The how & why of quirk creations - the artist's explanation

[graybonnie]

Many times I have wondered what steps of execution were used to create some of the amazing works in the Quirk Gallery. Whenever I have asked the artist has always been kind enough to share their tips and secrets. So I thought why not have a thread where we can just tell how we quirked to arrive with a finished piece. Everyone will learn something new and we can also encourage some of the young lurkers to join in the fun. Please join this thread and share your insights to your latest creations.

[graybonnie]

Sunday Evening (http://www.digitalartquirks.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2677&cat=500&ppuser=162)

First I adjusted the brightness, contrast and levels of my original photo and made a couple duplicates. Next I started playing around with filters looking for something that would help to energize my drab original photo.

(At this point in the process all I knew was that I wanted to use this particular photo. Frequently I will start working without a clear idea of where I’m going.)

I knew I didn’t want an “artsy” look so I focused on the stylized filters and scrolled through the previews. Decided on the crazy black / neon look of the glowing edges filter. To tone down the glowing edges a bit I decided to overlay a second filter. Selected the artistic - poster edges for the first duplicate photo layer with an opacity of 45%. The shabby frame element provided the torn edges.

With the final duplicate photo, I shifted the view moving to the extreme left edge eliminating the dog and then moved the layer to the bottom of the pile. Next I adjusted the image to appear as a sepia tone and added an old linen overlay to dirty thing up. Set this layer to screen which helped to soften the photo. The text actually was placed between the photo and the overlay.