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PE: Photomanip - Interview with *simoneheldPE: Photomanip - Interview with Simone Held
Last week, I was fortunate to catch up with Simone, *simoneheld, who has been a photomanipulator in our community for more than four years. The founder of #PremierPhotomanips and administrator of various other photomanipulation groups and art groups in general across dA, Simone has an eye for identifying good photomanipulation and a passion for excellent artistry.
I chose to invite Simone for our Keynote interview because of her passion for our art form and also because of her vision. She has brilliant ideas and the skills to carry them out both respect to art creation and project design.
Here is our interview.
You've been on dA for over four years now! What brought you here in the first place, and why did you choose to learn photomanipulation specifically?
The reason why I came to dA is very simple: I wanted to share my art with others and see new and different art for myself

PE Photomanip: Dark photomanipulationWhat is Dark Photomanipulation?

Is dark manipulation romantic? Frightening? Cold? Is it full of untold possibilities or a scream waiting to erupt from your throat?
Dark photomanipulation has something for every shade of your dark mood and demeanor. If you visit our dark photomanipulation gallery, you will find everything from grimly beautiful women surrounded by crows to figures engrossed in decay and beautiful stagnation. Some pieces are soothing in their depths; some are startling in their grotesqueness.
So, once again, what is a dark photomanipulation?
When we submit our deviations to the Digital Art > Photomanipulation > Dark gallery, we see the following gallery description:
Photomanipulations which are dark in theme or mood, and have a mystical, obscure, sombre, grim, or sinister expression.
This is a good conceptual definition, but we also want to obtain a more operational definition fro

Conzpiracy: Elegance in Darkness

Hi all,
Many of you know `conzpiracy as a former Volunteer in our community. Others know his amazing art (if you are not one of them, drop everything you are doing and head to his gallery. NOW!). He is an icon in our community who is dedicated not only to doing great art, but also to helping others exceed their wildest expectations with respect to their own art. If you haven't already, check out his tutorials on surrealpsd.com!
Without further ado, I give you the man behind the icon.
JADE: So, you served our photomanipulation community as a Gallery Moderator (GM, now Community Volunteer or CV) a couple of years back! Tell me what that experience was like for you, getting to work with this community every day and help support and promote the great work they did.
CONZZ: The experience was great; hard work, but I really got a feel for what the wider photo manip community is about. If I didn't have universi

A Way With Light And A Meet With phantasticoA Way With Lights And A Meet With phantastico

Q. You are an equine artist. What makes that special for you on a personal level?
Equine art is special to me because unlike a lot of young girls, horses were never just a phase for me. I always wanted a horse of my own when I was little, and my parents were constantly telling me that I'd grow out of it, especially once I got to see how much work and time a horse required. They leased me a horse to ride, and I loved him to death. I rode him for two years, and even after his owner had him moved away and I had to quit riding, I still loved horses. My love for them lives on today, and it's still my goal to own a couple of my own someday.
After I lost my horse, I later joined deviantArt and pretty quickly found my niche - the Equine Art Community. I began like anyone else, just making images very sloppily and with no thought to details and lighting, shadows and realism. It was simply a way for me to be around horses

PE Photomanip: More on dark manipulationHi, everyone!
GUESS WHAT!!! You get a bonus blog today because . . . ~intano is in the house!!

Tugba took some time out of her very busy schedule to chat with me about dark photomanipulation and photomanipulation in general. These questions are similar to those that the lovely *MarcelaBolivar answered in our dark photomanipulation interview from earlier in the series (click here). It is always useful to have more perspectives and ideas regarding dark art and its operational definition, and we are really grateful to both of these brilliant artists for sharing their wisdom with us.
Interview with ~intano

So, the “dark” photomanipulation category is confusing many people because it can feature anything from beautiful, sorrowful women in l

PE Photomanip: Art with a ConceptWhat is Conceptual Art?
Answer: Conceptual art deals with ideas rather than with the final product. It is "art in which the idea behind a particular work, and the means of producing it, are more important than the finished work." http://dictionary.com
"Conceptual art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art
Conceptual art, a movement conceived in the 1960s, stresses the artist's concept rather than the art object itself. Conceptual art grew out of minimalism and "turned the artist's thoughts and ideas themselves into the primary artistic medium, appealing to the spectator's intellect instead of emotions." http://www.reference.com/browse/conceptual+art?s=t
Conceptual art is often confused with Surreal and Abstract because often they have some of the same elements. However, Conceptual art differs from Surreal

