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Posted on 29/11/05 10:18:22 AM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
I want to start designing T-shirts and do them in photoshop as I find illustrator almost impossible to get to grips with. I have posted a couple of examples of the kind of thing I'm after. I've purchased Vector Eye to turn the image into a vector for flock printing it onto a T-shirt. Does anyone know how to turn a photo into a real simplified version and to to then turn it into two colours? And the second thing I would like to know is with a design like the ones the spreadshirt vector designs are, they are like not square shaped so I presume that the graphics are created using a transparent layer so when they are put onto a T-shirt they are not a square or rectangle shape but the actually shape of the design like it had been cut out. Is there a format I should save my designs to get them to look like this? Thanks you very much for all the help.  |
Posted on 29/11/05 10:18:53 AM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
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Posted on 29/11/05 4:27:40 PM |
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rufus
Destructive Demon Posts: 243 Reply  |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Here is a picture of a cat that has been changed into two colours by using the Stamp filter (Filter/Sketch/Stamp), with foreground set to purple and background red, and the Threshold adjustment (Image/Adjustment/Threshold). In each case the effect can be modified to give a different balance of colour and both could be used together if preferred.  |
Posted on 29/11/05 6:19:22 PM |
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Lexus
Persistent Pixellator Posts: 623 Reply  |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Hmm, isn't there another way to do it? _________________ 3 Radio Visit http://www.3-radio.co.uk and listen! You will love it! |
Posted on 29/11/05 8:49:12 PM |
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mguyer
Incisive Incisor Posts: 799 Reply  |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
how about sending us a picture and letting us have a go at it? |
Posted on 30/11/05 07:15:54 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7047 Reply  |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Junipaire, Images such as the second of your posts - the Dirty Harry one - can easily be achieved using the Threshold filter, followed by Gaussian Blur (to smooth out the rough edges) and then dragging the triangles together in Levels (to tighten up the blur). The first image, though, has clearly been drawn rather than photographed and then treated; the only solution here is to draw it from scratch, preferably in Illustrator - that way it would remain editable, which would make the drawing process very much easier. But as mguyer says, post an example of the images you want to treat and we'll have a go! |
Posted on 30/11/05 10:30:59 AM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Thanks for the response guys I'll give you an image to see what you can do with them. I did try the threshold but yes looked jagged edges, I've not yet tried it with gaussian blur and the tightened up in levels. Illustrator I have is version 10 I've heard the new one has a great live trace feature which would love but can't afford it yet, I do find illustrator really awkward to use, I'm too used to photoshop and it operates quite alot different obviously and can't seem to do much with it, I do have classroom in a book adobe software cdrom so maybe one day over christmas I'll sit down and try to get to grips with it.  |
Posted on 30/11/05 3:04:14 PM |
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mj
Guest Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Here is live trace with several colors. I tried it with two colors and it did not work very well, not enough detail.  _________________ -Never met a PS'er I didn't like- Will Rogers |
Posted on 30/11/05 6:22:29 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7047 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
It's a really difficult image to automate - there's just not enough contrast there for Photoshop to work with. Illustrator may be the only solution! |
Posted on 30/11/05 8:24:02 PM |
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rufus
Destructive Demon Posts: 243 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
This image was done in Photoshop. I applied the Shadow/Highlights adjustment twice, which REDUCED the contrast. I then applied the stamp filter using foreground and background colours selected from the image. Finally I tidied up the loose dots of colour from around the image using the clone stamp.  |
Posted on 30/11/05 8:33:38 PM |
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Lexus
Persistent Pixellator Posts: 623 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Hmm, thats quite difficult! I just did the stamp tool, then colorized it! The text was just done with a bit of playing in the levels and some nice erasing with a low opacity funny textured brush! 
BTW. It says Sumo Power, Its meant to be like a stamp style, like stamped down with a brush stamp thingy, lol. _________________ 3 Radio Visit http://www.3-radio.co.uk and listen! You will love it! |
Posted on 30/11/05 8:35:33 PM |
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Lexus
Persistent Pixellator Posts: 623 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Must say Rufus, well done, thats neat! _________________ 3 Radio Visit http://www.3-radio.co.uk and listen! You will love it! |
Posted on 01/12/05 09:39:15 AM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Wow I like these last two by Rufus and Lexus's stamp one. yeah sorry its not the best one to do much with cause of the lack of details. Heres another one that would be interesting to see what people could come up with. Just the car though.  |
Posted on 01/12/05 3:21:48 PM |
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rufus
Destructive Demon Posts: 243 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Two tries at the car from me.  |
Posted on 01/12/05 3:31:46 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7047 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Excellent work, Rufus! Really like those cars! |
Posted on 06/12/05 10:42:49 PM |
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junipaire
* Posts: 42 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
Cool Rufus I really like what you did with these, sorry have only just had chance to get back onto the forum tonight if you were wondering why I hadn't replied. I especially like the blue and yellow. what do I do to get these results please? Phil |
Posted on 07/12/05 11:43:49 AM |
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rufus
Destructive Demon Posts: 243 Reply |
Re: Hi help needed with getting an image down to two colours
First I selected the car using the pen tool (if you find this difficult use the polygonal lasso tool, see picture 1). Zoom in to make the selection easier and move the image as you go by temporaraly switching to the hand tool by pressing the space bar and click dragging. I put this onto a new layer using Layer/New/Layer via Copy and hid the background layer. I then set the foreground colour to blue and the background to yellow and used the stamp tool, Filter/Sketch/Stamp, adjusting the Light/Dark balance and Smoothness controls to get the best image. Initially I found that I could not get enough detail in the image so I went back to the car image and used the Burn tool to accentuate the edges and the Dodge tool to lighten the shadows, both set to about 25%, see picture 2. This gave much more detail as it reduced the contrast between the areas concerned. All it takes is a few minutes trial and error and the result is shown in picture 3.  |