Beyond Layers Day 8 : Start to Finish

Today's lesson was about setting up still lifes.  As you would expect, good lighting is key.  

This can be a challenge on a cloudy day.

 

Here's my original photo.  Flowers from the garden and just a white foam board from Hobby Lobby as a background.  The white board acts like a clean pallet to add textures later.  

Here's what I did layer by layer :

Layer 1 :  Background Copy

Layer 2 : Kim Klassen's Golden Texture; Soft Light blend mode at 64% opacity

Layer 3 : Kim Klassen's Golden Texture ; Multiply blend mode at 59% opacity

Layer 4 : Kim Klassen's Yesteryear Texture; Multiply blend mode at 88% with Vintage gradation

Layer 5 : Duplicate Layer 4 at 67% opacity

Layer 6 : Hue Saturation Adjustments

Layer 7 : Text for quote. Zapfino at 48% opacity.  Color chosen from flower.

Layer 8 : Text for Quote Attribution. Left-Handed Cursive. Color chosen from background and darkened.

Layer 9 : Spot Healing for  sunlight in lower left corner.

I know--I went a little crazy with all the layers in this one. I guess it means I'm getting more comfortable with the techniques.  

Fans of ABC's Once Upon a Time will recognize Rumplestiltskin's immortal quote.  It's going to be long summer until the series comes back in the fall!

This would also be a good time to point out Kim Klassen's FREE Textures in Ten Minutes eCourse video tutorials.  I use these techniques a lot now.  I love Texture, and know I'm learning what to do with them!

The second video has a good explanation of layer masks.  That allows you to remove texture from some areas.  This is akin to erasing texture.  The terms are not exactly intuitive, but I'm finally getting the hang of it--after making myself a handy pocket reference card that I can whip out in the time of need.  Or just go back and watch Kim's video above.