It’s no secret that every mom thinks her little cherub is adorable. Art on the other hand is a far
more subjective matter, and beauty is definitely in the eye of the
beholder.With the help of digital photography and free software editing tools (such as Picassa), you can now easily and quickly convert your own angel into artwork... here’s how:
- Grab your favorite portrait, or make a new one and be sure there’s good lighting and clean space around their face as much as possible,
- Using your free software, crop it into a square so that you get close to the face,
- Now the fun bit – experiment! Different software has different names for different filters, but most programmes have filters that allow you to turn the photo into black and white, a pencil sketch, pixelate, and polarise. Some will also have a cartoon option, dual-tone, and heatwave to name but a few. Try them all and always save what you make, no matter how it looks. (You can see my results in the top right with 9 versions of the same photo using different filters).
- Pick a look you like; I chose ‘heat-map’ and ‘two-tone’ as my 2 favourites.
- Now it’s time for more experimentation. Simply by adjusting the different variables the software gives you for your chosen filter, you should be able to come up with a variety of looks in a variety of colours, merely through trial and error. Again; save all that you make.
- If you’re lucky, your software will have a ‘create a collage’ tool; select your favorite 9 / 16 images and make a collage, again, experimenting with the amount of white you want between the images.
- Print it out – use photographic paper and frame, use iron-on transfer paper and turn it into a tshirt, or simply print it on normal paper and use it any way you want!
Best wishes, Linda.
