Learning To Paint On Photos Digitally

I have been seeing a number of photographs that looked as though they were painted, and I went searching for how people would accomplish such a technique. I did not want to use a filter that was a one button push to the end result. I wanted to learn something more than a quickie solution. There were many tutorials just doing a Gaussian blur and hitting multiply. Most people who do a more serious job of painting over photos use a Wacom tablet and Corel Painter. I have neither, so I needed a little information for photoshop and a mouse. Of course when I do have the biggest bad ass Wacom tablet made, along with Corel Painter, I will be doing digital artwork from scratch too. For now it's me and the mouse. I actually tried using a Wacom at Faerie Con a few years ago when a digital artist brought hers along for people to try. What a cool experience. More natural for the artist's flowing hand, than a clunky mouse where the eye hand coordination is not as intuitive.

I found a tutorial by 'Photoshopmama' whom I have watched in the past for learning photoshop skills. Her video "Simulate Acrylic or Oil Portrait' was the main basis for transforming the SOOC photo of my lovely niece you see above, into the image seen just below. It may be hard to see the canvas texture, but I tried to show it in the close-up section of the final painted eye area at the top of this post. You can click on the image below for a larger view of the painted photo.

This video was only 25 minutes long, and you can pause it as you do each step on your own portrait photo. If you know of any other good tutorials on this technique please let me know. This was a good exercise in going over some basic things that I should know anyway. It never hurts to reinforce some basic knowledge and keystrokes to make things go more smoothly in the future. Every little bit helps.