Challenge #72 is now posted

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Vicky Bilaniuk has posted the Challenge. it is a cactus so it should be a
very thorny issue. Have fun, post often!

http://home.cogeco.ca/~challenge/Challenges.html

Present and Past Challenges will remain Until tomorrow at 7:00 pm the then
the Present will be Past and new images will be posted.

* Important notice to all the new people in this forum. This is not a
close shop you are all invited to submit an image. If you don't think you
are good enough this is your first mistake, I think most have found that
working on the Challenge has improved their personal level. So young and
old, hot shots and cool dudes now is you time to post.
--
Grant

Home Pages http://home.cogeco.ca/~grant.dixon/index.htm

Challenge Pages: http://home.cogeco.ca/~challenge/

*********************************************************

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while
discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and
better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.

Alexander Osborn (1888 - 1966)

*********************************************************

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi,
Very sultry,sexy,mysterious thing going on there. Nice image :))

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Chris ! had a feelin ta doo sumthin dif....

Marylin, very nice ! Like it alot !

Tab...still laughin here...fun!

Bob Warren, i relly really like that #2 !

Robert Jones #1...yes !

James..the last very cool

Jo Ann !! YAY !! You are here and talented <whistlin'>

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

thanks Jodi: I wondered if anyone would see my granddaughter hidden in that and have a hunch you did. I have a couple more done, but rather hesitate to put them in. So MUCH talent here. I love what you have done with yours.

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Sorry for not mentioning earlier that the Challenge was up. I was running
behind and had to feed Doreen first. I would like to apologize for the
pornographic image this week but I do not censor anything. David Houses'
comment on the Leaf Rule was almost too to close to the edge. In the end I
decided to let it slide. :)

Grant

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

wow ! Terri and Wendy ! So much talent !

Terri, did you draw that tomatoe eater ? It's very funny. Like it.

Wendy, I lllloooovvvveeeee the flower pot !

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

this one is so much fun, I have done several. How many are we allowed to show? I love working with flowers and collect mini cacti. this one is right up my alley.

[Dick_...@adobeforums.com]

I see Jodi and Bob both followed the "tomato line!" I noticed it but
hadn't had a chance to work with it yet.

David I really like the "Dixon Town Crier", great concept.

Wendy, loved the Flower Pot!

Jodi, your #1 is way cool!

Dick

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Joan

No one know as no one has reach the maximum yet.!
Grant

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi,

Thanks for the compliment. The giant is a piece of clip art but I did so much clone work and blend work on him I feel like I drew him. Boy, that tomato plant was wicked to select! I don't even want to say how many hours I spent on those plants. When I saw the challenge image, I was immediately drawn to the two tomato plants. Great set of entries. Glad to see I wasn't the only one eye balling the tomato plants. The texture and styling of the #2 is great. Wow, you do a great page tear effect. I can never get it nearly that good! Glad to see you feel up to doing the challenge this week.

Terri

[Susan_S.@adobeforums.com]

Terri - your giant is not only a really nice technically excellent piece of work, but he gave me a smile on a day when I really badly needed one. Thank you...
Susan S

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Susan,

Thank you very much. Glad he made you smile.

Terri

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Tab,

LOL. I had that very same thought and movie in mind! My #2 started out to be based on "Little Shop of Horrors" but I ended up going a slightly different direction. Very cute entry...and if I might say so great idea!

Terri

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Everyone has been so quick this week ....

Just been to check them out:

Bob ... Cutting out those Tomatoes must have taken you forever ... still it was so worth it.

David ... No 2 is a brilliant idea and I love the topics ... made me smile.

Dick ... No 3 a great idea and the background is beautiful.

James ... No 1 so stylish .. How did you do it?

JoAn ... No 3 love that background. Did you use a filter?

Jodi ... No 1 Oh WOW ... No 2 Oh Wow. Jodi my girl you come up with the most exquiste work, brilliant ideas and you really are the Queen of Blending :)

Marilyn ... A soft and gentle quality. I really like it.

Robert ... No 1 is so good. Just how did you do it?.

Stu ... The colours you have used in the new image are very effective and that radial background just finishes it off.

Tab ... That is so funny .. I am still laughing :)

Terri ... Terri the giant poster is brilliant. Your work is always good but this one is fantastic.

Wendy

[Colin_Wo...@adobeforums.com]

Folks....

