Photo Study - And the beat goes on by Jonni

View the original image here.
This photo has great lighting and the boy has a really great pose, but what about these cool little music notes Jonni added?  How could one go about adding those music notes to their photo and make it look convincing like this photo did?
This is a great example of how to use a custom-made brush and a good layer mask effectively.  I can only assume that the "edge" of the notes on the microphone are defined by a good layer mask paired with a layer that is nothing but a pattern.  The key here is the highlights and lowlights that were kept on the notes on the microphone.  That is what gives this the realilistic look, and it could be acheived with a white layer on the right layer mode paired with another layer mask that would hide everything  but the highlight.
What do you guys think?  How would you have gone about making these edits?

Checkerboard Text Using Gimp

Today, someone on Yahoo Answers asked how to do checkerboard text.  I went ahead and did a gimp video tutorial for them since it was easier than typing up the entire tutorial.  The tutorial can be seen here

Cool Gimp 2.7 Discovery - Tool Presets

I just stumbled on this blog post talking about a feature I didn't realize was in Gimp 2.7 that I thought was pretty exciting. Frankly I haven't really messed with Gimp 2.7 much yet, so this could easily be "old news" to the general public, but I thought I would share it regardless.  The post can be found here: Episode 170: Set the Presets!

For those of you who don't know, Gimp 2.7 is a preliminary version of the forthcoming Gimp 2.8, which is scheduled to come out in January of 2012.  Gimp 2.8 is loaded with new features that will make any user of Gimp giddy.  A lot of the noteable updates are some big interface changes, and a newer, much fancier foreground select tool.

If you're looking for some of the best Gimp tutorials for beginners, make sure to check out this site.

Photo-Editing Contest

PSDTuts+ is hosting a contest in celebration of their new PhotoDune service.  They say that they will select 3 winners for this competition, and here are the prizes:

• 1st Place will win $100 in PhotoDune Credits and a 1-year premium membership to Tuts+.
• 2nd Place will win $75 in PhotoDune Credits.
• 3rd Place will receive an Envato t-shirt.

PSD Tuts+ said this: "Your task is to use at least one of the three images below to create a photo manipulation. You are free to combine these images with assets available on the web or in your personal collection. We will judge your entries based on their creativity, execution, and by how many of the below images that you use."

The best part is this - nowhere in the blog post do they say you have to use Photoshop which to me means that I am free to use GIMP to create my entry. I've already got ideas flowing like crazy, and can't wait to enter. Are you entering?  If you need some help using Gimp, feel free to check out my Gimp Tutorials if you haven't already.

Click here to see the tutorial details.