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Omaha Magazine

Quick. Easy. Art.

Jul 01, 2014 09:00AM ● By HerFamily Staff
Immortalize your children in this clever pop art project. The only “art skills” you need for this amazingly easy, idiot-proof effort is the ability to trace and then color in an image. There are a number of free photo editing sites on the web. We chose pixlr.com for our handiwork.

What You’ll Need

  • Archival paper in the color of your choice (we used orange)
  • Carbon paper (yes, it still exists and can be found at any office supply store)
  • Pencil and black Sharpie pen
  • Picture frame
  • Your fave photo of your child, loaded onto your computer
How it Works
  • Visit pixlr.com.
  • Click on the PIXLR Editor program.
  • Select the “Open image from computer” option.
  • Upload the photo of your choice.
  • Click the “Adjustment” tab in the toolbar at the top of the page.
  • Then select the “Threshold” feature that you’ll find in the drop-down menu. You’ll see that a pop-up window has now appeared.
  • Use the arrow in the pop-up window to manipulate your image to the desired effect. Hit the “OK” button.
  • Don’t worry about any jagged edges in the image. We’ll fix those in a moment.
  • Click “File” on the PIXLR toolbar and save to your computer.
  • Print out your work of art.
  • Using a pencil and carbon paper, transfer the image to the archival paper, which is important to use if you want to create an instant heirloom that will last through the ages.
  • Smooth out any jagged or pixilated areas of the image in the tracing process.
  • Use the Sharpie to fill in the remainder of the image and frame it up!
Helpful Tips and More
  • Not all images lend themselves to this project. A bit of trial and error may be in order before you find the photo that works best for this stencil-like vibe.
  • Want to go big on this one? Put the original image on a flash drive and have your neighborhood copy center print it in any size you’d like. Do this step before the transfer process.
  • Do you happen to have or have access to an overhead projector? Print the photo on a transparency sheet and ditch the carbon paper. Just project your image directly onto the paper and trace from there.
Voilà! Your own Warhol-inspired wonder!

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