Newest image...

[RosyBijou]

Hi All!
After my last image, I thought I'd try one a little easier--I felt a little over my head with the last one!...  So here's my question:  I'm in the process of re-building her arms & lower part of image.  I have a rough sketch of her left elbow and have no clue what is behind her... it's probably a chair back but I can't seem to work out a shape or texture that looks right. (I figured I'd get her wispy curls in right once I get the chair figured out)-- any suggestions?

The piece in front of her looks like a corderouy-type material and I thought I'd try to warp it in towards the viewer (like fabric stretched along a table...?) once I finish filling in the textures--any other opinions about how to manage that area?

[Ziaphra]

I wouldn't even worry about what's behind her. It does look like she's leaning on a table or a wall/fence...

[glennab]

Hi Kerry

I'm with Ziaphra.  My guess is that it's a combination of her hair and damage.  I'd be tempted to make part of it hair and part of it the oval background.  Whatever it is, it's certainly not important to the photo.

You're doing a wonderful job, by the way!

GG

[RosyBijou]

Ya know, I was thinking about replacing that part with her hair, but then I got stuck on the "not changing anything to make a better picture" rule... because it definitely would take out a distraction, if I can pull it off... 

Thanks for the compliment, Glenna.  I'm really enjoying this one--love these old portraits anyway, but this young lady is just so  classic---and what I'd give for that hair!

[Ausimax]

Hi Kerry,

Nice job, I would leave the chair back? As it is just smooth out the edge, it is part of the original and it would be a bigger distraction without it than with.

She looks to me to be leaning on a table, it looks like wrinkles in a cloth near her left elbow, you have done a good job on her left arm, once you get it finished, looking at the angles you should be able to copy it to her other arm without a lot of trouble.

Could her hair be a little more bouffant on the right side? Just below the damage, I can't tell at this resolution if it is background or hair.

That said you are going well. :up2:

Max

[RosyBijou]

Thanks, Max.
I like that word, bouffant! :)  Looking at it more, though, I think you're right and that it's not damage--I''ll revisit that.  Her hair was challenging--was able to aproximate the texture by using the data under & to the left of her flower but wasn't sure just how soft to make it or how bouffant to make it... (that's where my thoughts on your image's hair came from--it was fresh from having just done it here--I think that there are four copies of that "good" hair, all on different layers, all warped differently and layered over each other with different opacities  & blending modes!)  It came out better than I expected it to...

I was thinking along a similar vein about the arm--I wish that I were a better artist--shaping it was tough for me.  I'm gonna try fiddling with it in Painter because I can't seem to get a realistic look in her tones with what I've been doing thus far.  (Sounds contradictory, doesn't it--but I've had really good results in the past with getting realistic shadows in artsy programs and then making them blend in with the textures of the original  photos with the noise (or texture) tools back in PS.  I just got painter about a month ago so I'm still figuring that out... )  I use a lot of gradients here in PS, but have  a lot of trouble getting them to follow along delicate curves...

Thanks for the input...

[RosyBijou]

OK--so how's that for a little more bouffant? I think it looks a lot better... (Ignore the whole bottom--I just cant get that left arm to look right and still experimenting with the whole table thing--though it just occurred to me that I should probably back the whole image out to complete the oval, so it doesn't look cut...   :D

[Kenny]

Kerry, it's definately an improvement. That is such a gorgeous picture!  I have two two things I see that might could use a little work.. The first is just to the right of her hair. It looks like a shadow, but I can't really see one in the original. Maybe you could just blend it in a little using the healing brush.

The other is the table she's leaning on. I think it should extend all the way to the right of the field of view. The way it cuts off draws my eye to it when the focus should be on her.



It's looking really wonderful so far  :up:


ps. anyone else notice imageshack being a little slow today? I ended up hosting with tinypic.

[kiska]

Kerry, I had a look. Disregard the folds on her left shoulder that i put in red. I do think she has short sleeves, tho. I would do a soft vignette along the lines of the original oval. It would make life easier.

http://www.pbase.com/ob/image/75182905

[mschonher]

Hi Kerry, you are doing such a wonderful work on this beauty of a photo! I've looked at everyones suggestions and I'm going to add my 2 cents worth to the mix. I'm distracted by the darkness of the right brow and would it be possible to steal some of the curls around her face, tweak them and place them in her long hair???? One more thing, Kiska's drawing is most excellent and makes the most sense to me for good composition............Mary :up:

[mschonher]

Hi Kerry, I'm going to try to post the picture with hair and eyebrow adjusted. I'm not vevy good at posting but here goes anyway...........Mary<a href="http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maestriksecondroundxe2kl0.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4743/maestriksecondroundxe2kl0.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Uploaded by ImageShack Toolbar" title="Image Uploaded by ImageShack Toolbar" /></a>

[glennab]

Hi Mary

While I think your addition of curls and the lightening of the brow make the photo more appealing (I wouldn't believe that possible it's such a gorgeous portrait to begin with), those improvements aren't in the original.  I'd leave them as they are.

I agree with Kenny on the shadow.  I can't see it in the original either.

Kiska, I think you nailed the position of her elbows and the table.  It does appear to me that the table is covered with a cloth in the original, as I can discern folds near her right arm as we look at her.

Kerry, you're turning a masterpiece back into a masterpiece.  Wonderful work.

GG

[RosyBijou]

Hi Mary,
Even though your pictures didn't come out on the forum, the links worked just fine.  I think you did a lovely job with the curls and softening of the brow and the picture does look beautiful.  I think, though, as Glenna wrote, that we have to stick to keeping it as close to getting it back to the original as we can without our "improvements."  It's hard not to dream about this young lady when looking at her though--the image has captivated me from the moment I saw it.  From the comments, I don't think I'm alone...

Yup, Kenny & Glenna, you're right about that shadow.  It should be an easy fix.  It came out when I turned up my levels and then played around with the tones.  It's really orange in my work file. 

This is my third version of that darn tablecloth--each one looks worse than the one before--However, I was looking at the level change near her elbow as a corner of the table and not as a fold in the cloth.  My version that goes all the way across looks a lot better but I was stuck in the corner mindset.  Now maybe I can start having some fun with this part of the image!

I tried the vignette around the oval, Kiska, and not only does it make life easier, but it is making the tablecloth blend nicely into the foreground.

I definitely appreciate the comments.  It always helps to have extra sets of eyes and perspectives.
I also appreciate the compliments.  I'm totally loving this restoration (tablecloth and all!)

[RosyBijou]

And ImageShack has been a beast in my house today too!   :mad:

[mschonher]

Hi All,
Your poiints of view are well taken but consider this please. It is very unlikely that the woman had curly hair on top of her head and around her face and straight hair in the back. I took the curls from around her face and placed them to the back of her head, so technically speaking it is her own hair. I don't think this woman had one very dark eyebrow either! I didn't change the shape of the brow just cleaned up years of dirt and mold. I know there is a very fine line we're dealing with here. I hope I have not offended anyone with my comments. In the end Kerry will do whatever she thinks is best and thats ok with me. I think she is doing a great job thus far.
Mary