One effect that people commonly ask about is how to turn a photo into a pencil sketch. In this tutorial I'm going to cover four different ways to accomplish this effect in Photoshop.

IMPORTANT: Please note that this tutorial was written with version CS2 in mind and some options may not be available in older versions.

Where to begin? Let's cover some steps that are, pretty much, common to all four methods: The first step, of course, is to open an image. Keep in mind that, with some methods, large areas of dark color may not turn out the way we want. Experimentation is key in finding the correct method for your individual project. The next step should be obvious as well - duplicate the original layer. We do this so that if something goes wrong we still have the original at the bottom of the layers stack, to which we can revert. That said, you can duplicate the background layer by dragging the background layer down to the Create New Layer icon and releasing it, or by holding CTRL (CMD on the Mac) and hitting the J key, or by selecting Layer > Duplicate from the main menu with the background selected in the layers palette.  Use whichever method you prefer. The next mandatory step is to change the new layer into a black-n-white image. There are a few different ways to do this, some simple and some rather lengthy. Of course, you can go to the Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. Or, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue & Saturation and slide the Saturation slider all the way to the left. While here, you can do some rudimentary contrast adjustments with the Lightness slider. Another method is to switch to Lab Color Mode and copy the Lightness channel to the clipboard, then switch back to RGB Mode and paste it into your image. The method that gives you the most control over the outcome, however, involves Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. Click the Monochrome checkbox, at the bottom of the dialog, and use the sliders to adjust the contrast. Here is yet another area where personal preferences come into play. In other words, make it look good to you - there are no set rules to follow. With these steps complete you can now select one of several different methods to finish your pencil sketch effects.  Each method yields different results which may or may not be suitable for your given project.  My advice is to try all of them and see which one you like the best.

Method 1: Find Edges (As seen on PhotoshopTV - Episode 26) It's available, so I have to include it, even though it's results aren't that great. With your black-n-white layer active, simply go to Filter > Stylize > Find Edges and wait for the results. Once done, but before you do anything else, you need to go to Edit > Fade Find Edges... and try using different Blending Modes and adjusting the Opacity to find a decent outcome. Remember: if you do anything else after running the filter, the Fade... option will no longer be available. Fig.01 shows the result of using this method, setting the Opacity to 50% and the Blending Mode to Pin Light in the Fade... dialog. Method 2: Smart Blur Another method with mixed results, this one simply uses the Filter > Blur > Smart Blur filter to create a scribbly ink outline drawing. Once the dialog opens, set the Radius to a low number and make the Threshold amount about ten times as much as the Radius (i.e., if the Radius is 3, set the Threshold to about 30 - of course, you should experiment with each image to find the settings that suit you). Also, set the Quality to High and the Mode to Edge Only. Click OK and you'll get an all-black image with the outlines in white. Go to Image > Adjustments > Invert to get black lines on a white background. Fig.02 shows the results from these settings. Method 3: High Pass This is the method that, I believe, can give the best results. Here, you want to take the black-n-white layer and run the Filter > Other > High Pass filter on it. In the dialog, set the Radius to a low number (i.e. 1.5 - 2.0). If you don't see enough detail in the image, you can duplicate the layer and set the Blending Mode of the top layer to Overlay then adjust the Opacity of this layer, if necessary. If you do this, though, make sure to merge these two layers before moving to the next step. In Fig.04, I show the before and after images along with the result of the High Pass filter. Notice how the middle image is mostly 50% Grey? You can see the highlights and shadows of the original while everything else is greyed-out. The next step is to duplicate this layer and set the Blending Mode of the top layer to Color Dodge. Viola`! - only the shadows remain. Grey areas may, sometimes, look a little blotchy but some Levels adjustments or the good ol' Eraser Tool can help with that.

Method 4: Inverted Blur The last method I'm going to cover, here, is a little bit more complex, but it can bring forth some nice results. First, we take the black-&-white layer and duplicate it and set the Blending Mode of the top layer to Color Dodge. Next, go to Image > Adjustments > Invert. At this point, what you see should be almost completely white - but that's okay because here's where the "magic" happens: Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and move the slider around to find what you want. Fig.04 shows this method with a Gaussian Blur setting of 6.0 pixels.

Is that all? Actually, what I usually find myself doing is combining two of these methods, namely numbers three and four. I do the Inverted Blur method first, then the High Pass method, making sure the resultant image is at the top of the layers stack, and set it's Blending Mode to Multiply. Most of the time the image ends up being a bit too dark, so I have to lower the Opacity of the top layer to about 50%. Fig.05 shows, from left to right, method four, method three, and the combination of the two. Notice how much more detail shows through as compared to either of the other methods, by itself?

So...What now? Well, let's try adding some color. I'll use the third image from Fig.05 as my base image and try a couple of different methods for colorizing it. The first one is pretty simple: remember the original photo that we left at the bottom of the layers stack? Well, duplicate that layer and drag the copy to the top of the stack. Now, just set the Blending Mode to Color to get what you see in Fig.06 - a colored pencil effect. The next method also requires a duplicate of the original image but, this time, leave it where it is. Make the pencil sketch layer active and hit the following keyboard combination CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + ` (the tilde key, located right beside the number 1 key). On the Mac, it's CMD + OPT + SHIFT + `. *** What this does is to make a selection based on the luminance of the image. White areas are 100% selected, black areas are not selected at all, and grey areas are selected according to the level of grey (50% grey is 50% selected). Now, make the copied original layer active and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a medium blur to it. That is, you want it to be blurry but not too much, at this point. For low resolution images, a setting of about five pixels should be good. Hold CTRL (CMD) and tap the F key to apply the filter again. Still holding CTRL (CMD), tap the D key to get rid of the selection then the F key, again, to apply the filter again. This may seem like a lot but trying to blur it all at once results in the colors bleeding into one another too much. Making the selection, first, let's you blur the image without losing too much detail. Now, simply set the Blending Mode of the pencil sketch layer to Soft Light to get a watercolour sketch look, as seen in Fig.07. Another method is to color it the same way you would color line-art. This would require a whole tutorial just to explain it all and there are plenty of those available on the 'net. *** - This selection method doesn't seem to work the same way on the Mac, so you'll have tosettle for using the Magic Wand Tool, with a setting of about 24 and the Contiguous box unchecked, to make this selection.

In conclusion... As with all things Photoshop-related, there are, more than likely, several other methods for achieving this effect. I've only covered the four most popular methods, here. Oh, and - did you notice that, as I said in my Levels tutorial, this one has lots of pretty pictures? I like to keep my promises whenever possible! Until next time...

- Tutorial written by Zapphnath

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