Creating A Pattern From A Photo Using Photoshop or Elements

[CharleyL]

OK,

 

Several days ago I promised to show you all how to easily create a cutting pattern from a photograph using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. These are fairly simple steps, and while I'm using Photoshop and not Photoshop Elements, these steps should (from my memory of Elements) be available in both.(I used to retouch photos for the advertising and photography industry). I'm going to use a photo of Cristie Brinkley for this demonstration as she's easy to look at. 

 

Step 1 - load your photo of choice, either color or black and white, into Photoshop. (See the first photo  Christie B 1.jpg). 

 

 

Step 2 - Go to the "Image" pull down and then select "Mode" and select "Grayscale". This will remove all of the color from your photo leaving your photo in Gray Scale. (See the second photo Christie B 2.jpg)

 

 

Step 3 - Go to the "Image" pull down and then select "Adjustments" and then "Threshold". There will be a slider under the photo for you to adjust the threshold level to get the black and white threshold where you want. When you click on "OK" Photoshop will lock the threshold setting of your photo. (See photo Christie B 3.jpg)

 

 

You should now have a pretty good pattern to work from, but it won't have any bridges to tie the loose pieces to the main piece. You will need to do this by painting them in. Create a new layer by selecting  "Layer" then "New". Anything that you do to the photo now will be on this layer and not on the photo, so if you mess up you can delete the layer without affecting the original photo. If you should need to do this, open the "Window" pull down and select "Layers". A new small window will open that shows two bars. The lower bar is your original "adjusted photo" and the upper bar is the layer containing your bridges". The eyeball on the left end of the bar can be clicked to turn the viewing of that layer on and off, but it won't erase it. If you truly want to erase a layer you need to click on the layer bar to highlight it and then click on the trash can icon at the bottom right.

 

Now to draw in the "bridges" - First make certain that the layer that you want to modify is highlighted in the "Layers Window". Then go to the "Window" pull down at the top of the screen and select "Tools". A long narrow vertical window will appear. Keep this window open as you work, because you be going to it often. You can move it, or any tool window around if it gets in the way by simply dragging it by the blue bar at the top.  About 2/3 of the way down this window are two overlapping squares. When you click on one of them a grayscale window will open. You need to make it fully black or fully white by selecting the appropriate corner of the pop-up window.. Then click on the other box and make it the opposite color B/W. From now on, until you change it, these are the two colors that you can paint with and you can just click on which ever you want to use at any time. If you are painting in black and make a mistake, you can cover it with white, or the opposite if you are painting with white and make a mistake.

 

For most bridging you should select the "paint brush" located about 1/4 of the way down on this window. When you do, some small windows will open at the top of the main window to allow you to choose the style of brush, the size of the brush and the opacity of the brush. For making "Bridges" choose the regular round brush shape, a size to suit you (experiment to find the right size) and always use 100% opacity for making bridges. Now select the "Color", either black or white from the two overlapping squares. Clicking the little double ended curved arrow near the two color boxes will let you switch quickly from one color to the other.

 

OK, you are now ready to paint in the bridges. Remember, you are adding color (black or white) to a clear layer that's above the original, so you can add to or erase the colors without affecting the photo underneath, as long as the correct layer has been selected in the Layers Window. Coloring white over a black area will effectively "Erase" the black in the main photo.     

 

Then remember to "Save As" your photo under a new name so you don't save over the original. In fact, do this several times as you work, so if you really mess up, you can just go back a little ways by opening the photo at the level that it was at the time  you last saved it.

 

There is a way to combine the layer with your photo that will make the file size a little smaller, but it is permanent, so if you haven't saved it as a layered photo, there will be no going back. To do this go to the "Layers" pull down and then select "Flatten Image" at the bottom. It will reduce the photo file size, but it is permanent and you will not be able to edit the layers of the photo again if you did not save them as a layered photo before you flattened them. 

 

I hope this helps. If you have problems or questions about doing this, please ask here. I'll try to check in daily for at least the next few days.

 

 

 

 

If you do a lot of photo work, or would like to hand draw or edit patterns directly on your computer, a Graphics Tablet is a way better way to draw or edit than a mouse. A company called Waycom made mine. It will work with most graphics programs and not just Photoshop or Elements. Using a standard PC mouse to draw or edit photos on the computer is like trying to draw with a Hockey Puck. A pencil or pen shaped version of the mouse is much easier and more precise to use.

