Beauty And The Butterfly: Well, I couldn't think of a better title, if you have a suggestion please say! It's a bit different to my usual offerings

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

Well, I couldn't think of a better title, if you have a suggestion please say! It's a bit different to my usual offerings - my wife said 'yes, it's a bit different for you but rather sickly'......can't please all the people all the time. All images are mine, no AI BUT I must say the latest Ps Select Subject saves a lot of time! Any critique appreciated, as always.

(Download)

R.G. Loc: Scotland

magnetoman wrote:

.... my wife said 'yes, it's a bit different for you but rather sickly'.....

It might help if you make her complexion less blue. And for someone who is supposed to be beauty personified she looks a bit odd in close-up.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Beautiful Dave, there is so much to look at there. The spider is a great touch.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

R.G. wrote:

It might help if you make her complexion less blue. And for someone who is supposed to be beauty personified she looks a bit odd in close-up.

I have already adjusted the blue quite a bit RG but did expect some comment on what remains. Perhaps I’ll have another shot at it. As far as her beauty is concerned, that’s in the eye…well, you know the rest - but I bet there are not too many blue-blooded young men that would complain as loudly as you! Tobe less frivolous, I do appreciate your comments but the faded effect used is what it is. I could spend time restoring her complexion but that would be for a different look ‘effects-wise’, if you see what I mean.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

Curmudgeon wrote:

Beautiful Dave, there is so much to look at there. The spider is a great touch.

Thanks Jack, pleased you’ve enjoyed it.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Intriguing work, Dave! I like how some is sharply defined and some kind of disappears into the brick (such as the arm holding the bird). I like the porcelain look of the young lady's face because it supports the fanciful mood overall. I really like the hint of purple flowers cascading down the wall, and the brick texture.

The only thing I don't care for is the feeling that the butterfly, spider and wasp are too deliberately placed. Removing the wasp and changing the size/shape of the butterfly (the distort tools work great for that) would make me happy

L-Fox

magnetoman wrote:

Well, I couldn't think of a better title, if you have a suggestion please say! It's a bit different to my usual offerings - my wife said 'yes, it's a bit different for you but rather sickly'......can't please all the people all the time. All images are mine, no AI BUT I must say the latest Ps Select Subject saves a lot of time! Any critique appreciated, as always.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

Linda From Maine wrote:

Intriguing work, Dave! I like how some is sharply ... (show quote)

Must admit the wasp was a late addition and I too am unsure about it Linda! Afraid you’re going to have to put up with the spider and butterfly as is, their size is all to do with the style of the piece, not reality. Distort tool? Is that what we know as Free Transform in full Ps? It certainly came into play, for both insects.
The arm is not meant to disappear into the wall, it should be sleeved - that is a bit of poor work that I hadn’t noticed. I’ll put that to rights.
Thanks for the helpful critique, I’ll have to put a bit more effort in!!

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

l-fox wrote:

👍 thanks l-fox.

rockdog Loc: Berkeley, Ca.

magnetoman wrote:

Well, I couldn't think of a better title, if you have a suggestion please say! It's a bit different to my usual offerings - my wife said 'yes, it's a bit different for you but rather sickly'......can't please all the people all the time. All images are mine, no AI BUT I must say the latest Ps Select Subject saves a lot of time! Any critique appreciated, as always.

Beauty and the Arachnid would not have been a good title. The issue of style vs reality is no issue for me, she is real and that is all there is to it! As Linda mentioned, the blue made me think porcelain and is an asset. Nothing sickly here just more of your interesting and beautiful work!

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

rockdog wrote:

Beauty and the Arachnid would not have been a good title. The issue of style vs reality is no issue for me, she is real and that is all there is to it! As Linda mentioned, the blue made me think porcelain and is an asset. Nothing sickly here just more of your interesting and beautiful work!

Glad you like it Phil, thanks for your kind remarks.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

She is not pleased by the addition of a bee and spider... "You expect me to smile when attacked by spiders and bees"? This model will demand more money for posing.

Spider and bee are the discussant cord to undo the melody of Ms. Sweet Thing and her pink bird butterfly innocent girl world.

Perhaps those that sting and bite are the sour that makes the sweet sweeter.

Without the spider and bee, the photo would not have much punch... they are needed to evoke the "Hey wait a minute" viewers' reaction. Well spiced magnetoman

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

magnetoman wrote:

... Distort tool? Is that what we know as Free Transform in full Ps? It certainly came into play, for both insects....

Here are my choices in Elements. I tend to use them individually, depending on what I want, though no doubt "Free Transform" covers it all.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

dpullum wrote:

She is not pleased by the addition of a bee and sp... (show quote)

Thank you Don.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

Linda From Maine wrote:

Here are my choices in Elements. I tend to use them individually, depending on what I want, though no doubt "Free Transform" covers it all.

Yes that’s it. So you choose Transform, which allows you to enlarge/reduce the image and rotate it. You can also hold down ctrl/cmd and grab a corner to skew it (useful for quickly straightening up a bit of parallax). Or hold alt/opt and grab one of the midway points to enlarge from the middle (or wherever the centre mark has been moved to - very useful when compositing). Or hold Shift and enlarge from one side only. Or you can choose one of the other options such as Skew. Those things are best done as a separate choice. Occasionally you may run into trouble having, say, Skewed the image, and then try one of the other commands as it reverts to original shape but Adobe will sort that in due course I expect. Liquify and Transform don’t always play together nicely either. All-in-all, it a powerful tool for sure.