Pop Art effect

[mana]

Hi,

I've been trying to create an effect close to these 2 sites below but I still haven't been able to figure it out:

http://www.photowow.com/
http://www.mydavinci.com/j/home.jsp

I've gone through several turorials but I'd like to keep it close to what the person looks like. Most tutorials I've seen seem to use the Cutout filter, threshold or poster edges and it becomes hard to see the original person.

I desaturated the image then added levels but in the above 2 sites they're adding some effect to the pictures but I can't tell what.

I have gone through this tutorial but it's not the effect I want.
http://www.melissaclifton.com/tutorial-warholphoto.html

Thanks so much for any help.

[skydog]

Others on this site may have more experience...danny for one, but have you tried: 1) checking youtube...there are many tutorials photoshop pop art and 2) the photos from the ads above look like a picture that has been desaturated and then painted.

[gholmes1936]

Try this URL nice actions there and the Warhol one is free. Maybe this is what you are after.

Free Actions

[DannyRaphael]

Hello Mana and welcome...

Here's my 2 cents worth of opinion: Once the subject image is isolated from the background it looks to me like a fair amount of "simplification" was applied. This can be done using filters like Photoshop's Blur > Surface Blur or plugins like Topaz Simplify. Then components like hair, clothes, etc. are isolated onto their own layers where colors can be easily varied.

Does this help?

[mana]

Thanks so much for your comments. I had tried the surface blur and I didn't know about the Topaz filter and like that more than the surface blur. I'm not sure if I'm quite getting the effect so I've attached what I worked on.

I also tried the warhol action that gholmes listed and it looks good but not quite what I'm looking for. The photowow and mydavinci sites seem to add another filter that changes it slightly but not too much from the original image.

[DannyRaphael]

Hard to tell what Photowow and Mydivinci are using because their samples are so small -- probably to make it harder to mimic their results!

You're on the right track: knocked out background and bright colors.

I dusted off a seldom used multifunction plugin: Topaz Vivacity. I used the "Topaz Clean" option on the attached image below.

- - - - - -

Other possibilities:
* Check www.atncentral.com for "cartoon" actions; seems like I've seen some of this nature at this site.
* Google: photoshop action cartoon to see what's on the net.

[gholmes1936]

I started out to do what Danny had suggested using the Topaz software, but wound up with this-still using Topaz software.

Seems like a different way to arrive at something we have done a different way many times herein. No?

[mana]

Thanks so much for your comments. I'm going to try out the Topaz filters some more, they seem to have some interesting effects.

[mana]

I just have one more question on this. When I'm colorizing the face, unless the face is totally shades of black and white as when Adjustments/Threshold is used, it doesn't take on the color you select. For example, when I desaturate the photo there are still levels of greys in it and if I add a skin color on it, it looks murky and not the nice skin color because the face is greyish. How can I remove most color of the face to black and white without using the threshold? I've tried selecting different layer blending modes but it doesn't quite work and I've tried levels but it doesn't give that all around solid color on the face.

Thanks so much.

[Kraellin]

you didnt really specify which of all those effects you were interested in. however, the conversation seems to be settling around posterization and simplification. would that be fair to say?

there are many ways to achieve those types of results. there was a link to a tutorial posted a while back here in the forums about a lines and fill method that i found kind of interesting. there is also the slower hand method involving smudge and airbrush. and then there's the filter method. for those i use filter forge ( http://www.filterforge.com ). there are a fair number of filters in filter forge that may well do what you're looking for. i'll post some examples.

the first is the original image.

the second is from one filter forge filter.

and here's another from a different filter.

fun, isnt it

[Kraellin]

and here's four more, the first two being from the same filter forge filter, while the rest are from different filters. i think the last one may interest you the most.

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by mana

I just have one more question on this. When I'm colorizing the face, unless the face is totally shades of black and white as when Adjustments/Threshold is used, it doesn't take on the color you select. For example, when I desaturate the photo there are still levels of greys in it and if I add a skin color on it, it looks murky and not the nice skin color because the face is greyish. How can I remove most color of the face to black and white without using the threshold? I've tried selecting different layer blending modes but it doesn't quite work and I've tried levels but it doesn't give that all around solid color on the face.

Thanks so much.

The following illustration uses Photocopy to render an arty BW image and uses only two colors, but the concepts apply to a desaturated photo.

In a nutshell one could use a combination of Levels (or Curves) plus a layer filled with white to create a suitable image to color. Then use a Solid Fill layer (blend mode set to Color) to apply color to the shadow/detail areas and a Hue Sat layers (with for the Colorize option turned on) to apply color to the non-shadow areas, such as skin or a background.

Multiple layers (with masks) would be needed for the different colors for the Warhol effect.

To me the key layer is the layer filled with white. Use a soft edged brush set to about 15% flow and 100% opacity to paint ("airbrush-like") white onto the mask in shadow (dark) areas to get color on what would otherwise be totally black. Up the flow to 80% or so to "cover up" unwanted blotches in the non-shadow areas.

First I would create the layers shown (settings in layer names), then turn all off except the Photocopy one and the layer filled with white. Paint on the layer mask until happy, then onto the other adjustment layers.

You will most likely need to return to the white layer for some fine tuning.

See if these before/after screenshots make sense and ask any questions you like.

Note the difference the "white layer" makes in the 3rd attachmrent.

[gholmes1936]

You all have probably gotten this questioning thing at one time or another during your careers or hobbies. This one came yesterday on my flickr page.
In reference to my image(s) above in this posting. It's of my granddaughter POST NUMBER 7 on this page.

"lillemons2000 says:
Why would you try to make her look like the after? The before is beautiful IMO the after is scary looking. "

Part of my original comment on my work was:

"Followed Topaz Adjust where it took me and arrived at this version of my Granddaughter. I have worked laboriously in the past to obtain this same effect, now Topaz has made it easy. Of course I still have to tweak it a bit myself, nothing is totally automatic.

I have been "LEARNING" Adobe Photoshop since version 3, which I still have a copy of."

Then I felt the need to put this in also and thought I'd share it with you all here at this wonderful place to explore whatever we can come up with.

"I use to do all my own processing of film, printing, etc. In those days it took a large amount of time and effort to do anything to an image post-processing wise. There was/is one photographer (whose url is At Jerry Uelsmann) that based his whole career on this type of an image.

To the purists I say throw away your polarizers, ultra-violet filters, soft focus filter, color balancing filters, various effects filters such as gradient types, fog effect, etc. Oh yeah lets not leave out cross processing or toning of B/W prints."

So anyway I said it and I am glad!!!!!!

[gholmes1936]

Funny thing happened. the day after I posted this message I received my copy of Rangefinder Magazine in the mail and there is a nice article on Jerry Uelsmann in it.

[mana]

Thank you so much for your help. I'm going through your comments and once I come closer to what I want, I'll post it.