There's something about silhouettes that just grab me. I love their simple, elegance. It amazes me how a child's innocence can be so easily captured in such a simple medium. Although silhouettes used to only be hand made and cut, with the increasing availability of advanced photo editing programs to your average joe, we are now able to manipulate our photos infinitely. This is a very simple tutorial that could prove to be your new addiction! If you love it and you want to post this somewhere, please do, just link back!
Step 1: Find a Photo Editing program.
You can use this technique in almost any high-end photo editing program, but I really love Picnik.com Why? a) It's free. Yes... F-R-E-E- b) no downloading required! c) no registration required! Honestly! d) It's super user friendly! In my tutorial, I am using picnik, so if you are using something else, you may have to fiddle with it a bit.
Step 2: Take a Photo {Profile}
I placed a see-through, white blanket over a window and placed my subject in front of it. Because the shot is slightly back-lit, it will make the photo editing much easier. I also shut my flash off. I snapped a gazillion pics to make sure I got a winner.
Step 3: Upload and Edit
After you upload your photo, click on the "create tab." On the left there is a scrolling list of effects. Scroll down to nearly the bottom and you'll find a node called "sandbox effects." After maximizing that node, choose the "adjustable threshold effect"
Adjust The Threshold
After selecting the "adjustable threshold" effect, the default setting should be pretty close to what you need. You may have to adjust the white or black slightly to have a clear outline of your subject. Don't worry if the background isn't fully white or if the subject isn't quite a silhouette, you just need a nice crisp outline for now.
Sharpen/ Fill Subject
Once you are satisfied with the threshold settings, scroll back up on the sidebar and find the effect labelled "doodle" which should be under the "misc." node. Click in the "brush color" box and a color selector will pop up. Choose black (000000) Adjust your brush size for the job you're doing; bigger if you are filling in areas, smaller if you are sharpening the edges. Leave the hardness at 100%.
By scrolling up or down as you mouse over the image, you can zoom in or out. Zoom in to to sharpen really detailed spots. On the bottom right portion of the screen you can adjust which part of the picture you are zoomed into. Adjust your brush size as tiny as you need to in order to sharpen the edges.
Eliminate The Background
After the subject is completely filled in and the edges are defined, change you brush color to white (FFFFFF) and adjust your brush size to a decent enough size (red arrow) to clear out the background. Leave the hardness at 100%
Once again, zoom in and change to a much smaller brush size and you can begin the detail work. If your photo will remain a digital image, e.g. digital scrapbook, photobook, user pic, etc. you can leave small details in the photo. If you plan to cut and mount your silhouette, seriously consider how much detail cutting it would require and fill in as necessary. (Hence the removal of most of Sassy's bed-head curls and me doodling new curls!)
Create The Neckline
Using the doodle effect in white, create the neckline. You can include a portion of the shoulders or just the neck.
Other Effects:
You can add text, frames, etc. right in Picnik! I added some fun frames and text in Paint because my browser HAD to upgrade right then! hahaha. Typical! Here's the result:
So cute, right?!! My obsession continues! There is so much that can be done with silhouettes! This is definitely NOT the last you'll see of these ;)