Photomanipulation: Exploring textureTexture: We love it!
If there's one thing a lot of photomanipulators love, it's texture, glorious texture! Texture can change your entire image and make it or break it. In our community, it is frequently used for creating a "dark" effect, but it can be used to create or enhance absolutely any theme you can dream up. I wanted to share some brilliant examples of art that use textures well. I also want to provide some tips of things I've learned and direct you to some tutorials.
Let's get started!
Brilliant and inspiring

Tips for success

Use textures to highlight positive assets of the manipulation; don't use them to try to cover flaws of poor blending or cropping.
:bullet

10 Things a Photomanip Newbie Should KnowHi all,
I wanted to talk for a moment to our newbie photomanipulators or even older photomanipulators who are out of the fray. How are you? Welcome to the inner circle.
Here are some things that you (and all photomanipulators) need to know about dA and the photomanipulation community.
1. Stay in touch with the Photomanipulation CV (currently me, ^Aeirmid).
Watch me. No, that's not an ill-formed plea for pageviews, favorites, or watchers.

Actually, I rarely even post art anymore.

I am the Community Volunteer (CV) for photomanipulation, which means I regularly run contests, feature art, share news, post Daily Deviations (DDs), and do other things to support the community. It is in your best interest to watch my journal because I post every photomanipulation-related update there. This information is important to you so you can learn about upcoming events, changes in rules, new groups, and other news.
2. Watch :devcommunity

Photomanip PE: Conversation with ^ElandriaHappy Thursday, everyone!
You know, as photomanipulators, we rely pretty heavily on the stock and resources community, and the opposite is true as well. It is because of this symbiotic relationship that both communities flourish, growing and evolving off of each other. Because of stock artists here on dA and elsewhere, we are able to create our manipulations. Stock inspires us; it drives us to create by capturing in visual image format that which we envision in our minds. So, for our Project Educate week, I sat down to have a conversation with ^Elandria, one of our Community Volunteers (CVs) for stock and resources and a fantastic digital artist, who I am fortunate enough to call a friend as well as a colleague.
Here's how that conversation went!

Interview with ^Elandria
^Aeirmid: We all know and love you as ^Elandria, rockstar stock artist and digital artist here on dA! But, that is only a small part of you. Who are y

PE Photomanip: Using Masks InterviewsUsing Masks Interviews
Good afternoon / morning, everyone!

I've got some interviews about using masks in your photomanipulations today!
Basically, masks are a way of non-destructively erasing parts of your work. Non-destructively means that it doesn't "destroy" your base image - everything you don't erase is kept and it's simple to fix it if you make a mistake. Whereas if you just deleted the parts of an image you don't want, that would be lost and it would be complicated to get those parts back in many instances. Read on for more info!

Interview with `kuschelirmel
`miontre: When is it appropriate (or how do you know you need) to use a mask in your work?
`kuschelirmel: A mask is used to get rid of unwanted parts (backgrounds on objects you want to use etc) as well as to help you blend things better, because the mask gives you control over how transparent any

PE Photomanip: Let there be LIGHT!Light in Photomanipulation

Getting your light right when creating a photomanipulation sounds easy . . . until you sit down to try to do it! There are seemingly endless things to keep in mind: where the light source is, the intensity of the light, how pieces of your manipulation need to be composed so that they line up with the direction of the light in the piece, whether there could be multiple light sources, what color the light will be. . . .
And the goal for light in your manipulation is for the light to be consistent throughout so that it is telling a story. No pressure! It is not an overstatement to say that light will make or break your manipulation; I have declined many DD suggestions because of bad lighting.

Light can help you tell a story and is critical to your deviation. It adds emphasis, adds depth, contributes to realism, and draws the viewer's attention to where you want it to be

PE Photomanip: Get Surreal!

A tour in the world of Surreal Photomanipulations
For years, surreal photomanipulation and its artists have been showing a great variety of works in this style, surprising and inspiring to all of us with their images. If you already had the pleasure to see pieces of this genre, I´m sure you´ve been amazed with what a surreal piece can offer, but if you haven´t . . . what better time than this one to learn and see the incredible options this style have for you?
But first, the most important thing is to know what we are saying when we refer to a "surreal photomanipulation." To have a better understanding, let´s ask the most basic question . . .
What is a Surreal photomanip?
Surreal photomanipulations displays the mind and imagination of an artist and its unique way to represent that into the final work. These pieces can be really appealing to the eyes or disturbing. Subconscio

