Piano Player Painting from Portrait

[JDaniel]

Sorry for the alliteration ;) In any case, this is my first attempt to create a painting from a photo. I used PSE 5, started with a slightly blurry picture, used the "Dry Brush" filter and then smudged the whole thing with about a 33% strength. Let me know what you think. I really liked how the flowers turned out. I didn't want it to look too much like a photograph, so not sure if I need to smudge more, etc. In any case, enjoy.

Before:
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1UjNkECg5cLnlotPmbCZtuTUpoKdYv1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UjNkECg5cLnlotPmbCZtuTUpoKdYv1)

After:
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1EVSqjBSiYGz2XHkRS4XkOJ6IA1R_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1EVSqjBSiYGz2XHkRS4XkOJ6IA1R)

HiRes of After:
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1dg8MZYSD34DqY0Qnkdfii5aHcF1Ct0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1dg8MZYSD34DqY0Qnkdfii5aHcF1Ct0)

[JulieM]

Very nicely done. I think the effect is wonderful as is. I love the smudged look but am sure I wouldn't have the patience to accomplish that!

I wonder if you would consider a tighter crop? The lower half reveals a lot of distortion that is, to me anyway, distracting. I'd probably try cropping so that the bench is not visible.

[JDaniel]

Julie, thank you for your compliments. I listened to your criticism and went back to look at the distortion on the lower half. I see what you're saying but find that I actually like it. There is a definite bend that illustrates the bottom half of the picture as well as the more straight forward vantage of the keys and the music. The effect was created by through the bend of a wide angle, but I like how it translates into the painting effect. Though I have no experience in painting, I really do not like the look of traditional photographic portraits and shots with the painting filters on them. They still look like photos. At this point, I'm trying to study various different paintings and compare their perspectives to photographs. I intend to get better at turning photographs into paintings and the beginning composition is a big thing (softening the picture with a slight out of focus seems to help too). In any case, thank you again for your criticism. I need to think of things like what you have mentioned and continue to practice :)

[lisabee]

Hi,

it looks very nice :)
the hi-res pixentral link wasn't working though

Lisa

[hukari]

JDaniel, I think it looks super and wouldn't change a thing. I know how much work you put into that!

[Ellen]

Hi,
I like your technique but the strokes on her arm bug me. It's the lightest thing in the foreground and is highly unflattering to the subject.
Except for that it is quite impressive.