My very first attempt at a challenge stalled at the firewall, so it's still on it's way. Take pity on a poor amatuer...I see there is some serious talent here.

Excellent images everyone...just gives me hope that maybe one day....?

Colin

[Robert...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Jodi! I particularly like your #1 also.

Bob

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Colin,

We are always gentle here ... and it will be nice to see your first try.

When I joined this forum I hadn't done anything like this before but I gave it a try and like to think that I have got better over the months.
Looking at other peoples images gives me ideas for the future and everyone shares how they did it.

Wendy

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Terri

re:page tear effect; is that what it looks like ? I wasn't really going for that but I'm glad you like it. Here is how to do it in Elements;

have a bottom layer whatever color you want>create another layer above it(photograph or graphic that you want the effect on) but it has to be a little smaller than the bottom layer so that you can see the bottom layer around edges ( but you don't always have to do this depending on what you are doing ). Make a quarter inch or so selection along the inside of your top image layer and 'select inverse' so that the outer edges are selected. Go to toolbar>filter>distort>displace>Click OK to default settings. When browser opens this is the path to the Elements default displacement maps on PC; Local disc C>Program Files>Adobe>Elements>plug-ins>displacement maps. I confess I use my own that I made but try 'mezzo effect' and/or crumbles. You can also use the textures...same path to Elements except it's in'presets'>'textures'...there are some cool ones in there as well.

Another way to do it without having to select the outer edge is to duplicate your top image layer and apply the displacement map effect to the entire image. Then you can just select the center parts you don't want to keep and delete. The image below it that is still intact will also need its outer edges deleted. Works either way.

P.S. sometimes the maps knock your image off center...but just use the move tool on that layer to recenter it.

[Vicky Bilaniuk]

Hey guys I LOVE what you've done with my flower!! :-) I've been rather
busy lately and haven't had time to work with PSE much or even check the
newsgroup, but Grant e-mailed me to let me know that he had put my pic
up so I just had to stop by.

I LOVE the fact that some of you used the tomato plant (yes, just one
plant - it branched off and had two main stems). In fact, I had
completely forgotten that there was a tomato plant in that picture. ;-)
I remembered all the weeds, but not the tomato plant. Sadly, that
tomato plant suffered the same fate that all of my tomato plants suffer:
it died (long before frost). So I'm glad it was immortalized before
The End. I have terrible luck with tomatoe plants. Either they die off
early, or their tomatoes never ripen before the frost hits. I'm trying
one more this year (only one, whereas in previous years I had three or
four, all different kinds) so we'll see, but it's already getting off to
a bad start. I can grow just about anything else *except* tomatoes, it
seems.

The cactus itself is actually some kind of German-made hybrid. I looked
it up once but now I forget the name. The plant actually gets pretty
big - this one is just a young and seriously pot-bound one that I will
*hopefully* finally transplant this year, since it's starting to grow funny.

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Jodi --
Thanks! I was glad to see you back in the fray -- loved your take on the cherry tomatoes.
Bob Warren
<http://www.rewarren.com/challenge/rsp72-2.htm>

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Wendy --
Thanks for your kind remarks. I was able to select most of the tomato plant using the magic wand set to various tolerances, but the cleanup was a bit much.
Bob Warren
<http://www.rewarren.com/challenge/rsp72-2.htm>

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi,

Thanks for the explanation on the tear effect. Very cool. Copying that into my notebook. Up to date, mine always stick out like a sore thumb. Can't wait to try out your technique. Thanks for sharing! I must admit to not having much experience with the displacement filter even though I've read a few really good tutorials about it.

Grant,

Thank you for switching out the incomplete #2 I accidentally sent in to you with the revamp. I really appreciate that. It would have drove me crazy since the thumb and mouth are right in the center of the piece. By the way, Ray inspired #2. (You know, he never has sent in a nice pain medication induced piece of art for the challenge.) Hope he feels better...and doesn't encounter any man eating tomato plants.

Terri

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy,

Thanks for the wonderful compliment! Great set of entries on your part too. I particularly like the #1 and #2. I swear if I didn't know the cactus wasn't part of the challenge I wouldn't be able to pick it out. Just absolutely seamless. Awesome selection and cross matching! The child in the flower is adorable. A simply fantastic idea! Is that cute little crumb grinder one of yours?

Looks like some great entries are posted. I haven't had a chance to take a close look at too many entries so far because I'm in the middle of attacks of inspiration and a two year old tyrant.

