SCREEN PRINTING!!!

We will be creating images today that can be transferred through a silk screening process onto a t-shirt etc!

Here is a short How to Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee_8IMx0uMo

To create your own design we need to make a 2 color image (black and white, no greyscale).

Instructions

1. • 1
     

     Open a photo you wish to use in Adobe Photoshop. I will be using a photograph of a car that I took in Germany.

     *You can use a scanned image, or an image you found on the internet. However make sure you use a higher resolution image for better results. Also check with the owner of any image you use from the internet so you don't infringe on any copyright laws.

   • 2
     Polygon Lasso Tool

     Select the Polygon Lasso Tool from the Toolbox on the left-hand side.

     *there are or coarse more advanced ways to create a selection, but to simplify this tutorial I will use the Polygon Lasso Tool as it is a fairly easy tool to use in Photoshop.

   • 3
     Starting Piont

     In this step I will make a selection of just the car portion of my image since I do not want the background part of this photo in my screen print.

     Find a starting point in the photo and click to activate the Polygon Lasso Tool.

   • 4
     Image Selection

     Now piont any click around your image like you are tracing the image. Once you go completely around the image and get back to your start point. You will notice the Polygon Lasso Tool shows a small circle near where the mouse pointer is. This indicates the starting point and will close your selection when clicked. You will now notice a dashed line outlining what you have selected.

   • 5
     Selection Inverse

     Since I want to delete the background portion of the photo I will need to inverse my selection. Currently I have made a selection of the car in this photograph.

     Go to the top Menu Bar under: Select>Inverse

   • 6
     Inversed Selection of Car in photo

     This does exactly what it implies, it inverses the selection. Now everything except the car is selected.

   • 7
     Deselect

     Now your ready to delete the background portion of this image. Make sure your background color is white and hit the delete button on your keyboard. Your background will turn white.

     To deselect go to the top Menu bar under: Selection>Deselect

   • 8
     Threshold Dialog Box

     This process will prepare your image for a one color screen.

     Next go the top Menu bar under: Image>Adjustments>Threshold

     In the Threshold Panel use the slider to achieve the amount of threshold you would like. Make sure Preview is checked in the Threshold dialog box to see your results. Note that the black parts of the image will be the color of the screen printing paint you choose for your silk screen. Once you get it the way you want click OK.

   • 9
     Save As

     Now go to you top Menu bar under: File>Save As

     This will ensure you are saving your edited image as a different file so you don't save over the original. I usually save to the Desktop so I can easily find my image.