The Wall Street Journal is a famous daily business newspaper that is widely read by professionals and investors around the world. One of the unique features of this newspaper is the iconography used in its pages, such as the famous hedcut portraits that appear in the “What’s News” section. These portraits are hand-drawn illustrations of people’s faces that are created by a team of skilled artists called the hedcutters.

If you want to create the Wall Street Journal hedcut effect on a photo, you don’t have to be a skilled artist. Instead, you can use some digital tools to apply the effect to your photos. In this article, we will show you how to do it.

Step 1: Choose a photo

The first step is to choose a photo that you want to apply the hedcut effect to. It could be a portrait or any image that includes a person’s face. The goal is to create a black and white illustration of the face, so it’s important to choose an image with good contrast and sharp details.

Step 2: Convert the photo to black and white

The hedcut illustrations are black and white, so you need to convert your photo to a black and white image. You can use any photo editing software to do this, such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP.

In Photoshop, you can use the Black & White adjustment layer to convert your photo to black and white. You can adjust the brightness and contrast of the different colors to create the effect you want.

Step 3: Add more contrast

To create the sharp lines of the hedcut effect, you need to increase the contrast of the image. This will make the highlights brighter and the shadows darker, creating a more dramatic effect.

You can use a Levels adjustment layer to do this in Photoshop. Move the black, white, and gray sliders to adjust the contrast until you get the desired effect.

Step 4: Apply the hedcut effect

Now, it’s time to apply the hedcut effect to the photo. There are several ways to do this, but one of the easiest is to use a filter called “Gaussian Blur” in Photoshop.

Duplicate your black and white image layer and apply the Gaussian Blur filter to the new layer. Set the radius to the size you want for the hedcut dots. Then, change the blend mode of the layer to “Overlay.”

You can adjust the opacity of the new layer to control the intensity of the effect. You can also use the Eraser tool to remove dots from areas where you don’t want them.

Step 5: Add details

Finally, you can add some details to the image to make it look more like a hand-drawn illustration. You can use a white pencil tool to add highlights to the face, or a black pencil tool to add shadows and lines.

You can also use a texture overlay to add some grain and texture to the image, which will give it a more authentic look.

Conclusion

The Wall Street Journal hedcut effect is a unique and iconic style that can add a professional and sophisticated look to your photos. By following these simple steps, you can create your own hedcut portraits and drawings, without the need for any artistic skills. So, if you want to give your images a touch of Wall Street Journal style, give this effect a try!