People,
Found myself in possession of a tinted tintype of my Great Grandfather (tinted tintypes were typically black & white flash photos onto a black enamel plate; & then colorized in oil paint by a portrait artist. They replaced the earlier "daguerreotypes" around 1860, which were flash photos onto silver coated copper plates.)
I had it scanned by a local digital imaging outfit; & am in the process of a restoration in Photoshop (6.0.) The subject, in the form of a bust (head & upper shoulders) is in OK shape . . . just a few scratches & blemishes.
But the gradient background, in the form of a tall oval around the bust, is largely faded & blemished on the left side. The right side is mostly in tact; & consists of a shaded area around the subject, graduating to a lighter area (which comprises most of the background area); & then fading to a darker shade near the edges of the oval. The original portrait artist did a great job on the gradient blending of the colors.
What I'd like to do (using the original 3 main background colors), is to first isolate the subject; & then create a new gradient background following the blend lines of the original.
So . . . What I'd like to do is:
1)Create 3 horseshoe shaped color filled areas, each one larger than the next.
2) Create a gradient mesh for each horseshoe, WHERE THE CENTER OF THE SHAPE IS THE DARKEST; & THE EDGE OF THE SHAPE IS THE LIGHTEST.
I cannot figure out how to manipulate the gradient mesh lines in this way. When I create the gradient mesh, the mesh lines are always connected to the outside of the path. I want a single radial mesh line, running along the center of the shape; & not connected to the edge . . . & I want that center line to represent the darkest portion of the gradient.
In other words . . . if you picture the horseshoe as an upside-down U, where the shape of the body of the U is of a certain width, I want the darkest line to run at the center of that width, like a thin U drawn inside a fat U. I want the lightest area of the gradient to be along the edges of the shape. (If I knew how, I would draw my own damn mesh lines somehow!)
3) When these 3 cascading horseshoes (each on it's own layer) are complete; & have the properly shaped gradient, I will blend the layers together, to form my oval background.
I know this should be simple enough to construct . . . but I'm not sure of the functions involved. If someone could help with this, or point me in the direction of a *gradient mesh* tutorial (where perhaps paths can be converted to mesh lines), it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much,
SM
Found myself in possession of a tinted tintype of my Great Grandfather (tinted tintypes were typically black & white flash photos onto a black enamel plate; & then colorized in oil paint by a portrait artist. They replaced the earlier "daguerreotypes" around 1860, which were flash photos onto silver coated copper plates.)
I had it scanned by a local digital imaging outfit; & am in the process of a restoration in Photoshop (6.0.) The subject, in the form of a bust (head & upper shoulders) is in OK shape . . . just a few scratches & blemishes.
But the gradient background, in the form of a tall oval around the bust, is largely faded & blemished on the left side. The right side is mostly in tact; & consists of a shaded area around the subject, graduating to a lighter area (which comprises most of the background area); & then fading to a darker shade near the edges of the oval. The original portrait artist did a great job on the gradient blending of the colors.
What I'd like to do (using the original 3 main background colors), is to first isolate the subject; & then create a new gradient background following the blend lines of the original.
So . . . What I'd like to do is:
1)Create 3 horseshoe shaped color filled areas, each one larger than the next.
2) Create a gradient mesh for each horseshoe, WHERE THE CENTER OF THE SHAPE IS THE DARKEST; & THE EDGE OF THE SHAPE IS THE LIGHTEST.
I cannot figure out how to manipulate the gradient mesh lines in this way. When I create the gradient mesh, the mesh lines are always connected to the outside of the path. I want a single radial mesh line, running along the center of the shape; & not connected to the edge . . . & I want that center line to represent the darkest portion of the gradient.
In other words . . . if you picture the horseshoe as an upside-down U, where the shape of the body of the U is of a certain width, I want the darkest line to run at the center of that width, like a thin U drawn inside a fat U. I want the lightest area of the gradient to be along the edges of the shape. (If I knew how, I would draw my own damn mesh lines somehow!)
3) When these 3 cascading horseshoes (each on it's own layer) are complete; & have the properly shaped gradient, I will blend the layers together, to form my oval background.
I know this should be simple enough to construct . . . but I'm not sure of the functions involved. If someone could help with this, or point me in the direction of a *gradient mesh* tutorial (where perhaps paths can be converted to mesh lines), it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much,
SM