The Undertaker by mmitchell_houston
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Description
I am creating some cards for a game and needed an old-style illustration of an undertaker. I got a royalty free photo of Vincint Price and then set to work on it with the India Ink filter by Flaming Pear. This is a very cool filter that can deliver very nice woodcut or etching-style images from a photo or grayscale image (it also does color, but I've never needed that, as the final work needs to be in b&w).
Here you can see the original photo I started with. Notice that it cuts off his left shoulder, which just looked weird when I put it on the card. So, I used the lasso and clone tools to draw a new shoulder, take out his hand (and the head). I then drew in the missing parts of the lapels and added some other details.
Now, while working with the India Ink filter, it is important to note that a little bit of manipulation can go a LONG way. I set the filter to the general settings I wanted, then played with the burn and dodge tools to bring out details around his eyes, while minimizing some of the lines on his forehead. I also used the Levels tool to lighten and darken various parts of his suit.
The trick to getting good results from this technique is to run the filter, look at some of the detail areas, undo the filter and then edit the areas (lighten/darken as needed). Then repeat. It's time consuming, but worth it.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you will need to put an outline around the finished image in order to define its shape. I also added another layer and drew on some other lines (along the lapels, in the shirt ruffle, etc.) to bring out other details as needed.
Also, notice how his moustache fades away in mid-air into the background. Since this completely dropped out when I ran the filter, I cloned the tip of his moustache on his face and then flipped it to strengthen the other side.
I probably overdid it on this one card, but after 2-3 hours of messing around with it, I think I got a really good feeling for the filter and suspect I'll work faster next time.
One last note: When you work with this filter, THINK BIG. Te filter is a bit rough, so bigger images yield the best results. The original photo was about 2000 pixels tall. I've found that anything smaller than that will turn out thick and cluttered looking. Starting big and then scaling it down provides for much better results.
And, in case you're wondering, the font on the card is called Bleeding Cowboy. And yes, I'm leaving space at the bottom for text which will be added once it's imported into InDesign.
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Comments (8)
Leilana
Thats a wonderful card! I like your art!
zescanner
I like how you didn't just run the filter and give up on it because it didn't do what you wanted it to do. You took the time and the THOUGHT to work with your image and the filter to figure it out. I think your results are superb! And thanx very much for your explanation of the task. So... on a side note... what's the game about?
mmitchell_houston
Thanks for the posts! This filter is really powerful and capable of outputting great results, but it does take some work to get results. The thing I figured out was that you need to look at the image in terms of light/dark, rather than look at the image details (if that makes any sense).And you want to introduce subtle variations here and there to prevent the image from being monotonous. The game has a Western theme with cowboys, outlaws, and other standard characters. The cards with red borders (like this one) perform actions on the characters. Since most of the cards just use stock art, I haven't posted any of the designs here. But I will be posting more when I start designing the box art and the rules booklet.
deci6el
Not a big fan of filters to mimic drawing but the results look pretty good here. I believe you that it took some work to get it to behave. re: the new shoulder As this is my first time seeing it I should tell you that it stood out right away that he looked a little pinched. As I read your description of the process I realize you've already considered it without the shoulder. Since you've vignetted the right shoulder couldn't you do a similar vignette sketch-out of the left just as the torso does? Otherwise it looks to me like the left shoulder needs to be built out more and that will throw off your centering. It's a great adaption of the Vincent Price photo, I guess this isn't a commercial product 'cause you'd need permission to use his image. But I'm sure you know that. Cool looking Final
mmitchell_houston
deci6el: Thanks for the observation about the shoulder. I think I'm going to revisit this image. If you don't mind, I'll send you a note when it's up so you can see if I can improve it.
doarte
You have a vivid imagination and the obvious talent to support it. Going back to visit your very interesting gallery +5 from doarte's MADHOUSE
zoren
nice work!
jif3d
Good job on extending good ol' Vincent, he's looking quite intimidating and ready to grab anybody dead or ALIVE !
Thanks for explaining the postwork techniques, you really got a fine result worthy to appear on any card.
Well done & ~Cheers~
mmitchell_houston
Thank you. I love this way this turned out (except the shoulder). Alas, the company I had contacted about usage rights jacked their price way up. I am going to replace Vincent with an original character.