In just a few minutes you can turn any photo into a Warhol-inspired image using Photoshop CS2.
February/March 2006
1. Open an RGB
image. This technique
works best when the
subject is isolated
from the background.
2. In the Layers
palette, drag the
Background layer
to the Create a New
Layer icon at the
bottom of the palette
to duplicate the
layer. Its name will be
“Background copy.”
3. Click the Create
New Fill or Adjustment
Layer icon in the
Layers palette. Select
Channel Mixer from
the drop-down
menu. Check Monochrome
and use the
settings shown.
4. Click the Create
New Fill or Adjustment
Layer icon.
Select Posterize from
the drop-down menu.
Make sure the Preview
option is selected.
Enter a number
between 2 and 5.
(Using a value greater
than 5 will result in
the image looking
less posterized.)
5. Double-click the
Channel Mixer layer
thumbnail in the
Layers palette. Make
small adjustments to
the RGB source channel
settings to improve
the look of your image.
Click OK.
6. Click the Create a
New Layer icon in the
Layers palette. Name
it “Merge Layers,”
then move it to the
top of the layer stack.
Click the Visibility
icon (eye) next to the
Background layer to
hide it.
7. Hold Option and
select Layer > Merge
Visible. The visible
layers will be merged
onto the Merge Layers
layer. (Holding Option
retains a copy of the
original layers.) Click
the Visibility icon next
to all layers except
Merge Layers.
8. Select the Magic
Wand tool (W). Use
the options shown in
the resulting Magic
Wand options bar.
9. Click one area of
color in the image to
select all shapes of
the same color. In this
example all the black
areas are selected.
10. Select a foreground
color. Press Option-
Delete to quickly fill a
selection with the foreground
color. Repeat
steps 9 and 10 until the
image is filled.
Tip: If you want to fill
a certain shape with
color but don’t want
to fill all its companion
shapes, check
Contiguous in the
Magic Wand options
bar before selecting
the shape you want to
be colored.
