Photo: Phun with Photoshop

There's one Photoshop trick that's always fascinated me.

I've always been intrigued by the idea of changing a photo into a drawing. I've seen at least a hundred tutorials on the 'net for doing this, but they never seemed to do exactly what I wanted. They always looked more like a bad watercolor drawing. I had a really hard time finding exactly the effect I wanted.

But I think I've finally hit on the technique I was looking for.



It was deceptively--and surprisingly--easy, and I've spent the last several days trying out various pictures and effects with it. It helps to start with a clear, sharp picture, with good contrast.


In the finished drawing, the sharp lines come in clear and crisp, just like they should. But even when the original shot isn't so sharp, the end result can still be fun and interesting.


Shots of people and animals are the hardest to make work. Since a flash can wipe out details, the drawings that come out often show people missing noses or other important details. Pictures of animals are even worse, because the program tries to sketch each individual hair on the dog's face.

But if you start with a really good picture, you can get a dynamite drawing out of it.


I couldn't resist running a bunch of my old pictures through it, just to see what would happen.


My next project will involve mixing the two...like putting the blue water into the London Bridge picture, or putting the color in the eyes while leaving the rest of the drawing in sketch. Your ideas, opinions, comments and suggestions are welcome!