Marion's Funky Pop Art Tutorial FT Gerard Way
Make:
Requested at the MCRForum.
I promised a tutorial on my pop art icons, and here it is. NOTE: Pop art is usually done manipulating the image's Threshold from the adjustment menu, but personally I don't like it because some pictures lose all its detail when this feature is applied. This is my personal way of creating pop art, and I hope you find it useful, though it may turn out a little more complicated than the regular way. NOTE 2: Very dark pictures may be harder to work with since a contrast between the skin and the rest is needed. NOTE 3: This tutorial requires basic knowledge on layers and layer modes.
1. Open your image. Duplicate layer and set to screen %100. NOTE: If your image is too dark you'll need to screen a couple more layers until the skin is clear enough, on the contrary if it's too light, you can either skip the screen layer or just leave it at low opacity. My result:
2. Once you have a fairly clear image, duplicate layer again and set to Overlay. This should give the image a perfect contrast between the skin and the rest. NOTE 2: This step could also be done using curves, but not everyone knows how to use the curves feature; or also with Brightness/Contrast. In my opinion the layers are easier to work with and give better results. My result:
3. Flatten. Desaturate the image [Image - Mode - Grayscale - OK and then again Image - Mode - RGB Color]. My result:
4. New layer - Color fill - Select the color you want to fill your image with. I reccomend light/bright colors because you need contrast <SEE FIGURE 1>. Set this layer to Multiply, and see how it fills the light parts of your image. Play with the opacity, textures and patterns, anything will do. I chose color #87f280. My result:
5. Now you have the base. It was pretty easy, right? With this base you can do anything you want. Here, a few examples:
^ How to make: Use the poligonal lasso (you can also do it with pen tool or magnetic lasso if you want more detailed edges) to select your character and take it out of the original background. Paste into a new document as a new layer, go to the effects menu and Stroke it (any color that matches your scheme will do, in my case I used white, but you can make it more agressive and use a contrasting color). Fill the background with color or texture (or both).
^ How to make: On step 4, instead of setting the fill layer to Multiply, I set it to Screen and chose a bright pink color. This way the color fills the blacks instead of the whites and it gives the image a more delicate look. I select my character (Gerard) with the poligonal lasso, cut him and paste him into a new document with a blue background. I used Ca-pris brushes for the white swirls.
Of course, there are billions of other options, coming up with something entirely different is up to you.
ICONS: I use these same steps, but with smaller pictures <100x100>. That's it. No big deal.
Requested at the MCRForum.
I promised a tutorial on my pop art icons, and here it is. NOTE: Pop art is usually done manipulating the image's Threshold from the adjustment menu, but personally I don't like it because some pictures lose all its detail when this feature is applied. This is my personal way of creating pop art, and I hope you find it useful, though it may turn out a little more complicated than the regular way. NOTE 2: Very dark pictures may be harder to work with since a contrast between the skin and the rest is needed. NOTE 3: This tutorial requires basic knowledge on layers and layer modes.
1. Open your image. Duplicate layer and set to screen %100. NOTE: If your image is too dark you'll need to screen a couple more layers until the skin is clear enough, on the contrary if it's too light, you can either skip the screen layer or just leave it at low opacity. My result:
2. Once you have a fairly clear image, duplicate layer again and set to Overlay. This should give the image a perfect contrast between the skin and the rest. NOTE 2: This step could also be done using curves, but not everyone knows how to use the curves feature; or also with Brightness/Contrast. In my opinion the layers are easier to work with and give better results. My result:
3. Flatten. Desaturate the image [Image - Mode - Grayscale - OK and then again Image - Mode - RGB Color]. My result:
4. New layer - Color fill - Select the color you want to fill your image with. I reccomend light/bright colors because you need contrast <SEE FIGURE 1>. Set this layer to Multiply, and see how it fills the light parts of your image. Play with the opacity, textures and patterns, anything will do. I chose color #87f280. My result:
5. Now you have the base. It was pretty easy, right? With this base you can do anything you want. Here, a few examples:
^ How to make: Use the poligonal lasso (you can also do it with pen tool or magnetic lasso if you want more detailed edges) to select your character and take it out of the original background. Paste into a new document as a new layer, go to the effects menu and Stroke it (any color that matches your scheme will do, in my case I used white, but you can make it more agressive and use a contrasting color). Fill the background with color or texture (or both).
^ How to make: On step 4, instead of setting the fill layer to Multiply, I set it to Screen and chose a bright pink color. This way the color fills the blacks instead of the whites and it gives the image a more delicate look. I select my character (Gerard) with the poligonal lasso, cut him and paste him into a new document with a blue background. I used Ca-pris brushes for the white swirls.
Of course, there are billions of other options, coming up with something entirely different is up to you.
ICONS: I use these same steps, but with smaller pictures <100x100>. That's it. No big deal.