Help needed: Identifying Photoshop Filters

[Lishy1]

Hey Shrinemaiden community. Longtime no see, on the forums at least. Wassup? How's it going? 

Anyways, re-introductions aside, I'll get to the meat of the matter:
For a project I am working on, it is of great important that I master in trying to perfect imitating Higurashi's graphic style of BGs. However, I don't feel I've gotten it down yet.
So here's where the shrinemaiden community comes in: I need someone here who is good at identifying filters used on real life photos to help me crack the "secret" combination of PS filters Ryukishi07 (Creator of Higurashi) uses on his BGs. How do I know it is photoshop and not some super-Japanese program? I recall seeing him use photoshop in an interview when explaining the development of the Higurashi VNs, so it is definitely something Photoshop CS2 would be capable of!

Anyways, if anyone here could help identify the filter and layer combination used on RL photos to produce a Higurashi-styled BG, please do, post your findings here!
Or, if you'd like to make your own crack at imitating it, go on ahead! Just please post your findings!

Image trying to imitate:


My attempt:


Original RL image

Semi-offtopic, but if you'd like to learn more about the "project" I'm working on, a little hint is that we've been remaking Higurashi's engine in Ren'Py as our base, to the T Even the tips menu!! So it's really important to know how to imitate the style for anyone here that can help me with this difficulty..  :ohdear:

[Drake]

This is what I got. Outta luck if you want to know how I did it, though.

[Lishy1]

This is what I got. Outta luck if you want to know how I did it, though.

Mine posting the except steps you used? ^

Though, if I can notice anything missing from your img though.. It is the weird colors Ryukishi uses.

[atoms2ashes]

...maybe it looks like that because it was traced over?

Anyways, he traced over it, added and removed some stuff, put on some layered textures, and voila.

[Lishy1]

Anyways, he traced over it, added and removed some stuff, put on some layered textures, and voila.

Things look added/removed because the photos were taken at different times. The website with the real life images was made by a Higurashi-stalker  for BGs :V

[Lishy1]

By the way, if anyone makes a macro, it is possible to send others the macro by going into something like "C:\Users\**USERNAME**\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Photoshop\9.0\Adobe Photoshop CS2 Settings", and grabbing the Actions Palette file.

Actions Palette is the thing that records all your macros. Photoshop's help file said it is impossible to "transfer" it, but clearly, they are lying and trying to keep it secret for some reason. Dunno, maybe Adobe is just dumb and not aware how their own program works.

Nonetheless, if anyone wants to post up their macro for the "higurashi filter method", feel free to do so. Any help is appreciated!

[♛ Apher-Forte]

this actually looks like watercolors filter on ACDsee than anything else really.

[Lishy1]

So, how is it now?

[atoms2ashes]

Add some more texture layers and you're good to go.