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It's Digital but is it Art?


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Now before you all think I'm a born again Leonardo.........that's the chap who did the pictures not the one that went down with the Titanic! you need to think again! I've been committed to computer base graphics for a long time.......way back to the late eighties and the introduction of 'CorelDraw' version 1......I've used the program through every version since! I do draw and paint using those old tools......the pencil, the pen and most of the paint mediums, I was trained as a 'finished artist'. What I can't do though is 'Miniature Art'.......aside from a few scrappy landscapes!

This all got me to thinking!!!! (yep sometimes I think too)!

You may have noticed that I like to fill most of my projects with art......the one I'm on at the moment will have even more........In the past I've 'Googled' the art of others and without regard to copyright I've used it!............Well no more!

Up until now I've only just 'scratched the surface' on the wonders of vector / bitmap graphics........It's always been one of the 'tools of my trades' (I've had a few) but now I've found another use..........Miniature Art..................or is it?

You decide!

The following are just a sample and I'll show the original photograph followed by the 'conversion'!

TowerBridgeO.jpg

TowerBridgeC.jpg

TowerBridgeW.jpg

TudorHouseO.jpg

TudorHouseD.jpg

TudorHouseS.jpg

AvignonCafeO.jpg

AvignonCafeW.jpg

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Lovely, Mike. Your experience and keen eye offer exceptional results.

There are other programs that offer special effects, albeit not quite the polished, professional results that Mike achieves. I happen to use the Faststone Image Viewer for my photos. It's free. I did a quick test of the special effects options, the Sketch, Oil Painting, and Bump (which looks like a bas relief). The Oil Painting was the best result. It also has a watermark option, for those of you who wish to put a copyright indicator on your photos. 

The original --

large.Riders-original.jpg.1ed3ae8ffea137 

The oil painting --

large.58ea14d615f23_Riders-oilpainting.j

The sketch --

large.Riders-sketch.jpg.0c563e6a0d343b4b

The bump/bas relief --

large.58ea14ccd0da1_Riders-basrelief.jpg

 

 

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This is a great idea Mike! 

I think it's a really topical point that you have raised about copy write. With images so readily available on the internet - is very easy to copy, reproduce or modify. It begs the question: If an image of an artist's work is on the internet then is it ok for someone to reproduce it in miniature form? 

I have a friend of a friend who is a very successful visual artist who exhibits . Someone notified her through her Instagram that a reputable chain clothing stores was selling broaches with her image on them. In think in this instance, because money is interchanged (and the artist is not beginning credited or profited from the use of her work) it's not ok.

However, when an image is being use for your own dollhouse and you're not profiting from selling the miniature art work, it's a bit different from the above. I'm not sure what the official legal line is here but I think if you are publishing a photo of your miniature room online then an acknowledgement of the original artist would be a nice gesture. Similar to using an artist's work in an academic paper, where you would be required to reference the artist of the work and where it came from. 

I'm interested in hearing what others think : - )

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7 hours ago, MikeUK said:

 I notice that you did these in 2006 so the program you used may well have gone through several versions. 

The original photo was taken in 2006. The special effects were added this morning. The program has gone through several versions. Sometimes I updated and sometimes not, as I use the program mainly for cropping, sizing and color balancing. The examples I posted could be tweaked a bit, but refining the sketch mode doesn't seem possible. Your self portrait and dog's head are remarkable! My point in posting was to indicate that there are low-cost options for folks who don't want to go through the challenging learning curve that more $ophi$ticated programs require.

I hope you do track down an inexpensive program that can make magic with a couple of clicks. :D 

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Interesting topic Mike! Firstly, I wish I was closer to you as I really want lessons in using Corel. Secondly, I think it is kind of art - there is certainly skill in taking interesting, pretty, well composed photos to start with, and the ability to then modify it to look like a sketch or painting has its uses. There are lots of drawing and photo apps but never bothered to check what sort or functions they have. I do remember old photo programs that did this, but I can't remember what apps/programs or even what compiter I saw them on.

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I would think you can call it art. I mean, if you took a picture of something with a digital camera, then that picture can be considered art. There are lots of people who photograph things for a living and we call them all artists. If you then extrapolate that, you can now make a picture of a picture, and as long as it's your original recreation (or your interpretation, as you might think of it), I think that could also be called art.

