Guidelines for Producing a Fractal Image in Adobe Photoshop
In the world of underwater photography, Paco Sedano's 'Psychedelic Seahorse' stands out as a remarkable piece that won 1st place in the Underwater Art category of the Ocean Art 2019 competition. The secret behind this mesmerising image lies in the unique application of the Fractalius filter, a third-party plugin for Adobe Photoshop, developed by REDFIELD PLUGINS.
The Fractalius filter works by detecting the edges, lights, and shadows of an image, transforming them into intricate fractal textures. To create the Psychedelic Seahorse, the filter was applied to a high-quality underwater seahorse image, duplicating the layer first for non-destructive editing.
Once the filter was applied, it enhanced the edges with glowing fractal patterns, adding an ethereal, electric-like effect. The author could then tweak parameters like stroke length, density, and brightness of the fractal lines to fine-tune the effect.
After the filter was applied, the effect layer was blended with the original image using blending modes such as Screen, Overlay, or Soft Light to achieve the desired psychedelic and glowing appearance. Additional adjustments using Hue/Saturation, Levels, or Curves might have been employed to enhance the vivid colours and contrasts, amplifying the psychedelic feel.
Further digital painting or use of filters was likely used to refine details, clean up the image, or increase the surreal quality. A warm white balance was used to produce a fire flames effect on the seahorse's head, while the clarity, contrast, and sharpness were increased to define each individual fractal.
It's worth noting that the Fractalius filter is not included within normal Photoshop filters; it needs to be downloaded and installed separately. Creatures with contrasting patterns and hard edges in their body, like seahorses or spotted fish, produce a better effect with the Fractalius filter. It's also recommended to use images with a clean dark background to avoid oversaturation with lines.
In the final edited image, there appeared a "digital outlined" version of the seahorse. The presence of a defined eye in an image enhances composition, particularly for portrait images. After applying the Fractalius filter, the author edited the image using common editing tools to make the final adjustments.
In conclusion, the Psychedelic Seahorse effect is a testament to the power of the Fractalius filter and the skilled use of Photoshop's blending and adjustment tools. By leveraging the Fractalius filter's unique fractal line generation on a seahorse photo, Paco Sedano was able to produce the vibrant, glowing, and intricate psychedelic image that won him 1st place in the Ocean Art 2019 underwater photo competition.
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