Terri

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Jodi. When I see all of the other entries I am just amazed by
everyone's skill.

--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
<Jodi...@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...
>> James..the last very cool

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Wendy. It was a combination of filters but I really don't
remember what and I didn't save the original intact. Is the handsome
young fellow your son?

--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/

<Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Hi Terri,

Oh dear ... the little crumb grinder is 30 on Sunday ... He is my stepson and would be mortified if he know what I had done .....

I have just been to look at your no 2 ... I just love those teeth :)

Wendy

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

guess I did send in to many..... My fourth one, (and favorite) didn't get posted My fifth one did. so I resent my fourth one, but it still isn't here. Disappointed....

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

JoAn

Please disregard my last post I was being distracted and sent out something
that makes no sense.

You are far from reaching the limit as there is not limit. It is just that
I have only received four Challenge and two Photo Challenge images from
you. Often I do miss one image and then sometimes I even make a blunder
that is when I need a gentle reminder. In this case I haven't received the
strident file from you. Generally if the images are send in with the
naming convention I can usually tell when a file goes astray. Right now I
am waiting for a file in the Photo Challenge from someone that indicates
that there are six files but has only sent five.

For those not familiar with the naming convention here it is.

: "Images should be no larger than 800 pixels in the longest direction and
: should not exceed 100 K in file size. This rule will be flexible until the
: popularity of the Challenge starts to tax the server. *If you want to help
: name your file in the following manner. The first number is the challenge
: number followed by your name as you would like to see it in the challenge
: and then the number of you entry. " So 13GrantDixon2.jpg will be the
second
: entry by Grant Dixon in the 13th Challenge.""

Grant

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

I did that, so I will blame it on MSN again. I have not been recieveing all of my email so not surprising a couple would go astray. I will send it again as it is my favorite of the ones I have done. Thank you so much for your prompt answer.

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

JoAn,Maybe it's under the wrong name.

Grant, You have my "Sinfully Delicious" under Patti's name. Strangely it's actually sitting in the right place just labeled with Patti's name.

Terri

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

I am having trouble with my email on MSN. I just tried 3 times to resend and finally had to reboot my computer. This time it said it sent. I hope that is true. JoAn

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

Woops

Oh what an assim. In my haste to get up my POD I did one too many cut and
paste. Sorry!

Grant

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Grant,

No problem. Figured that's what happened. Not sure if Patti would want to be accused of making cactus flower pasties. (Don't know about that spelling. Obviously that one wasn't in the Adobe forum spell check.)

Terri

[Patti Anderson]

Oh shoot, I missed all the fun. LOL. Looks like Grant has everything in order. With all the work you put into these challenges, Grant, you are entitled to make all the mistakes you want! XD

Patti

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

Ohh it got there! Thank you.

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

yes I agree with what Patti just said. I am a manager and assistant manager n several of MSNs top photography groups, and I have NO where near the work you put in here! Thank you so much for what you are doing here. I am really enjoying these challenges. JoAn

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

You sure have been on a creative trip this time ... love No 3. Its wicked :)

Wendy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy,

Thanks. I have recently bought a couple of Photoshop books, and learned a trick or two. I also bought a 350,000 piece image set on CD. This helped my creativity a lot because now I can find an image (or body part if I need to Frankenstein an image) that fits my concept or angle need rather that trying to make my vision conform to what I can find. Makes a heck of a difference! Glad you liked "Sinfully Delicious". She is three photos and a lot of clone work...and the flower so I guess thats four photos. She originally had diving goggles on her head so I had to use another woman's forehead. The hair is receded in the final but I kind of liked that since it accentuated the horns which I pulled off a steer. I wanted to keep her arms and hands so I thought myself what could I put on her head that she'd be adjusting. Horns was the natural answer for me since I was doing the Garden of Eden. I had fun with this particular entry.

Terri

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

Ihave never thought of using clip art! I have the cds but never used them. Just use my own photos plus what is offered here in the challenge. Guess I will have to put that cd in and see what fun I can have with it. Great idea.

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

JoAn

Your strident images arrived this morning so now I have three copies of your
favourite but only posted one :-)

Grant

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Wow Terri ... with 35,000 images on CD you should never be short of the right one.

JoAn ... we use all sorts of things here :)

Wendy

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

OUCH!! Strident? Sorry. MSN is really flubbing me up today. One of the members on photographics sent me the classes to edit and MSN sent them back to him saying no such Email address. Now you get mine a day late. I just sent a new one to the #16 challenge, hope that one goes through. Maybe I better wait a while before sending more.

