AT Tech Intervention: "Pencil Sketch" Application

Self Portraits can be a wonderful way for individuals to explore themes of self-image, body image, authentic expression, identity, empowerment...the list goes on!  Portraiture of others can also be a very powerful project for grief work, couple's counseling, and more.  One of the main barriers that comes up for most people around self portraits is the difficulty in wanting it to look a certain way.  For many, drawing is not a forte and that can be frustrating.  Today we're looking at creating a template for self portraits.

Our art therapy tech suggestion?  Picnik's "Pencil Sketch" Application!

Picnik is a free photo editing website that allows you to manipulate images, create collages, and more.  It's got some great applications for starting art projects and we will surely mention it on this blog time and time again.  Without further ado, here is our step-by-step tutorial for creating a self-portrait.

1.  Choose a digital image and upload it to Picnik.  This one was taken using the PhotoBooth application for MacBook.  It's good to choose an image that has relatively high contrast, although you can always edit that on Picnik as well.

2. Click on the "Create" tab on the top and locate the "Pencil Sketch" effect on the left side of the screen.

3. Play around with the "strength", "radius" and "fade" until the image is to your liking.  You can make the lines thick and dark or you can make them very light to go undetected under a pencil drawing or painting.

4.  Save your image and print it out!  You can use image transfer techniques to put this outline on fabric, canvas, or other surfaces.  You could also use it as a template and trace the image, or glue it directly onto the surface you're working on and simply color or paint over it.  There are lots of possibilities for creativity!