Post 23 - SKETCHY SUNDAY - Altering hand-drawn sketches with Photoshop...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experiment...

Day late, but at least you can look forward to two posts from me today! Right?...


OK... I have been thinking a lot about that question I mentioned a couple of posts back...

What do I know well?

So, I started considering memories that were my own, or at least existed in my head in a unique fashion. Then, while I was flipping through some images for my artwork, I came across a drawing I did while taking a Ceramics class in graduate school (the first round). It is a marker and charcoal pencil drawing of the breakfast room and window of my great-grandmother's home... Not observed. Completely recall.

Now... I liked the drawing well enough to use it as a reference once--for a, now broken, ceramic wall plaque. So, I thought, what could I do to get interested in it again, and use it for another project reference. Maybe a monoprint, or fabric transfer, or a painted and stitched piece, or an illustration, etc...

It hit me. Photograph the original, and play with it in Photoshop! Always looking for ways to play in Photoshop, not to mention makes a great lesson idea... These are my results!... (Let me know what you think.)

Original - Nana's Window

Desaturation - Black and white simplifies nicely, as always.

Desaturation and colorize - Gives monochromatic feel and idea of what the drawing would have been like in crayon or colored pastels.

Saturation and color replacement - Fun to fiddle with all the possibilities here... warm, cool, analogous, etc... Change the color system!

Pointillize - Example of an unexpected surprise effect... Never thought I'd get a delicate hand-drawn feel, as if it's conte crayon on watercolor paper. Never know what you'll get sometimes!

Equalize and saturate - This is one of my favorites! Looks like bright watercolors or colored inks and india ink. Love the boldness! Could be a print... Hmmmmm?

Pixelate and saturate - Got more of a real pointillist feel here. Very Seurat!

Solarize - For the daring! Really changes the mood of the image. Also gives the feeling of something in a dream, which is somewhat appropriate to my theme.

Distortion/Polar coordinates - VERY COOL! Looks like a mandala design and/or automatic drawing... Like this "twist" on my drawing very much!

Interesting and certainly thought provoking results and possibilities galore!... Give it a try. Play with those sketches... Have fun!

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam