Copyright: All artwork/content protected under ©2007-2011 Lynne Ciacco

All content herein copyright © Lynne Ciacco


Friday, July 29, 2011

For those of you who were curious about the process I used to produce the Billet Doux image in the previous post, here's a list of the layers.


Just click on it to get a readable size page.  I hope it's of some help for your own processes.

My "technique" is very much trial and error...or playing around, really. 
The important part is to have fun with experimenting along the way.

When I started fooling around with the dogwood photo, I had no idea that I would transform it into any other sort of image.  At some point I just started browsing through my collection of downloaded images that I save for digital collaging purposes and came across the Victorian lady postcard that I had received in a Stampington Co. newsletter that I get by e-mail.  The image itself was much smaller than my flower, but by using the Transform tool in Photoshop, I got it to the size and placement that worked with the size of the flower.  Then it was a question of getting the layers to blend together, which involved duplicating the background image (flower) and dragging it to the top of the stack a couple of times, as well as going back to previous layers to toy with their blending modes and opacities until I reached that wonderful "Eureka!" moment.

I hope this has been of some help/interest for you, in particular Thérèse and Bonnie.


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8 comments:

  1. thank you much, lady - and even if i don't use it myself anytime soon, it's so fascinating to know - thanks again! have a great weekend -

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  2. That's a familiar sight. I can't imagine what I would have done without photoshop and illustrator in my career. You have found such a personal way to put the software to work for such warm and human results. I love that your process never looks constrained and tecky. Keep up the great exploration!

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  3. yikes fascinating. i am totally not mechanical and no way could i do this. i dont even have photoshop. still i have some free thing Gimp which a messed about with once or twice but find it so frustrating that i let it go. you make lovely images with all this.!!

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  4. Plenty of steps but then all art making has steps. You have really worked this software to your advantage...trial and error and determination to keep trying...great results. I agree, your piece doesn't look photo shopee...nice touch!

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  5. Gypsywoman,
    I detect a ringing undertone of sublime understatement when you say you're not likely to use the info any time soon!
    :-)
    Thanks for taking the time to look at it.

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  6. Stickup,
    Somehow I never really thought that you'd be using Photoshop in your work...but it makes sense. The reason my stuff doesn't look "techy" is because I haven't got a techy bone in my body!

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  7. sukipoet,
    I'm actually surprised that I like the program. Probably because I only know a few tricks so don't get too overwhelmed. Have you ever tried playing with photos in Picnik? It's free and online and has lots of fun treatments. But,then, why bother? I guess I'm just never satisfied with my photos and love trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

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  8. Blue Sky,
    You're so right about the many steps and layers that go into making art. I guess that's why I enjoy working with Photoshop, and trying to make a photo look like a little like something I might put together in my studio...only different. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. I hope you're having a lovely summer.

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