Tommy Charles  wrote:
...if you want it to look painterly you need a lot more variation in the skin tone. Reds, yellows, blues, pinks. There also needs to be evidence of brush strokes, however subtle.

Thanks, Tommy! I'll look into ways of adding more variation in the skin tone. I'm going to try to experiment with an extra Overlay layer to add the texture of brush strokes.

To be honest, my ultimate goal is to demonstrate viable alternatives to the very proprietary programs that you mention. Given the massive surveillance that has been revealed in recent weeks, there's more incentive than ever to stop using software that keeps users in the dark about what it's really doing in the background. Proprietary software is a perfect vessel for snooping. Without privacy, there's little chance of democracy because it will be too easy for a tyrant to crush political dissent before it happens. And the dissent will be crushed, of course, in the name of "protecting" us.

Michael Zahra wrote:
Buy PostWorkShop v3

Looks like a decent option for someone who needs something believable without having to learn the ins and outs of a complex program. Painter is the standard, but you have to actually have an idea of how to paint.

Joann Empson wrote:

Thanks, Tommy! I'll look into ways of adding more variation in the skin tone. I'm going to try to experiment with an extra Overlay layer to add the texture of brush strokes.

To be honest, my ultimate goal is to demonstrate viable alternatives to the very proprietary programs that you mention. Given the massive surveillance that has been revealed in recent weeks, there's more incentive than ever to stop using software that keeps users in the dark about what it's really doing in the background. Proprietary software is a perfect vessel for snooping. Without privacy, there's little chance of democracy because it will be too easy for a tyrant to crush political dissent before it happens. And the dissent will be crushed, of course, in the name of "protecting" us.

Yeah, I hear you. I'm sure Photoshop *can* do anything Painter can, the question is how . Project DogWaffle is a small paint application with some nice tools.

Terrell Gates wrote:
I use Photoshop it delivers a pretty good result most of the time ... I wanted to have a painterly look for this image...

Hey Terrell,

Send me the source and I'll paint some or all of it in Painter to show you the diff. I'm not trying to promote the product or anything, it's just one of the few programs dedicated solely to digital painting. Paint Tool SAI is another.

Some digital painters swear that Photoshop and Painter can be used interchangeably. I disagree myself, and only use it for post processing. For one thing, Photoshop has much better dodge/burn tools.

Thomas Dodd wrote:
A large part of the painterly look is achieved BEFORE post.
It helps to have an extensive visual vocabulary and a knowledge of classic paintings and the techniques and lighting styles that artists use (and still use) so you know exactly what it is that you are trying to achieve(for instance look at Caravaggio for lighting effects or look at how Rembrandt rendered skin tones and facial expressions).

Selecting the right model, wardrobe and set is also crucial. (For example- a glamor model with a fake tan and enhanced breasts is never going to look like she stepped out of a PreRaphaelite painting..sorry!!)

And perhaps most important is the lighting . Flat studio lighting is seldom conducive for painting.The play between light and shadow is something that most master paintings depict in minute detail.

Everything done in post should be merely an enhancement of what you captured at the time of principal photography (and all this is coming from someone who is known primarily for "post-processing", but I always set things up in such a way that my post work will be (hopefully) seamless and organic...)

Great info, thanks.