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

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 your Fantasy on!**Note: These articles are for YOU. Please feel free to add the thumbs to your groups and enjoy them. If your requests to add yesterday's articles to your groups was declined, please resubmit. Thanks.**
Current dA submissions guidelines define "Fantasy Photomanipulation" as photomanipulation that focuses on a fantasy theme.

We have therefore set out to speak with our fantasy constituency and gain a better understanding of how they see and define the complexities of fantasy photomanipulation.
Fantasy Photomanipulation
We all know of dragons, wizards, sorcerers, witches, griffins, magic, fairies, fauns, and all other mystical and magical beings. We learned of them through stories, art, movies, and games. The fantasy genre has become increasingly popular because of movies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and games like "Dungeons & Dragons" and "World of Warcraft," not to forget fantasy wr

PE Photomanip: Ask Me Anything!PE Photomanipulation: Ask Me Anything!
One of the activities for Project Educate: Photomanipulation was for the community to ask questions from more experienced community "experts." For "Ask Me Anything," community members came up with ten excellent questions for ten Experts to answer. Having had time to peruse and consider the questions asked, the Experts kindly returned the answers to be included in this news article. Many thanks to the deviants asking, as well as a huge thank you to the Experts for taking the time to come up with such succinct, detailed, and helpful answers.

~Amoretdoesntdrawwell asked, "How do you get that dark, dreary, foggy effect that makes it look like it's all from the same image, like ~Dash-th3me did in 'Dead Marshes'?

Answered by =nitchwarmer :iconnitchwarmer:
~Amoretdoesntdrawwell,
There are many brushes and stock images you can use here on dA; you can find the

Photomanip News and Feature 03 AugustHi everyone,
The status quo in the photomanipulation community is GO! GO! GO! We have been extremely busy with creating, supporting one another, and dreaming up contests and other fun challenges. I have been delayed in reporting our news for personal reasons, so this news article is jam-packed with goodness that you, the photomanipulation community, need to know!
Let's get started!
Calling on Community Leaders
We have a wonderful photomanipulation community here, and I'm really honored to serve you all as your Community Volunteer (CV). I have been trying to post weekly news, conduct interviews and do features, post DDs, organize Project Educate and other community challenges, host critique events, and hold contests that I hope are challenging and interesting. I absolutely love doing all of this, but I am also trying to get a Ph.D. and am going to run into trouble juggling it all in the Fall.
So, I will be asking a few of you who I know well and trust to hel

PE Photomanip: That's a Wrap!Thank You!
Photomanipulation Week here at #projecteducate has been phenomenal, and that is entirely thanks to you, our viewers, and to the community members who made it happen. Our community wrote most of the articles; I just posted them. Our community interviewed many, many people and answered what had to have seemed like endless questions about how they do their stuff. And do you know, of the many people I asked, only one or two were unable? People contributed in spite of busy schedules, poor health conditions, other projects, and other competing demands because they knew this was important. I cannot thank you enough.
I wanted to show you the sheer number of people (well over 40) who participated in this event. Every one of these people made a significant contribution. Please, everyone show some love to the deviants who made this week possible (and then keep reading; more good stuff coming below this list):
*3mmI
*AFineWar
:

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

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

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: 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

Photomanipulation FAQsEverything you wanted to know . . . And MORE!
This journal will (I hope) serve as a one-stop source for basic information about photomanipulation. As always, if you have questions, I will do my best to answer them or, if I don't know the answer, refer you to someone who can help you.
What is photomanipulation?
Photomanipulation is art that uses 2 or more photographic elements combined to make something new. It does not include 3D elements. For reference, see:

Photomanipulation vs. Mixed Media

Welcome to Photomanipulation Week
Which stock am I allowed to use?
You can only use images or other resources that are your own or that you have explicit permission from the original creator to use. For reference, see:

:faq157:

:faq217:

:faq257:
:bulletp

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
^SanguineVamp: 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

