How to Make a Silhoutte Mountain in Photoshop

Silhouettes can be very dramatic graphics.

While graphic artists frequently work with photorealistic images, they also often have to create vector-style graphics based on images. For example, someone who has a business near a famous landmark, such as a mountain, might want the graphics artist to create a logo, incorporating the landmark, for use on business cards, letterhead and a website. A good approach to take when doing this is to use Adobe Photoshop to transform the image to a simple silhouette.

Instructions

1. Load the image that you would like to use as a reference for creating your graphic silhouette. Do this by copying the image from a camera or by scanning in a printed copy.

2. Open Photoshop. Select "File" from the menu and choose "New." In the dialog that appears, enter the width and height that you want for your document. If the graphic will be going on a website, leave the resolution at 72, but if it will be printed, set it to at least 300dpi. Click "OK."

3. Select "File" from the menu and choose "Open." In the dialog that appears, locate and open the image loaded in step one. Right-click on the "Layers" palette and from the options, choose "Duplicate." Choose the main document as the "Destination."

4. Go to the main document and position and size the mountain section of the image where you want it on the canvas. Select the "Pen" tool from the tool palette. In the options at the top, set the mode to "Shape" and set the color to a dark gray.

5. Go to the "Layers" palette and click on the view layer button at the bottom. Now use the pen tool and click on the canvas to outline the mountain. When you are done, delete the image layer and save your work.

References

• Web Photo School: Introduction to Photoshop's Pen Tool.