And then there was spring

It's chilly here in Toronto, but it's the day that spring arrives so it's definitely a happy-dance day. To usher in the new season, I wanted to share a photoshop experiment with you.

Please have a look at the crocuses above, and then swing on over to Elemenopea and have a look at the image there ... then please come back. I'll wait.

..........

Ah, you're back. The two images appear to be the same, yet they're also obviously different. Both pieces of artwork were created using the exact same photograph and the exact same textures. The image you see above was cropped before the textures were added and did have a Dry Brush filter applied as the very last step, after all the layers were flattened.

The crop is obvious and the Dry Brush filter is not. But here's the thing. The same textures were used, in the same order and with the same layer blending modes. So why the difference? Two things. I altered the opacity of the different texture layers plus I played with the lightness, hue and saturation of each texture. And with three textures in this piece of art, this leads to a dizzying array of possibilities.

So when you're experimenting with your digital artwork creations, please don't take textures just at face value. Vary the blending modes when you apply a texture, play with the opacity, and check out the other settings too. I hope you'll come to see that textures offer you a world of creativity.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to briefly brave the chilliness to see if this year's crocuses are popping up yet.