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Illustration Action Sample for C&C

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Mike Warren

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Hello Mike -- thanks for the action that seems very good -- at least in your hands. I am currently running PS CS and the action does not work with it. I will be upgrading to PS CS3 in a few weeks time and wonder if it works in both CS2 & CS3. My other query is what does the Anisotropic Diffusion do? I have tried to duplicate the action with CS tools only but can not see a difference running this filter? I don't come close to your look but am continuing to experiment. Thanks in advance for any help from Mike or anybody else more knowledgeable than I am.
Claude Felbert
 
Here are the instructions. You can make your own action if it isn't working on CS.

http://photographybb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1187
WineO said:
Hello Mike -- thanks for the action that seems very good -- at
least in your hands. I am currently running PS CS and the action
does not work with it. I will be upgrading to PS CS3 in a few weeks
time and wonder if it works in both CS2 & CS3. My other query is
what does the Anisotropic Diffusion do? I have tried to duplicate
the action with CS tools only but can not see a difference running
this filter? I don't come close to your look but am continuing to
experiment. Thanks in advance for any help from Mike or anybody
else more knowledgeable than I am.
Claude Felbert
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the link to the original tutorial. I'll use USM instead of Smart Sharpening in CS1. Which blur filter in CS1 is closest to Surface Blur?
 
WineO said:
Hello Mike -- thanks for the action that seems very good -- at
least in your hands. I am currently running PS CS and the action
does not work with it. I will be upgrading to PS CS3 in a few weeks
time and wonder if it works in both CS2 & CS3. My other query is
what does the Anisotropic Diffusion do? I have tried to duplicate
the action with CS tools only but can not see a difference running
this filter? I don't come close to your look but am continuing to
experiment. Thanks in advance for any help from Mike or anybody
else more knowledgeable than I am.
Claude Felbert
Click to expand...
Claude,

The action only runs in CS2 and CS3 due to the Smart Sharpen and Surface Blur.

The anisotropic filter is explained here:
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/aniso_ref/aniso_ref.htm

I have only run the action on lower res files around 1000 x 1200 pixels.

If you are starting with a high res file you may need to run the filter several times to see a significant change.

Since the end result is a soft illustration, you can use it on lo-res images then enlarge it later without worrying too much about losing sharpness, since the image is soft already. I'm not sure what you can use in CS to achieve the surface blur. The smart sharpen is nothing too special, you should be able to use USM and get the same result. So, far I have been successful with large subjects with lots of detail. It may not work that well with images with a lot of small objects or people.

Mike
http://www.mikedubu.com
 
Hi,

I too have followed Dave's tutorial and thinks it is great. In the beginning, I too was struggling to get results like Mike. Unfortunately, I use PE5 and therefore cannot run Mike's action.

I have concluded the following....it very much depends on the size of your starting image. Let me illustrate. Mike posted the original picture (341w) x (514h) of the model. If you use that image and then resize to (1000 h) pixels, you get this example.



This one was upsized to 3500 (h) pixels before running actions and resized back down to 1000 (h). As you can see, there is hardly any effect taking place.



However........., if you resize the original image to 1000(h) pixels and then run the actions, you end up with this: (that's more like it!!)



Claude, this might explain why you are not receiving similar efects. it all depends on the size of the image as to how the actions work. I think Mike said that most of his have been on 1000-1200 pixel images. Try resizing first.

Selwyn, I just used USM and then smart blur as PE5 does not have smart sharpening or surface blur, but as you can see, you can still get excellent results.

Hope this helps.

Mike
 
on a guy portrait I kept playing by adding a sepia layer set to soft light then a blank layer and merge so the sepia becomes its own layer. added noise and angles strokes set to soft light and blended fill back to orginal

 
Tom Bennett said:
on a guy portrait I kept playing by adding a sepia layer set to
soft light then a blank layer and merge so the sepia becomes its
own layer. added noise and angles strokes set to soft light and
blended fill back to orginal

Click to expand...
Really nice Tom! Nice touch with the Sepia and stokes. Has a Rockwell look.

This process give you a stong base to work with. It can be used for a lot of different looks, depending on the settings/resolution. Thanks for sharing!

Mike
http://www.mikedubu.com
 
Just a quickie. It looks more like Mike Finn's PoP action than what i consider illustration affect......cool action though, thanks Mike.



--
***********************************************************
Rudi - Phounder Of The Phart ... CATS member #100 > ^..^
My Homepage: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman
Favorites: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman/my_favorites
Everything in my galleries, God Made. Its just my job to show them.
***********************************************************
 
Rudiman said:
Just a quickie. It looks more like Mike Finn's PoP action than what
i consider illustration affect......cool action though, thanks Mike.



--
***********************************************************
Rudi - Phounder Of The Phart ... CATS member #100 > ^..^
My Homepage: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman
Favorites: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman/my_favorites
Everything in my galleries, God Made. Its just my job to show them.
***********************************************************
Click to expand...
Looks good-lots of variables with the subject matter, resolution and settings used.
Completely different looks here from the same action....
Thanks for showing your example!

Mike
http://www.mikedubu.com
 
Used the action once, flattened the image, then repeated the action. Interesting effect.



--


DianeR said:
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
Click to expand...
 
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