In my post about my DIY heirloom necklace, I told you I’d share a simple tutorial for making a silhouette with Pixlr, a free online photo editing program.
I experimented with a number of things when attempting to make my silhouettes {Photoshop Elements, my Silhouette software, and Pixlr} and found Pixlr to be the simplest, the most user friendly, and the fastest. Pixlr is actually really new to me but it’s quite a simple program to figure out.
{A caveat: there may be a better way to do this in Pixlr but this is how I did it and it worked well.}
Open pixlr.com/editor and select “open image from computer”.
Pull up the photo you want to use for your silhouette. When taking your profile photo, I found it easiest to take the photo against a lit background, like a window. That way your edges are very defined.
Use the lasso tool to draw an outline around the edge of the head …
… and connect it by clicking back where you started. If you’re not happy with your outline, hit undo and start again. You can also do some editing in an upcoming step. {If you’re going to cut a very small silhouette like I did for my necklace, skip really fine details … they don’t translate well into a tiny silhouette.}
Select Edit, Cut. This will cut the outlined area out of the photo.
Select File, New Image and paste {File, Paste} the head onto the blank background. Now you have your silhouette.
Use the paint bucket tool to “fill” the image with black …
… then use the eraser tool to fix any harsh edges or big noses {kidding}.
That’s it. You can resize it, print it out, and cut it with a craft knife. Making a silhouette is pretty easy, huh?
About Randi Dukes
I’m Randi, a Dallas-based mom of five kids, ranging from third grade to college and including a set of twins. I love strong coffee, craft and DIY projects, my planner, and my big ol’ family. When I’m not creating something for my blog, I can be found in the car, running kids from one place to another. I’m the one knitting at the red light. Connect with me on google+ | twitter | facebook
Hi Randi! I am doing a nlog post tomorrow on a silhouette project I completed in using Photoshop. I wanted to show my readers some other alternative tutorials if they don’t have Photoshop, and I thought yours would be perfect!. I hope it’s ok… I’d like to mention your blog and direct link to this post.
Kate says
August 25, 2012 at 2:51 amThanks for this tutorial. I’m new to pixlr, so I love any tips I can find!
Kate
crafty-kate.blogspot.com
Katie says
January 28, 2014 at 1:55 pmHi Randi! I am doing a nlog post tomorrow on a silhouette project I completed in using Photoshop. I wanted to show my readers some other alternative tutorials if they don’t have Photoshop, and I thought yours would be perfect!. I hope it’s ok… I’d like to mention your blog and direct link to this post.
The blog post will be live tomorrow morning at 10am if you’d like to check it out — http://www.somethingtobefound.com
Thanks!!
Randi Dukes says
January 28, 2014 at 3:29 pmSure – that’s great! Thanks for letting me know!