[Grant...@adobeforums.com]

JoAn

I do believe it is already posted.

Grant

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

Wow That was fast work. Wendy and terri, I put that cd in. I have always used my own photos so this is going to be something new for me. Terri has 10,000 more than I got....... tsk. Oh well I don't think I will be using 25,00 cliparts right away. Gonna go checkem out. JoAn

[Robert...@adobeforums.com]

Hi Wendy,

I'm glad you liked my #1. You asked how I did it, I'll try to cover the
most significant details.

First, I treated the background separately from the flower.

I selected the flower and created a new layer via copy. I duplicated the
flower layer and rotated the lower flower to fill in the gaps in the leaves
and make it fuller. Merged the two flower layers and adjusted the tonal
range (duplicate layer, remove color from top layer and invert, set mode of
top layer to overlay and apply gaussian blur, then merged the two layers).
I then increased saturation to intensify the color of the flower and
adjusted it's levels until it looked good. I duplicated the flower layer
again and applied a strong radial blur filter to the bottom layer. I left
the two flower layers separate and applied a levels adjustment layer to each
to fine tune the balance of the front and back portion.

For the background, I used a combination of tools and filters to make it
look more painterly. I made liberal use of the smudge tool and various
filters. When I was satisfied with it, I duplicated the layer, flipped the
duplicate horizontally, and set the blending mode to overlay and merged
down. Then, finished up by adjusting levels to darken and blend.

Sorry I couldn't respond earlier, my ISP has been having problems all
weekend and I'm only getting intermittant access to the Internet.

Bob

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy,

Not 35,000....350,000 images not including the two samplers that I got with my "How to Cheat with Photoshop" book. I'm set to conquer any vision now! Works great for me because I'm on dial up so downloading images takes a while since my 56k dial-up usually runs at 28k. One of these days, I'll talk the husband into popping for DSL but until that day I'll be sitting watching the loading status bar and finger tapping.

Terri

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

ohhhh. you have lots of things to play with I have cable and I hope I never have to go back to dial up. I teach a class in elements sunday mornings on line, and if I had dial up I would never get it done. This is a wonderful group, and the challenges are great. Grant, thanks so much for letting me participate. JoAn

[Chuck_...@adobeforums.com]

Terri, I heard a statistic in a news articles that surprised me: supposedly
43% of US homes with Internet access now have broadband. The number in
Germany is more than 70%. So tell hubby you'll be in the minority soon if
you don't get DSL!

:-)

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Chuck,

The problem is he hardly ever uses the computer at home so it's not too much of an issue for him. He did, however, order a couple of things over the internet last week and was grumping about how long it was taking. So there is hope for me yet.

Terri

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

Guess I missed the zero off ... sounds like a good collection. Which one did you buy? I too am on dial up with no hope of getting broadband as it isn't available in our rural area

I have a copy of Coral Printhouse 2000 but all the images are saved in their own format so they get more complicated to use. I really need to buy a reasonable collection of images as it takes forever searching websites.

I know you got the How to Cheat book but what was the other? .. I bought the Katrin Eismann but haven't got round to using it yet.

Wendy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy, I paid $20 for the Big Box of Art by Hemera. It's the same as the photo sampler you got with the "How to Cheat" book. 12 CDs in all. I bought it at an electronics store. They have a 750,00 kit but I thought that was a bit excessive (like 350,000 isn't LOL.) It says you can export with transparency but haven't figured out how to do that yet. It's a pretty mixed lot of stuff. (vector clip art, web graphics, raster illustrations, Photo Objects, animations, textured photos, Pro color photos and Pro B &W photos.) License says no porno. LOL. I laugh because they have a few questionable poses...one in particular is a series of shots with a guy dressed like he's the biker in the Village People welding a whip. LOL. It's also got a Greeting Card Creator and a CD designs creator (whatever that is.) There also a bonus font texture thing. I only put that on my system to see what it was. Answer: Pretty worthless when you have Photoshop but some might say Yippi.

