Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. I'm going to show you how to transform a photo
of someone into a fun, colorful Lego portrait. You can apply this effect to virtually anyone.
Open a photo that you'd like to use. I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.com. The first
step is to convert it into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
Click the icon at the upper, right of the Layers panel and click "Convert to Smart Object".
You know it's a Smart Object when the thumbnail has this icon. If you want to crop your photo,
open your Rectangular Marquee Tool and drag a selection across the area of your image
that you'd like to keep. Then, go to Image and Crop.
To deselect it, press Ctrl or Cmd + D.
To get the best results, we need to adjust the size and resolution of the image.
Go to Image and Image Size.
Make its Resolution: 72 pixels per inch and its Height: 2000 pixels.
The width will automatically default to another amount, since its linked to the Height. Then,
click OK. To make sure the entire image fits onto your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0. Even
though the Smart Object is cropped, remember the original photo is still intact. To see
the original photo, just double-click the thumbnail of the Smart Object to open it.
To close it, click the small "x" on its tab.
Go to Filter, Pixelate and Mosaic.
Make the Cell Size: 50 pixels square and click OK.
Next, we'll create the shape that we'll use
to build the Lego pattern.
Go to File and New. Make the Width and Height: 50 pixels
each, since that size is the same as the cell size of the mosaic. Then, click OK.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + 0 to fit it onto your screen. Fill it with 50% grey. To do this, press Shift
+ F5 key at the the top of your keyboard to open the Fill window. Choose 50% grey and
click OK. Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Open your Elliptical marquee Tool,
go to the center and press and hold Alt or Option + Shift as you drag out a circle
approximately this size. Fill the selection with a color. It doesn't matter what color
it is, since won't be actually using the color. I'll press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete to fill it
with the background color, which is white. Then, deselect it. To make sure the circle
is centered on your document, open your Move Tool, press Ctrl or Cmd + A to select it all
and then click the "Align Horizontal Centers" icon and the the "Align Vertical Centers" icon.
Then, deselect it. Double-click the thumbnail of the circle to open its Layer
Style window. Reduce its Fill Opacity to 0%. This makes the circle, itself, invisible,
however, this won't effect any other Layer Style effects that we add to the circle. Click
"Bevel & Emboss". Keep the Structure at their default settings. Change the Angle to 90 degrees
and the Shadow opacity to 50%. Click "Drop Shadow". Make the Opacity: 70%, the Distance:
3 pixels and the Size: 4 pixels. Then, click OK.
Click on the lock icon to unlock the grey
background and double-click the thumbnail to open its Layer Style window. Click "Bevel
& Emboss". Make the Size: 4 pixels and the Shadow opacity: 50%. Then, click OK.
Go to Edit and "Define Pattern". We'll name it "Lego" and click OK or press Enter or Return.
Click the tab of the Lego file to open it. Click the Adjustment layer icon and click "Pattern".
The Pattern Fill window will open showing the most recent pattern you saved.
Click OK.
Change the Blend Mode to "Linear Light".
Click the Adjustment layer icon again and this time, choose "Posterize".
Make the Levels anywhere between 4 to 8.
I'll make mine: 8.
Since Legos are brightly colored, let's increase the color saturation.
Click the Adjustment layer icon and click "Hue/Saturation".
Increase the saturation to an amount that looks good to you.
Lastly, drag the Pattern Adjustment layer to the top of the Layers
panel. We're doing this is so that the Pattern won't be effected by the other adjustment
layers. As I toggle back-and -forth, you can see the difference.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!