I am not an artist in any sense, yet there are pictures I would like to see in my mind's eye. If I were to get the elements together and stage them, and then take a picture of it, could you call that art? I say yes, as that's basically what we do when we make a miniature room or a director does when he puts together a movie.

 

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So I gave FotoSketcher a try with just a random photo in my computer.. I have to say, this program is awesome... thanks Mike

This is Painting 10 (brushstrokes)

BN-HC821_HODFli_J_20150225053449_FotoSke

And how great is the vintage photo option!

BN-HC821_HODFli_J_20150225053449VIntage_

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15 hours ago, MikeUK said:

Kathie you have to get Fotosketcher............you owe it to the world to digitise your photographs now!

This is not just inexpensive it's FREE.......GRATIS.........MUKT!.....(jury's out on the last one)

and you have your very own on line little helper right here!

Problems, Mike. I downloaded it last night. It opened with the lovely photo of the parrot and a frame so large that the entire right side was off screen to the right. I managed to reduce the frame to usable size, but when I clicked on the icon to open a new photo, the program froze. I closed the program, then repeated opening it. Same result.

This morning I uninstalled the program and then reinstalled it. This time I wasn't able to reduce the size of the frame, so I can't see the image on the right side at all. And trying to open a new photo again freezes the program.

I'm using Windows 7 Vista on a Dell laptop.  :dunno:

Seeing Samantha's samples makes me all the more eager to get this puppy trained.

 

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2 hours ago, MikeUK said:

Hi Kathie, I have it running on a Sony laptop operating on Windows 7 Home Premium and it runs fine.........taking around 1-2 minutes to convert. Did you get the download direct from Fotosketcher.com yep and is it the 3.3 version yep.......I'm sure it will be but just to check. Do you know the capacity of your RAM and the 'power' of your Dell?

Windows 7 Home Premium, copyright 2009, Service Pack 1, 3.89 GB usable RAM, on Dell Inspiron 17. Power? I don't know from stinkin' Power.

I've checked the online help at Fotosketcher.com and that only covers 'how to' tutorials. I've also done a web search for any known compatibility issues........there are some but only concerning Mac...(which is why I have it on my Sony and not my iMac)

Stop Press.......Stop Press.......Latest news for my personal computer guru AKA my son Ben.............Windows Vista suggests that the machine is pre 2009 and therefore may not be capable of running the current version! It may be worth sending an email to David of Fotosketcher and just checking that!

Just check again on the operating system.......it's either 7 of Vista.......not 7 Vista! tomato-tomahto ... lol

Went on line, found out no more updates available for Win 7 HP ... so at a standstill. 

xx

 

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I'm running Win 7 service pack 1 (2009) and it works fine...

Intel core i7-2600 CPU @3.4Ghz  with 16gb ram and a 64-bit operating system... if that helps pin down the issue...:dunno:

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36 minutes ago, MikeUK said:

Sorry about this folks...........with the very best of intentions I recommended Fotosketcher............it gets very good reviews and is well recommended by others. Before naming it on Greenleaf I gave it a trial on my own system looking for both safety (viruses) ease of use and effectiveness,...........All I can say is it works for me!

Not your fault Mike. I can't get the miniatures.com website to work on any of my devices but no-one else has the problem. It just happens. What works for some may not be great for everyone.

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4 hours ago, MikeUK said:

Sorry about this folks...........with the very best of intentions I recommended Fotosketcher............it gets very good reviews and is well recommended by others. Before naming it on Greenleaf I gave it a trial on my own system looking for both safety (viruses) ease of use and effectiveness,...........All I can say is it works for me!

I'm very glad you mentioned it here Mike... :) I think you may be onto something with the 64bit/32bit thing.. I'm running a 64bit system but maybe Kathie's is 32bit... @KathieB try downloading the 32bit portable and see if that works. 

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Mike, I have reached my limit on being allowed to embed pictures in a thread, so I posted my creation of art using Fotosketcher in Member's Gallery.  It is a picture of my two grandsons when they were younger running along on the beach.  Thank you for sharing information about Fotosketcher.  It is SO EASY to create works of art with this free software. 

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