Love the idea! Since it's one of my favorite art concepts, I hope I can create something in the little time that is left - this month has truly gotten away from me! - but in the meantime, I thought I might post a recent image I did, before the challenge (and thus not an entry) that fit the idea perfectly:
You know, the old timey copy (and MSRP...!) make the CG nature of the image a bit jarring to my eye. Is there some filter you can run it through to give the image a more painterly look? I know there are PS processes that can pull off what I'm talking about, but I forget if you're using that or what. --Alex
You know, I'd love to find a filter that created that sort of heavy-brush feel that a lot of classic pulp covers have (at least to my eye - the shading on them is almost non-existent, making them seem almost faceted). In general, though, I've rarely seen any Photoshop effect that, to me, didn't look like a "Photoshop effect" rather than hand-made brushwork. So you're really better off if I don't try something and mess it up .
You could just hand paint in brush strokes over areas with an adjustment layer and just set it to overlay or something. That way you'd get a slightly more natural brush look with little extra work.
If you just apply it "blanket" over the whole image then yeah, it's going to look fake. Isolate different elements and apply it to each one individually, adjusting the control's settings as you go for intensity, direction and so on.
Cool! And I feel ya on the time thing this month....but you better get cracking! I expect to see a dramatic, last minute entry this month. It's like you're reading my mind! I've wished for that very same filter, LOL! Oh, the wonders I could create....
Speaking of dramatic, last-minute entries ... Not what I had planned ... because I had planned nothing. This just kind of came out while I was doing something else ....