Editing pictures is hard, I can't make it look good

[ValKalAstra]

Let me snow in with an example too, since I've had a bit of time and some friends to help out. Alright, first the raw image as it came out of SL (just in a higher resolution).

I'm overall happy with the picture but there were a few things that irked me: Colours, elbow and mood. I did like the overall lighting of the scene but at some point the light had taken on an oversaturated look and because I was a dingus and ran on the PBR client, I started getting glitches so it wasn't a thing of just taking another shot. I went and adjusted the overall mood of the picture, added some more contrast, an overlay for lens effects I regret in retrospect and then added a seperate layer for the guy's skin as he needed a different adjustment to fit. The elbow (her left) is borked. Limitations of SL. I softened it a bit but the stripes made it hard to do more. Could have done more but I think it's good enough as is for me. Finally - some tweaking using a Lut, some more colour shifting and a vignette effect.

Things I should have done more with: The Eiffeltower took on some weird blur artifacts when my PBR client started low-ressing objects (note to self, stop being a dingus and use viewer alpha versions to take your shots).

 

Edit: I got timestamps since the topic was also about time!

• Start preparations with friend #1 at 18:19
• Invite second friend at 19:13
• Raw at 20:29
• Final picture at 20:51

Edited October 4, 2023 by ValKalAstra

[Nalates Urriah]

There are good free image editors. GIMP is way popular. Paint.net is surprisingly good. The free top 10 for 2023 are here.

One has to watch how others use the tools to get a handle on editing images. I suggest Natsumi Xenga here. You'll see her videos run 1 to 2 hours and she has sped up the video so the actual editing took longer. The images are amazing.

She has tutorials and Q&A on how see sets up and then edits in post.

When I am doing images in SL I vary from quick snaps as I explore or play to actual sessions just for photos. Then I may spend a couple of hours or more getting shots that take 2 or 3 minutes to maybe 30 minutes.

In post, I usually spend 10 minutes editing and cropping. If I really like an image, think it can be made way better, or need to fix animation distortions (i.e., hand inside a hip or breast or folded joints) then I will often spend some time. Those images I really like and come out of editing as I intended usually end up on Flickr. I tend to do less editing for those I post on the forum. Not always.

 

This is the raw image.

This is the edited image. The larger version is below.

The editing took maybe 15 minutes because I was experimenting with different processes to get the look I wanted. In Photoshop selections are MUCH easier now. They are very quick. Previously I might have spent 15 or 20 minutes just building the selection of the avatar. Now it is like 2 maybe 3 clicks.

Natsumi goes for a more photorealistic look. I try for a semi-SL-realistic. One has to decide what they are trying for and make the edit.

PS: Something weird is going on... when I wrote this post and when I edit the link to the image in "...look today" shows. But when I click SAVE the link changes... maybe that is just in my browser...

The raw link is: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/405992-how-does-your-avatar-look-today/?do=findComment&comment=2646316

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Nalates Urriah

[SabrinaCooke]

Chiming in with my before and after on a simple edit in GIMP. The details are a little pixelated because it's a screenshot, but it shows the general idea. 

[Marianne Little]

It's been a while since I posted, and I think I got better eyelids here.

From left to right, top row: The second image is first experiment with color and shadow adjusting.
In the third, the difference is the eyelids.
No matter what I did, what kind of "eyelid layers" or "closed eyes"I use,  I could not get the eyelids I wanted in SL. The fold was there, unless I used so bright light that all the other details was washed out.

The second row is adding vignette, then adding a cracked layer to give the look of aging.
Then a frame and signature.

The major work is the eyelids.
Also the rose in the original screenshot looked too dark.
A small shadow next to the mouth was touched up.
I am just an amateur.

I think the finished image is not so different from the raw one. It is still a Second Life image.

I use Krita and painted on new eyelids on a layer on top, before I flatten the image. I made some small work on parts like the side of the mouth.

Light and color adjustment is made by duplicating the image and trying different effects and transparency on the top layer(s). Like screen, mulitiply and overlay. I also use a big brush and brush over parts with burn and color dodge. But I often do too much of burn and color dodge, and have to stop myself.

It is easier to see the cracked layer here, especially over the face and chest:

 

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Marianne Little
added an image and a few words.

[Marianne Little]

It was an image of AI created art in the "How does your avatar look today" that made me go back to this thread. How much editing is too much?

AI is not the same as Photoshop - or any other program. Photoshop is way too expensive for me.

Mostly I use color and light tweaking, and I love vignettes. I have also used frames lately.

I used a green screen and a RL background here. Mostly because I did not find the background I wanted in SL. But the avatar is the avatar, with color and light adjusted and a lot of burn brushing around the edges.

It is still SL? I do not ask in that thread. It is not a place for discussion, it often goes into bickering.

