Artistic Silhouettes

Artistic Silhouettes
by Lidia Sari

My husband and I love browsing at the antique or flea markets. I just love to look at the old pieces and think about the story behind each of them. Recently, we went to an antique shopΒ whereΒ I saw a framed silhouette of a little girl. I was really inspired by it. I was thinking that I could easily make a silhouetteΒ in Photoshop using a picture of my family.

Back home, half an hour and a cup of coffee later, I had made my silhouette. I didn’t just stop there. I was so inspired that I made more and added photos into the silhouettes. It was so much fun!

Today, I want to share the joy of creating silhouettes with all of you. Let’s get started!

Step One: Open a Photo

  • Open a photo (File > Open).
  • In the Menu Bar, choose File > Duplicate and click OK. (Photoshop: Choose Image > Duplicate.)
  • Close the original photo.

Β Step Two: Create a Silhouette

  • Get the Magnetic Lasso tool. It is nested with the Selection tools.
  • In the Tool Options, click on the New Selection icon, set Feather to 0 px, and check Anti-Aliasing.
  • On the photo, click once on the edge of the area that you want to work with and dragΒ to trace around it. Continue to dragΒ around the edge of the target area until you return to the starting point. Click once more whenΒ the cursor displays a small circle at the edge of the tool icon to createΒ a selection outline.

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  • Press Ctrl J (Mac: Cmd J) to copy the selection ontoΒ another layer.
  • Press the letter D to reset the Color Chips to the default of black and white.
  • Press CtrlΒ Shift Backspace (Mac: CmdΒ Shift Delete) to fill the layer with the backgroundΒ color.
  • In the Layers panel, double click directly on the name of theΒ activeΒ layer and rename it “Silhouette.”
  • ActivateΒ the Background layer.
  • Press Alt Backspace (Mac: Opt Delete) to fill the Background layer with the foreground color.

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Β Step Three: Place a Photo into the Silhouette

  • In the Layers panel, activate the top layer.
  • Open a photo to place inside the silhouette.
  • Get the Move tool.
  • In the Tool Options, uncheck Auto Select Layer. (Photoshop: In the Options Bar, uncheck Auto-Select.)
  • On the photo, click on the photo and drag it onto the silhouette document.
  • Press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T) to get the Transform options.
  • On the document, click on a corner handle of the Bounding Box and drag to resize the photo, making itΒ slightly larger than the silhouette. (Photoshop: Press and hold the Shift key while dragging to maintain proportion.)Β Double click inside the Bounding Box to commit the changes.
  • In the Layers panel, while holding down the Alt key (Mac: Opt key), hover your cursor between the photo layer and the silhouette layer, then click when the clipping mask icon appears.
  • On the document, click and drag to reposition the photo as necessary.
  • Press Ctrl E (Mac: Cmd: E) to merge the photo and silhouette layersΒ together.

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Β StepΒ Four: Use the Silhouette

  • Open the layered scrapbook page on which you would like to use the silhouette.
  • Activate the silhouette document.
  • On the document, click on the silhouette and drag it onto the scrapbook page.

Try adding patterned paper instead of a photo or using colors other than black or white to get a modern look forΒ the silhouette.Β Below you can seeΒ a few more examples that I made, since I can’t stop experimenting using this technique.

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Here’s my finished layoutΒ using the tutorial. I ended up using a vintage postcard I found at the antique shop to add to the silhouette. I have also added a custom drop shadow and a stroke outline to accentuateΒ the image even more. Please share your layouts with us in theΒ Digi Scrap Tutorial Gallery. I can’t wait to see what you come up with using this tutorial.

