The Kiss

Deviant artist Rabbittooth's version of Klimt's The KissEarlier this week I was looking for reference on Gustav Klimt’s paintings in preparation for a fashionable nod to his decorative and luscious work. One thumbnail caught my eye and when I jumped to the page I beheld a version of The Kiss … featuring Han Solo and Princess Leia literally wrapped in a clinch. I blinked, and collapsed into hilarity. One of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time.

Self-professed geekologist and Deviant artist Rabbittooth specialises in visual puns based on cultural icons, such as this pair, the stars of Kubrick’s The Shining combined with the famous painting American Gothic, and the Mona Lisa with an alien on her face.

But wait! There’s more! Pin-up Photographer Burke Heffner, also inspired by The Kiss, created a picture with a combination of photography and painting. In an interesting take on the original, he used models covered in body paint to emulate Klimt's iconic patterns.

I wonder what Klimt himself would think of all this homage?

Burke Heffner's version of The Kiss, complete with body paintThe one and only original: The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, 1908

Into the Darkroom

After – three layers of textures dignify an Easter still life with age

Some people pay good money to have their creased and cracked vintage family photos restored. I find it far more satisfying to go the other way. With the judicious layering of textures in Photoshop, I remove the veneer of clarity from my digital photos. It’s sort of like going back into the darkroom, but the reverse.

Age mellows out brash snapshots; distinguishes them; bestows on them a genteel air of days of yore. Call it fakery if you will – I prefer the term instant nostalgia. 

Before (sort of before) – a single textured frame softens a photo just a little

Evolution of The Golden Dragon

The final illustration for The Golden Dragon. But why is it coloured red, you’re wondering? The action is rather bloody … Last December I began working on an illustration concept for the play The Golden Dragon that the MTC is putting on at the Lawler Studio this year. Basically the play is about the tribulations of illegal immigrants in the restaurant kitchen of The Golden Dragon.

In the beginning the action is strange, confusing; partly enacted in metaphor, with actors switching between many parts. Over the course of the play slowly one unravels the truth. One of my concepts involved a tangle of noodles that form a maze, with an ‘in’ and ‘out’ arrow in striking red and yellow. But as much as the Assistant Artistic Director liked this graphic, it was deemed too light-hearted.

The first rendering of the illustration included ominous puffs of smokeSo I came up with a few more ideas, one involving a dragon snatching at hapless Asian immigrants, and suggested etching as the medium. After the second presentation, the AAD felt this was still not sinister and mysterious enough, and himself came up with the idea of a dragon wrapping around a tooth.

I observed that the tooth was only a device of the story, and this concept did not really visualise the message of the play, but was told it was more important to create a striking image that would be enigmatic enough to draw people’s interest.

The original colour of the illustrationSince a real etching was not possible (I’ve never done etching, although I would love to try my hand at it, nor did time allow anyway) I attempted to emulate the look in ink and conté. The AAD was still keen on the red and yellow, so I executed the illustration in red, with a yellow wash, although I was positive that this would be ditched as soon as it was compared with the mono- and duotone versions. I was right. Thank goodness for Photoshop!

I rather liked the smoky effect of the first rendering, but in the end the plain background in black with a red watercolour wash was chosen.

You can see the entire brochure I designed here (I also executed the illustration for Happy Ending).

Washing Day

Washing DayMelbourne is in for a glorious, sunshiny weekend! It’s been a beautiful day so far and we’re not halfway through yet. There is nothing like sunshine and blue skies to lift your spirits – even if one is taking advantage of the weather and getting lots of washing done. Chores done today, I plan to spend at least part of tomorrow lying under an oak tree in the Botanic Gardens with a book. 

Digital illustrations by So Not A Princess, 2010

The Chase

Burnt By the Sun

[Fig 1] Solarised image, created in Photoshop using a Curves adjustment layer

A CAPSULE HISTORY

Solarisation is one of the oldest effects applied to photographic film or prints. The simplest description is an image that ‘is wholly or partially reversed in tone. Dark areas appear light or light areas appear dark.’ [Wikipedia] This means much more than a simple inversion of an image.

On a negative, solarisation was the result of extreme overexposure in the camera: in scenic photographs, for example, the sun turns grey or black (hence solarisation, from ‘sol’, sun). An additional, distinctive effect is the white line that is laid down along sharply contrasting edges – this is called the Sabatier line.

Although the effect was seen as early as the 1840s, it is Man Ray’s photographs that are most often called to mind. He applied the effect in the darkroom rather than in-camera, and it was his assistant Lee Miller who in fact accidentally discovered the effect, when she turned on the light in the darkroom while a print was being developed.

Portraits of Lee Miller by Man Ray, c 1930

[Fig 2] Curve graph (used to create the solarised effect in Fig 1)

DIGITAL METHODS

While I remember experimenting with this technique many moons ago (pardon the pun) as a high school photography student, today it is much easier to apply the effect digitally, and with far more control. There are various approaches, starting with the default Solarisation filter in Photoshop, where you might look first. This gives you zero control. Another simple method is to set the mode of a layer to Difference or Exclusion, but a far more useful technique is to use a Curves adjustment layer, which is entirely customisable (see Fig 2). The various examples here show the differing results of the two methods. 

I much prefer the look of black and white or duotone images, finding the colour images far too gaudy and brash for my liking. However, I did manage to create a subtle version (Fig 4) using a normal colour photo at the base, duplicating that layer, and then setting it on Exclusion mode at 85%. (Check out the original image here.)

[Fig 3] This image was created using the Solarisation filter in Photoshop CS4, with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on top to create the dark sepia tone. Click image for larger version.[Fig 4] This image was created using a normal colour image that was duplicated, with the top layer set to Exclusion, on an opacity of 85%. Click image for larger version.

Since I always love to make ‘new’ photos look ‘old’, I’ve added an antique viewfinder complete with dust and scratches in black, using onOne’s software PhotoFrame 4.0.

Here is another example below, showing the great dissimilarities between solarisation using Curves (Fig 5) and Photoshop’s default solariastion filter (Fig 6).

Scroll to the bottom for resources.

[Fig 5] This image was solarised using adjustment layers: Black & White and Curves, with tonal values adjusted until the desired result was achieved. A sepia tone was applied over the top using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
[Fig 6] This image was solarised using the default filter in Photoshop CS4, with a sepia tone applied using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

RESOURCES

Read a bit about the history on Wikipedia or the University of Washington’s helpful article; view a gallery, and check out a step-by-step tutorial. (I used a single Curves adjustment layer, and did not use such a severe curve; nor did I do any dodging or burning – it is a completely subjective decision.)