 

http://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-tablets/intuos?gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwiH80Zw3q1_XM38xE28EzOzoRFV618iG8JHDvieLmjhoClBDw_wcB 

 

 It's a mouse pad sized electronic board (available in several sizes) that you just use in place of your mouse. It comes with a wireless mouse as well as a special wireless pen that you would use for more accurate drawing or editing. Either begins working as soon as it is within about an inch of the top surface of the board and it recoginzes which you are using, so you can switch back and forth at random. As you move the mouse or the pen across the board, there is a 1:1 relationship to the cursor on the computer screen. Touching the tip of the pen to the board begins a line. As you move the pen on the board, it draws a line on the screen. You use settings in your graphics program to change the line width, style, or density.  Changes in the pressure of the pen tip make the line wider of finer, just like when using a felt pen, but the line can be down to just 1 pixel wide with just a light pen tip touch. The pen has an eraser tip on the back end too. Flip the pen over and it writes or erases with whatever color the second color box on the Tools Window of Photoshop is set for. Wacom also makes an electronic form of air brush to use with these tablets. With practice, you can air brush paintings and artwork in your favorite graphics program with it. Wacom is the industry standard graphics tablet that's used everywhere in the graphics industry. Mine is about 19 years old now, and is still working fine. They are very rugged and reliable. The pen tips and the board surface are replaceable and reasonably priced, and Wacom has great great tech help and repair services.  

 

Charley

Edited August 6, 2016 by CharleyL

[NC Scroller]

Charley that is a great write. Thank you.

 

On a personal note folks I know Charley. He is a very good personal friend. I have never met a more caring and sharing individual. And did I mention he is a wealth of knowledge including mechanical and electrical. He will go way way out of his way to help anyone. All one needs to do is ask.

[CharleyL]

He (me) also drives a train (see my avatar). It's not wood related, but it's a lot of fun.

 

No one has asked me about my new avatar. I'm driving this train part time in our Village Park in the town where I live. It looks like a wood burning steam engine, but it has a 4 cylinder commercial gasoline car type engine in it. There are three open (with a roof) passenger cars behind the engine and a full train is about 70 people. I've retired 4 times now, and I have gone back to work each time for different reasons, (but usually for significantly more money). This time it's a "totally for fun, low stress job", and I love what I'm doing. I will also be operating a 2 story high carousel part time, after they finish installing it probably by Nov 27, the beginning of our Christmas Holiday Season. The train ride closes down at the end of October, but then re-opens between Nov 27 and Dec 23 in the evenings to give a Holiday Tour through the heavily decorated park. It will be even better if the carousel is running by then. The train, and probably also the carousel, will then re-open for the Summer next year in April.

 

Charley

[meflick]

Hi Charley, any friend of NCScroller, Scott, is a friend of mine. (Scott, Fibber, and myself and several others took an Intarsia class together back in May.) thanks for sharing how you create portrait patterns. I know several will find that information useful. Your newest job sounds very nice and glad it is totally fun for you. The carousel sounds like it will be great fun as well. Enjoy the season.

[amazingkevin]

OK,

 

Several days ago I promised to show you all how to easily create a cutting pattern from a photograph using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. These are fairly simple steps, and while I'm using Photoshop and not Photoshop Elements, these steps should (from my memory of Elements) be available in both.(I used to retouch photos for the advertising and photography industry). I'm going to use a photo of Cristie Brinkley for this demonstration as she's easy to look at. 

 

Step 1 - load your photo of choice, either color or black and white, into Photoshop. (See the first photo  Christie B 1.jpg). 

 

Christie B 1.jpg

 

Step 2 - Go to the "Image" pull down and then select "Mode" and select "Grayscale". This will remove all of the color from your photo leaving your photo in Gray Scale. (See the second photo Christie B 2.jpg)

 

Christie B 2.jpg

 

Step 3 - Go to the "Image" pull down and then select "Adjustments" and then "Threshold". There will be a slider under the photo for you to adjust the threshold level to get the black and white threshold where you want. When you click on "OK" Photoshop will lock the threshold setting of your photo. (See photo Christie B 3.jpg)

 

Christie B 3.jpg

 

You should now have a pretty good pattern to work from, but it won't have any bridges to tie the loose pieces to the main piece. You will need to do this by painting them in. Create a new layer by selecting  "Layer" then "New". Anything that you do to the photo now will be on this layer and not on the photo, so if you mess up you can delete the layer without affecting the original photo. If you should need to do this, open the "Window" pull down and select "Layers". A new small window will open that shows two bars. The lower bar is your original "adjusted photo" and the upper bar is the layer containing your bridges". The eyeball on the left end of the bar can be clicked to turn the viewing of that layer on and off, but it won't erase it. If you truly want to erase a layer you need to click on the layer bar to highlight it and then click on the trash can icon at the bottom right.

 

Now to draw in the "bridges" - First make certain that the layer that you want to modify is highlighted in the "Layers Window". Then go to the "Window" pull down at the top of the screen and select "Tools". A long narrow vertical window will appear. Keep this window open as you work, because you be going to it often. You can move it, or any tool window around if it gets in the way by simply dragging it by the blue bar at the top.  About 2/3 of the way down this window are two overlapping squares. When you click on one of them a grayscale window will open. You need to make it fully black or fully white by selecting the appropriate corner of the pop-up window.. Then click on the other box and make it the opposite color B/W. From now on, until you change it, these are the two colors that you can paint with and you can just click on which ever you want to use at any time. If you are painting in black and make a mistake, you can cover it with white, or the opposite if you are painting with white and make a mistake.

