One Four Challenge Feb Wk 4 – Click to Embiggen
Last week for the Feb One Four Challenge and I had this idea about combining the tiger with chinese characters in some way, given that tigers come from Asia.
After looking online I found this image that had many different layers and styles of characters running up and down the page and thought it might make a nice background.
Post Processing Steps:
1. Open up last weeks PSD file where the rock was removed
2. Consider a BW conversion and open up image in Nik Silver Efex. Instead find a sepia tone with a pale vignette that looks nice.
3. Find the chinese character image, bring into PS, resize to suit and add as a layer above, blend using multipy and paint a mask over the tiger to remove the characters off him
4. The two different images were different shades of sepia so add a Hue/Saturation layer on top, pick the Sepia preset and tweak it until happy.
I am not 100% happy with the detail around the front paws, due to the tonings in the chinese character layer, and the ear looks a bit cropped, but that was an angle thing.
Like it? Hate it? Did my asian connection concept work?
All comments, tips, tricks and feedback welcome!
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- Base image
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- Wk 1 V1
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- Wk 1 V2 new and improved
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- Wk 3 rock removed
Learning to See Light 
Oh what a fantastic reinterpretation!!! I just love this one – maybe even more than the glossy oil painting portrait of his majesty…
Thankyou, it was really hard to come up with a final variation!
Actually I really love what you did this week. I think that this is my favourite interpretation. The original was a great photo, but this just lifts it into a different image all together. Well done.
Thanks Raewyn, I lost the flow this month with going away and suffering terrible tiredness when I got back so the creative levels were a bit low
I have to agree with the others–I really love this. It should be a movie poster, I think. The Chinese character images give it a whole ‘nother dimension. It is beautiful. And I didn’t notice the clipped ear until you mentioned it. Stop that! 🙂
Thanks Lois, I felt like I had to go in a completely different direction to the previous versions , this is nothing like what my imagination originally considered, but it depends on what you can find in real life to work with your image 🙂
Ooh, I love it…wonderful! This is my favourite for this month.
Thanks Sue, I quite like how it came out myself, quite different to the other variations 🙂
Really great creative option here Stacey, though I agree the front paws seem a little soft. I looked at it with them cropped off but it didn’t look right somehow.
It was something to do with the layer above that had the calligraphy on it, I went over it several times with the masking brush but it didnt really help much so I gave up trying to make it better.
I do like the idea and sometimes the time isn’t right for us to spend ages on one shot.
If I thought I could have fixed it I would have spent ages, but what I learned from the ABChallenge I did at the beginning of the month, is that if my skills aren’t up to the job, then its probably better just to go with what I could do and count that as a learning experience and therefore a win 🙂
For me personally, now I have *some* limited skills in PS the technical side of things is getting a bit easier, I can layer and mask quite happily.
The hard bit is the conceptual stuff – what do I do on it this week? What do I do that is different from what I have already done in some way – THATS the hardest bit for me right now 🙂
I agree the conceptual is the hardest but sometimes I have the idea and not the skills to bring it forth and that is frustrating. I find that just looking through Fine Art Grunge(Photoshop Artistry) gave me ideas or the free e-mags I subscribe too and it does so much depend on the image you’ve chosen to work with.
I like this approach a lot! It’s really cool. Very creative. I agree with your observations about the front paws and the ears. I’d like to see a little more of the lion overall. But that doesn’t detract much from the image overall. It’s great.
Well thats all that there was of the tiger in the image – I have other shots but I was focussing on the portrait when I shot this.
Love the background and toning Stacey. The tiger looks beautiful and really stands out.
Thanks Chris
“what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry” – you have!!!! and I think I love the oriental version best!
Thanks this one seems to be quite popular 😊
deservedly so!
Oh, now this is AWESOME!!!! Definitely version four! 😀
Thanks Jen, its getting a lot of positive responses 🙂
Well-deserved responses!
I like this weeks concept, you pointed out the areas I am not too much a fan of (front paw and ear). Reading the comments I am not sure why you had a problem removing text with a mask. If I had this problem I would make a copy of the mask and delete the original mask and begin again in those areas. Another idea is to use the selection brush and the refine selection tools to select the tiger and then add a layer mask from the selection.
