Okay so I was scrolling through Instagram last week when this Warhol Marilyn Monroe print popped up. Got me thinking - why not try making my own pop art thing with modern female celebrities? Had a free Sunday so figured hey let's do this.
First Steps Were Messy
Started by grabbing three photos of Taylor Swift off Google images. Realized they had totally different lighting and angles. Spent like two hours in Photoshop trying to make them look consistent. Color balancing is such a pain when you're clueless like me.
Found this free Warhol effect filter online but it made everything look like radioactive vomit. Way too neon. Had to adjust:
- Knocked down saturation to like 60%
- Added halftone dots manually on separate layers
- Screwed up the layer order three times before getting it right
My computer crashed right after I finally nailed the color scheme. Almost threw my tablet out the window.
The Printing Nightmare
Took the digital files to OfficeMax for printing. The clerk kept arguing with me about paper weights. Ended up choosing matte because glossy looked like a cheap refrigerator magnet.
Got home and realized:
- All three panels were different sizes
- Blue tones came out way greener than on screen
- Edges got cropped weird during printing
Had to trim them with kitchen scissors. Looked like a toddler did it.
Final Assembly
Used double-sided tape to mount them on cardboard. First attempt left permanent dents in Swift's face. Second try used way too much tape and it leaked through the paper. Third time's the charm?
Hung it in my hallway and stepped back. Looks kinda cool from three feet away but up close you can see all the screw-ups.
Would I do it again? Maybe. But next time I'm just buying a damn poster.
