How to Turn an Image into a Silhouette in Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator

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The best ways to turn a picture into a silhouette
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Do you have an image you want to turn into a silhouette? You can make a silhouette easily in Adobe Photoshop using the Quick Selection tool or the Pen tool. If you have Lightroom, you can use it to make a silhouette in a few simple steps. You can also make a vector silhouette in Adobe Illustrator. Read on to learn all the ways to create a silhouette in Photoshop and other Adobe applications.

Create a Silhouette in Photoshop

Open your image in Photoshop and press W to activate the Quick Selection tool. Select the object you want to turn into a silhouette, and you'll see marching ants outline it (a blinking dashed line). Adjust the hue and saturation to adjust it.

Section 1 of 4:

Using Photoshop (Quick Selection Tool)

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  1. This method is perfect for simple, easy images where the subject is clearly separated from the background. If the object you're silhouetting is a very different color, has some distance, or is just easy to separate, this method will work perfectly.
  2. To do so, right-click on the layer and select "Duplicate." You can also click on "Layer" → "Duplicate Layer" from the top bar, or press ⌘ Cmd + J or Ctrl+J.
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  3. For more precise work, you'll need to refine this selection, but for a basic silhouette, you should be able to quickly click and drag the Quick Selection Tool over the image to select the object. If you can't find the Quick Selection tool, it should be the fourth button down from the toolbar, and you may have to click and hold on the "Magic Wand" to reveal it. For even more control:
    • Hold either Alt or ⌥ Opt while clicking to remove parts of your selection.
    • Use the two [ and ] keys to make your selection tool bigger or smaller, making it less or more precise.
    • Switch to the Magic Want to quickly select all pixels of similar colors. Ctrl-Click to add selection, and alt-click to subtract it.
  4. With your selection still on, click on "Image" → "Adjustments" → "Hue and Saturation." You can also get to this menu by:
    • Selection "Hue and Saturation" from the Adjustment's panel, usually right above your layers panel.
    • Pressing either ⌘ Cmd + U or Ctrl + U [1]
  5. Take the Hue and Saturation sliders to "0," and the lightness to "-100," and then hit OK . Your image should be silhouetted, or, at least, much darker. If the silhouette is too light the first time, just open the Hue/Saturation options again and do it once more. You can keep lowering lightness until you have your silhouette. [2]
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Section 2 of 4:

Using Photoshop (Other Tools)

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  1. To make a professional-quality silhouette, you'll need to take time to effectively select the object you're silhouetting. Since some of these techniques require deleting or altering the original image, it is best to just duplicate the layer now and leave the original with its little padlock, preventing you from ruining it.
    • To duplicate a layer, right-click or control-click it in the layers panel, then select Duplicate Layer…
  2. Use the Pen Tool (P) for the most exact outlines to make silhouettes. The Pen tool is, in many ways, Photoshop's most powerful tool, though it takes getting used to. Select it from the menu, or press P, then click to create little points around your outline. When you complete the entire selection, you'll have a "Path," or solid line around your entire image. When done, simply right-click or control-click on the path and choose Make Selection .
    • If you're working with a very curvy shape, try the "Free Form Pen Tool," found by clicking and holding the Pen Tool in the toolbox.
    • The pen tool is perfectly precise, but only if you know how to handle it. Take some time to experiment with it, especially with curves. It will trace the best shape for you, with practice.
    • Alternatively, use the Magic Wand ( W ) tool to separate a simple 1-2 color background. For example, say you've got a woman standing against a mostly blue sky, and you want to silhouette her. Instead of selecting her, you can select the sky behind her, removing it from the layer. Simply use the Magic Wand to select the background, then delete it away to leave just the silhouetted object.
    • Change the tolerance at the top bar to make the Wand more or less precise. A higher number (75-100) selected a wider range of colors, while a low tolerance (like 1-10) will only select very similarly colored pixels. [3]
  3. If you have an isolated object you want to silhouette, and it's already in its own dedicated layer, Photoshop will trace it for you. Hold the Ctrl or ⌘ Cmd key and click the little picture of the layer -- your selection edge will appear automatically. [4]
  4. This menu is a powerful tool to make subtle changes to your selection. Open it up through Selection → Refine Edge . From there, you have a variety of options:
    • Radius: Allows you to shrink the edge of the selection.
    • Smooth: Rounds and smooths out points and corners.
    • Feather: Blurs the edges of everything.
    • Contrast: Makes the selection more pointed and sharp -- the inverse of "smoothing."
    • Shift Edge: Grows or shrinks the selection by percentage. [5]
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Section 3 of 4:

