Need some input

[G3User]

This my first with a Wacom. Whew!!

A wet day in Sydney today, all my chores done so had most of the day to spend on it.
Still not complete and I am having trouble coming up with a sensible hair line so any input would be appreciated.
Any thoughts about the blue object on the wall? It seems to be too low to be a lamp and it is not turned on anyway, could it just be a wall decoration?

Athol

[Hannie]

G'day Athol!

Great clean up!  No idea what the thing on the wall is, looks like a static balloon, weird place for a lamp...
I think the hairline could go a bit higher and curlier.

Do the shops in Australia still close at noon on Saturday?  I remember never being able to sleep late because of the shopping!


Hannie

[kiska]

The blue thing is a balloon. Partaaaaaaay!

The hairline COULD be one of these two guys. This pic is in the gallery. Could request it as a reference.

http://upload.pbase.com/image/88338943

[kiska]

This guy is very soft, out of focus. Nothing sharp about him.............which is a GOOD thing when restoring.  ^-^

I think this may be his approximate hairline.

http://upload.pbase.com/image/88339739

[Atlantis]

I don't know about the hairline itself but the hairdo looks very afrostyle to me.
And the blue thing has to be a balloon.

[Tess (Tassie D)]

Thats spot on with the hairline Kiska. I split it into cmyk and the yellow channel shows the hairline. It is a balloon, why its there is anyone's guess. :)

[glennab]

Tess, look at all those kids!  I can picture one of them rubbing the balloon on their clothes and sticking it to the wall – just because they could.  My brother, when in his early teens, used to throw pieces of bologna against the wall and then time how long they would take to fall off.

I won't even get into some of the stuff my son pulled!  (Note stuck on door after being relegated to his room for one malfeasance or another: "Dear Mom, I HATE you.  Love, Kevin.)  I repeat: THEY'RE KIDS! 

Cheers,

Glenna

[Tess (Tassie D)]

lol Glenna I hadnt looked at the other one from the gallery. Yes it explains the balloon now. We used to sneak up behind Mum at birthdays and burst the balloons just to see her jump.  >:D

[klassylady25]

Are you sure that the guys in that picture on the wall or are you just playing?

[G3User]

Hannie, things have changed, it is Sunday afternoon and my wife and daughter are out shopping. The way things are going it should become an Olympic event.

And klassylady gets the prize for finding the temporary pip. I will have to come up with something else but late at night it seemed like a better idea than water stains.

Of course it is a balloon except I was never allowed to stick them to the wall. Obviously I had a deprived childhood, think of my difficulty if it had been bologna, whatever that is.

Looking at other pictures in the gallery is a good hint, thanks. I will modify the hairline so you can see much more of his forehead

I am still coming to terms with CS3 and had not found the trace tool, looks very handy. With it and the Wacom I am struggling a bit but there is nothing like having a challenging project and some knowledgeable critics to push things along.

Thanks all again :up:.

[kiska]

The 'trace' tool is just a paint brush you use to trace the outline from something; like the blue channel. :)

[glennab]

Hi Athol

It may be small comfort, but I'm just learning to use my Wacom, too.  So far, I'm really impressed, but I know I haven't begun to tap its possibilities.  I note that there are a gazillion settings one can change.  I'm going to get a little more comfortable with just using it before I tackle tweaking the workings.  I still tend to head for the mouse when I'm concentrating, but the tablet is a wonder!  I'm glad I have one, even though it took me way to long to learn to use it.

My brother was a spoiled brat, which is why he got away with the bologna stunt (he was extremely intelligent and had an unbelievably mature and zany sense of humor!  My mother worshiped him.). Unfortunately, I don't know how he would have turned out, because we lost him to brain cancer at 15.

Bologna (or baloney), by the way, is a lunch meat, and having worked at a label company in another life and having read the ingredients, I can't believe my husband hasn't died from eating the stuff.  He loves it.  Any of you who eat it, and intend to continue doing so, DON'T READ THE SMALL PRINT!  It'll scare you to death.

My husband wanted to give me the CS3 suite for my birthday, but we're putting a beautiful new ceiling in the front of the house, and I told him I think the money would at this point be better spent on pricey wood (we can afford neither!).  However, I'll be interested in anything you find in the upgrade that makes the restorations easier.  If it's a huge improvement over CS2 (which I love), I might consider reconsider the birthday offer!

Cheers!

Glenna

By the way – Tess, great stunt with the balloon popping trick.  My son had 2 favorite ways to irritate me.  I can't stand the sound of styrofoam scraping against itself, so he'd get a carton of eggs sit at the dining room table, and open it, and close it, and open it, and close it, ad nauseum until I'd have to yell at him to stop.  The other was the dragging feet across carpet and then shocking mom stunt.

I let him get away with more than I probably should have, because my childhood sucked, and I wanted his to be good.  My hubby, who's Kevin's stepdad, contends that it would have taken my son less time to stop being a putz if I'd pounded his butt a few times.  Possibly, but at least the worst abuse he took was not being allowed to eat Captain Crunch.  It was grapes and apples for the boy, and he felt so deprived.  Wahhhh!

[G3User]

I think it is ready to return. The hairline seems much better and the pip is from a family group photo in an image in the the gallery, thanks kiska. I have to remember to swap to CMYK when looking for hints about outlines, the trace tool certainly helped.

Glenna, I am not sure which is most demanding, the Wacom or CS3 . I asked for the tablet for my birthday and so far I am just running with the default settings. I do the same thing you do with the mouse, maybe the way to go is to put the mouse away. Tell you what, I will if you will. :D

Can't imagine what it would be like to loose a sibling. My wife and I have both lost our parents but have a 12 month old grandchild who is a real joy. I suspect that we will do a good job of spoiling her and when things get difficult, give her back to her parents

I went from CS to CS3 so there are lots of changes and new features. The help material seem to have gaps and while it may describe technically what the tool/function does there is little to guide you in how to apply them. Probably means looking for an appropriate "How To" book.
I did find it easier to create the varying skin tone on his forehead. Used clone stamp to produce the range of colors positioned as required, four seemed to be enough. Then went over with healing brush using a mid tone sample of appropriate texture. Not perfect but much better than I recall being able to do with CS

As far as I know, we don't have baloney but we probably have something with the same frightening ingredients. I came to the conclusion some time ago that at my age I don't have to worry about anything which is likely to kill you in 20 years if you eat it. Much easier to have what I like now.

Cheers

Athol

[Hannie]

Great job Athol!  Too bad the portrait is gone, kinda liked it!  ;)
The hairline looks really good too.  Maybe you can tone down the highlight on his face just a small amount.
Nice picture!

Hannie


Glenna, this might be of interest to you:

http://www.photoshop-tutorials-plus.com/CS3.html

[G3User]

Hi Hannie,

Not sure I can do much with the highlights, they are less than 255 though there is not much detail in them as in the original. Looks like I can add some texture in CS3 so will give it a try

OK about the pip, the family may or may not have appreciated it so probably better to play it safe. I must admit that I like little surprises.

Thanks for the tutorial site address, looks interesting and it described some of the CS3 differences better than I could

Cheers

Athol