Make Pop Art Photos Using Adobe Photoshop
Portraying people and objects using defined lines and bright colors distinguishes Pop Art, which became prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. Use Photoshop to reproduce this style on any photo and create an eye-catching design. You will still easily recognize figures depicted by Pop Art, although the technique removes some detail. Applying Photoshop's Threshold filter will reduce your photo to simple black and white, and then you can use the paintbrush to add bold colors.
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Instructions
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Set Up Your Image
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1
Open your image by choosing "File" and "Open." Locate the file on your computer and click "OK."
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2
Choose "Layer" and "Duplicate," and then name the layer "Threshold."
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3
Click on "File" and "Save As," then create a new name for the file and click "Save."
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4
Click the "eye" icon next to the background layer to hide it.
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5
Pick the "Quick Selection Tool" from the Tools panel. Its icon looks like a paintbrush with a dotted line behind it. You can find it under the Magic Wand Tool.
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6
Click and drag the tool over the subject of the image to draw a selection. To add to the initial selection after you release the mouse button, hold down the "Shift" key, then click and drag. Do the same thing holding down the "Alt" key to remove parts of the selection.
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7
Click the "Quick Mask Mode" icon at the very bottom of the Tools panel. You will see a red mask overlay the unselected parts of your image.
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8
Choose the "Paintbrush Tool" and pick a soft-edged brush.
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9
Refine the selection by painting with black to shrink the selection or white to expand the selection. Press the "X" key to alternate between the colors.
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10
Click the "Quick Mask Mode" icon again; this will hide the mask and let you view the selection edges.
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11
Go to "Select" and "Inverse" to select the background rather than your subject.
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12
Choose "Edit" and "Cut" or press "Ctrl" and "X" to remove the background.
Change the Photo to Pop Art
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13
Go to "Image," then "Adjustments" and select "Threshold."
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14
Move the slider to change the Threshold settings. Shift the slider to the left to increase the amount of white in the image or move it to the right to increase the black. Leave in just enough details to make out the important features of the image. Click "OK" to apply the changes.
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15
Click on the "New Layer" icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. This icon resembles a piece of paper with a folded bottom corner.
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16
Drag the new layer below the Threshold layer.
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17
Click on the foreground color swatch at the bottom of the Tools panel and pick a bold background color for your image.
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18
Go to "Edit" and "Fill," choose to use the "Foreground Color" and then click "OK" to fill the layer.
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19
Create another new layer and drag it above the Threshold layer. Name it after the image feature you want to color, such as "Shirt" or "Hair."
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20
Change the layers blending mode to "Multiply" by clicking on the drop-down menu at the top of the panel.
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21
Click the foreground color swatch again and choose a different color.
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22
Select the "Paintbrush Tool" and choose a hard round brush.
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23
Click and drag with the paintbrush to add color. The blending mode will cause the color to affect the only white portions of the image.
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24
Repeat Steps 7 through 11 for the other parts of the image until it is completely painted.
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Tips & Warnings
Convert the outline of your image to a uniform dot pattern to give your Pop Art a slightly different effect. After running the Threshold filter, apply the Gaussian Blur filter using between a 1 and 3 pixel radius. Next, go to the Pixelate filter menu and choose the "Color Halftone" filter. Set the "Max Radius" to 4 or greater, enter "45" for each Channel and then click "OK."
Multiply Layer Mode is semi-transparent, so paint carefully to prevent overlapping colors, which will cause dark edges.
References
- Photo Credit Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
