RAE99
11-09-2002, 04:19 PM
Anne and other interested parties,
This is the technique I'm using at the moment (always subject to revison).
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Here is my somewhat modified version of Stephen's (Trimoon's) explanation of the wonderful sketching technique with which he first supplied us. His work far exceeds my meager efforts, but I'm hoping this explanation will set some of you on your way to improving my techniques and doing much better than I.
NOTE:
To create pencil sketches, you must have this "action" from Stephen. He already posted this in his explanation, so I'm simply repeating it here. To get the action, go to: http://www.trimoon.com/LightingEffects.atn and download it.
It needs to be installed in your Photoshop > Plug-ins > Filters > Lighting Styles sub-folder. Then you can access and use it as indicated in "Step 8" below.
(By the way, if you haven't seen Stephen's work, go to http://www.trimoon.com and see some wonderful examples of his work.)
Now your fun (or nightmare) begins... hopefully it's the former not the latter.
1. In Photoshop bring up the photo you want to turn into a sketch. Any photo works, but it the ones with less detail seem to work best, however any can work.
2. Size it to whatever you want your final size to be and make a duplicate of it; then closing the original. I like to make them 600 x 450 at 72 ppi. The actions and filters work faster on this smaller size and if you are going to print this out no larger than about 9" by 6.75" at 200 ppi or so, this allows for the finished texturing and sketch strokes to look realisitic when printed.
3. Now that it is sized, I "lighten" this version much lighter than looks good on your screen (rather washed out with weak shadows is a good rule of thumb). It's ok to do that since you will be getting darker as you work anyway. If you work with it with shadows intact and looking normal, then your picture "darkens down" as you work, and you will need to open up your shadow areas much more. (The "Levels" command works well for lightening your image, or use whatever tool you prefer to do the job.)
4. Now that you have a "weaker" photo, duplicate your image. Either drag this background image down to the "create a new layer" icon located just to the left of the trash can on the layers pallette, or simple press CTRL- J (or Command - J on a Mac), and that will do it for you.
5. You now have two layers of your image. With the top duplicate layer selected, go to "filter > artistic > dry brush" and apply that ( I have this set to 2, 8 and 1 respectively). I generally fade this to about 70% or 60% or so after creating that effect.
6. Make a duplicate of that layer and work with the top layer again. You should now have three layers... background layer at the bottom, dry brush layer in the middle and a duplicate of that dry brush layer at the top. With the top layer selected, go to "filter > brush strokes > angled strokes"... ( I have this set to 50, 15 and 3 respectively). Click OK to apply it to that top layer. Now it all looks rather fuzzy, as it should. I tend to "fade" this effect down to about 40% or so... whatever is your liking.
7. Now is the time to convert these three layers you have to grayscale. I guess the easiest method is to convert it using, "image > mode > grayscale". When it asks to flatten or not, select "flatten" and your three layers now become one flattened grayscale image. If the image appears a bit too dark, then simply lighten it some using the procedure in "step 3" above.
***********
NOTE: NOW YOU MUST SET YOUR IMAGE BACK TO RGB MODE. If you don't, the next step won't work. Go to, "image > mode > RGB color" and select that. Now your image is back to RGB where it belongs. It will still appear as a grayscale image on your screen, however.
**********
All of the above gymnastics are simply to get your image set to grayscale with a bit of texture that slightly resembles a pencil sketch.
Although there are 7 steps listed above, it goes much faster than it might look and is much less complicated than it may seem. Just bear with me a bit more for the final touches.
8. Now that you have one layer again... (grayscale this time but set to RGB,) we'll add some texture to it. Duplicate your single layer and make sure the top layer is selected. BE SURE to set this new top layer to "overlay" (yes, it looks lighter now that you've set it to "overlay"). Go to "filter > render > lighting effects" and be sure to select "pencil 02" as your effect and apply it.
9. Having applied the "pencil 02" filter to the image, I tend to reduce this layer opacity down to 20% or even 10% to get it to look like pencil sketching. Do it to your liking by "eyeing" your image as you slide the opacity slider back and forth.
10. Flatten this layer so you only have one layer, but now duplicate your new single layer again. On this new layer is where you can "paint" in the areas you want to show as your sketch.
11. With your top layer selected, go to "edit > fill > use: white". You now have a blank white layer on top. With that layer selected, choose the "add layer mask" icon from the bottom of the layers pallette (it's the second icon from the far left). This is where you will "paint" with your brush to reveal the sketch you have on the bottom background layer. (Make sure this layer mask is selected so you can paint on it (this is the right-hand, white square of the two white squares on this layer). If the right-hand square isn't selected, simply click on it to select it.
12. Begin your painting with your brush of choice. I like the "Watercolor Loaded Wet Flat Tip" set to about 127 pixels to start with. You should use the brush you like best and set the size to your own preference. You can adjust and change size and brush selection as you work. As you paint, your sketch is more and more revealed from the layer below. Each pass over with the brushes makes the image darker.
13. Once you get it how you like it, you can flatten this layer. I tend to leave the outside edges white and the image itself with ragged edges.
