Blog Header

I swear that is it, I am done messing with my header.

I have been obsessed with the artwork for my blog header.  Maybe it is worth paying someone to do it for you, because then you are stuck with what you paid for.  In my case, I did contact the local caricature artist first; he wanted $170 for strictly a head drawing.  Is that what they charge on the street?  Well I'm too cheap or too broke to pay that kind of money.  I had a vision .  After 4 weeks, and many late nights, I am finally happy with this last posted header.  

Poster Edge Effect

I started with the photo, pulled the photo into Photo Shop Element -PSE, took out the background, went into the artistic effects, and use the poster edge effect on the photo so that it was easy to trace over a light table.  I printed the photo, put tracing paper over it, colored it with pastel pencils (chalk), scanned it, pulled it back into PSE; using the smudge tool, I smudge the colors around.  

Two layers

PSE has some very cool features where you can somewhat fade one picture and lay it on top of the other picture, then merge the layers; as you can see, after smudging the colors I would take all the lines out of the face.  So I would back to the tracing photo and start again with the coloring making sure I would emphasis the lines on my face.

I also drew all the other elements; then colored the drawings, and repeated the same process.  I've made it so that every element, even parts of my face, are layered.

Eyes

Lips

Glasses

Shirt

Sweat

Tape Measure

Sewing Machine (I designed the fabric in the machine in Publisher)

Fan

Crafting supplies

Background (I designed background in Publisher)

Text

  Yes, it is strange that my face elements are layered, the reason:  Well I took the eyes off the original photo, they shined brighter; I could merge the eyes but then I can't un-merge once I save the file, and the lips came from a more recent photo, I thought it would be cool to be able to change my expressions.

  My biggest problem was that I wanted the artwork to resemble me now, you know with wrinkles, and the photo was taken in 2008, after 3 years, well I've changed.  That's what took so long to get it right.  I started over, 4 times. At last, I took a picture of myself and faded it behind the smudge face and they the wrinkles showed through.  Wa La!

Thank you for reading about my obsessive  project.  Hooray, it's done!  Now I have to do my button............