Turn a photo into an illustration

[JABTE05]

What is the easiest way to make a photo look as if it were drawn? I've seen Terrie's work, which is amazing, but I don't have the time or ability to really draw the image(s) from scratch like that. Is there an easy way to make a photo look somewhat like an illustration quickly and easily?

[ElyseC]

What is the easiest way to make a photo look as if it were drawn? I've seen Terrie's work, which is amazing, but I don't have the time or ability to really draw the image(s) from scratch like that. Is there an easy way to make a photo look somewhat like an illustration quickly and easily?The filters that come with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements create such effects (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac/overview.html#kmh2). Have you access to either of those two applications to try them out?

When you get to the page in the link above (for Photoshop Elements), about 3/4 of the way down the page is the subhead "Simulate painting" with small examples of some artistic effects you can use.

[JABTE05]

I have Photoshop CS. I tried the cutout filter earlier, which seems to work the best; I'm just not completely thrilled.

[ElyseC]

I have Photoshop CS. I tried the cutout filter earlier, which seems to work the best; I'm just not completely thrilled.Ah. Well, maybe one of the third-party filter collections would. I don't own any currently (used to long ago, but never upgraded them as I upgraded Photoshop), but others here have much experience with several such collections; perhaps one of them will chime in here with recommendations.

[Andrew B.]

Is there an easy way to make a photo look somewhat like an illustration quickly and easily?Getting a picture to the level of "somewhat like an illustration" can be quick and easy, depending on the photo. Getting it to a level where it looks as good as an illustration is not easy.

In Photoshop, the best candidates for quick and easy are Cutout (which you already discovered), Photocopy, and Poster Edges. There are also some third party plugins, with the notable one being Sketch Master (http://www.redfieldplugins.com/filterSketchMaster.htm).

Beyond that, you can check out a beginner tutorial I wrote about edge-based sketch effects here (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5852). You have to join to be able to see the images that go with the lesson. And if you want to go beyond that, or even get into painted styles, the best places to read and practice are the Innographx forum (http://innographx.com/forum/) and Retouch Pro (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/) photo art communities.

[terrie]

>>jabte05: What is the easiest way to make a photo look as if it were drawn?

Do you have Painter or are you working solely in Photoshop?


>>I've seen Terrie's work, which is amazing,

Thank you very much...'-}}


>>but I don't have the time or ability to really draw the image(s) from scratch like that.

Let me know if you have Painter and I can give you some suggestions...

Also...do you have a graphics tablet? If not, getting one would help you immensely because trying to do some of this stuff with a mouse is just really nasty...'-}}

Terrie

[LoisWakeman]

I found this article on PhotoSIG that might be what you wanted: I am not sure if you have to register (free) to see it though.

http://www.photosig.com/articles/1441/article (http://www.photosig.com/articles/1441/article)

[ukdesign]

I read this thread a couple of days ago and came across this today and thought it might help. It's an interesting read...

http://photoshoptechniques.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7218&page=1&pp=10

[JABTE05]

Do you have Painter or are you working solely in Photoshop?

Nope. But I've got Illustrator if that helps.


Also...do you have a graphics tablet?


No again. Eek!

[terrie]

>>jabte05: No again. Eek!

You really should look into getting one...probably the least expensive route would be a Wacom Graphire (http://www.wacom.com/graphire/index.cfm) ...I'd go with the 6x8 myself (I have a Wacom Intuos 2 6x8).

A tablet just makes life easier...'-}}

I had a thought the other day about what you are looking for...don't know why I didn't think of it before...

Take a look at http://tlbtlb.com/tlbimages/beau.html

If you scroll down the page a bit, you'll see a brief discussion of using Photoshop's Smart Blur filter with the "edge only" option...this might be what you are looking for...

Unfortunately the web page I reference is no longer active but he does have a number of books out..."50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764536729/qid=1119290205/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-4990192-4934442?v=glance&s=books) might cover using Smart Blur...

As I remember this technique can be a bit tricky...

if I'm remembering correctly, I *think* that it presents the output as white "sketch lines" on a black background and what I did was:

1. Use the magic wand to select all the black

2. Inverse the selection to get the white "sketch lines"

3. Save the selection.

4. Inversed it again, backspaced to delete the black.

5. Load the saved selection (the white "sketch lines") and used the paint bucket tool to fill the selection with black so I ended up with black sketch lines on a transparent background.


Terrie

[JABTE05]

Thanks, Terrie. That's pretty easy. I do want to keep the pictures in color, though. But I will definitely keep that technique in mind for future projects.

[terrie]

>>jabte05: I do want to keep the pictures in color, though. But I will definitely keep that technique in mind for future projects.


You could use the color picker to pick colors from the original image and then either Edit > Stroke or use the paintbucket tool to color as you might like...

Terrie

[JABTE05]

>>You could use the color picker to pick colors from the original image and then either Edit > Stroke or use the paintbucket tool to color as you might like...

Terrie


That's true. Some of the photos are pretty involved for the amount of time I want to spend on this project. I might give it a whirl if I get more motivation. Actually, if I did it your way and add some color into it it definitely would look more like a drawing than using the poster edges and cutout filters like I've been. Thanks, Terrie.

[terrie]

>>jabte05: Actually, if I did it your way and add some color into it it definitely would look more like a drawing than using the poster edges and cutout filters like I've been.

Yeah...

You might also play with dup'ing the layer, doing Smart Blur (using the steps I outlined) and then playing with the layer opacity and/or blend modes...also play with which layer is on top--smart blur above original or original above smart blur...

If you get around to ordering a tablet, the Graphire comes with a version of Painter...I'm not sure what tools are available with that version but the full version of Painter has a sketch and also a woodcut options...

Terrie

[JABTE05]

I think I may have found another good answer to my question. If anyone's interested, check out this site: http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/drawing/index.html

[terrie]

>>jabete05: http://www.graphic-design.com/Photo...wing/index.html (http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/drawing/index.html)

Interesting approach...this is similar to what you would get using Painter's sketch function...personally, it looks less than a sketch and more like a greyscale of an image but using his approach and other tools in Photoshop might get you very close to a truer sketch...

Thanks for posting the url...I've bookmarked it...

Terrie