 

For most bridging you should select the "paint brush" located about 1/4 of the way down on this window. When you do, some small windows will open at the top of the main window to allow you to choose the style of brush, the size of the brush and the opacity of the brush. For making "Bridges" choose the regular round brush shape, a size to suit you (experiment to find the right size) and always use 100% opacity for making bridges. Now select the "Color", either black or white from the two overlapping squares. Clicking the little double ended curved arrow near the two color boxes will let you switch quickly from one color to the other.

 

OK, you are now ready to paint in the bridges. Remember, you are adding color (black or white) to a clear layer that's above the original, so you can add to or erase the colors without affecting the photo underneath, as long as the correct layer has been selected in the Layers Window. Coloring white over a black area will effectively "Erase" the black in the main photo.     

 

Then remember to "Save As" your photo under a new name so you don't save over the original. In fact, do this several times as you work, so if you really mess up, you can just go back a little ways by opening the photo at the level that it was at the time  you last saved it.

 

There is a way to combine the layer with your photo that will make the file size a little smaller, but it is permanent, so if you haven't saved it as a layered photo, there will be no going back. To do this go to the "Layers" pull down and then select "Flatten Image" at the bottom. It will reduce the photo file size, but it is permanent and you will not be able to edit the layers of the photo again if you did not save them as a layered photo before you flattened them. 

 

I hope this helps. If you have problems or questions about doing this, please ask here. I'll try to check in daily for at least the next few days.

 

 

 

 

If you do a lot of photo work, or would like to hand draw or edit patterns directly on your computer, a Graphics Tablet is a way better way to draw or edit than a mouse. A company called Waycom made mine. It will work with most graphics programs and not just Photoshop or Elements. Using a standard PC mouse to draw or edit photos on the computer is like trying to draw with a Hockey Puck. A pencil or pen shaped version of the mouse is much easier and more precise to use.

 

http://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-tablets/intuos?gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwiH80Zw3q1_XM38xE28EzOzoRFV618iG8JHDvieLmjhoClBDw_wcB 

 

 It's a mouse pad sized electronic board (available in several sizes) that you just use in place of your mouse. It comes with a wireless mouse as well as a special wireless pen that you would use for more accurate drawing or editing. Either begins working as soon as it is within about an inch of the top surface of the board and it recoginzes which you are using, so you can switch back and forth at random. As you move the mouse or the pen across the board, there is a 1:1 relationship to the cursor on the computer screen. Touching the tip of the pen to the board begins a line. As you move the pen on the board, it draws a line on the screen. You use settings in your graphics program to change the line width, style, or density.  Changes in the pressure of the pen tip make the line wider of finer, just like when using a felt pen, but the line can be down to just 1 pixel wide with just a light pen tip touch. The pen has an eraser tip on the back end too. Flip the pen over and it writes or erases with whatever color the second color box on the Tools Window of Photoshop is set for. Wacom also makes an electronic form of air brush to use with these tablets. With practice, you can air brush paintings and artwork in your favorite graphics program with it. Wacom is the industry standard graphics tablet that's used everywhere in the graphics industry. Mine is about 19 years old now, and is still working fine. They are very rugged and reliable. The pen tips and the board surface are replaceable and reasonably priced, and Wacom has great great tech help and repair services.  

 

Charley

This is something i've been interested in since day one but could never understand what they are saying thanks for clarifying it!

[Phantom Scroller]

Hi Charley nice tutorial there is another way Filter/sketch/photocopy and you can use you way to take out dark pixels to clean up. Just my two pennies worth.   Roly

[CharleyL]

Rolly,

 

Yes, that way works, but the end result isn't the same and I prefer my way. Use whatever you like best. My intent was only to teach the basics of how to do it for those that have been unable to grasp how to do it in Photoshop and my way teaches how I like to do it.

There are other ways too, but they take more steps. 

 

Charley

[Greenie]

Charley and Roly--Thank you both so much for the information. I guess I would just use my saw for a door stop if it weren't for guys like you.

I have learned so much from this site.

Thanks again       

Eddie

[CharleyL]

Eddie (Greenie),

 

I love what I do, and I also love to share what I know with others, especially when they are thankful for it.

 

It takes someone (like me maybe) to get you started. The rest is up to you. Don't hesitate to ask if you should need a tip or two to get you past the tough parts. I'm certain that I or one of us can help.  I'll be watching to see what great projects you make now.

 

 

Thanks,

Charley 

[rdatelle]

Hi Charley, thanks for your right up. I have photoshop but I've been afraid to use it for patterns. I might give it a try now. I'm going to try and print out your page so I can follow it better. Thanks again.

[stoney]

Charley I would like to add my thanks for taking the time to share your tutorial with us.   I had a detailed tutorial for Photo Elements but it must had gotten misplaced or thrown away.   Thanks again.