Pixel Art

• Find an image of a celebrity or politician that has no copyright restrictions (images from "wiki commons" are good sources).
• Find an image that is at least 1200px in the largest dimension (or larger).
• Use your downloaded image for this entire Exercise.

 

1. ASCII

Upload the image to an "image to ASCII converter" that you can find online.
This is one example:
text-image.com

• Convert the image (using the ASCII option)
• Take a screen shot using the following command: shift option 4
  then click and drag across your ascii image.
• The new screenshot should appear on the desktop (or in the downloads folder).

 

2. Working in Photoshop

• Open your image.
• Choose the Zoom Tool, Option Bar > 100%
• Rename the Background layer: Original
• Create a copy of the Original layer ⌘j
• Convert this layer using Menu Bar Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic
  (find the point where you just begin to lose the image to abstraction).
  Name this layer: Mosaic.
• Copy the Mosaic layer ⌘j and use
  Menu Bar Filter > Filter Gallery > Stylize > Find Edges.
  Change the blend mode to Multiply. Lower the Opacity.
  Name this layer: Find Edges.
• Copy the Original layer ⌘j > Convert to Smart Object and use Blur > Gaussian Blur.
  Name this layer: Blur
• Experiment with Blend Modes and Layer Order on each until you achieve an interesting product.
  *(You might also want to experiment by making copies of existing layers and adding another filter to it.)
• Finally, you can add a color layer
  Layer > Adjustment > Solid Color
  Change its Blend Mode (Move Tool and shift +/-) and Opacity settings.