Step 1: Clean the image.

First, use the Crop tool to define the area of the stencil, click and drag the box, then double click the inside.

Using the Erase Tool , erase any part that you don’t want in the stencil. It’s a good idea to zoom in for this.

 

Step 2. Adjust the Contrast.

For this image, the shorts for Muhammad Ali are just too bright, so I selected them and (using Image> Adjust Brightness and Contrast) brought down the brightness and brought up the contrast.

Then, I unselected the shorts and adjusted the brightness/contrast for the entire image. You don’t want to do 100% contrast just yet. (Brightness -29, Contrast +80)

Step 3. Convert the file and set layers

Go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. If it asks to Flatten The Image, don’t do it at this time.

With the image in grayscale, go to Filter>Artistic>Cutout.

Depending on how many layers you want, this is where you edit it. We only want 3 layers.

To make it easier to cutout, we only need an Edge Fidelity of 1 and an Edge Simplicity of 2.

We now have our image down to only 3 colors, next we need to create stencils for each of those colors, Black, Gray and White..

Step 4. Create the Black Layer.

At this point, we should save our File as a .PSD or photoshop format. After you have saved the file go to Layer>Flatten Image. Now, save this file as the black layer. You can also save this as a .JPG.

Select the Magic Wand Tool and select the Areas outside the body (The areas you erased before). Tip: Hold down the SHIFT key to select multiple areas.

After you’ve selected the outside areas, go to Select>Inverse. Now, go to Edit>Fill (Shift+F5). Select Black from the Pulldown menu and Hit OK.

You now have your Black Layer.

Re-Save. If you want to save ink, add the outline filter. Go to Filter>Stylize>Find Edges. Re-Save. DOWNLOAD THE BLACK LAYER

Step 5. Create the Gray Layer

Re-Open the .PSD image you saved earlier. Flatten the Image (Layer>Flatten Image) and Save the image as

gray.JPG. First, Use the Eye-Dropper Too l, and select a Gray Part of the image. This sets the

Foreground color as Grey. Now, Using the Magic Wand Tool , select a White area (The Tolerance should be around 25). Now, right click and select “Similar”.

This selects everything that is white. Now, Hold down the Alt key and dis-select the area outside of the body (and in between the legs). We want to fill all the white areas of inside his body so they are Gray. So go to Edit>Fill> and in the Dropdown Menu, select Foreground Color and hit OK.

Now, select the Magic Wand Tool again, adjust the tolerance to 50. Select a Black area, the right click and select “Similar”. Now go to Edit>Fill and select White from the Menu. Click in a blank area to disselect. Now go to Image>Adjust>Brightness and Contrast, Move the Contrast Slider up to 100%. And the Brightness one to around 25%. As you notice there is a lot of thin strips of black and also some “Islands” of white. We don’t want any white areas completely surrounded by black, we have to use the Eraser Tool and clean these areas up, as well as the thin strips of black.

Some Islands may be too far away to draw a line to, just ignore these for now. After you’ve cleaned the image up a bit, use the Magic Wand tool and select a white area. Right click>Select Inverse. Go to Edit>Fill and fill the area in with Black. Click in a Blank area to deselect. Re-Save the Image.

Save ink and create the outlines…. Filter>Stylize>Find Edges. Re-Save. DOWNLOAD THE GRAY LAYER

Step 6. Create the White Layer.

Re-Open the .PSD image you saved earlier. Flatten the Image (Layer>Flatten Image) and Save the image as white.JPG. Use the Magic Wand tool, and select the area outside of the body, and fill this image with the Gray Foreground.

Now, use the Magic Wand to select some of the black, right click>select Similar. Fill this selection with the Gray Foreground as well.

Next, use the Magic Wand and select the white area, right click>Select Similar. Go to Edit>Fill and fill it with Black.

Next, go to Selection>Inverse and Edit>Fill and fill it with White. Click in a blank area to deselect. Just as we did in the previous step, we DON’T want any white islands, so use the Eraser tool and connect them with other white areas so that everything that’s white flows into each other. If the island is way-out in a sea of black, then just leave it alone. REFER to Step 5. After you’ve cleaned the image, Adjust the Brightness & Contrast and move both sliders to 100%.

Re-Save. And to Find the Outlines… Filter>Stylize>Find Edges. Re-Save. DOWNLOAD THE WHITE LAYER

Step 7. Layer the stencils to create the Multi-Layer Stencil.

Now you have 3 separate stencils. The Black is the Bottom Layer, the Gray is the second Layer, and the White is the Top Highlight Layer.

You should allow 15-20 minutes for each layer to dry before adding the next one. Spray Paint the Stencils on a Different Color Background to give it that Pop-Art Look.