Contents ~ Posts ~ Free Images ~ GIMP 2.8 Shortcuts ~ Studio Dalio Gallery

09 October 2013

GIMP Quickie No. 3 – Creating a Pencil Sketch from a Photo


Step 1


  • Load photo into GIMP.
  • Colors > Desaturate
  • Luminosity
  • OK

Luminosity Desaturation
Luminosity Desaturation



Step 2


  • Duplicate layer (Ctrl+Shft+D)
  • Colors > Invert
  • Layer Mode: Dodge

Dodged Inverted Layer
Dodged Inverted Layer


Step 3


  • Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur
  • Blur Radius: 11.0
  • OK

(NOTE: Depending on the size of your image you may need more or less blurring. Adjust to taste.)


Pencil Sketch Effect
Pencil Sketch Effect


Step 4 (Optional)


  • New Layer (Ctrl+Shft+N)
  • Layer Mode: Multiply
  • Select a color and a brush and start painting using the pencil sketch backdrop as a guide.

Painting Practice
Painting Practice


This is a cool technique you can use to practice your painting skills or to create coloring sheets for kids.

Acknowledgement


This technique was described in an article called Real-World Brush Effects by Rich Harris in the September 2003 issue of Photoshop User.

Alternatives


You can accomplish a similar effect by using GIMP's Filters > Artistic > Photocopy filter after desaturating the image. It has four adjustments: Mask radius, Sharpness, Percent black, and Percent white.

The G'MIC plugin has several pencil sketch-type filters that create different results than that described above, but are worth playing with to get interesting effects. To name a few, on the Artistic menu are Colored Pencils, Graphic Novel, and Pen drawing. And on the Black & white menu are BW Steampunk-Pen, Charcoal, Ink wash, Pencil, and Pencil portrait (very nice!).


(Please note: All images in this tutorial are provided for instructional purposes only. I am not giving permission for copying, transmitting, selling, or otherwise using these images for any purpose other than practicing using Inkscape. Exception: Posting an unaltered image to your website for display only with credit given to me and a link provided back to this post is allowed.)

No comments:

Post a Comment