blue ([info]awmp) wrote,
2005-05-05 15:16:00
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some kind of style guide: pop art (part1 - basic elements I)

pop art: style elements and basic techniques

so, my attempt to make pop art more, uhm, pop, kinda got too long for one post, so I cut it onto pieces. this first part will cover some common style elements and explain the techniques to achieve them. even though I'm talking about icons here, the techniques are very general...
I included icons I have used the styles for in each chapter.

starburst, retro dots, silhouettes, overcontrasted b/w images
and more...



General Notes:
  • I used Photoshop 7.0

  • you should be familiar with the basic PS tools



1) starburst

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

- the canvas should be bigger than icon size


- make some vertical color rectangulars (two or more colors)


- select the color area


- go to Edit - Define Pattern and give it a name


- fill the canvas with your new pattern (don't forget to deselect it before)
go to Edit - Fill... - Contents Use: Pattern - Select your new pattern




- Use Filter - Distort - Polar Coordinates - Rectangular to Polar


- crop it to icon size




2) retro dots



- open a random pic


- desaturate it


- use Filter - Artistic - Cutout
I used these settings: no. of levels 8/edge simplicity 0/edge fidelity 2
this step is important to get thicker lines in the end


- use Levels (ctrl. + L) until only black and white is left
which means the sliders have to be at the same place on the bar... more to the left or more to the right depends on how dark/light the pic was


- make a selection with the single column marquee tool
chose an area with a balanced black and white content
- copy, paste and stretch it


- crop it to a square size
important to get a round result


- Use Filter - Distort - Polar Coordinates - Rectangular to Polar


- at this point you can select the white areas of the circles with the Magic Wand Tool, make a new layer, fill it with black, and define a brush (hiding the other layer of course)


- if you do this more than once and use the brushes you'll get a nice effect, that also works in different colors.




3) retro dots V2

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

- use the hard round default brush in different colors and sizes
- normally I use several layers (for each new color a new layer)
- use the eraser with the hard round brush tip to make some holes





4) silhouettes



- use layer masks, that way you don't destroy your picture
- don't scale before, resize after you made the silhouettes, that way you don't have to work overly exact
- make a background layer and choose a suitable bg color, this will help you a lot to see if your silhouette looks good


- try the magnetic lasso if you want to, it often saves a lot of work, at least with a rough selection, that you can fill with black/white on the layer mask


- draw with black and white on the layer mask to hide and reveal the details you want to show up or not



- you will end up with something like this


- when you are satisfied, ctrl click on the layer mask to load the selection, make a new layer, fill it with a color





5) overcontrasted b/w images


(this icon is not sharable, I made it for [info]indiana_jane_)

- desaturate it


- use levels, drag the left slider more to the right and the left one more to the right, use the middle slider to balance the pic more


- I often use the silhouette technique to cut out a part of the final image or I use a silhouette for the background and the overcontrasted image on top with different blending modes


- if you use a smart blur for instance your result will be smoother





sooo, if you combine everything you'll get too much ;)




coming up next: more basic elements, such as duotones, shapes, outlines, color halftone etc.
if there are any questions, feel free to ask :)

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  • 154 comments
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[info]greenpear

May 5 2005, 06:25:20 UTC 7 years ago

I haven't seen such excellent pop art since back in the 60's. Wonderful job in recreating it.

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 06:33:23 UTC 7 years ago

thanks a lot. I love pop art. I'm a big fan of all these 60s artists :D

[info]wtfbrain

May 5 2005, 06:37:19 UTC 7 years ago

This is awesome and very helpful. Thanks for writing this guide! :)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 06:45:10 UTC 7 years ago

glad you found it helpful :)

[info]_jems_

May 5 2005, 06:46:37 UTC 7 years ago

Oh, I love seeing how you create these things. Looking forward to the next post. =)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 06:54:01 UTC 7 years ago

thank you :)
I always love looking how everyone is doing their things, too, cause we basically know all these techniques but there are so many ways to achieve the effects, that it's always interesting to see how everyone else is doing it... most of the times my ways tend to be way too complicated though. LOL.

[info]andemaiar

May 5 2005, 06:55:03 UTC 7 years ago

Woah. Thanks for that! Very useful. Never would've thought to use Distort - Polar to Coordinates thing. Now I'm gonna have to go experiment. :)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:01:03 UTC 7 years ago

glad you found it helpful. :)

the polar->coordinates filter is actually very useful but totally underused and overlooked normally ;)

[info]psychme

May 5 2005, 07:11:20 UTC 7 years ago

There's one screencap on my hard drive that I thought of converting into something pop arty just last night, and now you post this. Wonderful guide. Will have to play around with your tips. Thank you so much for this helpful and timely tutorial. :D

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:19:48 UTC 7 years ago

oh, I'm glad my timing was good then ;)
I hope it will be helpful for you.

[info]starrysummer

May 5 2005, 07:16:08 UTC 7 years ago

Your tutorials are always some of my favorites. I'm adding this to my memories immediatley to play with later.

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:23:52 UTC 7 years ago

aww, thanks a lot! :D
hope you'll find it useful :)

[info]cordy81

May 5 2005, 07:21:14 UTC 7 years ago

Added to my memories. Great job!. It's fantistic ;)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:28:03 UTC 7 years ago

hee, thank you ;D

[info]blond_bear

May 5 2005, 07:25:03 UTC 7 years ago

Wow...I am constantly amazed at how much there is to learn about methods and techniques with Photoshop - it is a constant learning experience...

