Rognoll's Sketchbook

[Tygerson]

Thanks for the comment!

I'm really liking the imaginative work! It's really cool how all the people are tumbling through the clouds. You kind of get the sense that some of them are getting it, and some of them are going to take a while getting used to it!

Okay, thing for you to try out. Pick a picture, create a new layer on top called "overlay" and set the blend mode to overlay. Try lightly brushing darks and lights on the overlay layer to increase contrast. Experiment with white, black, and colors. When you like what you see, decrease the opacity a bit to dial the effect back.

This is how I changed the colors on the picture of the little boy playing. Overlay of faint colors, mostly pale orange.

In overlay mode:
50% gray is invisible.
50% value color will alter and/or increase the saturation of colors underneath but leave the values alone.
Lighter or darker will lighten and darken, as well as give some interesting color effects if you are using colors. It's a good way to get that "orange glow through the skin" look.
Start with faint colors--the saturation will pile up quickly.

---

Alternatively, create a new levels adjustment layer.

http://www.apogeephoto.com/may2010/watts52010.shtml

It's an easy way to increase contrast, and to see where you are missing values. If there is a long emptly/flat area on the left of the histogram, you probably need more darks. If there is a long flat area on the right, you need more lights.