DIY Network

Stylized Photo Faces Re-create a favorite photo on a bold quilt with a graphic pop-art look. From "Uncommon Threads" episode DUCT-122

Deidre Adams creates a quilt that features a photograph of a face she's altered with computer software. She prints the altered photos onto pretreated paper-backed fabric and works them into her quilt design.

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Materials:

Stylized Photo Faces

photo of a face
computer with Photoshop or other photo-manipulation program
color printer
8-1/2"x11" sheets of pretreated paper-backed fabric
1 yd. assorted fabrics
1/3 yd. cotton batting
sewing machine
thread
fabric scissors

Figure A

1. Look for a photo in which the person's face is well exposed and fairly full-frame (in other words, not a tiny speck in a sea of background) and can be easily separated from other elements (figure A).

2. Get the image into the computer. If it's already a digital shot, great! If not, scan it on your home scanner or have it scanned at an imaging-service bureau. You'll need to have a fairly high resolution for your image, probably about 200-300 DPI at the intended size. You can get away with somewhat lower resolution for this technique than you would need for a photographic print because we're going to be applying filters that will make imperfections less noticeable.

3. Eliminate the background. There are many ways to do this in Photoshop, including the extract filter and the background eraser, but my preferred method is to use a layer mask. I create the image mask manually, using the brush and marquee tools. I also use lots and lots of layers, because these let you make nondestructive changes to your image. This is great because if you end up doing something you don't like, you can always go back to the original image and try again. You can also use Photoshop's layer-blending modes for an additional range of possibilities.

4. If you've ever used Photoshop, you know it has numerous filters that let you apply an infinite variety of effects to your images. Using Photoshop's filter gallery, you can stylize your photo with various artistic effects that give the look of a drawing or painting. For the orange/blue photo in the Max quilt, I duplicated the original layer and used the dry-brush filter.

I set this layer's opacity to 63 percent and the blending mode to overlay. This means that the poster-edges layer will interact with the dry-brush layer below it and create an image with higher contrast.

5. Since the desired effect here is a stylized graphic image rather than photographic realism, I colorized the photo by using a hue/saturation adjustment layer.

Figure B

6. I created a new background image from a stock photo to which I applied the ink-outlines filter. I sent this layer below the faces layers in the layers palette (figure B).

7. To enhance the stylized graphic nature of the image, I applied a drop shadow to the face to make it pop out from the background and look a little dimensional.

8. I print the images onto pretreated, paper-backed fabric, which eliminates the need to presoak in a special solution and iron onto freezer paper.

RESOURCES :

Color Textiles ColorPlus fabric sheets, cotton poplin
Website: www.colortextiles.com

Fabrisign
Website: www.inkjetfabrics.com

GUESTS :

Deidre Adams
Website: www.deidreadams.com