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.