DIY Painted Silhouettes

Several of you asked how I did the kids’ silhouettes. I don’t know if this is the right or wrong way, but it worked for me and was pretty easy…

I opted to paint them the old fashioned way instead of doing digital, mainly because that would involve me driving to pick up prints for the second time in 1 weekend. But in the end I think they looked nicer and were still fairly low key… I started them Sunday afternoon and they were on the wall by dinnertime.

Supplies I used…

• camera (I totally used my phone), computer, and printer
• pencil
• canvas paper
• acrylic paint
• paint brushes
• fine tip Sharpie
• frame

 

1. Take profile pictures. I got a great one of Knox, but Hadley was a lot trickier because she is NEVER still. I took about 10 of each of them and picked the best ones.

2. Resize pictures on a computer to fit your frame size and print them out. I used 8x10 oval frames ($10 at Michael’s after sale and coupons). I played with the sizes until I got them how I wanted, and I tried to keep them both proportional. (ie. Hadley’s silhouette is a little smaller since her head is smaller in real life.)

3. Shade the back of the picture with a pencil.

Tape the picture to the paper/canvas you will be painting and trace the outline with the pencil. If you’re not familiar with this technique, the tracing will transfer on to the bottom surface.

It will be pretty light, so I went back over it with my pencil to define the edges. I used the paper insert of the oval frame to trace a curved bottom. (Anything with a curved edge would do.)

4. Paint!

I chose “Neutral Gray” and notice the paper…

It’s the same heavyweight texture of a canvas (just not mounted) so it looks nicer.

Use a fine-tip brush to outline first. Then use a wider brush to smooth out the edges and fill it in. Let dry.

5. Cut silhouette to fit frame…

Since mine were going in oval frames I used the glass to trace the shape around the silhouettes. (I actually cut them out after I finished the lettering below...)

6. Create lettering on the computer, size as desired, and print out.

  

Use the same pencil-shading technique to transfer the lettering to the silhouette, then trace over the transfer with a fine tip Sharpie.

Place in frames, and there you have it!