Dog in Charge

What I Wanted

Ready...

Set...

Henry: "Go!!!"

What Henry Wanted

Henry: "Zzzzzzz"

Dog Blog Post #2021

Henry, playing (or snoozing) with a Cool RC Truck.

Photography Assignment

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 9, 2015 - "Cool"

Daily Dog Challenge 1531. "Dog In Charge"

Alas, I spent too long watching (mostly bad) football (again) and by the time I ushered the models into the studio they were no longer "feeling it".

(sigh)

Behind The Scenes

For Grins-and-Giggles...

Here's the progression to create yesterday's backdrop.

Meritum Emulsion 

Meritum Emulsion is a simple iPad app where you pick one or more colors (I picked a pale and darker purple), the kind of "brush" you want (officially "Sinope", but it looks like paint splats to me) and set a couple simple parameters controlling size/speed/distance of the splatting. Then you "finger paint" across the screen and watch paint blobs in shades of your selected colors get flung across the image in swirling random ways.

It's quick (just a few seconds to create the entire image) and fun.

I then imported the image into PicsArt (an iPad app more in the scrapbooking family) where I played with the various filters.

This is the Sheer filter, which I found quite pleasing...

... plus the Sheer Filter.

... but the final image wasn't quite what I was was thinking of my picture - although good enough that I saved it and might yet use it someday for something else.

Anyway, I took the original Emulsion image and switched to the iPad Procreate app - a REALLY nice true Art app with tons of features in a surprisingly powerful and robust yet easy to use app that includes brushes, textures, colors, layers, scaling... etc.

Here, I picked up a light shade of the purple and used a wallpaper like brush to create a uniform pattern.

After Procreate

It was more what I had in mind, but it looked way too uniform and "neat".

So I dropped it into PicsArt for a spin through that Sheer filter and then added a vignette.

Then I popped it into Lightroom (Big Computer Application) to apply a slight warming mask in the middle, before shuffling it on its way to meet up with Henry's masked picture in Photoshop Elements.

The final backdrop

I  could have moved straight from Procreate into Photoshop Elements and accomplished the same thing using its filters, but I was comfy on the sofa with Zachary curled up beside me and I didn't want to move.

Once again, the final image with Henry "applied"...



... and some selective darkening (done back in Lightroom) in places where I know Henry would normally cast a shadow on a real backdrop, if one was there - mostly on the left side. This is to try to cut down on the Decoupage Effect - something I'm still struggling to come up with solutions for.

This also hid an ugly hard line between the edge of the digital purple backdrop and the very real floor Henry was laying on - on the left, just visible at the tip of his far paw where it touches the floor and extending to the edge of the image.

I also darkened Henry's rump a bit, but I think that was less successful (or perhaps less necessary).

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© 2016 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

My Purple Robe

Pretty surrounded by Purple

Except the backdrop isn't real, it's digital.

The image actually looked more like this...

Pretty wearing Purple

... and, um, the robe is more a dusty mauve...

Pretty in Dusty Mauve?

Henry: "Humph!"

(silence)

... and it's luxuriously soft and warm. :)

Dog Blog Post #2020

Golden Henry Surrounded by his Complimentary colored robe.

Photography Assignment

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 8, 2015 - "Surrounded"

Daily Dog Challenge 1530. "Complimentary"


Truth in Advertising: As noted above, the robe is actually a soft dusty mauve, which was "enhanced" in post-production.

I then added a digital background I created using several iPad art apps.

I wish I knew the secret for blending a masked image with a digital background (in Photoshop Elements) so it doesn't look decoupaged on.

Convalescing Zachary

Pretty in Purple

Pretty in Dusty Mauve

His ear is unchanged from yesterday, which is a good thing all things considered.

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© 2016 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Big Plans

Zachary: "We've picked out a pattern for the fabric, Mom."

Excellent!

Here, let me get a few things that you'll need.

Let's see... some interfacing, pins, and bias tape...

(blink)

... some hook-and-loop and tape...

... buttons...

... a nice sturdy piece of ribbon for the tie...

(blink)

... scissors...

... thread...

... a thimble....

Dog Blog Post #2019

I don't know, guys.

Those Patterns look really Hard.

Are you sure you're up to it?

Photography Assignment

Time Passes...

Our Daily Challenge - Jan 7, 2015 - "Patterns"

Daily Dog Challenge 1529. "Hard"


Oh you're going to have so much fun!

Update on Zachary's Ear: 

Well, the hematoma has returned a bit, although it is still smaller than it was before.

You can just make out a quarter diameter swelling in pictures #1 and #2, which is quite soft and not very thick at this point.

He seems completely oblivious to it, and doesn't understand why the fun police are preventing him and Henry from playing.

Thankfully, Henry is totally ignoring the ear so we only have to separate them when no peeps are at home to make sure they don't get rowdy.

And so we wait to see what will happen in the next few days.

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© 2016 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved