The author of the tutorial is Jean-Claude Grégoire.
Original image | Result |
You can make this exercise yourself using the materials that we give you. Download the archive "cambodian-bas-relief.zip" containing the images.
Jean-Claude Grégoire wrote this tutorial with the intention of:
- demonstrating several ways of using this marvellous plug-in with one image only,
- showing how an illustrator can transform an ordinary photograph into an image which could be used for a book cover, a DVD jacket, etc.
The source image is a photograph of a stone bas-relief in a temple in Angkor, Cambodia. Jean-Claude found it looked a little sad in its greenish-gray colors. So he decided to brighten it up a little bit with the AKVIS Decorator plug-in.
Read the description of the decoration process:
Before applying this plug-in, you'll have to make a selection of the parts of the image you want to decorate.
Before beginning such a complex work, you'll have to think about it a little, or better to try it on a downsized version of your image (the bigger the image, the longer the processing time of the plug-in). I chose the second way, what made me understand which errors weren't to be made. Now I give you the good way to manage the decoration of this bas-relief.
Now it's important to save this selection with an evocative name, e.g. "lady". (Note: The saved selections are shown in the Selections palette.)
As I intend to put some decoration on every part of the image, I think the best way of working is to begin with the more distant part of the background, than the nearest one, then the skin, then the skirt, and finally the golden jewels. Each part will receive a different decoration from the plug-in.
I wanted textures which could hide the texture of the background to some extent. So I got a photo of a bench covered with drawings in a park…
…and cropped it to get a small square with autumn leaves on the ground. I downsized the result to a 100*100 pixels image, then I changed its color with an adjustment layer Hue/Saturation with the settings: Hue -116; Saturation +57; Brightness 0.
I saved the result as "purper_autumn_leaves.JPG" at maximum quality (100), JPEG file and put it into the directory where you keep your textures. You can create this folder anywhere on the disk, but you should remember the path to it.
The first one was a Hue/Saturation one, with the following settings Hue: +7, Saturation: +55, Brightness: 0. The second one was a Curves one, with the following settings (composite RGB channel only): 0-0; 86-54; 180-204; 255-255.
I saved the result as "graffiti_on_bench.JPG" at maximum quality into the folder with my personal textures.
I go into the Texture Library (double left click on the square with a texture under the "color" tab), I click on the button and select my custom texture "graffiti_on_bench.JPG". I don't keep the default settings, decreasing the Brightness to 73, and modifying the position of the light source.
I click the button to apply the choosen texture to the selected part of the image. As it is a big image, the processing takes several minutes. Then I see the result in the After tab.
I'm satisfied with it, so I click on the button which applies the result to the picture and closes the plug-in. I type Ctrl+D for deselecting the image.
I go into the Library, click on the button , and select my custom texture "purper_autumn_leaves.JPG". I decrease the Brightness to 39, and modify the position of the light source.
I click on the button . I'm satisfied with the result. I click on the button for applying the result to the picture and closing the plug-in. I type Ctrl+D for deselecting the image.
I open the Library and make several trials with various wooden textures and various settings until I find my solution.
I click on the button . I'm satisfied with the result. I click on the button for applying the result to the picture and closing the plug-in. I type Ctrl+D for deselecting the image.
I open the Library and choose a fabric texture with white flowers on a pinkish background. I changed the settings in the following way:
I run the plug-in and finally apply it.
I modify the settings too to get a metallic shine - i.e. increasing brightness and deepness.
I run and apply the plug-in.
The picture below shows the result and all the layers. I delete the intermediate layers that we do not need any longer. (Remember: I kept them to be on the safe side in case of error!)
It's a very easy trick of the trade. Here's how it can be done:
I load the selection "far background". In the main menu, I choose Layers -> New -> Adjustment Layer -> Hue-Saturation, and I get an adjustment layer limited to the far background. On the same way, I get an adjustment layer for the near background and another one for the Lady.
I chose the following settings for these adjustment layers:
1. The Lady:
- Hue: 0
- Saturation: +30
- Brightness: +5
2. Far background:
- Hue: -104
- Saturation: -5
- Brightness: -10
3. Near background:
- Hue: -7
- Saturation: -10
- Brightness: 0
Don't you have a feeling that the lifeless original photo has been transformed into an image of a precious decorative item in the window of an antique shop? This is the magic of the AKVIS Decorator.