Rising Stars of Photomanipulation Vol. 03.
Names you should know: *B-r-a-c-i-a-t-a
The Rising Stars in Photomanipulation interview series focuses on upcoming rock stars from the photomanipulation community whose names you really ought to know! This week I am so excited to introduce you to someone who not only demonstrates tremendous skill in our medium, but also gives generously to the community via the creation of incredibly clean, well-composed tutorials.
I am happy for you to meet =B-r-a-c-i-a-t-a, an Italian artist who has been with us on dA for a bit more than a year. Please enjoy the interview that he was so kind to give, and don't forget to take a moment to check out his gallery!
*B-r-a-c-i-a-t-a's Interview
So, let's start with your program of choice: Photoshop, GIMP, PSP, or other?
Photoshop.
How did you get into photomanipulation?
My friend Anja (*D-E-S-T-I-N-Y-0105) showed me some of her digital work

Photomanip News and Feature - 09 SeptOur photomanipulation community rocks.
Hello, dA!
I am excited to share with you some of the exciting things going on in the photomanipulation community. There are many, many ways to get involved-- and I hope you will!

The thing about belonging to a community is that it's kind-of like a team, and we sink or swim together.

Let's get started!
In this issue . . .
Important advisory regarding PremadesPlease welcome . . . Creative ChallengesPhotomanipulation MonthGallery UpdatesHalloweenContestsIn other news . . .Feature
IMPORTANT: Regarding Premades
There has been a lot of talk recently-- a LOT of talk-- about premades and what is and is not permissible to use for stock. I've had a lot of people ask me to write articles about it, but really I have been writing them for a couple of months now (see my previous journals and news articles).

Moreover, I think that there have been some really wond

Photomanipulation Contest: Rebirth and RenewalWelcome to the latest community competition for Photomanipulation!
This is the official kick-off blog for the latest, greatest EXTREME PHOTOMANIPULATION CONTEST here on dA! The contest is backed by #communityrelations with HUGE prizes and hosted by #CRPhotomanipulation. This journal describes the rules for the contest. Please read it carefully.
What we mean by "Extreme" photomanipulation
You should reach beyond your comfort zone and create a deviation that is bold, unique, and better than you thought you could create. Try something new. Break the mold. You've got this!
We have HUGE prizes. So, we are expecting HUGE results.
Theme: Rebirth and Renewal
Our theme, Rebirth and Renewal, was suggested by administrators of #CRPhotomanipulation. You are hereby challenged to create a photomanipulation that shows rebirth and/or renewal. For example, it could sh

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Photomanip News and Feature - 12 August

Sun Aug 12, 2012, 6:53 PM

Hi everyone,

I hope you have enjoyed your week! It's been kind-of quiet around here lately; have you all been at the beach?

Here is what I know is going on in our community.

Please welcome . . .

Every week we will try to feature a new member of our community. If you know of a new member (who has been here 6 months or less) and want to have a "welcome" feature for them, please note their name to =ChisSweetArt.

This week, we are welcoming =WriteGirl, Tanya, a writer-turned-manipulator! She has been in our community for about a month, and she has already contributed a great deal through her nicely-developing artistry and inspiring sense of creativity. Here are some of her lovely works for you to admire:

:bigthumb317098968:

Why not drop by her gallery, leave a comment or two, and welcome her to our community? We've all been new at one point or another, and it's nice to make new friends.

Random Acts of Kindness

Our first Random Acts of Kindness Day (August 7th, dA's birthday) went really well! It was a day of support for our fellow artists, and we chose 12 deviants to receive a one-month membership from Community Relations and a feature from me. You can view the winners here!. I was really touched to see how many people were willing to reach out to each other on this special day. But, can we sustain this mutual support every other day?

