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With just two dials and some aluminum powder, George Vlosich III creates works of art with Ohio Art’s classic baby boom toy, the Etch A Sketch. For those of us, however, who can only manage a really nice set of stairs, we have a solution. Our Etch A Sketch Picture Frame tutorial will show you how to turn an ordinary Etch A Sketch into a kitschy picture frame in no time flat. We’ll even show you how to transform your photos so they’ll look like you spent hours twiddling those white knobs to scratch ‘em out. Read on to learn how! p.s. A reminder: We’re looking for awesome photo submissions for an upcoming photo notebook tutorial. Submit your photos to our Flickr group!
Many of us spent hours of our childhood hunched over a gray, unyielding screen, turning small plastic knobs in frustration. Some of us achieved Etch A Sketch nirvana: barely recognizable shapes, not-entirely jagged curves, a work that suggested the artist had undergone serious surgery only minutes prior and was still recovering from the effects of heavy sedation. The rest of us gave up early and settled down to a bowl of sugary cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. Whichever camp you belonged to, we think you’ll enjoy this tutorial. The Etch A Sketch frame looks great anywhere, makes a great gift, and will help you exact lasting revenge on Arthur Granjean’s draconian invention. The Ingredients
Step 1: Pick Your Photo
For this technique, images with strong foreground elements and less background details / textures work best. Also, look for photos with high contrast and simple lines. Photo Credit: Daniel Weisser
Step 2: Give Your Photo the Etch-A-Sketch Look
The first step is to make your photo black and white. Click “Image” –> “Mode” –> “Greyscale” from the menubar to get rid of the color. Now lets make it sketchy. Select “Filter” –> “Filter Gallery” from the menubar. In the window that pops up, select the “Sketch” filters and look for the one called “Photocopy”. For the settings, we used Detail: 4 and Darkness: 10. Now you need to give the image a gray tint to mimic the aluminum powder. Create a new layer by selecting “Layer” –> “New” –> “Layer…” form the menubar. Fill that layer with a medium gray (we used #999999) using the Paint Bucket tool. In the layers window, change the Overlay setting for your new gray layer to “Multiply” and then adjust the Opacity until it looks Etch-A-Sketchy grey (we found 30% looked about right.) The last step is to take away the shades of gray by applying a threshold to your photo. Click “Image” –> “Adjustments” –> “Threshold…” from the menubar. We used a Threshold value of 128. That’s it! Now just print your image, cut it to 7″x5″, and you’re ready for the next step!
Step 3: Slide the Photo in
Work the image in a little bit at a time and be gentle so you don’t wrinkle your photo.
Step 4: Frame It!
Alternatively, use the easel stand from a tabletop frame and attach it using glue or tape so that the Etch A Sketch can stand on its own as in the picture at right. Wait for your glue to set, hang, stand, and enjoy! What Next?
You can also try printing your final photo onto a transparency at a copy shop instead of photo paper. That way, you’ll still be able to use the etch a sketch to add real lines to your photo using, you know, the knobs. More ideas…
→ See more Photo projects, DIY ideas, and Gear ← → Get it all free: Subscribe by email or RSS ← Turn your photos into a custom sketch: The best $1 you will ever spend Photojojo’s Father’s Day Gift Guide 2008 FlipClips — Print Your Short Videos into Magical Flipbooks |
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[...] Posted on April 17th, 2007. This is beyond awesome. I’m going to have to try this. It’s a picture frame created with an Etch-a-Sketch and a digital photo, slightly manipulated in Photoshop (or GIMP, for me). It would be great for a candid shot of the kids! [...]
Pingback by Must-try « Jill’s Place — April 17, 2007 @ 10:20 am
[...] Grat way to umm… cheat use your ititiative with an etch-a-sketchread more | digg story [...]
Pingback by cullen-online blog » DIY Etch-a-Sketch Picture Frame - Just 15 Minutes! — April 17, 2007 @ 3:35 pm
[...] Kitschy frame is easy to make and looks cool. This Photojojo tutorial also shows you how to use Photoshop filters to make your photo look like it was drawn on an Etch-a-Sketch!read more | digg story [...]
Pingback by blackroses » DIY Etch-a-Sketch Picture Frame - Just 15 Minutes! — April 17, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
[...] Ah … the memories. Every red blooded american child grew up with an Etch-A-Sketch (or at least your friend had one). We spent hours on Saturdays turning the little knobs trying to create interesting shapes and patterns. Nowadays, if you haven’t passed on the magic to children of your own, your Etch-A-Sketch has probably been relegated to the Attic or worse. Well it’s time to pull it out for one last art job. Our friends over at Photojojo show how to turn your Etch-A-Sketch into a kitschy picture frame in just minutes. Their tutorial is complete with a photoshop how-to on making your photo look like a sketch. [...]
Pingback by DIY:happy » Etch-A-Sketch Picture Frame — April 17, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
[...] I admire those people who can do ANYTHING more with them. Like our newsletter piece today, which even I can manage, or Reader Trish’s Etch-a-Sketch calendar. [...]
Pingback by Photojojo Blog » Etch-a-Masterpiece — April 17, 2007 @ 5:13 pm
[...] [...]
