Photo Challenges
Photo Challenge: Poster Art
Yesterday I promised a tutorial for making poster art for free on picnik.com. Here goes:
Step 1: Select a photo in which the person’s face is well lit and is the largest feature in the picture. Full body shots don’t work as well. Are you going to print this picture when your done? If so, choose the size that you want and crop your picture to fit those dimensions (8×10, 5×7, whatever). If you make this without cropping then print you will loose some of your words! This can be done on your computer, or in the edit tab on picnik.
It also helps if the subject is as breath-takingly beautiful as this, but the mother in me digresses….
Step 2: Once the photo has been uploaded to picnik, click on the Create tab. Use the Doodle function in the Effects menu to white out the picture all around the face of your subject. Brush color can be selected by clicking on the default color then picking white from the drop down menu. Reducing colors makes for an easier time with the poster function and sets a clean slate for writing. I suggest using a very large size brush to white out most of the background, then make the brush smaller and not as strong to go around the face. The zoom tool in the bottom right corner helps you get in close.
Step 3: Now that the face has been outlined, open the Posterize function that is also in the Effects menu. Using the 3 scales adjust the picture to get the image that you prefer. I recommend using no more than 8 colors (less is usually best since more colors makes for a most splotchy face), then adjusting the detail percentage until I have the look I want. Using a little fade also helps put depth into hair, but too much fade takes away from the poster look.
*Hint: is that face looking a little too shadowed? I found that by going to the Ortonish tool, getting rid of the bloom entirely, then upping the brightness to very high percentages helps with that.
Step 4: Your image is ready for writing. Go to the Text menu to pick the font(s) you like and get writing. Once you add the words that you’ve written you can adjust sizes and colors as you like.
I used many different fonts to write lots of Cee’s nicknames. I also put his full name on it, but that’s just for my eyes.
Step 5: Your done! Go to the Save and Share tab to save the image back to your computer, but be sure to slide the JPG quality bar all the way to 10 (especially if you plan to print this).
WANT MORE? Try using the other effect buttons before writing on your picture. One I’d recommend is using the Boost tool in the Effects menu. It can do cool things to the slight colors in your pic and you can use the bar to make is as strong or weak as you like. I used boost on a poster for Jay and was very pleased with the outcome:
And I didn’t want to feel left out, so I did one with me and Jay surrounded by the words of our wedding song, Embraceable You.
Good luck Mamas with the challenge! I’d love to see what you come up with if you want to share.
Thursday Reveal #29 with Photo Challenge Preview
Wordless Wednesday #29 was taken in the late afternoon in front of the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. I love this time of day there. The towering buildings send their creeping shadows across the front of the Alamo, blocking the harsh sun so you can really see the details of the façade without burning out your eyes, but the sky above and the trees behind are still brightly lit. I used picnik.com to adjust the contrast of the picture, round the corners, and I used the Cross Processing option to add an “aged” look.
I call this picture, Ruggedly Handsome. It seemed fitting with the stories of the manly men who are part of the Alamo’s history.
My top contributions for the week are:
1 – Sara N with: And then there was peace in San Antonio
2 – Proud Grandpa with: Shadows of the Past
3 – Javann with: Shadows of San Antonio
Jay was ABSOLUTELY disqualified for saying “Remember the Alamo” and for not reading his warning. Do I know that guy or what?
Photo Challenge Preview:
Did anyone see the poster images that were highlighted on the Pioneer Woman this week? Yes, I do check in with the Pioneer Woman from time to time, after all, she set the ground work for so many of us female bloggers. I thought the images were quite the departure from the norm, but also something that could be mimicked easily yourself. I did a little playing around on picnik.com and made my own version (for FREE):
I’ll put up some step by step instructions for making this same type of picture of your child tomorrow, so be sure to check back if you’re interested! If you like the originals best (and who can blame you for that) they can be made through the artist’s etsy shop HERE for $25.
**Picnik.com doesn’t pay me to talk them up – I just love their FREE tools!
Thursday Reveal #24 with a Photo Challenge
Wordless Wednesday #24 was taken in Fredericksburg, TX at a monument of the town’s founder making peace with a local tribe. Using picnik.com I adjusted the contrast, then used the Lomo-ish tool with faded Sepia on top to create an old look/feel to the pic. I then framed it with a Christmas border with this as the reveal idea:
My top contributions this week were:
1 – Kristy with: I come in peace…I would like to leave with this.
2 – Mama D with: Whowa! Thanks Man! Thanks for the new toy! … You can let go now. … I’ve got it, okay? … Uhh… Let Go!
3 – Mossie with: Don’t take it, it’s a trap – I can see it in his eyes…
I also want to give a special shout out to Proud Grandpa and Grandma S. who were the most socially conscious this week, both choosing the title: Don’t you know that smoking is bad for you?!
Thanks to everyone who participated, especially a couple of newcomers to the game – Kristy and Mossie, I hope that you’ll keep coming back!
PHOTO CHALLENGE
Take a picture that is goofy, fun, or sentimental and make it into a holiday picture. I used a peace pipe to play off of Peace On Earth, but there are tons of other possibilities out there by using text, frames, stickers, or even fake snow in your editing. Good luck, and I’d love to see what you come up with!
Wanted Poster and Photo Challenge
I’ve gotten a lot of comments from friends and family about the wanted poster that I made for Cee, so let’s talk about it:
All parents have these pics – the ones you hate because they just don’t seem like your REAL son or daughter. The challenge is to find those pictures and with a little imagination turn then from something you don’t like to a treasure.
To make my wanted poster I used picnik.com:
- Using the stickers tab I added rectangular shapes to the top and bottom portions of the picture. When working with stickers, play close attention as you chose your colors, they don’t save so if they need to match you have to find the color in the palate all over again.
- Using the Text function I added the words by section – first WANTED in its font, then the underwriting in a new font, and so on till the picture was filled.
- Lastly I edited the actual picture to sepia, then used orton-ish with no bloom over the top to add shadows and give an older photo feel. I should mention that the editing tools don’t work on the stickers, text, or added images.
I also thought about doing a mug shot, adding an evil mustache, thought bubbles, and so on. Be creative with this challenge and have fun. If anyone wants to participate and share what they make, I’d love to put your results up on the Your Tales page.
