7/9

CMYK Photo Dissection Display

Budget: $$, D.I.Y. Project, One Day Project, Photoshop, Renter Friendly, Sponsored
By Josh Rhodes

CMYK Photo Dissection Display on A Beautiful MessI'm excited about this post, because it is so easy for you make your own project! I got the idea thinking about screen printing and how I like the look of the transparencies the printers make for their screens. I have always liked the way CMYK looks separated. So we teamed up with Canon USA to combine my love for CMYK, the look of overlapping transparent images, working with Photoshop, and cutting things with X-Acto knives—what more could you ask for? I love the dimension that this process gives an image. It feels 3D. A still photo of it almost can't capture how cool it is, so we made a gif. I really hope you guys try it out.

CMYKsplit flower in window (click through for more)Supplies: 
-transparency paper (I used these)
-regular printer paper
-shadow box frame
-foam core board

Tools:
-Canon PIXMA iP8720 Printer 
-camera/smartphone
-Photoshop
-scissors/ X-Acto knife
-ruler
-cutting surface

Step One: Take a picture.  For this project, try to stick with minimal subject matter. Cluttered images don't translate very well and get all "smudgy" looking. You can experiment with all kinds of different images.

Step Two: Upload photo to your computer, then watch this video for a quick Photoshop tutorial:

Here are the steps I go through in the video:

  1. Upload image
  2. Convert image to CMYK (Image > Mode > CMYK Color)
  3. Change size to print size (Image > Image Size)
  4. Split channels (click Channels tab > click Split Channels)
  5. Convert grayscale images to CMYK
  6. Adjust hue and saturation (click Layers tab > Create new fill or adjustment layer button > Hue/Saturation > check Colorize > drag Saturation all the way to right > choose color for that image)
  7. Flatten Image 
  8. Apply halftone pattern (Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone > enter 5 for Max Radius > enter 45 for all Screen Angles)

Step Three: We printed ours on the PIXMA iP8720 printer, Canon's new large-format printer. Super easy to use, not as much of a budget commitment as the PRO-100, and it syncs with the Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions App. Remember to keep the filmy/printable side of the transparency facing up when using this printer.

CMYKsplit printing (click through for more)Step Four: Cut transparencies to fit your shadow box. Cut poster board to fit in shadow box (you'll need six poster board frames total). The poster board not only frames the images but provides a buffer between them, giving the desired dimension and cool 3Dish effect. Cut a piece of printer paper to put in the very back; this eliminates some glare coming in from the back but still allows light to come through.

CMYKsplit cutting transperencies (click through for more)CMYKsplit cutting transperencies (click through for more)Step Five: Mount and hang. We found that some images seem to glow if placed in front of a window.

CMYK-building-a-frameCMYKsplit Imogen (click through for more)CMYKsplit flower in window (click through for more)CMYKsplit flower in window (click through for more)The only way to really see how neat these look is in person. So give it a shot; have fun with it! If you end up doing this project, take a picture and share a link to it in the comments below—I wanna see! -Josh

Credits // Author: Josh Rhodes. Photos: Sarah Rhodes. Photos edited with Petal from the Fresh Collection. 

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