Using Photoshop Lightroom

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  1. 1
    Open your photo in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. If you use Lightroom, you can make a silhouette from an image using Automask.
    • Use this method if you have access to Adobe Lightroom.
  2. 2
    Click the masking icon. It's in the tool window on the right side of your screen under the "Histogram" chart.
  3. 3
    Click Objects . You'll see it under the "Add New Mask" header.
  4. 4
    Click the brush icon next to "Mode." This will allow you to brush over the area you want to select, and AI will cover the area you've painted.
    • You can use the Rectangle tool to draw the shape over your object, which is great if you have a background that's easily recognized from the shape you're highlighting. This isn't great if the object in the foreground has a lot of little pieces (like feathers or hair).
  5. 5
    Brush over the object or shape you want to make a silhouette from. The mask will be created when you let go of the mouse button.
    • Press [ to make the brush bigger.
    • Press ] to make the brush smaller.
  6. 6
    Click Subtract in the "Mask" window. After you create the new mask in the previous steps, you will see a new window appear in the top right corner called "Masks."
    • Clicking "Subtract" will prompt another window to drop down.
  7. 7
    Click Brush and make sure "Auto Mask" is enabled. You'll see the toggle for "Auto Mask" below the "Histogram" chart in the Brush section.
    • By default, the brush will show the Subtraction Mode (indicated by a minus sign inside the brush crosshairs).
    • Reverse this by pressing Alt on Windows or ⌥ Option on Mac.
  8. 8
    Brush to subtract or add to your mask. Ensure the crosshairs (a minus for subtract or a plus sign for add) are over the colors you want to add to your silhouette (the software groups similar colors together).
    • Use [ and ] to change the brush size.
    • Make fine adjustments using the sliders in the Brush section.
      • Sliding Flow to 100 applies the brush effect quickly. Set Feather to 0 for a sharper image.
  9. 9
    Darken the shape. Using the sliders on the right side of your screen, adjust how you want the silhouette to appear. Here's an example:
    • Exposure: -4.00
    • Highlights: -100
    • Shadows: -100
    • Blacks: -100 [6]
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Section 4 of 4:

Creating a Vector Silhouette

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  1. Use vector silhouettes if you want to adjust, grow, shrink, or export your silhouettes without losing quality. Vectors can be easily rescaled without losing image quality. If you're using the silhouette professionally or just want a more versatile final image, this is the way to go. [7]
    • Adobe Illustrator uses vectors almost exclusively. If you are using Illustrator, skip the quick route and use this method.
  2. If you've duplicated the layer already to ensure that you don't ruin the original image, you should be fine. Just make sure you have a second layer to work with above your original image. To create a new layer, press ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+N or Ctrl+⇧ Shift+N.
  3. Choose the Pen Tool ( P ) from the toolbar. In the menu that appears at the top of Photoshop, find the small drop-down menu that says "Path." It should be to the top right of the screen, but only when the Pen Tool is on. Change this menu to say Shape .
  4. Taking your time, trace out the shape of your silhouette. To make things easier to see, lower the opacity of the new layer you're working on by changing "Opacity" from the top of the layers panel.
  5. Once you return to the starting point your dots should disappear, and the shape will form in front of you. Raise the opacity back up to 100% to see your silhouette.
  6. Click and drag the silhouette into its own image, to Illustrator, or leave it to finish your silhouette. Once this shape is made, you can do anything with it that you might normally do. If you want to isolate it so your image is only the silhouette, either delete the layers below it or click and drag the image to a new Photoshop document.
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      • Instead of the magic wand or polygonal lasso use the pen tool. It will give your image a smooth edge instead of a bumpy one.
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      References

      1. ↑ http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2013/02/photoshop-tutorial-making-a-silhouette/
      2. ↑ http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2013/02/photoshop-tutorial-making-a-silhouette/
      3. ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/making-quick-selections.html
      4. ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/selecting-grouping-linking-layers.html
      5. ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/layer-styles.html
      6. ↑ https://www.adobe.com/learn/lightroom-cc/web/photograph-silhouette-graphics
      7. ↑ http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2013/02/photoshop-tutorial-making-a-silhouette/

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