Single Pixel Color Inspiration From Any Photo

If you’re looking for a new way to find color inspiration in your photos, try this simple Photoshop technique to pull out colors from a single pixel line and create some unique color artworks… there are so many vastly different results from the same images depending on where you select the single pixel line. Try it out:

Photoshop Instructions

• Open Any Photo You Want
• Use the Single Row Marquee Tool & Select a Single Pixel Row
• Transform (CTRL+T) & Stretch to Full Height
• Then Use Filter > Artistic > Dry Brush

Here is one I made using fellow AdHacker Nep's Mini Cooper Ad. All I did was take the very bottom pixel row and extended it up using this technique.

If you would like to see more samples, check out this gallery.

Thanks to Kate Trgovac for the great post! visit her blog at mynameiskate.ca.

Example: Applications of Pixel Bars

Okay, so you you made some pretty bars on the screen, now what?

Well you could use it as is and just make it a background fill. But let's use it as a texture to enhance a photo. Turning patterns into texture effects using Photoshop is an easy way to add a different look to your photos. Check out the evolution of this image I created.

I wanted to create an urban hip-hop style stock image for a desktop background, site banner, splash screen, or other application.

I started with a simple image of a brick wall I found using google image search.

I then added this graffiti tag to the wall, also found using google image search.

Just for effect I used a faded black paint brush and added some faded black bars to frame it all up.

Next, I bumped up the saturation (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) and added a faint drop shadow to pop out the tag. You can add the drop shadow by double clicking on the individual layer within your "layers window." From here you can check "drop shadow" and manipulate to your hearts content.

now this is okay as it is, but using the exact same Mini-Cooper inspired green pixel bars above I managed to create this effect.

You can play with the brightness, hue, saturation, layer opacity, and contrast to vary the impact of the effect. Notice how the image below has a much harder contrast in the effect.

To blend in the pixel bars all I did was paste them onto my canvas. Once in place I used my Layers Window (Shortcut F7) to change the blend mode until I found something I liked.(which by default is set to "normal" in the top left hand of the window).

I ended up choosing two. One layer set to "Linear Dodge (add)" and a duplicate above it set to "Overlay" at a 56% opacity. Which gave me the effect you see above.

So there you have it! Experiment with pixel bars as textures and accents. You will find that adding a simple texture to your images will really change the mood and look of them.

And just for fun, here's my final photo, ready to start all over again!