Guess What...I WAS referring to Katrin Eismann's book. I have only got about a third of the way through her book but it's a keeper. She gives an excellant explanation of blending modes, and I had never thought of using adjustment layers for duel purpose. Also learned a lot about drawing multiple gradients on a mask then blurring the mask to creat the misty look aroud a picture. Sure I can do it with a marquee and about 30 pixels of feather but enjoyed doing this a different way for a change. I also have been reading One on One. I'm already thinking of purchasing a couple more. Was thinking about maybe adding one by Al Ward or maybe the Photoshop Bible. Oh, no now I'm a Photoshop book addict...and there are so many!

Terri

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Terri,

After a while you do get to be a book collector ... Isn't it funny that we bought the same books :).

I have Photoshop 7 Bible it came free with one of my Husband's magazine subscriptions. If are stuck trying to fathom out how something works its OK but only as a reference book ... no good to sit down and read. Its just like having a Photoshop encyclopedia and I found it heavy going.

I have been wondering about one by Al Ward and thought next time I am near a large bookshop I would go in for a read and see if I like them.

Thanks for all the info ... the Big Box of Art by Hemera sounds quite good,

Wendy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy,

Thanks for the info on Photoshop Bible. Not really into reference type books at the moment. $59 is a bit stiff to be gathering dust. Had looked at Commercial Photoshop by Malloy but it looked like it spent quite a bit of book space going over 3-D applications and Classroom in a book looked a little dry to me but them again I like big glossy pictures. I'm thinking about maybe Photoshop for Right Brainers or Photoshop Artistry. Not sure. Will have to thumb through them again. Good thing I live 45 minutes away from the closest bookstore that carries Photoshop books or I'd be knee hight in books. I don't order off the internet so the drive serves as a nice deterrant to over purchasing. Yes, it is funny that we've been buying the same books. Sounds like it's a good thing we don't shop together. Imagine the empty store shelves.

Terri

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wow! Really great entries. Some of my favorites so far are:

Beth C- #3 looks so soft and beautiful.
Bob W- Oh the #3 is fantastic. Love the theme.
Colin- Very cool. Like the teeth. I see he has some tomato stuck to them.
David H- Great painted effect in the #1, and the ad is very funny.
Donald M- Wow, way cool spiral flower.
James H- The Christmas Balls entry is awesome! One of my VERY favorites.
JoAn- Love the Sun Flower entry (#5)
Marylin- The desert entry is another of my VERY favorites. Awesome work.
Patti- The #1 is fantastic.
Sunnyway- Really like the #1.
Wendy- See you've been busy again. Love the statue! By the way, the petals look so smooth and soft. Beautiful work.

Terri

[Flar_K...@adobeforums.com]

Chuck wrote:

oh nooo!!!
and i thought i WON'T be part of ANY majority EVER!
this is even more than two thirds!
maybe it's time to move? ;-)

[Flar_K...@adobeforums.com]

oops, forgot to say:

loads of terrific entries again.
like most of the time, i just give a comment on my personal
favourite, from a very subjective perspective. [probabely with
way too much glasses of italian white wine, but remember it's
3:57 in the morning where i live...]

carl's work is definitely my favourite this week.
this is some sort of slightly out of focus magic garden to
me. i will go to bed now.
will dream of the wonders happening there.

f

[be...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Terri, I'm glad you like it - took forever to do. :) You have come up with some terrific ideas this week and #2 is my favourite.

beth

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Terri --
Glad you liked #3. It hit me when I was zoomed in on the center of the flower how much it looked like a sea anemone.
Bob Warren
<http://www.rewarren.com/challenge/rsp72-3.htm>

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for liking my sun flower too. I made an animated gif from that that turned out so neat.

[Colin_Wo...@adobeforums.com]

Terri....

Thanks for the kind words. BTW: I could only do the top set of teeth as my mother was giving me some strange looks... :-)

It just occured to me that we could have taken a swipe at the Elements Splash screen with this one. Maybe there's still time.

Colin

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you Terri. Your entries were very nice as usual but I really liked
your sin entry.
--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
<Terri_...@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

[JoAn_...@adobeforums.com]

I have really enjoyed going over and over the entries to this challenge. Wonderful work. Some of my favorites, although it is hard to pick favorites, is all of Terri's entries, Cal Cowens tide pool is great. I spend a great deal of time at the beach, and the tide pools... I really like the first one of Robert Jones, rather a burst of infinity. and .......... so it goes. Just wonderful work. All of it! JoAn

[Wendy_E_...@adobeforums.com]

Teri,

Glad you like it :)

I took some time out today on the Internet to try to find the Big Box of Art by Hemera for the Mac but prices were much higher than the PC version ... about £60 and they seemed to be a different size. I will keep looking as I do need something. Anybody any ideas for the Mac?