 

 

 

 

[Chic Aeon]

Great picture. Better reupload WITHOUT your signature on that. I got yelled at a year or so a go for having mine on

 

LOL You KNEW that as we talked about it.  So hand slap or no? Whatever. Nice job.  

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Chic Aeon

[ValKalAstra]

13 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

I am just an amateur.

You're doing the same thing I often tend to do, which is to put yourself down. Stop it. These are absolutely lovely, creative and on top of that really well made. Be proud of what you have achieved here, they look amazing and I am happy to see you experiment with greenscreen!

 

13 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

It is still SL? I do not ask in that thread. It is not a place for discussion, it often goes into bickering.

You're always going to run into some numbskull purist trying to gatekeep a hobby. Heck there's a prominent forum member that will absoutely jump down your throat for the mere suggestion of using Black Dragon. I find it best to just kind of acknowledge them and then not engage with them on that subject further. Let them rage. I'd rather be over here, enjoying my time with what I want to make.

So, is your picture still SL? For me, absolutely. The subject matter is very much your avatar and it just works. It's blended together nicely too. Something like that could easily be a backdrop with baked lighting, it's nothing I would find unfeasible in SL. Don't mind the grumpies. Easier said than done, I know but - you do good.

[Marianne Little]

13 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

Great picture. Better reupload WITHOUT your signature on that. I got yelled at a year or so a go for having mine on

 

LOL You KNEW that as we talked about it.  So hand slap or no? Whatever. Nice job.  

 

I remember dramalama dingdong. Chic can not post information, how to find things, suggestions to update the avatar for free... not even set her signature on her images. I know it has been people after you, it is rather insane sometimes. It is strange that it is only ONE person who is doing it wrong.

I use Flickr, and I like to put a signature on the Flickr images. If people click on an image, they come to Flickr. It is many others doing it and I really can not see wrong in that. It would be very little activity in threads.

[Marianne Little]

26 minutes ago, ValKalAstra said:

You're doing the same thing I often tend to do, which is to put yourself down. Stop it. These are absolutely lovely, creative and on top of that really well made. Be proud of what you have achieved here, they look amazing and I am happy to see you experiment with greenscreen!

 

You're always going to run into some numbskull purist trying to gatekeep a hobby. Heck there's a prominent forum member that will absoutely jump down your throat for the mere suggestion of using Black Dragon. I find it best to just kind of acknowledge them and then not engage with them on that subject further. Let them rage. I'd rather be over here, enjoying my time with what I want to make.

So, is your picture still SL? For me, absolutely. The subject matter is very much your avatar and it just works. It's blended together nicely too. Something like that could easily be a backdrop with baked lighting, it's nothing I would find unfeasible in SL. Don't mind the grumpies. Easier said than done, I know but - you do good.

I overthink it, but it Quartz Mole said third party software, and it could be taken as all editing with third party software.

I think @Scylla Rhiadrawrote it well, that he specifically meant AI editing software.

But still, the thought linger: When is it "too much" editing?

I like to have one thread to post in, because yes, I overthink things, and I can take things too serious. Do I post in the correct thread now?

That is why I decided to pick one thread and post there.

 

[ValKalAstra]

I've only now seen the "little" spat in the picture thread. To summarize: *sighs*. Still in light of that whole thing, I'll still reiterate that your picture very much speaks "Second Life" to me. It could come up on my Flickr feed, I'd look at it, go "woah, that's amazing" and not even think that it might not be SL. It would fit in a long line of SL pictures I've seen from various people that awed me and inspired me to do better myself.

In general - yah I think Scylla has got the gist of it there. The sentiment doesn't seem to be against editing as much as it is about the current AI war shenanigans. Case in point, those apps that put smiles and teeth on avatars a while back were actually based on machine learning (aka AI) too but those didn't warrant a new thread - so yah, it's just trying to get ahead of the AI battlefield.

 

[Chic Aeon]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

I remember dramalama dingdong. Chic can not post information, how to find things, suggestions to update the avatar for free... not even set her signature on her images. I know it has been people after you, it is rather insane sometimes. It is strange that it is only ONE person who is doing it wrong.

I use Flickr, and I like to put a signature on the Flickr images. If people click on an image, they come to Flickr. It is many others doing it and I really can not see wrong in that. It would be very little activity in threads.

Well I hope it works for you.  I make TWO copies of a photo now if it is an edited one and not just a "snippet".  Hence I don't post near as much as it is extra work and I guess I am still a little mad about it all :D.   You did a lovely job with your photo!

 

[Devilgrey]

i use krita (it's free software😁) and the standard built in photo app for windows to edit my photos. but in those programs it's usually just cropping, maybe contrast/levels/saturation.

I spend time picking angles, environmental lighting, and most stuff in-world until i like it, so i have very minimal editing to do post sl. I also tend to take larger resolution photos in sl then resize them in krita for posting online.