Need some help...

[Codeman]

Hi Christine,

I have one of Katrin Eismann's new DVDs on restorations, retouching,....and in a section about healing she showed how to use the healing brush with the source being a pattern instead of a sampled area. I just played with it a little bit and you could put a layer on top of your restoration and get a "Windbreaker cloth" pattern or something close and paint texture on the jackets. The should allow you to smooth the surface more and get the shading right and then put the texture back on. Likewise you could get some skin texture and do the same thing with the skin on the couple and baby. If you create your own pattern I would run the desaturated image through the high pass filter to remove any of the variations in tone from one side of the pattern to the other. This keeps the seams of the pattern repeats to a minimum. Also size the pattern to be scaled to the image you are working on. You don't want the windbreakers to look like they are made of burlap. Sources for patterns can be as easy as going to the closet and getting a piece of clothing and scanning it. Color doesn't matter much since you are going to desaturate it anyway. Another source is google images with the large image search used. Once you have the texture layed down you can make use of the opacity and mask for the layer to make it just right.

I hope this both helps and makes sense.

Codeman

[cmpentecost]

Thanks Max.  What you said makes sense.  I'll give it a shot!

Christine

[kiska]

Here's some 'noise' texture.

[cmpentecost]

Hi Codeman,

You must have been inputting your comments as I input mine this morning, as I am now just seeing this.  I also have Katrin Eissman's DVD.  Ironically, I was watching it yesterday, for the first time in about 6 months.  I think the healing brush section is my next one to watch, so thanks for the suggestion.  This seems to tie in with Kiska's comments as well.  I'll probably be at the computer the rest of the day, so I'll see what I can do. 

Thank you all so much!

Christine

[glennab]

Hi Chris

You've made a lot of progress on this mega-challenge.  I want to give you a few observations.  The woman's mouth on the left as we look at her has a white spot in the corner that I think should be blended in.  That would be a shaded area, so I wouldn't expect to see anything that light.  You obviously are  already aware of the texture issue. I'd recommend finding an area with texture that you like and use the healing brush to copy that on both jackets.  Lots of detail drudgery , but that's worked well for me.  I think the shadow on the man's neck would look better if it were the same flesh tones as the deeper areas on his face.  Right now it looks too greenish to me. Ditto the shading on his forehead under the cap.  And I'd even out the color on their hands a little more.

I know, pick, pick, pick.  Actually I think you've done a fine job considering the mess with which you started.  Looks to me as if fine-tuning is all you need to be able to send them home.

Codeman, I'm intrigued by Katrin's method of sampling a pattern from elsewhere to get texture.  I read in her third book that one can create a brush for skin texture, and she explains how to create it.  The pattern/healing brush method sounds to me as if it has even more applications for the restorations.  Maybe I should get the DVD! That's a great bit of information.  Thanks!

Chris, have fun!

Glenna

[cmpentecost]

Thanks for your input Glenna.  Fresh eyes truly help on these challenging photos.  As for Katrin's DVD, I think it's great.  I watched about an hours worth yesterday, watching two tutorials that I've seen before, and picked up some new tips.  I got a discount on it being a NAPP member.  I'm guessing it was around $130???  At times my eyes will glaze over watching it, but for the most part, it's well worth the money.

Thanks again!

Christine

[Codeman]

I got the technique of using the pattern with the healing bush from the DVD. The rest is stuff that I have picked-up along the way and done on my own. I have found that you can also use textures on a layer using an overlay blend mode to replace or add back damaged texture. Just make sure that the texture is prepared as I said above.

And Christine, I understand the glazing of the eyes. I was disappointed when the training DVDs went from NTSC video to the quicktime mov format. I like watching the videos on my 61" widescreen TV. The quicktime put a stop to that. Then I found a DVD player/media server made in Australia that connects digitally to my TV and will play nearly every kind video file except of course Quicktime movies. I then take the QT files and convert then to a different video format, put them on a  DVD, and then I can play the 600 x 800 videos at full resolution on the big screen.

Codeman