Wendy

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Wendy,

Yikes! What is that....about $130 US? Who would have thought there would be that much price hike for a Mac version!

Terri

[cal_...@adobeforums.com]

JoAn, thanks, not been able to do much because of work, like Bob i thought of anenomes.

[Robin_...@adobeforums.com]

I got a sample program of Hemera Photo Objects with a British Digital Photo magazine, and the program runs well and the images are great, but I can't seem to get it to download with transparency to PSE on my Win XP Home OS. Any Ideas?

Robin S

[byrongale]

Robin,

I have a Hemera Photo Clip Art CD, which has an Export option of "Graphics
application that supports 32 bit images with a transparency mask".

The option is grayed-out...

I haven't yet discovered how to get the images out with transparency.

Byron

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Robin,

I finally figured out how to export with transparency. I probably wouldn't have figured it out without having both Photoshop and Elements on my system since the transparency utilizes the alpha channel. Here's what I have mine set to: Export to Graphics Program Tiff with Transparency (*Tif). Browse for whatever folder you want it in or desktop as I put mine until I set up a folder. You'll get it with the white matt. Go up to the Menu and pick Selection<Load Selection. It will say Alpha 1 and you can check mark the invert. You'll get a selection around the Photo Object. I only figured because it mentioned something about the Alpha Channel. Found it in Photoshop then remembered that Elements actually supports the alpha channel so loaded up the selection and worked like a charm. By the way, I haven't figured out how to copy and paste with transparency. It does caution that this is rarely supported so maybe it isn't going to happen. Thought I'd pass this along to you since I've been hair pulling over the same issue.

Terri

[Robin_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Terri, I'll give it a try when I get hom from work. You are right though, it has been driving me crazy!

Robin S

[carl_su...@adobeforums.com]

Flar,

Thank you for your comments. I was trying for some feeling of mysticism and glad it came through.

Yours is clever. I'm a fan of Nick Cave as well.

Carl

[Cliff_S...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Bob for the kind words. For #1 I made the flower into
a brush and applied various sizes and opacities.

Very nice job on your tomato plant.

A lot of great entries.

Thanks again

Cliff

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

It would be interesting to see if we could predict with
any accuracy which Challenge images would produce the most
entries. If I were guessing, I would have been way off on
this one -- lots of great images this week!
ANNE T: Nice watercolor effect and drop shadow on the
flower.
BETH C: Your black and white enlargement really brought out
the tone (#1). I like the delicate color in #2.
CAL C: The tide pool is great -- nice insertion of the
anemones.
CARL S: Isolating the center of the flower was a great
idea -- I like what the black and white does for it,too.
CELIA B: Wild distortions on the petals! A nice frame for
the portrait.
CHRIS R: Interesting use of light in #1 -- the half frame
is a neat idea. The day lily in #2 is a nice addition.
Interesting collage in #3 -- the way you recolored the
flower and used it for the background is cool. An eerie
caption for #4 -- goes well with the rundown building
background.
CLIFF S: I like the way you used multiple copies of the
flower to create depth in #1. Nice use of background
desaturation to emphasize the flower in #2.
COLIN W: Those teeth are a hoot! I love the bites taken
out of the tomato.
DAVID HAMER: Great use of color -- how did you do the
background?
DAVID HOUSE: I like the way you recolored the flower and
included a desaturated one, too (#1). Got a chuckle from
#2. Loved the butterflower in #3.
DICK S: Another interesting use of desaturation in #1. I
like the way you played with isolating color in #2. Loved
the swirl background and the torn edge in #3. Great
radials in #4 -- how did you make them?
DONALD M: Oooh! Great petal effect -- looks like some
multilayer cut-out snowflake design.
FLAR K: Neat CD cover art -- nice use of type in the
design.
JAMES H: Is that glowing edges in #1? Cool. Love the
flower against black in #2. Have to go with the floating
JOAN Y: Effective use of selective brightness to isolate
the flower in #1. Nice tiled frame effect in #2. I love
the background you created for #3 -- edges, but then what
did you do? Interesting use of the lighthouse in #4 & #5.
JODI F: Love the mystery in #1 -- the way you play with
color and shadow is great. Nice work on the tomatoes in #2
-- could be an illustration for a White Flower Farm seed
catalog.
JUERGEN D: I like your recoloring and grouping -- and, of
course, a great frame!
MARILYN L: Lovely, lovely... the desert theme is terrific.
I like the 3D effect in #1, the cracked background texture
in #2, the prickly pear in #3 and the way you used the jug
and gradient in #4. I assume that's liquify in #5?
MARK L: Cool multiplication of the flower petals.
PATTI A: Wonderful insertion into the vase in #1 -- you
got the light just right. The floating flower in #2 is
terrific -- I assume you made the ripples?
ROBERT J: Nice use of the radial blur in #1 and the ripple
effect in #2.
ROBIN S: Very simple and effective presentation of the
tomatoes in #1 -- I like the way you used the brush. Very
cool lion's head in #2! Blended nicely into the flower.
STU B: Using the pale blue vignette sets off the flower
nicely.
SUNNYWAY: Nice color substitution and a great rotary frame
in #1. Love the texture and edge coloration in #2. #3 is
very effective -- I like the way you matched the font.
TAB A: The Little Shop of Horrors gives this one a great
theme -- nice chrome effect on the type.
TERRI F: Love the fonts and the humor in the images this
week. I like the way you brightened up the tomatoes in #1,
the teeth in #2; the pitchfork in #3, and the seed packets
in #4.
WENDY W: Nice orchid setting for the flower in #1. Cool
idea for the flower frame in #2. Love the pot and
background in #3 (my favorite in this set). The watering
can girl complements the flowers nicely in #4.
Bob Warren
<http://www.rewarren.com/challenge/chl72.htm>