Blending: Tips and TricksHello again

In conjunction with our blending article we interviewed several fellow photomanipulators to get you the scoop on some tips and tricks when it comes to blending. Thanks again to the amazing artists who agreed to the interview, we appreciate you sharing your knowledge! This was a 3 part interview series, if you're interested in the other two links are included at the bottom of this article

~JennLaa :iconJennLaa:
Q: What is your overall process for blending and integrating different elements/stocks into your works?
A: I usually start by looking for stock with similar light sources. Then I add a color balance adjustment and possibly a curve adjustment to to get the colors to blend in well. My final step would be using the the dodge tool to add extra lighting or use a clipping mask and paint it in.
Q:<

PE Artist Interview: VAngelLJHello! How are you today? Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! I'm good thank you. My name is Leo, I live in England and I've been a member of deviantART for around 8 years now (quietly).
So, when did you first discover Vexel Art?
I came to discover vexel art in 2007, and it was introduced to me by `AwsumZ. I like the media because it is versatile and I find it relaxing, which is why I've been doing it ever since.
And how would you describe your work?
I'd describe my work as semi-realistic, and I like to think I'm creative with it at the same time as keeping the realism - as in, I tend to follow stock references to a certain extent, but I love to add all my own ideas into it and 'mix it up'.

If someone were to ask you, “what is vexel art?”, what would you tell them?
I tend to tell people that vexel art is blocks of solid colour or g

Welcome to Photomanipulation Week!Welcome, all, to Photomanipulation Week here at Project Educate!
This week, the photomanipulation community will be introducing you to some of our styles, techniques, and concepts. We will show you our diversity and our style. We will demonstrate our skills and our creativity. You will be hearing from the community in their own voices what it means to be a photomanipulator here on dA.
Let's get started!

What is photomanipulation?
The official definition of "photomanipulation" (PM), according to deviantART, is: an image that is composed of two or more photographic elements to create something new. This definition has been very nicely analyzed and distinguished from other genres here, here, and here, but let's talk briefly about the three main components o

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Submitted: October 25, 2012
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lunebleu On Commercialism And A Look At Her Art

Thu Oct 25, 2012, 9:19 AM

PhotoManip Month

`LuneBleu was recommended to me for this series of interviews, and I'm glad that she was able to share some of her time with us. If you're interested in commercial work, this is a good place to start. I feel the information is very valuable, and I hope you feel that way too.

Q. What would a beginner deviant who is interested in commercial work in photomanipulation need to know to get started?

As far as what a dA beginner must know about the commercial ways of photomanipulation is not that complicated.

Yes, in my opinion it is important that you're able to deliver a good product. The happier clients are with the result of your work, bigger are the chances that you'll get more clients in the future.

Try to keep your page professional and clean. If you really want to be a working artist, you must show yourself as a professional.

Create several folders showing different aspects of your art; the more versatile you are, the client range will also be bigger. If in the future you notice that just a specific type of clients are contacting you, than you'll be able to focus and get even more expertize on that specific area; but as a beginner, you can't afford to be picky.

Don't limit your gallery portfolio to deviantArt. Create galleries on other professional art communities and always add your Bio, stating that you work in a freelance level and what type of your you do.

In my opinion, deviantArt is definitely one of the best art communities so, despite I have other galleries and portfolios all over the web, deviantArt is always my main focus and, I'm always keeping my gallery updated. I also have a special folder for my commercial work. many times clients contact me saying that they chose to work with me because they liked the commercial work I already did; they were able to see that I can deliver a good product for them.

Even if you still have nothing to show, create examples of the work you could do (e.g. create book cover examples, a CD covers, a Logo, etc... everything you can recall that translates your work and that visually explains what your fields of expertize are.

Also, don't sit and wait for people to come and meet your work. Explore deviantArt. Join groups, comment on other artists artworks. This is definitely the first step so that the deviantArt community starts noticing you and therefore, external clients will notice you as well!!

Q. Since our month theme this month is illumination, can you select three of your latest deviations and write about them?

In my opinion, good lighting is one of the most important things in order to achieve a good photomanipulation artwork. I always try to portray light in a dramatic way; always hitting part of the main subject; while shadows start hiding the rest.

I (almost) always use side lighting, on the left or on the right and I love playing with shades and light in order to achieve the perfect mood for my artwork.

Light sources can determine the mood and the intensity of the artwork itself and, no doubt that, for me, is one of the most important parts of the work through, while I create my artworks.

5 artworks from my gallery: