Artistic Photographic Renderings: New Possibilities with ArtMasterPro™ by John Stevenson (Photoscena) Text and Images © John L. Stevenson 2005 Original Photography © Peter Chen 2004 Ever thought about how to produce, artistically, a pen and ink drawing, maybe with a pastel color wash, and do that directly from a photograph? Perhaps with something like this in mind... or this... Well, don't open Photoshop®, aim at Filters and then select either Artistic or Stylize. Rather, take a look at a new standalone phototransformation program, ArtMasterPro™, from Fo2PiX. (By the way, the original photograph from which these two renderings were made is parked down at the bottom of this article, along with some other background material and information on Fo2PiX.) Though the Filters menu has been a component of Photoshop since its day-one version, the image processing outputs from it have never earned unreserved praise. Almost all of Adobe's individual routines have been re-developed as third-party plug-ins, whilst the over-aggressive and mechanically worked appearance of the outputs from the native Artistic set has often earned the critical phrase "suffers from filter burn." In a completely different approach, Fo2PiX has developed innovative image analysis algorithms that attempt to create derivative images based upon the principles of composition that painters use: identifying important lines, shapes and colors, plus textures, (and the interrelationships between these elements). So, let's just briefly explore how the ArtMasterPro application can be used to re-render the following (perhaps a little too bland) portrait image, aiming to simplify it and enhance the viewer's visual engagement with the subject. Modes ArtMasterPro has a unique GUI (Graphical User Interface), not in any way related to Photoshop, Painter, etc. Upon opening the input image file, the application will be in the first of three operational modes--the Adjust Editor. This is shown in the partial, and spliced, screenshot below. ABOVE: ArtMasterPro in Adjust Editor mode Here, it is possible to make a number of basic corrections to the image (cropping, rotation, color saturation, etc.) before proceeding to the Studio Editor. None of these were used in the worked example covered in this article. However, the sensitivity of the rendering algorithms contained within ArtMasterPro is such that color, brightness, and contrast modifications can be influential in other cases and for other types of photographic subjects. Sources While the conventional portrait artist would start out with a blank canvas, ArtMasterPro initially provides a set of image "Sources." These are essentially digitally-generated guesses at the fundamental make-up of the original input photograph, in four categories: colors, edges and outlines, low and highlights, plus finally, masks, and surfaces. Over 700 individual Sources are generated in all at the outset and within the Studio Editor. An important sub-category for portraiture is a set that renders out the shaded areas of the image, so defining lines within it, but only as implied by the borders between lighter and darker regions. Here below on the left is a shaded edge Source image as generated from our original photograph: ABOVE: (left) a shaded edge Source; (right) a different, drawn edge Source On the right-hand side is a different, perhaps complementary, Source that mainly defines the principal edges detected, as fairly thick and even "drawn" lines. Assembling a complete rendering involves selecting multiple Sources, similar to these examples, but taken from different categories, and then inter-mixing (or blending) them. The Palette Each individual Source is an input "suggestion" only; any one of them can be edited and/or enhanced within the program before being finalized. The edited version sits on a digital equivalent of the artist's palette. For example, working with a specific Source might require that it be changed in color (hue and/or saturation) and brightness. The controls that allow for this are illustrated in this (partial) screenshot image of the ArtMasterPro GUI: ABOVE: ArtMasterPro now in the Studio Editor mode The specific Source selected is visible as a thumbnail at the bottom right side of the screen, while the adjustments made to it are set via the neat "picker dials" centrally situated in the left-hand sub-screen. The current status of the Source while on the Palette can be assessed in the top-left image window (where the Palette radio button is indicated as active). Sources used as Stencils can also be previewed here. Composing on the Canvas The sequence of transferring the customized Sources from Palette to Canvas is what comprises building a rendered image ready for output. This transfer can be made at specific locations, by using a brush, for addition or subtraction, or alternatively via the use of a separate Source as a grayscale Stencil. But, apart from the mechanics, the overall workflow needs to be reconsidered (again) in the same paradigm as a portrait painter might adopt--for example, initially underpainting the canvas to mostly establish hints of the background setting at the periphery of a portrait, and only subsequently working in details of the subject towards the center. Initially, in this case, several of the shaded edges Sources were surveyed and the first actually selected then brushed onto the ArtMasterPro canvas in a