I can't wait to try out some of these...thank you so much for taking the time to put it together!

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:29:36 UTC 7 years ago

you're welcome :)
I'm glad if you found it useful.
there's too little popart love out there in this world ;)

[info]miss_sarac

7 years ago

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[info]awmp

7 years ago

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[info]miss_sarac

7 years ago

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[info]shipperchick

May 5 2005, 07:28:05 UTC 7 years ago

omg so useful and fantastic!

I doubt I'll be anywhere near as great as you are, but it'll be fun to try now that you've broken it down for us! Wheeness!

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:38:46 UTC 7 years ago

thank you :)

aww, I'm really not great. lol. but I'm glad you enjoyed the guide :)

[info]blueirish

May 5 2005, 07:29:42 UTC 7 years ago

that's it...I'm devoting my life to the worshiping of you....

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:39:37 UTC 7 years ago

aww, sweetie, you are the cutest thing ever! *hugs*

[info]blueirish

7 years ago

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[info]awmp

7 years ago

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[info]blueirish

7 years ago

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[info]miss_sarac

May 5 2005, 07:30:13 UTC 7 years ago

once again, absolutely brilliant!!!! I love your style--it's so original & unique and that's becoming more of a rarityher on LJ lately.

I am envious of your talents! :)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:42:10 UTC 7 years ago

awww, thanks a lot! *blushes*

I'm seeing my style more as odd than as original/unique. lol. but peopl are polite enough to use the nicer words ;)

I am envious of your talents! :)
hee, don't be there's nothing there to be jealous of. lol.

[info]shannigansx

May 5 2005, 07:40:34 UTC 7 years ago

Ooh! That looks fun. I love seeing how people create such nifty things :-)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:45:53 UTC 7 years ago

thank you :)

I'm always enjoying how others do their things, too :D most of the times my ways are way too complicated. lol.

[info]ba4ever

May 5 2005, 07:47:39 UTC 7 years ago

that is funky! So cool thanks!

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:58:52 UTC 7 years ago

glad you liked it :)

[info]ciley

May 5 2005, 07:51:55 UTC 7 years ago

adding this to my memories so that when i have some time to make icons again i can try some of these out.

thanks for the wonderful tutorials :D

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 07:59:32 UTC 7 years ago

aww, I'm happy you found it useful :)

[info]annabelle528

May 5 2005, 08:00:20 UTC 7 years ago

You're so awesome for sharing your techniques! You never cease to amaze me with your creativeness. :)

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:18:20 UTC 7 years ago

aww, you make me blush!

[info]splendoria

May 5 2005, 08:01:05 UTC 7 years ago

Thanks for those tips on making the pop up textures.. I always think it looks cool.. but Never knew how to make them! They look great.. and it seems so easy when you explained them.. (although I'm sure it's harder then it looks) :D

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:19:42 UTC 7 years ago

they are really not that hard to make :)
glad you found the guide helpful!

[info]eula_tequila

May 5 2005, 08:02:41 UTC 7 years ago

Oh this is a lovely tutorial. I learned many new things! Thank you for sharing.

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:20:13 UTC 7 years ago

glad you found it useful :)

[info]covert_light

May 5 2005, 08:04:07 UTC 7 years ago

*dies of happiness* THANK YOU!

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:20:43 UTC 7 years ago

aww, you're so welcome :)

[info]moondancerjen

May 5 2005, 08:08:04 UTC 7 years ago

best tutorial ever! i am so memorieing lol

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:21:12 UTC 7 years ago

heee, thanks ;)

[info]kathyh

May 5 2005, 08:09:50 UTC 7 years ago

Great tutorial. It's always nice to see effects I can do using PE2 and some of these are definitely possible. Expect a rash of retro dots to break out all over LJ *g*. Many thanks.

[info]awmp

May 5 2005, 08:22:38 UTC 7 years ago

Expect a rash of retro dots to break out all over LJ *g*.
that's the secret masterplan ;)

glad you found it useful :)

[info]blifme

May 5 2005, 08:40:44 UTC 7 years ago

Love the tutorials. I love the retro circles. Looked so cute! Can't wait to play around with these for my icons. Thanks so much for sharing. Definitely memorising it :). Thanks again!

[info]awmp

May 8 2005, 09:35:04 UTC 7 years ago

you're welcome, I'm glad you found it useful :)

[info]seablues

May 5 2005, 08:46:20 UTC 7 years ago

This is brilliant! Definitely bookmarking! :)

[info]awmp

May 8 2005, 09:35:42 UTC 7 years ago

aww, thanks :) glad you found it helpful.

[info]yourxstardust

May 5 2005, 08:52:28 UTC 7 years ago

I LOVE YOU. <33333 *clings*

[info]awmp

May 8 2005, 09:36:30 UTC 7 years ago

aww, thanks *blushes*

[info]bunnyluv_pet

May 5 2005, 08:55:14 UTC 7 years ago

Wonderful

Oh thank you so much for sharing your techniques! Your art is truely wonderful and inspiring. Your pop art pieces are especially alluring

I look forward to your next post and am anxious to attempt some of these tecniques.

[info]awmp

May 8 2005, 09:37:58 UTC 7 years ago

Re: Wonderful

thanks a lot :)

it's nice to know the tutorials are helpful as they take forever to be written. lol.

[info]__kali__

May 5 2005, 09:22:41 UTC 7 years ago

I never realised it was all so simple. Thank you for sharing *adds to memories*

[info]awmp

May 8 2005, 09:38:51 UTC 7 years ago

glad you found it useful :)
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