Digital Starling

Day 135: Yes, I'm getting a little hard-up for material here. If it ain't up a tree, it's covered in snow.

I envy people who can create "pencil sketch" images with a click of an app on their phones, or with a little more work, with Photoshop's utilities. I use PaintShop Pro for all my post-processing because years ago, it was recommended to me by a friend who was a graphic artist for a magazine, and she assured me that although it was more difficult to work with, it was more versatile. I committed myself to the program and have used it ever since. While it may be more versatile, it is definitely NOT more user-friendly, and many of the quick features available with phone apps can only be achieved by making complex series of individual adjustments to the base image. The user manual is decidedly vague and unhelpful. I've been trying for years to come up with the proper combination to execute a "pencil sketch" (the PSP option listed as "pencil sketch" does nothing more than apply a nearly-opaque layer to a photo), and this is as close as I have come. While I've achieved detail in the flecked feathers of this juvenile Starling, I still feel I still have a long way to go before I'm happy with the end product.