From

http://www.pbase.com/pam_r/image/91637675.jpg

To:

http://www.pbase.com/pam_r/image/91637856.jpg


Note : Pictures are linked to the image owner's site. These are not my images.

Now, can anyone tell me how to get that coat color....im about ready to throw out my computer....notice that the coat seems to have good detail and not just saturation.

wow. never thought a bland photo can look this good.

any geniuses/brave souls to reveal the secret?

Dodge and Burn I guess...

My Version..:Grin:
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x317/jion_bucket/tiger-1.jpg

Hello Chris,

Pam_R has posted a tutorial somewhere about this post processing. I already forgot the site. I will try to check and post the tutorial link here. Anyway, here is my try. It is actually far from what Pam_r has taught though there are areas where I had it adapted as well.

Here it goes :

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa87/rhsigua/tigerafter.jpg

and we have a winner! :)

thanks for that man. please do post the link if ever you find it. cool stuff indeed.

@ ryan how did you do that magic?:)pls do share pls...

I thought this was one of Jose A Gallego (http://www.joseagallego.com/)

yep Jose Gallego looks like he uses the same PP workflow. Ive always liked his animal portraits. Pam_R showed a few tips here and there but she never mentioned the curves she did to get the coat color of the lion. If you look at your version and Pam's version youd see why im pulling out my hair trying to figure out how to get that golden look. everytime i try it appears just a tad more yellow than it should.

Pam did a lot of dodge and burn, she darkened the whole photo first then applied the dodge and burn on separate layers. What Im really after is the curves to get the color just right. She told me that she did custom curves and a bit of H/S to get the color but shes keeping them a mystery hehehe.

sir ryan's try is good though, maybe we can all provide some inputs until we can get a good copy. we can build on what others have started some tweaks here and there..like they say 2 heads are better than one and in this case its a whole forum full of heads.

Here's a psd tutorial you can download to achieve this effect - Dragan Effect (http://www.mutantsoup.com/10steps.zip) :)

almost there...:Grin: hirap eh...
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x317/jion_bucket/johneffect-1.jpg

youre also starting to pull on the old hair? hehehe.....

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/gnomeater10/91637675copy.jpg

Just dropping by and sharing. First adjust highlight using levels, then pull an s-curve to desired contrast. Then adjust each channel giving attention to red and blue channel, then fine tune using the green channel. Fine tune more using the Hue/Saturation, giving attention to red and yellow. Sharpen selectively using whatever technique. Then mask the areas that you want to darken, using curve's adjustment layer, darken them. Dodge and burn if you want but with the desired effect not much are needed.

hi alex, can you post a bigger picture? your version looks nice but we cant really see the detail...

I hope done it right linking...


http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6232/revised2sl3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6232/revised2sl3.f2b38433ae.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=126&i=revised2sl3.jpg)

my try. :D
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2695417830_17707d8b50.jpg

First up, I didn't save the layers that I did, had around 12 of them, mostly curve masks and dodge/burn overlays.

Main layers that I think affected the lioness would be:
1) Color Balance
2) Hue/Sat (individual channels)

At least with my try hehe.

http://www.kameraderie.com/photos/data//500/medium/Untitled-1.jpg
Left is the original, right is the altered copy.
Click to view larger (http://www.kameraderie.com/photos/showfull.php?photo=2754)

Couldn't play around with more sharpening and dodging as the small original file pixelates tremendously.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/syan_archer/91637675copy.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/syan_archer/91637675copy.jpg)

filter --> dodge and burn--> then some hue/sat

hey david thats actually a nice try....now SPILL IT!!!

@ ryan how did you do that magic?:)pls do share pls...

Hi David , sorry for the late reply. It's not magic actually. All I did ( if I still remember it correctly ) was :

1. add gradient map set to B/W @ 50 opacity in normal blending mode
2. duplicate background image and put it on top of gradient map layer @ around 70% opacity in normal blending mode
3. increase contrast of your choice ( i use levels adjustment layer to do this )
4. add color balance adjustment layer and play around the midtones / shadows / highlights channel of the adjsutment layer. ( i forgot the exact values but basically try to get as close as possible to gold / brownish tones without having too much yellow color cast )
5. Lower the opacity to bring back some of the original colors
6. Create an empty layer and fill it with 50 % gray @ soft light blending mode.
7. Create an empty layer and fill it with 50% gray @ overlay blending mode.

These 2 layers are for dodge and burn process/

The reason for the 2 layers is that I will have separate dodge and burn layers for harsh shadows and highlights [ overlay ] and soft shadows and highlights [ soft light ].

Dodge on the highlights using the dodge tool at 15% brush opacity and burn the shadows using the burn tool at 10% opacity. Dodge and burn on the overlay layer for harsh adjustments and soft light layer for mild changes.

I used the overlay layer mostly for the fur and the soft light layer for the background and foreground. [ i.e. the trunk and the rocks ]

8. Flatten. Apply sharpening process of your choice. I use USM.
9. Apply vignette.

This is how I do it. A product of trial and error. There are simpler approach to get this done so it still depends on your preference. David Tong's entry is good as well so it would be more comfortable for you to follow that since he mentioned the key factors to get the output.

Thanks. Cheers. :)

Here's mine...

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk36/rolanelix/TIGER.jpg

Original...
http://www.pbase.com/pam_r/image/91637856.jpg

Here's mine...

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk36/rolanelix/TIGER.jpg

Original...
http://www.pbase.com/pam_r/image/91637856.jpg

Hey... Nice Work!! :)

Its seems to me that another filter was used. I you look closely, a light source is illuminating the lioness from the upper right corner which makes me think that a Render: Lighting effect filter was used. Not sure though, just an educated guess.:)
cheers:Grin:

http://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn406/jongcasia/91637675copy.jpg

This is hard..huh..i guess i was wrong, the burn & dodge tools were used for this instead of my Render theory:). but i admit, i definitely need more practice at this..:)

this is fun, anyone wants to post other challenges.

BTW, followed tutorial of Ryan. Thank for sharing!

cheers:Grin:

I think Ryan/mine/Christian/Rolan's renditions are quite similar.

Ryan's and Rolan's copies are the closest IMO... One thing I can't get right is the lower contrast of the original PP'd image. The center, white area of the lioness' chest blends in better than ours but I've tried burning the white areas but it still doesn't blend in as well. Maybe it has to do with the source file's data availability.

My opinion is, sharpen the image first so that it'll match the source photo. It's a bit hard to dodge/burn and adjust curves/contrast without performing a "defogging" sharpening first and establish the same amount of detail/sharpness in the image.

Here is my "try". on the right side you'll see the layers that I used. I don't "Dodge & Burn" because it Dodges and Burns the picture literally leaving it washed out or burned out. I use curves to lighten or to darken a picture and then use the brush to erase or display the parts that i want to use.

http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs32/f/2008/208/5/6/Tiger_Work_Flow_by_vasten.jpg

there are plug-in's that could that in one swipe :)

sir mark...thats a LOT of layers!!

I'm sorry for my Ignorance. I'm still learning photoshop and not familiar with all those effects, plugins, or whatever. Just tried my best.

How many layers you have there?..

sir mark, not saying youre bad, i was just surprised with the number of layers....made you look more pro actually (well for me since i equate no of layers to pro-ness hehe - anyone wanna look up that file with 1500 layers?)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2717053343_07e45ff68b_o.jpg
top- my version
below- original

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7127/walalangrarindradaw2jm0.jpg