HOME | DD
Runewitch — The Dying Dryad
Published: 2006-12-05 06:52:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 2426; Favourites: 72; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
Without her friend and companion, which was lightning blasted during one of the violent tempests of summer, she won't survive the icy grasp of winter's onset.[link] is from ImageAfter
[link] is from MorgueFile
[link] Gyllebo 1308 by
[link] Dryade22 by
Manipulated using ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 and Wacom tablet
Another entry for the weekly contest at
Judge
"I really like this piece, it's put together very well with wonderful stock picks, I love the woman's figure, it has such a sadness about it. Very well done!"
Related content
Comments: 118
From: ~Darkquette
Date: Apr 4, 2008, 12:19 AM
It's a lovely piece , how could I not add it ?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
And I appreciate that lovely compliment too
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hi there!
I have featured this wonderful piece in my journal. You can find it here -> [link] Please send me a note if you'd rather not be featured. Many thanks for the great work!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very much, I shall go check it out.
I'm never unhappy about someone liking my art enough to feature it
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
wonderful concept and great composition. as soon as i saw the picture, the dryad quickly caught my attention.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ah, that's very good then, since I did want the dryad to be the focal point. Thank you for the lovely compliment and for the 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
your work has been featured here:
great Art... must be appreciated... IV
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very, very much. I really do appreciate it
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
my pleasure, dear
you really deserve
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Greetings,
This image is being featured in this news article [link] that is showcasing work, that has been posted in the "Fantasy" section of the photomanipulation gallery.
If you enjoy the article, clicking the green "love it" icon will help make it possible for more people to be aware as well.
Appreciate,
~hewsan
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Wow, thanks very much. I shall go check it out forthwith!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thank you very, very much
Don't know that I'd call it predestination . . . except for the fact that dryads are supposed to die when their tree dies.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i'm not a fan of photomanip, per se, cuz i'm a stubborn stuckmud traditionalist or older than i ever believed i would get, and also cuz i wouldn't be able to stand using other's stuff in something i do -- which i know is somewhat silly cuz all we do is inspired by all we see consciously or not), though that doesn't explain refusing using my own stuff to make manips; but this fits my mood and it looks near flawless. can't tell it is manip until i full-view, and barely then. (it mainly concerns the woman -- once anyone adds a figure to a mostly nature photomanip, it often sticks out, though she almost looks natural -- looking at the original woman's image, it's clear why, the coloring for her is totally off the coloring/shades/lights/shadows of the nature shots, and extracting (?right word) her and applying whatever filter/effect only goes so far sometimes. especially given hers is such an old-time type romantic renaissance-like classic pose, which makes the image as a whole look un-natural even to an open mind if there is the slightest thing -- even if one can't point it out -- a little off.
as i would not like to remain a stuckmud oldie, would you mind telling me how you accomplish such a manip? i can guess, probably accurately, but i'd like to *know*
thanks much, very much, if you descide to indulge me.
bless--wayne
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hm, *takes a deep breath* first of all, I'm very glad my work impressed you enough that you added it to your
As to how I acchieved it . . . well, the first thing you want to do is completely remove the items you're using from their original backgrounds, which requires careful and painstaking erasing of said backgrounds (if you looked at the original pic of the lightning blasted tree you would have noticed that there was new growth from it -- as I wanted the dead portions only I had to remove all the green stuff and 'paint' in some portions and/or extend the dead branches)
The pose of the woman was actually what suggested the whole idea, and her clothing was of similar colors as the main background picture, but was a lot more vibrant than the subtle hues so I 'desaturated' her to fit in with the background (just enough so that she didn't stick out like a sore thumb in the winter hued photo, but not enough so that she'd totally blend in -- I did want her to be the main focus, afterall
Does this explaination help any?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
yes. it was almost exactly what i thought you did. photoshop is so self-explanatory that figuring out how to do stuff that you don't even care about (but you're bored) is easy. same for digital cameras, even the most complex ones.
the hard part, natch, is erasing the little parts you don't want or extracting or whatever. al that patience and fine work. me have a steady hand not. not with this stuff -- painting and drawing with traditional media i am fine usually
do you use a wacom tablet? -- i did some combining where i needed to outline something and using the mousepad is a pain in the arse.
i's suggest desaturating her a bit more. (or, as i point out further down, darkening the sky) or maybe what my eye is seeing is just the anachronism of that classic pose, especially in winter. she'd be freezing!
