Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter [Paperback]

Cher Threinen-Pendarvis (Author), Donal Jolley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321410211 | ISBN-13: 978-0321410214 | Publication Date: June 13, 2009 | Edition: 1

Digital cameras, advances in color printing, and software tools have changed the landscape of photography forever. The challenge now is to go beyond the basic digital photograph and print, and move toward the next level of expression. For many, this means pushing the technologies available and combining the artistic tools found in both photography and painting.

Geared for intermediate to advanced users, Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter brings these once separate disciplines together in a beautiful and instructive book that uses time-honored design principles and basic drawing and painting skills, and applies them to digital photographs. The easy-to-follow, step-by-step format allows you to practice a variety of Photoshop and Painter techniques and gives you the confidence to achieve your own expressive goals with great results.

In this unique and inspiring book, you’ll discover how to transform your photos into works of art:

• Shoot and select photos with good composition and lighting for painting
• Emulate the look of pop art, woodcuts, and dry media texture
• Create Old Masters-style oil paintings, watercolors, contemporary paintings, and abstract art
• Add edge treatments and textured borders with brushwork
• Build creative compositions, such as collages, and traditional styles such as landscape, portrait, and still life paintings
• Use a pressure-sensitive tablet for gestural, expressive painting
• Find additional resources available at www.beyonddigitalbook.com

Editorial Reviews

Review

Named #5 of the Top 10 Best Photography Retouching Books
Austin Chronicle (2010)

"Working through the pages of this book was a wonderful adventure in exploring new ways to use Photoshop and Painter to transform photos into art. I give it a definite 'thumbs up' recommendation for anyone interested in furthering their artist's eye and skill set with the Photoshop and Painter digital toolboxes."
Austin Chronicle (2009)

"Even if you're very familiar with these programs, you're still bound to learn a lot (I know I did!). Highly recommended."
Digital Image Magazine

"Even those who can't paint can benefit from this book, thanks to some of the chapters' focus on filters and/or automatic conversion. If you want to create digital art from your digital photos, then you should look at Beyond Digital Photography for your next purchase. I highly recommend this book."
BlogCritics.org

"Beyond Digital Photography offers inspiration and exciting creative techniques, and ideas for creative expression that cannot be found elsewhere."
 SirReadaLot.org

About the Author

Cher Threinen-Pendarvis, an award-winning fine artist, designer, and educator, has influenced thousands of artists in her many years of teaching and writing about electronic design tools. Her paintings and photography have been exhibited worldwide, and her work is featured in numerous books including The Painter Wow! Book and The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book. In addition to creating hundreds of brushes for Corel Painter, Cher teaches at workshops and conferences worldwide.

Donal Jolley has been a freelance designer since retiring from the commercial printing field in 1996. A master of Photoshop since version 2.5, his artistic ability, design versatility, and Photoshop expertise have been featured in many publications, including The Photoshop CS/CS2 WOW! Book, The Painter WOW! Book, and Photoshop User magazine. Donal has taught Photoshop and Illustrator courses for students and professionals and has consulted on several prominent publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321410211
• ISBN-13: 978-0321410214
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #901,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and creative book on steriods, July 11, 2009

By 

A. Meek - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter (Paperback)

I was given this book by a good friend as a gift, and have looked through all of the material, and do not understand how anyone can make the mistake of thinking this was written for beginners. If I were a beginner this book would excite me to become good enough to work hard so I could DO this work. Recalling and rewriting the book? Wow. He must have gotten this one mixed up with something else is all I can think of.

This is a well-written book that says it was written for people who already have a working knowledge of Painter and/or Photoshop. (It even says so several times!) A great thing about it is it is written for both Photoshop and Painter users both. Someone with Photoshop will get a lot out of it, and someone with Painter will also. Some projects use Photoshop exclusively and others use Painter, but the authors seem to know what program to use when for the very best effects. Jolley works in ways that are innovative and there are quite a few tips I've never seen anywhere else while he pushes Photoshop further than any other art how-to book out there. Pendarvis is at her very best and shows how to do things with Painter that go beyond her Painter WOW series.

Chapter One sets a lot of groundwork, then chapter two goes straight into novice and intermediate methods. As the chapters progress (there are eight), the material gets more difficult. Each project is well developed and painstakingly moves readers through the workflow. The authors don't expect you to know everything, but they do expect some proficiency in the programs. If you have that the methods they write about are really helpful.

It is obvious the authors took into consideration that non-artists and artists alike would be able to get a lot out of the book, and there just is not another book like it on the market. And if that weren't enough, it is truly a gorgeous printing.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb book for Photographers and Fine Artists, June 22, 2009

By 

Elizabeth A. Meyer "Rocksand" (Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter (Paperback)

I have worked through every technique in this book and found it to be instructional and a big boost for creativity. The book is beautifully laid out with clear steps in each chapter for not only creating various genres of fine art pieces from my photos, but also the concepts behind composing a shot and preparing to paint. I was amazed at how much I could accomplish with just my digital camera and software.

Highly recommended to any photographers seeking to take their skills and photos to the next level!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High Recommendation from a Digital Artist, July 21, 2009

By 

Don Stewart (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Digital Photography: Transforming Photos into Fine Art with Photoshop and Painter (Paperback)

Cher Threinen-Pendarvis has done it again! She's authored (actually co-authored this time with Donal Jolley) another incredibly helpful book for users of Photoshop and Painter. Within its pages is the answer to a compelling question - "How do we transform our photographs into fine art?"

Thankfully, if we already have a basic knowledge of Photoshop, Painter or both, the answer doesn't hinge on whether or not we can paint and draw. Instead, Cher and Donal show us how to create a variety of fine art looks using those applications alone. Looks including woodcut, watercolor, oils, acrylics and pastels. In styles ranging from the old masters to contemporary.

But, what if we do know how to paint and draw? Well, I fall into that category and have been a digital artist for over a decade. Yet I'm still gleaning plenty from the art projects in this book. They've introduced me to filters I've neglected and to the proper way to use those filters. And for my money, the Pop Art section alone is worth the price of the book because of the nifty effects I find there.

Finally, like all of Cher's books, this one has a logical design that makes emulating each art project super easy. And it's like being in a classroom, because I find that a lot of my questions have already been anticipated and answered. This is another book by Cher that is a welcomed addition to my creative library and one that I highly recommend.