A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...but Sometimes It Can Say One Too

I did this picture to see if I could recreate something I saw in class, and now I'm going to explain to you how I did it so you can create one too =)

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You begin with a solid color document (I chose black) and type LOVE in the font and color of your choosing (in this case, pink).  You then simplify the font layer and erase your O.  Then right click your rectangle tool and choose custom shape tool.  A heart will be your default shape for that.  On a new layer, place the heart where the O was

Then use a worn looking brush (or a wet media brush if you don't have any downloaded brushes that would work) to make the edges of the heart fit in with your font, if necessary.

On a separate tab, take your desired picture (I will be using one that I featured in the October Highlights blog), put it in black and white, and turn up the threshold on it to wipe out some of the details, but do not lose them completely.  Make sure you flatten this image before continuing onto the next step. Then use your magic wand tool and select either the highs or the lows of your picture (in this case I selected the lows, or the blacks).  In order to select all of the highs or the lows, go to the Select menu and click similar.  Then drag your selection into the document you've been working on.  Position it over the heart and erase what shows outside the heart.

Next you will decorate the blank space to make the picture more interesting.  I used a paint splatter brush.

The only thing that's left to do is put your watermark on the picture!


And you're done!

Thanks for reading =)

Beth <3