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Did you know you could turn stock photos into free abstract art?
It takes just a little imagination, a little (and I do mean just a little) tech savvy, and you can create your very own abstract/pattern gallery wall from scratch … and for free!
This tutorial works well with any decor style, too!
TIP: Animal prints for modern glam, textile patterns for boho, farm animals or grains for modern farmhouse, ocean aerials for modern coastal, pipes for industrial, floral or leaf macros for minimalist, etc.
YouTube Tutorial: How to Turn Stock Photos into Free Abstract Art
I created a quick 2-minute tutorial video that shows me finding free stock images and then cropping them in an abstract fashion using the techniques discussed in this blog post.
Keep scrolling down to read the step-by-step process.
Step by Step: How to Turn Stock Photos into Free Abstract Art
Follow along for a brief written-out tutorial.
1. Search for free stock images.
Go to a free stock image site like Unsplash or Pexels and search for images you’re interested in.
For this project, you’ll want to look for something that would look great in abstract or as a pattern. Think: patterned animals like zebras, aerial ocean shots with lots of swirly water, abstract paintings (trust me, there are lots of stock photos of these kinds of things!)
My daughter’s best friend is really into cheetahs and I hear about them all the time. Like, seriously, all the time.
Did you know that cheetahs are the fastest land animal?
See what I mean?
TIP: Animal prints would make an excellent addition to a kid’s safari-themed room.
I downloaded four images that I could imagine cropping in on. Make sure to select the highest resolution image possible, or your final crop could end up too blurry or pixelated.
2. Crop your images to create abstract patterns.
You can easily do this in a program like Photoshop or Canva (a free option that works for casual photo editing).
In Canva, you’ll want to create a new canvas. I chose 5 inches x 5 inches because I want to mat these images inside an 8×10 frame. You can go smaller or larger — larger at your own discretion because these stock images are not huge files and may render blurry, like I mentioned before.
Make sure to go to Adjust to pick the brightness and contrast levels you want. Many of my images were dark, so I brightened them substantially.
Because my subject matter was a furry animal, I was OK with a little softness in the final crop. You’ll have to decide for yourself how crisp you want your art to be.
Download your images as Print PDFs.
3. Print at home! (Or online)
The best part about making our final art 5×5 inches is that you can easily print at home on letter-sized photo paper or cardstock.
TIP: You can also check out my favorite online places to print if you want professional quality printing. And here’s my complete printing guide if you need additional help.
4. Frame & hang.
You can hang in any frames you have lying around. However, if you want to create a cohesive gallery wall, here are my favorite inexpensive frames: black, gold and natural wood.
Lately, I’m really into the vertical hang with a square image either matted to the top or the bottom instead of centered. I love that it’s a little dramatic and unexpected.
To achieve this effect, you’ll need a letter or 8×10 size piece of cardstock. Trim the paper to fit your frame. Then glue or tape your square images atop.
Voila! You’ve got yourself a free abstract gallery wall.
Let me know in the comments if you try this, and what kind of abstract/pattern you created if so! I love to hear from you.
