Good work GL author

wow, great job!!!! (excellent find)

nicely done GL author

is this a double entry?

no this is my entry only one

ahh ok, someone else must have picked the same source photo as you then. sorry

really good work , GL

Where's the Dragan effect in this? Sorry, not seeing it even in hi-res. There are several tuts out there, though some are better than others. Many ways to achieve the contest effect, author.

Sorry you don't see the effect. Perhaps your monitor needs calibrating, or a visit to your optometrist is in order.

The basic adjustments for a "Dragan effect," which is actually more of a "pseudo-HDR" effect achieved with Photoshop, are there. I suppose I could have just put a layer of generated noise on top and color tinted it green, but that really would not have achieved the definition and enhancement of features that a "Dragan" accomplishes.

Thanks for taking the time to comment, tho'!

in my opinion the dragan style, is not simply a sum of filters and adjustments, I think the choice of image is important to achieve a dramatic image and hard, and I think it is the case with his work

Good point, Zambrottix, but there are at least a couple of entries so far that don't really come close in quality or technical effect to a Dragan. That is just the way contests work...

But I must disagree, as Dragan himself has clearly stated that his effect is a result of adjustment layers for hue and saturation, along with selective sharpening, blurring, burn and dodge. The key is to start with a good quality photo, but in the end, it IS a sum of filters and adjustments. Dragan himself has admitted as much in several interviews, some of which are no longer available on the web, but which I have archived.

Here is one still available in which he discusses some of his attitudes:
http://www.bakmagazine.com/interviews/13/andrzej-dragan

I agree with the others on this one. It doesn't look like you did hardly anything to the photo.

Not much of an sbs when there's no commentary and just a single gif step.

There are enough tutorials out there on how to achieve the effect, no need for another explanation. The basics I listed with the animation are common to almost ALL the tutorials, with each one dependent upon the photo selected for adjustment...And those ARE all the steps used. No fancy filtering or drawing overlays. about 4 layers total, mainly merge visible to leave prior layers for retouch if I didn't like the directions burn and dodge were taking...I thought you'd already checked out some tutorials. Surely you must have seen that much!

One thing Mr. Dragan insisted upon when he sold (not free gave) his tutorial to achieve his effect, was a "non-disclosure" of the exact steps. I've found over the years it encourages better experimentation.

This is a Dragan effect contest, not an SBS contest...

Wow, I've been away for a while but I see some artists have gotten nastier in defense of their work, instead of appreciating comments and questions. One thing I learned and appreciate about THIS site in particular: HOW you achieved your effects is almost as important as WHAT effects you achieved. Only a good SBS proves what you did. Smarmy remarks by artists against the importance of SBS may work on other sites, but not this one.

Now, for your entry. This nice effect on this beautiful woman's face would benefit from more vibrant eyes, as seen in many of Dragan's works.

Thank you for the un-asked for lecture, elemare...So glad you came back.

Thanks, it's nice to be back, LOL. And, yes, I thought giving one deserved getting one. Nice update, BTW.

Thanks, it's nice to be back, LOL. And, yes, I thought giving one deserved getting one. Nice update, BTW.

Quite generous of you, considering I wasn't replying to you, and was responding to a comment on MY entry...And BTW, there has been no update on my entry. Perhaps you took the time to notice what was originally posted, rather than creating unasked for responses to comments not directed at you...

HEHEHE!!! at first I was like.. Well this is just very nice photo, but the SBS really shows all the hard work you put into this author... GREAT JOB

thanks drivenslush

Very nice job on this, and your series of images in the sbs - but it would be nice if you added some comments as to what you did to achieve the effect.

Edit: Thank you for the explanation, author - really nice dramatic effect you achieved!

thanks pearlie ,,and i added the comments