Ever since I posted the Forever Asheville painting and how I used Topaz filters with it I have been getting a lot of email asking more specifics. So I did another one and this time kept the info on which filters and how I used them. And I did this painting from a drive by shot I took with my iPhone here in Asheville in the beautiful fall foliage.

Straight out of the iPhone 3G

After resizing it and cropping it I used Nik ColorEfex Pro Complete using the PRO CONTRAST filter which is awesome and lightning fast to fix color on any photos.

Nik Color Efex PROCONTRAST filter

Next I tweaked the color with NIK BICOLOR filter. I love this set of filters and usually scroll through all the colors until I see the “AHA!” moment where it hits me.

Nik BICOLOR filter to tweak color

Next I switched to the TOPAZ Filters to add some more details and tweak it further. This is the TOPAZ DETAILS filter set and I chose the CREATIVE DETAIL setting.

Topaz DETAIL filters using CREATIVE

Next I switched to the TOPAZ ADJUST filter set and chose SIMPLIFY. This filter set adjust Exposure, Details and Color.

TOPAZ ADJUST filter using SIMPLIFY

Now that I had the image prepped in Photoshop I opened it in COREL PAINTER 11 and painted it using mostly a brush I created from the standard Sargent Brush using adjustments to it to my taste to create the Mar SOFT SARG brush for myself. It’s a tricky brush to use but I get great results with it.

Painted in COREL PAINTER 11 with MAR SOFT SARG Brush

After I finished painting, just to be sure I was happy with it I opened again in Photoshop and opened the NIK FILTERS again. I ended up playing and checked the PRO CONTRAST setting again and I loved it. So the final painting was adjusted with that filter and here is the finished painting.

Final Painting final adjusment with Pro Contrast Nik filter

I really like the colors in this one and the details versus the soft background gave real separation to the entire painting. I love using the filters to change my original reference images to make something special out of them. Both of these filters are incredibly easy to use and the best part is you can SAVE MONEY on buying Nik and Topaz filters by using the codes I have for them. Go to TOPAZ FILTERS and when you check out put in the coupon code: msholin

Go to NIK FILTERS and put in same discount code when you check out:  msholin

These codes work for ALL the filters they both sell. To find more of my discount codes and more info on resources check out my blog page RESOURCES for ARTISTS and PHOTOGRAPHERS

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 1:59 pm and is filed under Art of Digital Photo Painting, Corel Painter Quick Tips, Learn Digital Painting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.