate my thick skull.   Nice to see you are able to get out to photograph on your time away.

 

Ann, Buttonize?  I saw that and didnt go near it because, well, I thought it turned stuff into a button.  hahaha.  I really did think that, why else would they call it that?  I should've just tried it.  I like the framed pieces you and Sue do and would like to try it too. But still not quite sure how to go about it.  so much to learn and precious little time; retirement cant come fast enough.

[Sue Thomas]

Thank you Susan. Although I have taken lots of photos since being home, the photos I've used in this challenge are what I took before leaving. We don't have Pelicans in Wales. Amongst other things you are going to have to learn not only PSP terminology, and names of many tools, but also scrapbooking terminology. Lol. There are 2 masterclasses on framing. Although I have adopted my own varying techniques. Over the years, by request, I have given detailed instructions on how I have created some of my more elaborate frames.

[Sharon Murray]

These are all very beautiful.  This is a stunning technique.  I just threw something together very quickly - I will definitely be working with this technique again!

 

 

 

 

[Corrie Kinkel]

Sue, Anne, Mary you all did make very lovely layouts! I love this technique and already used it a couple of times in other projects.

[Joyce Nease]

Sue Thomas, I love your framed picture!

[Ann Seeber]

Playing with a photo from our local Duchess County Fair, adding mat and frame from PSP.