By popular demand and thanks to the generosity of $Moonbeam13, Director of Community Relations, we will be having Random Acts of Kindness projects in the photomanipulation community more frequently-- like, every month. We haven't worked out exactly how we are going to do it yet, but I'm leaning toward having people nominate people for doing kind things all month long. Then, we can choose some people to feature at the end of the month. There may also be some prizes involved for people who have really gone out of their way to support others. This project will start shortly, so stay tuned!

They say that having 'integrity' means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Acts of Kindness should be done because doing so supports the growth of our photomanipulation community and the deviantART community as a whole. Why not be kind every day? I am excited about this project and about promoting positive support and artistic growth within our community.

Premades and Copyrights

Just a reminder to make sure you are checking to make sure that the stock provider who lets you use a premade background actually has permission to make the stocks they used into a premade. Here is dA's official clarification of the copyright policy as it relates to stock and resources. Any questions about dA's policies on this issue should be directed to the Help Desk.

Advanced Photomanipulation Month

Once again, Project Educate: Advanced Photomanipulation Workshop Month is being moved to OCTOBER rather than September. This move serves two purposes: (1) It gives us more time to plan

and (2) It lets us do something in conjunction with Halloween.

We have a planning committee going on over at ~The-Sacred-Space, and if you would like to join, you would be more than welcome. =nikkidoodlesx3 will be my community Co-Chair for the event, and I am super excited to be working with her! I will be contacting some of our more experienced photomanipulators to get their input on the events that we plan and also contacting beginner and intermediate artists to gain a better understanding of how we as a community, together, can provide a learning experience that is beneficial to everyone.

Current Contests

There are a lot of contests in which you can participate right now! Why not challenge yourself?

Other Good News

Lots of other interesting new things to check out here in the photomanipulation community as well as on dA in general!

The winners of the When Darkness Falls competition will be announced very soon! Thanks for your patience!
This week is Daily Deviation Week over in #projecteducate!! Make sure you are watching, especially if you have questions or concerns about how DDs are determined or given out.
Rising Stars of Photomanipulation Volume 3
Rising Stars of Photomanipulation Volume 4
Help support our application to manage .ART
Fairy Contest winners
Tutorial: How to make Fog
Satanic Contest winners
Stock Challenge Chat winners
Run your own Community Project!
New group: #DA-A-U is for getting contests more exposure and finding out what's going on in the world of contests on dA!
New group: #Inspiration-Creative
New group: #EliteManips
New group: #BeyondOthers
New group: #PremiumContent

Feature

I want to give our outstanding community leader, =Vam-pyre, a huge thank-you for choosing our featured deviations this week. They represent the wide variety of tastes, styles, and levels of expertise that can be found in our community. Enjoy!

And my (^SanguineVamp's) personal favorites of the week:

Be well!

Jade (^SanguineVamp) and the Photomanipulation Community

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Photomanip News and Feature - 12 Augustby ^Aeirmid

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Submitted on: August 12, 2012
Submitted with: Sta.sh Writer

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~MoodyBlue Aug 16, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Beautiful artworks!

~Fatz8016 Aug 15, 2012

Wow!..wonderful feature..thank you so much for including my work here

~allvinART Aug 14, 2012 Student Digital Artist

woww...awesome & Thank you so much for the feature dear!.....

=LuzTapia Aug 13, 2012 Student Digital Artist

Thank you so much for the feature dear!

So much things going on in the community! so excited for all!

~Cantagna Aug 13, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Thank you so much for including my work on this journal

Meant a lot

=StarsColdNight Aug 13, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

I'm so happy, again thank you so much for the feature!

=FP-Digital-Art Aug 13, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

greart news and updates

=SweediesArt Aug 13, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Amazing featured artist and feature!

=CindysArt Aug 13, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

Thank you so very very much for the feature

~II-S Aug 13, 2012

Thanks for sharing this positive news

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Photomanip News and Feature - 12 August

Please welcome . . .

Random Acts of Kindness

Premades and Copyrights

Advanced Photomanipulation Month

Current Contests

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Feature

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Photomanip News and Feature - 12 Augustby ^Aeirmid

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