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Credits:
Artistic Silhouette by Lidia Sari
Software: Photoshop Elements 12, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
Scrapbook page: City Dog by Lidia Sari
Notepaper Video Tutorial by Susie Roberts
Background paper from Outdoor DadΒ by Brandy Murry
Newspaper print paper from Beautiful YouΒ by Kristin Cronin-Barrow
White paper and dotted stamp from ArtPlay Palette FamilyΒ by Anna Aspnes
Felt bullet train and double decker bus from Off We GoΒ by Susan Bartolini
Grungy Bits BrushesΒ by Susie Roberts
Vintage postcard, “Night View of Baltimore” by Tichnor Brothers
Pencil scribbles byΒ Lidia Sari
Fonts: Postino Std and PT Serif, Sewing Pattern

Download this Digi Scrap Tutorial

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Lidia SariAuthor: Lidia Sari | [email protected]
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Comments (21)

  1. Jenifer Juris

    This is such a fun idea! We love dogs, too and wish we could take them all home as well!! Lovely page!

    October 27, 2014 at 5:08 pm Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much, Jen! πŸ™‚

      October 27, 2014 at 5:55 pm Reply
  2. Mungo

    Thanks for sharing your fabulous idea a lot of fun ahead I think

    October 28, 2014 at 4:42 am Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much, Mungo!

      October 28, 2014 at 10:13 am Reply
  3. Lois

    This looks like fun! Where can I find the scribbles you used?

    October 28, 2014 at 8:32 am Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Hi Lois, if you were a member last year, Anna Aspnes’s Give Thanks Kit has scribble brushes in it you can use. Thank you for the sweet comment! I made the scribbles.

      October 28, 2014 at 10:23 am Reply
  4. Luisa (ouisiekelly)

    Very cool Lidia πŸ™‚ I think I have just the one photo I can use!
    Thanks a lot.

    October 28, 2014 at 8:52 am Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you, Luisa! Please share the layout with us if you happen to make one! πŸ™‚

      October 28, 2014 at 10:25 am Reply
  5. Lenore

    Can’t wait to play with this great idea. Many thanks Jen.

    October 28, 2014 at 9:24 am Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you, Lenore! I am so glad you like the tutorial! πŸ™‚

      October 28, 2014 at 10:27 am Reply
  6. Ingrid

    I love this idea and have been playing with it for awhile. The part I haven’t figured out is how to get smooth lines when the subject isn’t smooth. I have a Collie, for instance, so because of all of her long hair, the silhouette is very jagged and looks almost pixelated. Same goes for someone with curly hair. Thoughts on how to get that smoother outline? Thanks for the tutorial!

    October 28, 2014 at 10:18 am Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Hi Ingrid,
      Before you move on to Step Three, on the Layers panel click on the silhouette layer. In the Menu Bar, choose Select > Modify > Smooth. Set the Sample Radius to 5 pixels and click OK. Repeat if necessary. Hope this helps. Let me know if you are still having trouble.

      October 28, 2014 at 5:51 pm Reply
  7. Nann Dalton

    Love all the ideas you have given us. Great tutorial Lidia.

    October 28, 2014 at 4:47 pm Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much, Nann! πŸ™‚

      October 28, 2014 at 5:52 pm Reply
  8. Mary Kuhn

    Just a shout out to Charlie! Thank You, to giving these girls some good advice! Glad the PDF is back and I can print my learning tools. This looks like a cool Silhouette. Easier than putting your child in a chair with the light, and tracing with chalk on black paper. Then again the end result was fun also.

    October 28, 2014 at 5:02 pm Reply
  9. Donna

    I love your “City Dog” page. The silhouetted photo is perfect for the theme of this layout. Thanks for the tutorial!

    October 28, 2014 at 5:32 pm Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much, Donna! πŸ™‚

      October 28, 2014 at 5:55 pm Reply
  10. Shirl

    Go ahead with your bad self and your urban art. Love silhouettes. I took the class here and loved it. Thank you for an additional method to use. Hugs. πŸ™‚

    October 28, 2014 at 9:52 pm Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much, Shirl! πŸ™‚

      October 29, 2014 at 5:40 pm Reply
  11. Doris

    Fun tutorial. Ah, so nice to see the pdf back. Life is good again!

    October 29, 2014 at 4:37 pm Reply
    • Lidia Sari

      Thank you so much Doris! πŸ™‚

      October 29, 2014 at 5:39 pm Reply
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