I completely get the stopping when something leaves your comfort zone and present what you have as it is all part of learning.
Thanks Ben, I made those comments for you LOL I think it was to do with the a combination of the sepia tiger version and the calligraphy layer that had some issues around the paws. Im not sure about selection brushes, I have only grasped the very simplest basics of selections so you are above my head there 🙂
I’m going with week 3 – there was a big difference when that rock was removed.
I like this week’s idea but his back is missing from this image and that affects the overall composition for me. I didn’t notice the ear and paws at first – great experiment and more than I am capable of doing.
Yes I saw that but I decided I liked the effect of the text framing him on either side, enough that I was happy to make that sacrifice 🙂
Yes Im pretty proud of that effort, that was a big learning experience for me too 🙂 Thanks Lynne
Love the Chinese character overlay – what a dramatic change and a whole different story. Week 3 with the rock removed is pretty powerful too. If you had a poll I would have a hard time deciding!
Thankyou, Im not really into polls, I dont like the concept of this being a competition, for me its about the learning and experimenting and if anyone likes even on of my versions then I am happy 🙂 But I do really like the feedback!
I absolutely love it! When I scrolled through my Reader I saw this and had to look at it for some time before I was even able to click on it! This background just works so well with the Tiger and I love the sepia in it as well!
Thanks Sari, I was going to go with BW but decided to just look at other options and when I saw the Sepia, it was SOLD!
It has that really old original photo feel to me this way 🙂
My favorite is week 3. But they are all beautiful images!
Thanks PJ, despite only entering 3 weeks I managed to get a lot done!
Good for you! Getting a lot accomplished is a good feeling. 🙂
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There’s something very evocative about the toning here. Yes, tigers are found in India and parts of Asia but the Chinese writing actually made a different statement in my mind at first sight. To me it spoke of the continued threat to these majestic creatures from the black market in Chinese medicines. Such a sad practice perpetuated by the rich and elite that preys upon the poverty of people living in the few areas where tigers are still found in the wild.
Yes I support some Snow Leopard funds to help protect them over in Mongolia, they are my favourite of the big cats but there is just something about the tiger that appeals to everyone 🙂
I’ve been a bit obsessed by big cats and butterflies all my life! They’ve been a part of my artwork since I was a kid, tigers in particular. I also support Snow Leopard conservation through the David Shepherd Foundation 🙂 It’s always been my dream to see them in the wild.
I’d have to say, week 4! I like the Sepia tone with the Chinese writing overlay – great interpretation. This inspires me to think more outside the box for these challenges.
Thanks Kirsten, I am also enjoying the challenge and how it makes me think differently about processing images, I am learning not to be afraid to experiment. Its a lot of fun!
I’ve enjoyed the challenge for the same reason. The great thing about digital is that my experiments don’t damage my original 🙂
Love the addition of the Chinese characters and the sepia tone. Just lovely.
Thankyou 🙂
Interesting concept, I like how we tend to really pull out all the stops for week 4! I think my favorites are week 3 (block removed) and week 1 v.2 (darker painting). 🙂
Well I really HAD to go somewhere quite different with this week 🙂
I try to make all my images stand on their own, its why I don’t have a poll 🙂 I had to do something quite different this week cos the others had been so similar!
I can see that, for the months not including this month, I seemed to have been building up to a mesh of the previous three weeks, I’m going to try to do that again next month because I think it is neat to watch the transformation. 🙂
I absolutely love this week’s edit! It’s a great idea, very creative. 🙂 Though I can see what you mean about the ear and the paws, for me it doesn’t particularly detract from the image.
Nice! I really like the choices you make when you combine images this way.
Thanks Katrina, sometimes its planned and sometimes it just happens that way 🙂
Hi again – catching up 😃😃
When I first saw this in week 4, I went WOW out loud. The concept is very fitting.
While I love this, week 3 is my fave for Feb. the softness and especially the colour just grab my attention. I dont want to look away.
I do enjoy all that you are trying in our challenge Stacey. Awesome!!
Thanks Robyn, yes I am pushing all sorts of boundaries and learning lots as I go 🙂
How great is that? ..and such fun too 😃
I love learning!