My “Enhanced Animal Images” are another kind of digital painting that I create. This particular image is of my beloved kitty companion of 18 years – who merged with the universal life force over 10 years ago. My 90+ year old aunt, that I have mentioned before, took this photograph years ago (in black and white). One day I decided to put Freckles into a field of flowers …
Freckles in Flowers I, Digital © Diane Clancy
I scanned the photo of Freckles into the computer so I could work digitally. Then I enhanced this image with layering as I did with some of the other digital images. The computer program Painter has a great feature called “image hose” and “nozzles.” One can load up a type of digital brush with images and then paint with the images. I have many layers so that I can non-destructively make changes and try different things out.
From trial and error, I have learned to have an individual layer for each kind of flower, grass or butterfly in general. Usually, I flip back and forth between Painter and Photoshop. Painter has these nozzles and other great features but I find Photoshop is easier to work in with layers. Again, the order of the layers make an incredible difference in the final painting.
Another great advantage with the layering of these enhanced animal images is that I can slip in another animal. Once I have a file (very large) with a neutral background (from my aunt’s first picture), then I can “cut” out another animal and slip them into the flowers. Of course, this can take hours even though it sounds easy!
– Diane Clancy
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