hatched pattern. Others were added locally, to further build up emphasis on the right hand side of the model's profile from forehead to neck. The following are two more Source images, from the colors set, that were both used subsequently in the transformation of our original portrait: ABOVE: two Source images, also used in building the rendering, from the Colors category That on the left was used as a base, above the shading, and the one on the right used to color tone the highlight areas. If all of this sounds way too complex, don't worry. All of the individual steps can be recorded as a script--termed a Fo2PiX ArtWizard--which can be played back later and then modified, on-the-fly, with the same or any other input photograph. Immediately above is my finalized, re-rendered output image. Working with "head-shot" portraits like this one is more challenging than any other conventional subject. Any small artifact introduced by the edge detecting routines will carry the eye away from the intended focus. The transformation achieved here is quite dramatic while free of any such flaws, and it definitely accomplishes a sensitive enhancement of the original. ArtMasterPro plus Photoshop One extra avenue to explore is to use ArtMasterPro together with Photoshop, essentially using each application for what it does best. It's possible--as one example--to set up a series of proxy images from the original photographic input, filter each of them individually in ArtMasterPro and then make a composite in Photoshop. Basically the Fo2PiX program provides a unique set of colored, shaded, and outlined components for individual layers in the Adobe software. This allows for all sorts of corrections, blending, and masking, quite independent of the filtering. Here's just a single example that would engage the viewer quite differently from the first complete rendering included above: Gone is the dynamic, more assertive feel--replaced with something that conveys pensiveness and vulnerability. But, as before, it does not directly ape or imitate any standard, conventional painting technique. (Nevertheless, think Vermeer, pearl earring...) Finally, below, is the original image used to generate the two sketch-like pictures used in the introduction. Note that only the front rim of the cup and the saucer, plus the portion of newsprint in the bottom left corner, are in sharp focus. This photograph was deliberately chosen in order to test the fidelity of both the drawn (solid) and shaded edge detection algorithms in the program. You can judge the outcome for yourself by carefully examining the renderings in the first two images in the article. ABOVE: Coffee-cup image used to create the two rendered images at the top of this web page. Printing One of the hidden bonuses of ArtMasterPro is what can be printed from the outputs. Images that are just 1500x2000 pixels (say) will print impressively to at least the 17-inch width set on many professional level inkjets using up to A2 size (16.5x23.4") sheet paper, in part due to the smoothed spatial definition introduced by the rendering routines themselves. It's possible to make poster prints even larger than this by using an interpolation utility such as Genuine Fractals (from onOne Software) and electing to use a textured print surface. Printing can be done directly from within ArtMasterPro by proceeding on into the Layout Editor mode, or via a third-party application that the user prefers. Additional Info and Resources Information on ArtMasterPro can be obtained directly from U.K.-based Fo2PiX Limited at their website: www.fo2pix.com, where there is also an extensive gallery of images produced using this and other software products. Both PC and Mac versions of the software are provided. In the U.S., ArtMasterPro is now available directly from JVH Technical LLC, at: www.jvhtech.com/fo2pix.php. For an excellent set of insights into the relationships between photography and the other visual arts, I highly recommend: Varieties of Visual Experience, authored by Edmund Burke Feldman, and published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. NY. David Hockney's Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters, published by Viking Studio (Penguin Putnam, NY), covers some of the same observations, but with more emphasis on portraiture. (The Hockney book provided some foundations upon which the Fo2PiX software algorithms were based.) Afterthought A variation on an old joke (with modest apologies to Monty Python):   - a customer, in a computer superstore:     "Would this computer be able to produce art instantly?"   - an unusually perceptive PC salesman:     "I suppose it might. But how would we know whether the art is good?"   - the customer:     "Well young man, I may not know much about art, but I know what I like..." About the Author John Stevenson has been an enthusiastic photographer forever. Some of his recent digital composition work can be seen at www.photoscena.com. He is also proudly represented at the new ELEMENTS Art Gallery, in Colorado Springs, CO (www.elementsartgallery.com), where he will mount an exhibit, "Truly Scene", dedicated to photo-art constructions, in mid-2006. He can be reached by e-mail at jstvnsn@photoscena.com. ^ back to top read other How-Tos here Home | About Us | Advertise | Contact Us News & Reviews | How-To's | Resources © 2002-2005 Harald Johnson Communications. All rights reserved.