i know i'm doing some shots in a month of my self in the snow and ice (or my love before that if it snows in NY) where i am either nude or draped in a sheet or something similar and without he original lighting inseritng a shot of me like that from an (evenly lit, even) darkroom to make a photomanip would look fake, even if a little.
maybe it is also that she is in the center of the shot. to the left or right might help. or even a better thing might be to make the clouds on the entire center-to-upper left-and-middle darker? they dominate the shot with the space they take up.
it's so close to beng perfect. and a great idea.
it grabbed my atention!
keep it up.
bless and thanks--wayne
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Um, don't use PhotoShop, I find it exceedingly confusing and yes I do use a Wacom tablet -- I find it very difficult to draw with a bar of soap, which is what drawing with a mouse equates to
As to her freezing, that's the major thing she is dying from (and the major reason I chose a figure so 'scantily' clad for the weather) -- if her tree wasn't dead she'd be protected from the winter weather . . . hibernating as it were.
And technically her tree is center screen, she's a little off center to the left.
As for the clouds, I suppose they could be less prominent -- although I, personally, like the effect. 
Just to let you know I do appreciate your critique and hope you don't mind my rebuttal
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
rebuttals kick ass < smiles >
perfect analogy about drawing with the mouse pad! what size wacom do you use? i'm curious if the size is all that important in case i decide to get one.
i love the image, i just love it so much i wish it were "perfect" and it seems a little off, for me -- ME, that's all. opinions are like assholes as we all know.
maybe i have an eye for spotting the slightest thing not totally perfect in a manip and don't know how to describe it. whatever. mabe it's becuz i almost died from cold exposure as a kid and that's not the posture one would usually take when dying of freezing -- maybe it she was dead (or minutes from) and fallen. plus her limbs would be turning greyish. and face. just a fact. frostbite does that.
no question a great concept and very good work. keep it up.
i still gottsta look through the rest of your gallery!
bless-w.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The working area on mine is 8 1/4 x 7 inches. It's one of the lesser priced Wacom tablets but it is soooooooooooo much easier to do digital artwork with it
Yes, I do know about the effects of frostbite, but you have to consider this is a magical creature. Yes she is dying from the effects of exposure, but the major thing that's doing her in is the death of her tree.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
i didn;t realize she was magical and the tree dying is what is killling her. that makes it an even better concept.
trees die slow though. (i swear i am *not* nitpicking at your creation or concept.) not sure if that impression is given. of course it doesn;t matter as it is fantasy. fantasy doesn;t need to obey the standard rules of science. thank goodness.
i've always wished i was a quick sketcher, but i am a slow, plodding drawer. i mean to get a wacom though, i don't want to be a stuffy old man refusing to try. there must bee wonderful ways of painting, which is what i much prefer -- i love oil painting (acrylics too, using mediums to increase working time). i find it a more crative and less technical thing.
you are clearly an excellent illustrater. combined with your imagination, that is potent stuff.
bless--wayne, trying to imagine not looking at his hands when drawing/painting (isn't that as counterintuiive as driving with your eyes closed?!?!?!????)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm not taking it as nit-picking
Heh, if you're going to draw/paint digitally that's what you have to do 'cuz your eyes are on the computer screen, not your hands . . . unless you want to pay megabucks for the Wacom tablet that let's you see what you're drawing on the tablet.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
well if i ever draw somethign digitally i'll let you know.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very much for that lovely compliment
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks
This is one I'm particularly pleased with.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Really well done. great atmosphere. This was my choice for the comp.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks very much, for the compliment and the
I'm really happy with how this one came out.
I was looking through my collection of stock photos for something to go with the winter theme and saw the lightning blasted tree, remembered I'd just recently downloaded the pic of the dryad and everything went 'click'
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well in my humble view it was good enough for a print
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks muchly for that great compliment.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
hahah yes they were sparkling eyes...very beautiful work
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Then I thank you for that compliment once again
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks so very much for that compliment and for the
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
And, assuming such, I'm going to thank you for it
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Stunning and incredible.. The feeling.. the soft tunes.. the concept.. Magnificently blend.. Almost like perfect work
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very much for that wonderful critique
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
the message and the feelings in it are so deep and the blending is just perfect
wonderful job 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thank you very, very much for that lovely critique and the compliment
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>