Circuit Board Effect

2007-03-07T02:28:00.001-08:00

Creating the Blocks

First, we'll create convert the image to blocks using a combination of Photoshop filters.

1. Open a photo you would like to edit. We recommend using a high resolution image of at least 1000x1000 pixels. It is also fine to upscale a low resolution image before using this effect.

2. Duplicate the layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J).
3. Activate the top layer and apply a Mosaic filter (Filter> Pixelate> Mosaic) with a cell size of 16 square.
4. Apply a Find Edges filter (Filter> Stylize> Find Edges).
5. Apply a Median filter (Filter> Noise> Median) with a radius of 2 pixels.
6. Apply a Minimum filter (Filter> Other> Minimum) with a radius by 4 pixels.

7. Finally, invert the current layer (Image> Adjustments> Invert or Ctrl+I).

Adding an Outline to the Blocks

Now that we have the blocks created, we'll add a simple outline around them.

1. Duplicate the top layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J) and change the blending mode of the new layer to Screen.

2. Apply a Find Edges filter (Filter> Stylize> Find Edges).

3. Invert the current layer (Image> Adjustments> Invert or Ctrl+I) and the outline should blend into the image. One last thing to do is to reduce the opacity to 25%.

Creating the Connectors

We're almost done with the effect. All we need to do now is add the connectors. This is a simple process using a few Photoshop filters.

1. Duplicate the Background layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J) and move it to the top.
2. Apply a Mosaic filter (Filter> Pixelate> Mosaic) with a cell size of 16 square.

3. Activate the new top layer and apply a Median filter with a radius of 8 pixels.

4. As you might have guessed, we'll now apply a Find Edges filter (Filter> Stylize> Find Edges).

5. Finally, invert the current layer (Image> Adjustments> Invert or Ctrl+I) and change the blending mode to Screen.

Colorizing the Final Results

This step is optional. If you would like to colorize the final results, follow this step:

Add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (Layer> New Adjustment Layer> H ue/Saturation) as the top layer. Checkmark Colorize and apply your desired color settings. Here are the settings I've used for this step:
Colorize: Checked
Hue: 100
Saturation: 100
Lightness: 0

You could also experiment with Antonella Barba's Pics here..haha

Photoshop Tutorials

Circuit Board Effect

Creating the Connectors

Colorizing the Final Results