Monday, July 10, 2006

Computers' Befuddlements...

Today I saw my paintings on a PC, an older one I think. And was shocked to see the darkness of the images. Not only is the colour off, but much of the detail is lost. Now I'm thinking of posting two images - one for an Apple, and one for a PC. Or is it a problem of older computer models versus newer ones?

Can you let me know which one shows a range of purples in the dresses? From dark where the paint is squeezed on pure to more transparent where it's washed out, as well as a few strokes of a magenta overlay on the upper body...

The whites are another aspect entirely. The white in the lower left corner is actually whiter and brighter then the white under the right most figure's feet - which is actually quite bluish.

Oh, for colour calibration!

A beautiful interpretation of a dear friend, laurieglynn, that I certainly didn't see (or intend): "as I visit this remarkable painting once again, that the first image is rising and the second holds a sphere of Light~~as though in the Dawning, she captures the Morning Star in her hand, while the third one brings up the Sun~"

She must have been an angel on an Apple! :) Beautiy in the eye of the beholder... thank you, laurieglynn!

Lightened for a(n imaginary) PC (I don't have one here to compare):


Apple version:


11 comments:

  1. on my PC the Apple version
    is much darker

    It might be the difference between an old monitor
    and the new thin ones

    I've held off buying a thin one
    because the colors are
    less true

    tomnorrow I'll power up my laptop
    and have a look at the two
    side by side
    and see if there
    is a difference

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ken, the PC version is darker? That's the top one? I lightened the midtones a couple of times - it should be lighter (it is on my 3-year-old iMac). What you're saying, though, is it's the age of the monitor, not the type. Thanks for your feedback!

    Suzanne, I sell some of the paintings on my blogs, and so presenting an image that's closer to the real life version is important. What you've said is what I discovered today - a dark and uninspired painting lacking the subtlety and translucence that I see on the iMac. Lightening it a few notches seems to help. Thank you!

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  3. I use a Mac ibook and I see the bottom one as definitely darker. Both pictures show a range of purples, but the bottom one probably more so, and the colors beneath the figures' feet are much richer in the bottom version.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do prefer a Mac screen, Richard. The palette seems richer - but then it has been created for graphic artists, film-makers (Cold Mountain edited entirely on a series of blindingly fast Appples with Final Cut Pro), musicians. Since most of the computer world uses PCs, though, I need to be cognisant of how to display colour and detail in that system too. Thanks for your comment!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also meant to say
    I much prefer the darker
    version

    ReplyDelete
  6. More a screen and video card issue (I'm pretty certain) than one of operating systems... and Macs are consistent with that (always great screens, the best video) while PCs are all over the place. There is really no way to optimize an image for 5,000 different card possibilities and 250 different display technologies. So, just tell people to upgrade their equipment... ;-)

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  7. I see more depth and color saturation in the Apple version. On my screen (IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T20) the lightened version looks more washed out.

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  8. I saw my blog on my parents' PC yesterday and was horrified. The fonts were ugly, the greys were all wrong, the photos looked washed out ... and then I remembered that this is what they live with all the time!

    My blog is only as ugly as the rest of the beautiful sites their monster and IE trashes.

    It's hard on artists to see their work in that way ... like a poor photocopy of a carefully crafted original.

    You've taken it well, I must say!

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  9. Oh Brenda, it's frustrating, isn't it! I'm on a mac and the pc version looks pale and washed out to me... but operating systems are not a good guide. Unfortunately, consistency all depends on accurate color calibration (or lack thereof!) of both your monitor and the monitor the viewer is using! You could (with some relatively inexpensive software) accurately calibrate your monitor, so that what you see is what would be reproduced... but there is absolutely no guarantee that your viewer's monitor would be appropriately calibrated. Sorry!

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  10. I am on a Toshiba laptop with IE, Windows XP Pro. The apple version is darker and much richer, reminding me of the depth of purple in Brazilian amethysts.

    Brenda, this painting is so gracefully beautiful. Just lovely. It leaves such a sense of calm in its wake.

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  11. Thank you, narrator, e_journeys, Stray, MB, and Sky! It sounds like there is a difference, and there's not much one can do about it.

    MB - I find with the hue & saturation option that I'm able to calibrate individual colours that match the painting perfectly. All hosting sites, however, seem to lighten images, which can be compensated for. But how to deal with the differences systems and monitors make, oy! Impossible! But good to be aware of...

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