HANG IT: PAINT BY NUMBERS
Materials and Tools
» Computer, Adobe Photoshop,
digital photo
» Piece of cardboard or mat board as
large as you’d like your PBN to be
» 3M Spray Mount glue
» Inexpensive acrylic craft paint and
thin paint brushes
6. Repeat Steps 3 and 4.
So far, you’ve blocked off nice distinct areas, but
if you zoom in really close, you’ll notice that within
those color sections it’s a bit blotchy. So repeat Step
3 exactly as before to make sure that each section of
color is solid throughout that section. Then repeat
Step 4 as well to bring it back into RGB mode.
7. Duplicate layer.
Duplicate this layer to refer to later. Right-click
on the only layer in the Layers window and click
Duplicate Layer. Continue on this duplicated layer.
» Vials or small bottles with screw
caps, labels (up to 10; optional)
8. Place number labels.
Use the Text tool to put numbers in each region,
corresponding with the paint colors. You should only
need to use the numbers 1 through 10 for the 10 paint
colors (or however many colors you chose in Step 3).
1. Make a backup copy.
Back up your image, then open it in Photoshop.
2. Save file.
Click File Save As. Save as a native PSD file.
9. Create a B&W map of painting.
Use another Photoshop filter to create the black
and white map of the painting. Click Filter Stylize
Find Edges. This creates handy outlines of all the
areas of color in the photo.
3. Reduce number of colors.
Click Image Mode Indexed Color and set the 10. Adjust line color.
dialog box settings to: The outlines are drawn in colors. To make them a
» Palette: Local (Adaptive) nice consistent light gray, do the following:
» Forced: Black and White Click Image Adjustments Desaturate.
» Transparency: unchecked Click Image Adjustments Brightness/Contrast
» Dither: None and move the Contrast slider to 100.
» Preview box: checked Click Image Adjustments Brightness/Contrast
» In the Colors field, type in 6 and see if you think and move the Brightness slider to 100.
enough color has been preserved. If not, try 7, then
8, etc., until you’re happy with the representation. 11. Print and mount image.
Don’t exceed 10 since this dictates the number of Print the PBN map out as large as desired and affix
paint colors needed. Click OK. it to a stiff piece of cardboard or mat board using 3M
Spray Mount glue.
To turn this into a kit, put the 10 colors of paint
into labeled vials or small bottles. Toss in a few thin
paintbrushes, and you’ve created a truly one-of-a-
4. Change color mode.
Click Image Mode RGB Color.
5. Smooth areas of color. kind objet d’art waiting to happen!
Click Filter Noise Median. Use the plus and
minus buttons and the grabby hand to get a detailed
part of the photo into the viewer at the top of this
dialog box and set the settings to: Leah Kramer thinks she’s inhaled a little too much glue
» Stroke Detail: 3 over the years because she’s become inordinately attracted
» Softness: 0 to crafts that are clever, ironic, irreverent, and offbeat.
» Move Stroke Size slider to 1 and nudge higher She’s the founder of craftster.org and author of the book
until you get nice smooth areas of color. Click OK. The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts.
