Having completed my two portraits, I can now compare and contrast the methods, tools and techniques I used to create each one.
For my first portrait I used a scanned image of my photograph traced onto acetate. Opening this image in Photoshop, I then edited and added colour to the piece using the Magic wand and Paint Bucket tools. This process although quicker to achieve, did have its downsides. I found that I needed to go over the outline of the acetate tracing and certain marks from the scanner meant that I had to do some retouch work.
For my first portrait I used a scanned image of my photograph traced onto acetate. Opening this image in Photoshop, I then edited and added colour to the piece using the Magic wand and Paint Bucket tools. This process although quicker to achieve, did have its downsides. I found that I needed to go over the outline of the acetate tracing and certain marks from the scanner meant that I had to do some retouch work.
For the second portrait, I directly worked on the image. Using the Polygonal selection tool, and the paint bucket tool again to fill areas with colour. I then changed the blend mode for the layers to create a translucent effect and a colour wash over the image.
The blend mode created different effects within the piece alongside the Fill and Opacity percentages, I could change the effect of the original solid fill to an even colour wash as bold or as subtle as i wanted. As a part of this task was to use only primary colours palette I chose the Hue blend mode as it still maintained a lot of the colour and change the Opacity and Fill on each colour layer. Out of the two tasks I was given, this technique was the best. The effect of changing the blend mode, I feel, was a more aesthetically appealing way to colour the image. I do however, believe that the magic wand was a nicer selection tool as it is simpler and quicker to use. I found that the Polygonal tool requires a finer detail to pick up all the correct areas and to properly select. |
Overall as a beginner to PhotoShop I feel that working with the acetate tracing was the easiest piece to create quickly. However, without further knowledge the piece becomes flat with large areas filled with colour. Working over a pre-existing image was more challenging but I feel that it is the most visually rewarding and with further application in both I can continue to create more effective pieces.
To further improve both the acetate portrait and the overlaying portrait, I could incorporate other aspects in the piece as finer selection of pieces and using multiple shades in the piece as well as using tools such as the Dodge and Burn as well as incorporating filters in my work to add depth.