Setting Up the Photo

The first thing we need to get started is a photo or subject to paint. The subject of your painting can be anything you wish. Previously I mentioned that we would use a photo of Monica Bellucci for our painting but if you'd like to use a male figure, I have a photo of Johnny Depp you can use instead. Both photos are zipped.

• Monica Bellucci: monica-bellucci.zip
• Johnny Depp: johnny-depp.zip

If neither of these appeal to you, feel free to head over to Google's image search or use a photo of your own.

Please keep in mind that we are creating a painting here, not designing a print layout or graphic design. So since this photo will eventually become a painting there's no need to worry about the size or resolution. The standard screen resolution of 72dpi is perfect. There's no need to go higher than that unless you want to.

Now take whichever photo you've selected to use and open it up in Photoshop. We need to make sure the photo we are using will fit on our canvas. So let's say we are using a pre-stretched canvas with the dimensions 36 inches by 48 inches, we have to be sure that our canvas will be completely covered by our photo. Don't worry if it overlaps.

A quick way to measure is create a new file in Photoshop "File » New...", give it the dimensions 36" x 48" and click "Ok". Now take the dimensions of the Monica photo which is 546 pixels by 727 pixels, go back to the new file we created and click "Image » Image Size...", set the "Pixel Dimensions" from inches to pixels and set the height to "727 pixels". Take a look at the width; it's 545 pixels, 1 pixel shorter than our photo so it's not covering the canvas. Try changing the width to 546 pixels, our photos width. Nice, the height is now 728 pixels, 1 pixel longer than our canvas. That works perfectly since our canvas can be overlayed by our photo without any white areas. As I said, it's better that our photo dimensions are bigger than our canvas dimension. It just means if the photo overlaps the canvas we're in good shape and the longer/wider parts of our photo will be cropped. Don't worry about the cropping now, that will happen when we use the projector.

Note: the following visual is not to scale.

Next we are going to bring out more definition between the parts of our subject by exaggerating the levels of the photo. So with your photo opened in Photoshop, head up to "Image » Adjustments » Levels...". We need to add more contrast to the photo using only the shadows and highlights while keeping the midtones as they are. In the "Levels" window, drag the shadows arrow (black) and the highlights arrow (white) toward the middle but not all the way.

Quite a difference right? For now don't sweat the colors, we just want some extreme definition of our photo to make it easier to draw.

Last, let's give our photo some focus using the sharpen filters and tools. Head up to "Filter » Sharpen » Unsharp Mask...". Using your own discretion, raise the percentage of sharpening just a tad. Not too much though, we'll be adding more clarity shortly. If your photo is a bit pixilated, don't worry, keep in mind we're going to paint this not use the photo itself.

If the photo you are using has some areas that were out of focus or need more sharpening, as is the case with Johnny's arm. Your best bet is to grab the Sharpen tool and clear that area up by hand.