Monday, November 4, 2013

DIY "Blueprint" Artwork

What can I say -I am on an artwork kick! 
I recently hung this picture in our hallway downstairs. 
Here's the story: 
I wanted an image with a black back ground- (like a blueprint), 
but had a tough time finding one, so I figured out how to make one from a regular image!

Below is the original image I found on Wikimedia Commons 
(click here for the full resolution image).

And here's how it looks with a "blueprint" effect going on!
So Cool!!!
I only have instructions for how to do this using a Mac 
(I'm sure the same thing is possible on other computers or using other picture editing software though).
So first I imported the image into iPhoto and then using their basic editing software I made the image black and white and saved the new image to a folder.  Next you want to invert the colors (make the white parts black and the black parts white).  Go into your folder (not iPhoto) and click on the image (the image should open using the "Preview app").  On the top left of your screen select "Tools", then "Adjust Color."  This will open an "Adjust Color" box -

Right under the box with the blue green, and red graphs (or hills), you see slide arrows.  Slide the left side arrow to the right, and the right side arrow to the left, this inverts the colors.
The great part is- You can do this to any image to give it a "Blueprint" look!

The rest is easy - 
Decide what size you want,
Print the image out at staples (they are the cheapest for black and white enlargements).
Then Mod Podge it to a canvas.
Finally paint the edges of the canvas black, 
(I also dabbed some of the black paint onto the paper image to blend the lines). 
 Then Hang it and Enjoy!

There is something about an "inverted" image that I love.
Hope this opens up some artwork possibilities for you too!



5 comments:

  1. You are so inventive!! What a great piece of artwork.
    You can also use pixler--a free photo online photo editor to invert.

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    1. Thank you for your comment - that is good to know!

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  2. That is so awesome!! I want to do this but I would like a map of North America in the same "globe" style and can't seem to find it. Can you tell me how you searched for this map and what I should put in the search bar? Thanks.

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    1. I was in the "old maps" category when I found this image. Here is the link http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Old_maps
      Scroll down and you will see two pages of images, but there are also other links on this page you can follow. This site has Tons of pictures- so much, that it does become a little time consuming to find what you are looking for!

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  3. You are on a roll with amazing ideas for art!

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