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Bob,

Thanks for the compliments. The tomatoes were all colored using solid color fill adjustment layers. I have found that you can get interesting effects by using different blend modes on the color fills. I just filled the color fill masks black and then painted where I wanted color in white. The fonts were all either Freeware or already installed on my computer. #1 is Goudy Hand tooled (system font? installed with a program?), #2 is Visitation (freeware), #3 is Lithograph (system font? installed with a program), and the seed packs are done with Maria (freeware).

Terri

[Patti Anderson]

Thanks Bob. The ripples are a Pattern fill I downloaded from Adobe Studio (Scott's Ripples). I used only a part of the fill on a new layer, reshaped it, moved it around and used a blending mode to make it look somewhat authentic. Sounds complicated, but it was quicker than trying to do it from scratch.

Patti

[be...@adobeforums.com]

Bob - Thanks. I've been looking at your framed flower and I think I'm not very observant cause I couldn't figure out why the flower (and other pictures in the past) look so good and like they are coming out of the frame. Now I see shadows help. I really need to work on that because I really like it. I also really liked your tomato picture - great idea.

David House - Love your #2 news - and don't need to read the debate on the Leafs - because I already know THE LEAFS ROCK ! :)

Robert Jones - Most of the time I can't pick a favourite because there are just too many outstanding pictures to pick from, but something about your #1 - I really like this picture.

beth

[cal_...@adobeforums.com]

Bob thanks , I think I might finally be getting somewhere with my attempts to draw water. Love your tomato plant , the stark simplicity really works.

Cal

[Maril...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks, Jodi, Wendy, Terri, and Bob for your comments on my pictures. Yes, that was Liquify on my last picture. Bob, you're always so very observant, I wondered if you spotted the bobcat I hid in the cactus in my desert scene.

There's too many great pictures for me to pick a favorite, so at the risk of being redundant, I'm going to squeeze in some one-liners :)

Anne - Lavender/Blue (my favorite combination of colors!)
Beth - Your soft and lovely #2 is beautiful
Bob W - Absolutely gorgeous "selecting" job
Cal - Super neat water effect
Carl - Nice other-worldly effect - or mouth of a Great White Shark!
Celia - I like the Italian glass twirl effect
Chris - #2 absolutely!
Cliff - Refreshingly different #1
Colin - How funny :)
David Hamer - Brilliant colors - looks like satin
David House - Cool graphics in #1
Dick - My fav is the #1 pink against the B/W - very effective contrast
Donald - Wonderful composition
Flar - Totally original!
James - Love your #3 - how extraordinary and very well done
JoAn - My fav is your #2 - I like the simplicity of your design
Jodi - Always professional!!
Juergen - You never fail to use beautiful colors
Mark - How pretty the flower looks against the clouds
Patti - Especially delighted by your #2 floating flower
Robert - Your selection of colors is beautiful in both pix
Robin - Wow on #2!
Stu - Just plain pretty :)
Sunnyway - My fav is your #1 - almost like a poinsettia
Tab - I like your psychedelic tomatoes!
Terri - Neatest giant I've seen in a long time. Great composition!
Wendy - Your #4 - Real but not real :) Nice!
Vicky - And last but not least, thanks Vicky for providing us with many hours of pleasure working on your picture!!
Marilyn

