Serola

Inspired by deSales, who got inspired by iHanna, I decided to illustrate my inner critic. Mine is a blindfolded and commercialized soft toy donkey, who has lost his tail. In other words, it really does not know a meaning of a self criticism. Either it is a pessimistic jackass, who does not see any good in anything, or just stubbornly does something without any critic.

And after all, he has just became brainwashed by all the common believes said about donkeys, which are actually very wise and cautious animal, not a stubborn or stupid as people think.

EDIT: And here what it sounds like http://youtu.be/4_yC-Bc5aC0

Being lazy and busy means more straightforward editing methods to be used. I used to do the basic editing with curves and add the vignette by hard way. Now I have improved the process with much more simple steps on GIMP:

1. Duplicate layer.
2. Set layer mode 'Soft light' and opacity 50% for duplicate.
3. Select 'Blend tool', set 'Gradient' for reverse, and choose 'Radial' shape.
4. Use blend tool to draw line from middle of the picture to one of the corners.

And that is all you need to do, except maybe a little sharpening. Especially this way the vignetting can be made fast and easily. You can also use layer painted black to do the vignetting, but duplicate layer set for 'Soft light' and 50% opacity also increase the overall contrast for the picture, which usually just improves the picture.

My friend Deb Platt mentioned one could do "split-toning" to enhance the pictures or to give them some cool vintage look. Original idea is to use one color to tone highlights and another color for shadows. After searching I discovered one can use gradients for that. On the picture you see how to do this, but here are the stages explained:

1. Duplicate layer and keep it selected.
2. Change the mode of that layer for 'Soft light' and change opacity for 50%.
3. Open the gradients dialog under layers.
4. Choose gradient you like to try.
5. Then from menu select 'Colors > Map > Gradient map'.

If you are not satisfied, then undo and select another gradient. Or make a gradient of your own. On some pictures gradient like 'Blinds' help to make picture more graphical. Or try something like 'Franch flag smooth' to give a vintage tone.

References:

• Split toning in GIMP at gimp-tutorials
• Split tone script at GIMP Plugin Registry
• How to Split Tone With Gradient Map in GIMP at Graphics Software