Photo to Pencil Sketch – Photoshop Tutorial

Photo to Pencil Sketch

Photoshop Tutorial

Learn how to turn a photo into a line drawing effect in Photoshop In this Photoshop tutorial you are going to learn how to turn a photo into a line drawing effect in Photoshop.

You don’t have to feel intimidated by line drawings once you get the hang of it. Follow these easy steps, and soon you too, can draw your photo to pencil sketch just like the pros. www.clippingpathindia.com

Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Choose a photo with white background:

You can use almost any photo to add the effects and create a realistic looking line drawing but keep in mind that the image in the white background.

So, the first thing you need to start with is an image of white background for the best effect.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Duplicate the background layer:

Next, start with the background and drag in to the new layer icon area to make a duplicate layer.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Convert the color photo to black and white:

Then you will want to make a new black and white adjustment layer from the lower portion of layer panel. (Your photo will now be black and white rather than color). After that you will click the double arrow to close the panel.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Change blending mode:

Then go to the background copy and click blending mode to the color dodge. (This will give you a screen will more contrast).

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Invert the photo:

Next you will invert or reverse the colors. All you is press Ctrl + I on the keyboard together or go to Image>Adjustment>Invert.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Everything will be disappears:

You will then see that everything disappears.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Convert the layer to smart object:

Now you want to right click on the layer to convert using smart object.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Apply Gaussian blur:

Then you go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur to make the object.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Adjust Gaussian blur window:

By blurring the image you can begin to see the outline, which is foundation of the line drawing. Set the radius at 6.4, you may adjust it slightly to see which works best for you, but you get the general idea. Then click ok.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Gaussian blur window is in the layer panel:

You can see that the Gaussian blur window is just off to the side so you can make your adjustments accordingly and change the setting to suit your photo.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Simple line drawing effect:

Now you can either use this line drawing that you have created so far for a strikingly simple effect and end it right here, or you can go in for more detail. If, however you want to make a more realistic looking drawing read on to see which filters will give you the best effect.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Duplicate background copy layer:

So then you want to click on the background copy box on the right. Then push the Ctrl+J buttons together to duplicate the layer you want.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Drag layer to top:

Then you need to click on it and drag it up to the top.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Desaturate the layer:

Next you go back to the image at the top of the screen, then click on adjustments > de-saturate which will de-saturate the image.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Apply filter gallery:

Then you need to go to the filters and click on filter gallery. Then you would choose the selection of stylize. This will actually create a negative looking effect and allows you to see the outline of the image in white.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Adjust style in filter gallery:

This white line looks similar to a pencil line; here you can also adjust the edges to find the width of line that you desire. The next step is to work on the smoothness of the edge and the brightness factor. I personally like to use an edge width of 1 and edge brightness of 4 and about an edge smoothness of 6. Then click ok when finished.

Now at this moment the lines are white and the background is still black (reverse image) but we want it to be the opposite. www.clippingpathindia.com

Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Invert the image:

So next you want to change the color again by pressing the Ctrl+I to revert the image back black lines on white background.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Change blending mode to multiply:

The next thing to do is to use what is called a blend mode to remove the white pixels and keep the black pixels. So what you do next is go into the multiply. This causes the white pixels to become invisible and the darker pixels are what remain.

You have now just created the actual outline for your drawing. www.clippingpathindia.com

Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Add shading to the existing line drawing:

Next you may want to add a little shading to improve the contract of your drawing. In order to do this, you need to click on your background layer again and drag the duplicate drawing up to the top of the screen.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Desaturate the image:

And then desaturate like you did before. To complete this; you would press the key Ctrl+shift+u.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Apply filter gallery:

Now go back to the filter section and select filter gallery, then a sketch section will pop up, and you want to select charcoal. This will create an etching effect that is quite similar to the appearance of pencil line drawings. The settings would be edge 1, details 4 and the light and dark would be roughly around 46-48. You can adjust these settings accordingly depending on your taste.

Then be sure to click ok.

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Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

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Change blending to multiply:

Now lastly, we want to remove the white, so we go back to the blend mode and change it to multiply.

You now have the original line drawing but now it contains some more lines to help define the characteristics of the line drawings and how you can improve them. www.clippingpathindia.com

Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni

Before and after image:

So there you have it, how to create a line drawing using only pencil is a quite a challenge but if you work at it, it becomes easier as you do more. Good Luck on your new adventure.

Creator: Rokaiya Yeasmin Munni Head of Marketing of www.clippingpathindia.com