I’ve been meaning to give Filter Forge a try for some time and finally made time today. I specifically wanted to try it for this watercolor filter.

Here is the image I used in yesterday’s tutorial on creating a photo illustration. This is the Château de Chinon in France.

Chateau de Chinon by Leslie Nicole

Today I used the same image, but tried the Paint HDRtist filter by Filter Forge contributor, lipibianc. I tried out a few other watercolor filters as well that look fun and will be worth exploring, but this one is my favorite so far .

Chateau de Chinon by Leslie Nicole

I have to say, I’m really loving it! This was just a first try with the default setting. I’ll have to play around with the settings and explore a bit. This is why I love filters—they change your perspective. I thought I was perfectly content with my processing, but seeing the open shadows and saturated colors on this — not to mention the painterly effect— completely changes my mind about this image. I think even for a more “straight” rendition of this, I’m going to change my processing.

I’ll use this image in Monday’s part 2 of the Photo Illustration tutorial.

Can’t wait to play with Filter Forge some more. I plan on using to create a set of seamless textures as well. I notice they have a special 80% off today. I’d snatch it up if I were you!

Leslie Nicole
Leslie Nicole

American Photographer and Designer living in France with my French husband, 2 Weimaraners and Cat Rescues. Camera, Mac, studio, garden.