Pingback by What My Girlfriend Wants — April 17, 2007 @ 6:50 pm
[...] Ah … the memories. Every red blooded american child grew up with an Etch-A-Sketch (or at least your friend had one). We spent hours on Saturdays turning the little knobs trying to create interesting shapes and patterns. Nowadays, if you haven’t passed on the magic to children of your own, your Etch-A-Sketch has probably been relegated to the Attic or worse. Well it’s time to pull it out for one last art job. Our friends over at Photojojo show how to turn your Etch-A-Sketch into a kitschy picture frame in just minutes. Their tutorial is complete with a photoshop how-to on making your photo look like a sketch. [...]
Pingback by iDiy.mobi » Etch-A-Sketch Picture Frame — April 17, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
[...] Trader Joe’s Fan looks to be a welcome resource for those of us who belong to the Joe cult… Tim O’Reilly’s new Blogger Code of Conduct is a hot topic lately. I am not sure how I stand on it. Teresa Nielsen-Hayden made some good points, and O’Reilly will be the guest on tomorrow’s edition of the show that pissed me off today. I look forward to hearing what he has to say - anyone out there want to chuck your two cents at me?… I realize that this is ill-timed, but I cannot help myself: I desperately want one of these pillows… This framing idea makes me want to hit the resale shops for old Etch-a-Sketches… My great uncle Stevie is going to be singing at this mass. If anyone is going to be in the area, I’d pay for a good video recording… This site sells unpainted nesting dolls. Any of you artser-fartsers wanna try making something out of them?… I realize that the ellipses after question marks is incorrect, but it is my blog, so nyah. Post a comment | Trackback URI [...]
Pingback by Closing Tabs, Etc. < Just Kristin — April 17, 2007 @ 11:38 pm
[...] It’s hard to forget the crushing delight of turning the knobs on an Etch A Sketch for the first time. So, my heart beat a little faster when I discovered Photojojo’s tutorial on how to transform the magic screen into a picture frame. The trick is to convert a digital picture into an etch-like image in Photoshop, then place it on top of the screen. It made me want to buy a truckload of the tablets–which now come in all sizes, from the classic 7×5 to keychain-sized minis–and customize them for friends. Even if your urbane sensibilities reject this kind of kitsch, you’ll be interested to read about the history of Ohio Art’s breakout toy, a late 1950s basement invention by the Frenchman Arthur Granjean that he called “L’Ecran Magique” or, “The Magic Screen” (thanks MIT!). And if you can’t come up with your own art, there’s always the Etch A Sketch flickr group. [...]
Pingback by ReadyMade Blog » Blog Archive » The Drawing Board — April 19, 2007 @ 2:51 am
[...] And here is a fancy pantsy robot that can outdraw you on a childhood toy. I had just been thinking if a robot could be built to turn the knobs on an Etch A Sketch, and then on Digg a commenter led me to the answer. [...]
Pingback by Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy » Blog Archive » Robot that slices and dices brains — April 20, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
[...] Turn an ordinary Etch A Sketch into a kitschy picture frame. [...]
Pingback by the new shelton wet/dry — April 22, 2007 @ 4:21 am
[...] Turn an Etch-a-Sketch into a Kitschy Picture Frame in Just a Few Minutes - title says it all, except these are so cute! [...]
Pingback by Bohemian Revolution » Blog Archive » Craft Project Roundup — April 23, 2007 @ 5:44 am
[...] Like how to turn an Etch-A-Sketch into a photo frame. Or create photo cupcakes. Or build video panoramas. [...]
Pingback by Amit Gupta Gives Photographers Strange Ideas At Photojojo | Photopreneur Blog — May 1, 2007 @ 8:54 am
[...] Photo frames are great for showing of some of your favourite moments but too many photo farmes can be quite boring. So why not spice it up a bit and add a Etch-a-Sketch Frame. Photojojo has a cool tutorial on how you can make your own Kitschy Etch-a-Sketch Picture Frame in 4 simple steps. Perfect addition if your looking for something to add to your retro style room. [...]
Pingback by DIY Etch-a-Sketch Frame by Urban Retro Lifestyle — May 19, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
[...] photojojo.com [...]
Pingback by Admit One / mental gymnasium » etch-a-sketch picture frame — June 6, 2007 @ 8:46 am
[...] All you need is an Etch A Sketch and some very modest Photoshop chops. Apply a Sketch filter to your to-be-sketched image, tint the image to an Etch A Sketch gray, print it out and shove that baby into your toy. What you get in the end is a retro-ish picture frame that you can swap new pics in and out of any time. — Adam Pash Turn an Etch-a-Sketch into a Kitschy Picture Frame in Just a Few Minutes [Photojojo] [...]
Pingback by » Turn an Etch A Sketch into a picture frame blog-technology.info: — June 21, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
[...] Photojojo » Turn an Etch-a-Sketch into a Kitschy Picture Frame in Just a Few Minutes [...]
Pingback by links for 2007-05-13 | After The Dot Net — September 18, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
Pingback by Design Pilez » DIY Etch-a-Sketch Picture Frame - Just 15 Minutes! — November 3, 2007 @ 10:14 am
[...] up your favorite baby picture and make an Etch-a-Sketch frame for it. Maybe if you tell him you drew it yourself, he’ll act like he believes [...]
Pingback by Photojojo » Photojojo’s Father’s Day Gift Guide 2008 — February 16, 2009 @ 5:57 pm