[Juer...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you both, Marilyn and Bob! I really appreciate the 'never fail' and
'of course' in your remarks. ;)

Juergen

[Flar_K...@adobeforums.com]

thank you carl, bob, and marilyn for your comments.

carl: after i finished the cover design, i tried some
artists. first one was r.e.m., then joy division
and the cure, and some more... even eno/cale and
boards of canada. but they all didn't seem right.
[eno/cale were pretty close]
while trying, i had nick cave's "let love in" playing
the whole of the time... ;-)

[Patti Anderson]

Thanks, Marilyn! The hardest part was finding just the right pool of water. Found just the right one after doing a search for trout stream.

I always enjoy yours, Jodi's and Bob W's. artsy entries. When I grow up (learning Elements), I wanna be just like you three. XD

Patti

[be...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Marilyn. As always - love your pictures, this week I especially like the shadowing touch in #1.

beth

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Bob, thank you so much ! One of my favorites as definietly got to be your #3 !

Marilyn; <blush> thank you :) You are one of my favs as always.

Patti, Thank you...sweet, I can't decide which of yours I like the best !

Terri, your humorous edge is unmistakealbe. Your getting too good ! :)

[David G House]

Tahnks for teh compliment Bob... in my #3 I used a tutorial to make it look like you were seeing the image though broken glass.. it is really easy one... just make the jagged edges on a new layer... save it as a PSD file.. open the image you want enhanved then go FILTRE>DISTORT>DISPLCE then get teh effect you just created (Be sure to click "Strech") play with the %'s and click OK... that easy...

Hey Beth.... thatsnks for your comments as well.. and you wrote.. David House - Love your #2 news - and don't need to read the debate on the Leafs - because I already know THE LEAFS ROCK !

You Bet'cha!!!! now we can gang up on Grant... ;)

David

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Chris, your images are very powerful this week. I'm likin' alot !
...which reminds me, i need to get my strenght back.

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you for the kind words Bob. You are correct about #1.

--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/

<Bob_E....@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you Marilyn, coming from you that means so much. I loved your
desert scene this week.

--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/

<Maril...@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

[Chris_...@adobeforums.com]

Bob and Jodi,
Thanks for the comments on my images.

CR

[jh...@adobeforums.com]

I had to go back and look to find the bobcat after you asked Bob about
it.. You are so creative, and now we know, sneaky.

--
Have A Nice Day, :-)
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
<Maril...@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
news:3bb4a...@webx.la2eafNXanI...

[Terri_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Marylin,

Just went back and found the Bobcat.

Jodi,

Thank you very much. If I'm getting better, a lot of the reason is participating in the challenge, reading a few books, and most importantly learning from looking at the challenge entries submitted by some very talented people like yourself. I've learned so much about light, shadow, and composition from yourself, Bob, and several others. I still have many areas in which to improve but the learning is half the fun.

Terri

[Cliff_S...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Marilyn for the kind comments.

Cliff

[cal_...@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn, thanks very much

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Marilyn --
And here I thought it was a lynx...cool.
Bob Warren

[Bob_E....@adobeforums.com]

Beth --
I think I still have a ways to go to deserve that kind of remark, but thanks. I find that getting the light and shadows right makes a huge difference (and is hard work!). I have to say that before I started trying to do this sort of thing myself, I had little appreciation for the importance of those facets to the overall success of a picture -- now I find myself looking more critically at images to see how the artists get the effects they do.
Bob Warren

[Robert...@adobeforums.com]

Jodi, Wendy, JoAn, Beth, and Bob

I finally got around to reading all the messages in this thread and I wanted
to thank you all for your comments (I hope I didn't miss anyone). I had
been feeling a little depressed this week, and your comments helped me feel
better. I'm my old self again now.

I'm glad you liked my #1; I had fun creating it. I'm currently using it as
my desktop wallpaper.

Bob

[Jodi...@adobeforums.com]

Robert, sorry to hear you were down, I know a little about that dismal hole....'lost personal identity '. Glad we helped you get out and see the true you :)