Can anyone help get me started on creating a Warhol effect? I have a client who wants a series of their two kids.

Do you have PS? I think it's "posterize", if memory serves... You can go through the "filter gallery" to browse on the image itself and see which ones will create the effect.

You should probably shoot against a plain, featureless background. Image->Adjustments->Posterize is a good starting point for the processing. If your client wants the Warhol multiple variants on the same image, an easy way to get the false colors is to use a color balance adjustment layer and muck around till you get something you like, save it, then repeat the process. If you want to do more targeted color adjustments, you can add a selective color layer or even use replace color. Hint: use adjustment layers instead of actually changing the pixels. Start with the default 4 levels setting in posterize, do the color adjustments, then go back and tweak the posterization levels to taste. I'm guessing there are PS actions out there to automate the processing, but just using these two steps is easy enough.

This is soooo much easier than I was doing, although when I do work with the posterize filter, it doesn't give a true Warhol effect. His iconic Marilyn piece was pretty distinctive colors produced by silkscreen and so the colors are separated pretty clearly and not a gradient, if that makes sense. I need to check and see which the client wants. I'll post results when I'm done. Thanks!

1- http://graphicriver.net/item/pop-art...s-action/70252

2- http://tinyurl.com/3zgfzhb

3- the Google findings - http://tinyurl.com/4ybbqgt

Originally Posted by indiegirl This is soooo much easier than I was doing, although when I do work with the posterize filter, it doesn't give a true Warhol effect. His iconic Marilyn piece was pretty distinctive colors produced by silkscreen and so the colors are separated pretty clearly and not a gradient, if that makes sense. I need to check and see which the client wants. I'll post results when I'm done. Thanks!

Yes. Posterize is nothing but a crude approximation. If you've ever seen any of the silkscreens in person, you can see that they have subtleties that are lost in the popular poster versions. I think by adjusting the posterize levels then carefully using the different tonal ranges in the color balance tool, you can avoid the gradient look. You might also try putting the false color version over a slightly blurred original and play with opacity and blending modes, which might overcome the flat look that posterize produces.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Indie.....any samples to show us yet????

I'm driving myself crazy. No. Can't get it. Looks stupid.

Originally Posted by indiegirl I'm driving myself crazy. No. Can't get it. Looks stupid.

Post a link to a Warhol that you are aiming for and a sample of your attempts and tell us what isn't working for you. Perhaps we can help.