Latest try...

[tomsdesk]

...going for a "just after the cloud-burst" effect: whatdaya think? (Also threw in a DWC of the image for grins and comment...I'm lovin' the added benefits of starting with a render rather than an SU export!)

[jchau2007]

OOH... I like the watercolor alot.

[shura]

amazing watercolour, tomsdesk. mind giving insight to your workflow?

cheers
alex

[tomsdesk]

Thanks, Guys...workflow? I cheat! :`)

I use a little freebee program called "FotoSketcher" (great program with lots of settings to play with) to create the wet painting, then add it to the Grant/Dennis/Etc mix in PSP with the render, a sketchy line-only export from SU, an bordered layer from ProfessorFranklin, and a custom "dots" layer I made to simulate pigment "pooling". Then it's just a matter of playing with the layer blending until you get what you want.

This one is a more "finished" DWC look, rather than just a quick sketch...created by blowing up the render 3x(+) to force FotoSketcher to deal with more detail (this also makes the SU linework more subtle). But I still blame TwilightRender for adding the spark to the images.

[shura]

Now here is a lot for me to learn! Tomsdesk you're delivering a real masterpiece. Your trees are so... ...mh, the saying "to cut a fine figure" gives my dislectic brain an inspiration about NPR entourage... why don't you do some clipmaps for the guys over at Piranesi? With this watercolour style they would look phantastic. No idea if there are a lot of people buying products of this kind - but I would, if I had a copy of Piranesi.

I have used photosketcher here and then, but never thought of using line exports with it. Well, I am not a PSP-noob but It seems like I have missed a few classes...
...who are those guys you are talking about? Grant/Dennis/Etc? ProfessorFranklin? Did I miss some Spotlights on DCC-heroes over at SUArtists?
Anyway, thank you so much for explaining, I definitely gotta dig into your DWC technique asap.
a.

[Fletch]

Tom, that last one is definitely the best image I've seen from you, and ranks high among most images I've ever seen in that style! (nice touch w/ the frisbee stuck on the roof)

[tomsdesk]

...nice touch w/ the frisbee stuck on the roof

Thanks a bunch, Fletch...yeah, I didn't think most would recognize a square-folded newspaper so went with the frisbee. (My old paperboy buddy did actually comment on why I didn't use the newspaper, though...we sure deposited enough of them that way over the early years :`)

Alex, do a search over on the SketchUcation website for either Grant or Dennis (my apologies to Etc...someone else here please suppliment an old man's misfiring synapsis): also DWC or just watercolor. There are several very good post-pro techs and I use bits and pieces of most of them. (Professor Franklin is a cheap suite of photo editing apps that has been around for quite some time...the borders/edges in one of them are pretty nice for this type of work.) You could, I suppose, search over there for a couple of more extended explainations I've written on the subject of my layering in PSP, but then you'd miss the basics from the real guru's and lose the ability to call bulls**t on me :`)

All of their techs use several layers of different exports from SU, blended or revealed (by erasing), to enhance the final image. I started using PSP filters for a watercolor layer, then discovered SnapArt, but haven't turned back since someone clued me into FotoSketcher (though I do occasionally use a SnapArt layer for some underpainting and texturing). These here are strictly FotoSketcher for a quickie presentation tech I've been trying to perfect (i.e. sell to my clients :`)

[tomsdesk]

Based on some comments over on the SketchUcation forum, I did another version of the last image...better? Not?

[tomsdesk]

One more comp and now gotta get to finishing the tree set...still working for ya? (I'm happy :`)

[flipya]

I enjoy whatching your progress, your work is really nice! That frisbee on the roof is a great touch, although I doubt I'd keep it in for commercial purposes...

I like the second version better, has a little more 'pop' in terms of contrast. One thing I noticed is the inside of the garage is getting a little dark, maybe you could bring back the old dooropening. That last compo seems a little empty to me. Maybe some fauna in the open space and a picknicktable or some shrubs to the viewers' side of the house would make for a more balanced series.

Those trees are awesome by the way, where'd you buy them?