Lesson 5: Text in picture effect, Tracing

You will use the following images for this lesson:

Text in picture effect:

We will now learn how to create the effect that a picture is made up of text! This is quite a common effect sometimes found in magazines and other publications.

1. Save the top picture in this lesson (picture of a lady).

2. Open the picture in Photoshop.

3. Crop the picture so that you emphasize the face area - use the selection marquee, then Image/Crop.

4. Use the Pen tool to select the top left corner (which is the background colour of light grey). Remember to right-click on Path and then Make Selection.

5. Make sure that the foreground colour is set to black and fill the selected area with black. Remember the shortcut to fill with the foreground colour is ALT+Backspace.

6. CTRL+D to deselect. Then repeat for the right side corner. You can even do the same to the bottom right corner for a better result. (For small areas you might even opt to choose the brush too).

7. Now create a New layer. Then fill it with black (ALT+Backspace).

8. Choose the Text tool and create a text area (on the black layer) by dragging from top left corner to bottom right corner:

 9. Now find a text, it can be a poem, a news item in an online newspaper or any other text you wish to use. Select the text and copy it. Make sure that the text colour is set to White. Paste it onto the new text area you have created.

10. Now adjust the text so that there are no blank spaces.

11. Click on the Tick mark to accept the changes.

12. Create a Layer Mask on the text layer.

13.Click on the background layer (the original picture), CTRL+A to select all the picture area, then CTRL+C to copy.

14. ALT+click on the white area of the Layer Mask. You should get a white area. Paste the picture on this white area.

15. Now click again on the background picture. You should now see the effect we have been trying to create:

You might need to adjust the font to a smaller size to get a better result - the smaller the font the sharper the image.

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Tracing using Photoshop:

Sometimes using a picture straight from Google Images is not the thing to do - especially when you are creating something to be used for commercial or even official use. Copyright issues might come in play. By tracing, and thus creating a cartoonish version of an image, you can create something totally original in a few minutes, even if you don't have any idea of design or drawing.

The only tool needed is actually just the good old Pen Tool! For this purpose though, from the top toolbar, choose Shape Layers:

1. Open the Baby picture in Photoshop.

2. Choose a colour simlar to the skin colour of the baby.

3. Trace the baby's face area (leaving out the hair part out). To see where you are clicking, reduce the Fill of the currect layer you are working on.

4. Finish the face area, then create a new layer, and do the hair area using a brown tone.

5. Repeat for the clothes area.

6. Reduce the Fill of the face area again, and roughly trace the eye area. For the eyebrow draw a triangular patch in dark brown. Same for the top eye lash. Draw a circular patch for the eye area.

Remember for each part use a new layer otherwise each time you change the colour it would effect all other parts!

7. Lastly do the lips part and you are ready! (You can even change the background area should you wish).