Speaking about something that never actually went out of the fashion, anything that’s marked with the Warholian stamp is one of the first things that comes up to our minds. The celebration of kitsch, explosive and synthetic coloring, celebrity cult, and everything that symbolized the gorgeously superficial nature of the New York’s art scene during the 1960’s, has maintained the “hot thing” status for decades. You know you have that one photo that would be the perfect match for the “remake” in Andy’s fashion. Here we have a couple of easy ways to make a pop art photo out of your regular picture!

Making a Pop Art Photo with Computer Apps

Image source: www.skillshare.com

Alright, this may seem to be the easy way out. However, there’s much more to it than playing around with your chosen photo and the default color panel. Some programs can offer a very user-friendly experience and some really great, authentic-looking results while others  can turn your photos into a cheap pop art parody. Down below you can find some of the best programs to obtain the proper Marylin Diptych effect!

1.PicMonkey

Image source: www.justatouchofcrazy.com

PicMonkey has been the photo game saver ever since it came out. A notoriously easy, but effective online photo editing tool, PicMonkey, besides its many available tools and effects, is also a great place to turn your photos into legitimate pop-art artworks.

Image source: www.youtube.com

• You can create either a cool-looking 3 x 3 pop art collage by inserting nine images (basically, the same image inserted nine times) and using a special effect that’s actually called “Warhol” or you can also go for a more sophisticated approach that will make your photo look like a real silkscreen print!

• In the case of the second option you simply have to convert your photo using the “Daguerreotype” effect. What’s left is some “shadows and highlights” adjusting  and the appliance of the “Sketch” effect. Play with the Fade slider to obtain a high but reasonable contrast.  

• After that, you set up your own blank canvas by choosing the “Design” option on the homepage. Now what’s left is to pick your own overlay which will be the picture you made prior. Set the overlay’s blend mode to “Multiply” and now you’re able to color the white parts as you prefer. Then simply paint the background (with the “Draw” tool) and put on the “Papyrus” texture. Congratulations, you have your own pop art photo masterpiece!

2. Photoshop

Image source: 1080plus.com

Though a professional could might as well completely recreate any of the chrestomathic Warhol’s creations, there is a good chance to create a pop art photo replica even for those who know the Photoshop as good they know the morse code. What you do here is totally simple:

• Pick the image according to your liking and do some cropping if it’s necessary
• Set up a new document with the same dimensions as the picture you just cropped. Paste the picture inside this document
• Use the “Magic wand” tool to remove the background (pick the background and hit the “delete” button). Correct the remaining edges with the “Eraser” tool
• Go to the Image; Adjustments; Threshold. Change the Threshold to acquire monochromatic effect, thus, giving the picture a drawing effect
• By using the “Paintbucket” fill the background with your preferred color
• Now use the “Paintbucket” tool to color your portrait. Here you’ll have to pick some pieces of the image (the ones you wish to color in separate hues) and copy/paste them on  a new layer
• Try out a variety of color combinations. The results can be put together in collage, which might as well be done in the PicMonkey

Image source: www.youtube.com

Advice: Avoid all of those online “Warhol effect” generators. What most of them do in all honesty is simply turning your photo monochromatic and applying a single-colored adjustment layer or turning the photo into some kind of a “gummy man” thing like in the middle example. What you’ll get essentially will look like one of the following:

Manual Silkscreen Print

This approach could turn out to be much more interesting and might make you feel like an actual artist working in his “Factory”. And, it’s not a millionaire’s delight, for the whole process is a really cheap way to get the pop art photo look! 

Supplies necessary:

• Wooden frame. You can by these frames in the nearest stationery shop, use old frames or even make up your own. Remember that the surface of the frame has to be absolutely flat so that the pressing would be successful
• Utility knife
• A staple gun
• Fabric scissors
• Hammer
• Painter’s tape
• Nylon drape or any other mesh material (This will be your substitute for silk)
• Ink or paint
• Squeegee
• Garment or paper you will make your prints on

Now just to get into the action!

Image sources: www.promoteeusa.com; www.kickstarter.com; www.indiamart.com

• Stretch the nylon drape (or whatever similar item you managed to find) over the canvas, and attach it with your staple gun (staples should be pretty tight)

• Cut away the spare fabric with your utility knife. Make sure that the fabric is tightly stretched and then make subtle hammer bumps to the staples

• After that, use the painter’s tape and cover the edges of the frame

• Now you have to create a stencil of your design. The cheapest option would be a regular contact paper. You can cut out the preferred contours manually or with a special machine

• When the stencil is finally cut out, stick it to the flat side (the one that will be pressed against another surface) of the canvas

• Cover the rest of the canvas area around the stencil with the painter’s tape to avoid an unnecessary mess. By doing so, you’ll be able to use the same drape repeatedly. Note: you will have to color the side of the drape which is completely clear (the tape and the stencil are on the other side). After you’ll push the canvas against the surface, the color will come through the drape and through the empty slots of  the stencil!

• Press your home-made “machine” against the surface (T-shirt or another canvas) and press the color with the squeegee. The black (or whatever color you picked) contours will remain on the surface. These might as well be the contours of your face

• Paint the empty fields (cheeks, eyes, forehead) with your preferred mix of colors (use the Marylin Diptych as your example). You can also do it with an inverted stencil where the opened slots of your stencil are for cheeks, neck and eyes. Might be tricky, but definitely, a worthy thing to do

• Wash the drape (the spot you applied color on) with a warm water immediately after the process!

A Little Guide to Make Some Sense! 

Image source: www.bergen.kommune.no

A – Ink or paint

B – Squeegee

C – Stencil

D – Drape (covered with the painter’s tape)

E – Frame

F – Your silk screen print

The results should look something like this:

Image source: artonthewall.wordpress.com

So there you go. Whichever method you choose is completely up to you, but the results will definitely be exposition worthy! In case, the whole affair is a success, don’t be shy and make a museum-quality canvas out of you pop art photo!

Der Beitrag Make Your Pop Art Photo erschien zuerst auf My-Picture.co.uk blog.