Joan of Arc

[cdavenport]

I found this high-res original on the Library of France's website along with many other Pellerin d'Epinal vintage prints. It took quite a bit of time to restore to pristine quality.

I'll be uploading it for anyone's use. It will make a fine wall display for some Francophile. It was originally printed well over 100 years ago on canvas. I'm thinking of turning into a fabric print myself.

[Bob Penikas]

Good work, nice renovation.

BP

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by Bob Penikas

Good work, nice renovation.

BP

Thank you!

[Vermin_King]

Wow, I spent a week trying to clean up the Sugar Smacks Bessie (Doctor Who), and your work is so much better. Do you have a tutorial on Paper Restoration?

[Sharonpaints]

Your restoration of the Joan of Arc Pellerin print is amazing! I have had Photoshop for many years and I continue to experiment with it. I've watched lots of youtube videos on restoring old photos but there don't seem to be any on how to restore printed paper models etc. Would you share some of your methods? thanks so much.

[rickstef]

file has been approved

[ganeshsingh158]

Thanks for your efforts, I love the idea of preserving and restoring these pieces of history.

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by Vermin_King

Wow, I spent a week trying to clean up the Sugar Smacks Bessie (Doctor Who), and your work is so much better. Do you have a tutorial on Paper Restoration?

Do you mean this image or something like it? I don't have a tutorial. I'm working in Photoshop CS, creating separate color layers and using the Clone Stamp tool....A WHOLE BUNCH!

The first thing I do, even before restoration begins is to adjust the color and contrast. The reason is because the original inks have faded due to age and acidification of the original papers used in the cardboard box. CS has a simple tool that allows me to set the white/black/grey balance and the colors magically appear...I'm talking seconds. That's what I did to restore the color in Joan.

Because I am a kid of the Kodachrome era, I like contrast, so I add a bit. I also add "Vibrance." I think it causes the colors to "pop." For sure, the original print, hot of Pellerin's presses 150 years ago, were not as vibrant as this resto.

After that, I create a separate layer for any major color areas such as the white box, and the rainbow behind his head....color by color.

Once that is done, I begin restoring lettering by creating layers and coloring in the lettering.

My last step, and this is the bugger, is to repair the actual image. I'll do this in small areas using the Clone Stamp tool. The idea is to capture a bit of color registration from an adjacent area and move it into place over the damaged area. The trick here is to make sure you match the registration. When you move in close, you can see how the color is created by little dots or crosses, sometimes circles.

The next photo is a screen cap of a recent restoration. On the right side of the screen cap, you can see all the layers I have created to bring the image to fruition.

Next photo is an area of interest, enlarged.

The next photo is a close-in zoom of the shield. Notice the little dots of color. There's a word for that, but I've forgotten. If you misalign those dots when copying adjacent areas of color the result is the next photo

Notice that "muddied" area almost centered in the blue? Notice also the band of white on the right. In the next photo I will remove the white and replace it with the correctly aligned color.

That white has been removed. But, what's that faded blue area on the solid blue? Notice the dotted line around the solid blue; I have excluded that area so that it is not corrected. The faded area of the light blue is merely the program showing you the amount of area you have selected for cloning. I just can't clone into a "non-selected" area.

Too bad we don't live closer, but If you show me what you are doing with screen caps, I might be able to help....depends on the program you are using. I know Photoshop CS and that's the limit of my expertise. Also, I am self-taught. I'm no expert.

OOOPPS! I got the first image last! Sorry bout that.


Hope this helps! Merry Christmas!

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by Sharonpaints

Your restoration of the Joan of Arc Pellerin print is amazing! I have had Photoshop for many years and I continue to experiment with it. I've watched lots of youtube videos on restoring old photos but there don't seem to be any on how to restore printed paper models etc. Would you share some of your methods? thanks so much.

Check my reply to Vermin King. I used exactly the same techniques with her as I do for plastic kit box art and paper models. Thank you for your interest. If I can be of further assistance, don't hesitate to ask! I check in about one a week.

[Vermin_King]

Thank you, sir. that is similar to what I do in Gimp, but what do they call the simple tool that allows you to set the white/black/grey balance in photoshop? I also wonder if Vibrance is similar to Enhance in Gimp