(This can be cleaned up further with the eraser tool (set with a white "background" color) to further touch up your edges or even the image itself. Set the opacity of the eraser to very light so you can control how much you erase. I like to use that same watercolor brush for erasing and I click my way around the edges instead of applying strokes to keep the ragged rougher look to them. Use your brush of choice... whatever looks good to you.
14. Once again with the image flattened, we'll add some "paper texture" using the "edit > fill" but with a twist. Again, duplicate your single background layer. This time go to "edit > fill > use: 50% gray". Now you will see your top layer is gray not white. Now go to "Filter > texture > Texturizer > Sandstone". Set the sandstone to about 80% and 3 or 4 for the relief.
15. Now you have a gray nubby texturized layer. Change the layer from "normal" to "overlay" and you will see new texture on your image. If it's too nubby for you, simply reduce the layer's opacity to your liking with the slider control. This can vary from 80% down to 20%, depending on your preference and the image you worked with. If you want more of the sandstone texture, just hit CTRL-F (Command F on a Mac) and give it additional texture then reduce the opacity with the slider control as desired. Now flatten it for the final time.
That is the basic method I use to create the "pencil sketch" effects. Sometimes the overall image is too dark or too light. If so, I do final corrections by adjusting the levels or curves or using the burning and dodging tools to get the final effect I want. Once you have the image as you like it and save it, you can play with hand-coloring with a duplicate image using the brush tools set to low opacity and the colors of your choice.
If any of this is too convoluted, please let me know and I'll try to clarify any steps that are too vague or confusing.
Good luck and happy sketching.
;)
Ron
This is the technique I'm using at the moment (always subject to revison).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is my somewhat modified version of Stephen's (Trimoon's) explanation of the wonderful sketching technique with which he first supplied us. His work far exceeds my meager efforts, but I'm hoping this explanation will set some of you on your way to improving my techniques and doing much better than I.
NOTE:
To create pencil sketches, you must have this "action" from Stephen. He already posted this in his explanation, so I'm simply repeating it here. To get the action, go to: http://www.trimoon.com/LightingEffects.atn and download it.
It needs to be installed in your Photoshop > Plug-ins > Filters > Lighting Styles sub-folder. Then you can access and use it as indicated in "Step 8" below.
(By the way, if you haven't seen Stephen's work, go to http://www.trimoon.com and see some wonderful examples of his work.)
Now your fun (or nightmare) begins... hopefully it's the former not the latter.
1. In Photoshop bring up the photo you want to turn into a sketch. Any photo works, but it the ones with less detail seem to work best, however any can work.
2. Size it to whatever you want your final size to be and make a duplicate of it; then closing the original. I like to make them 600 x 450 at 72 ppi. The actions and filters work faster on this smaller size and if you are going to print this out no larger than about 9" by 6.75" at 200 ppi or so, this allows for the finished texturing and sketch strokes to look realisitic when printed.
3. Now that it is sized, I "lighten" this version much lighter than looks good on your screen (rather washed out with weak shadows is a good rule of thumb). It's ok to do that since you will be getting darker as you work anyway. If you work with it with shadows intact and looking normal, then your picture "darkens down" as you work, and you will need to open up your shadow areas much more. (The "Levels" command works well for lightening your image, or use whatever tool you prefer to do the job.)
4. Now that you have a "weaker" photo, duplicate your image. Either drag this background image down to the "create a new layer" icon located just to the left of the trash can on the layers pallette, or simple press CTRL- J (or Command - J on a Mac), and that will do it for you.
5. You now have two layers of your image. With the top duplicate layer selected, go to "filter > artistic > dry brush" and apply that ( I have this set to 2, 8 and 1 respectively). I generally fade this to about 70% or 60% or so after creating that effect.
6. Make a duplicate of that layer and work with the top layer again. You should now have three layers... background layer at the bottom, dry brush layer in the middle and a duplicate of that dry brush layer at the top. With the top layer selected, go to "filter > brush strokes > angled strokes"... ( I have this set to 50, 15 and 3 respectively). Click OK to apply it to that top layer. Now it all looks rather fuzzy, as it should. I tend to "fade" this effect down to about 40% or so... whatever is your liking.
7. Now is the time to convert these three layers you have to grayscale. I guess the easiest method is to convert it using, "image > mode > grayscale". When it asks to flatten or not, select "flatten" and your three layers now become one flattened grayscale image. If the image appears a bit too dark, then simply lighten it some using the procedure in "step 3" above.
***********
NOTE: NOW YOU MUST SET YOUR IMAGE BACK TO RGB MODE. If you don't, the next step won't work. Go to, "image > mode > RGB color" and select that. Now your image is back to RGB where it belongs. It will still appear as a grayscale image on your screen, however.
**********
All of the above gymnastics are simply to get your image set to grayscale with a bit of texture that slightly resembles a pencil sketch.
Although there are 7 steps listed above, it goes much faster than it might look and is much less complicated than it may seem. Just bear with me a bit more for the final touches.
8. Now that you have one layer again... (grayscale this time but set to RGB,) we'll add some texture to it. Duplicate your single layer and make sure the top layer is selected. BE SURE to set this new top layer to "overlay" (yes, it looks lighter now that you've set it to "overlay"). Go to "filter > render > lighting effects" and be sure to select "pencil 02" as your effect and apply it.
9. Having applied the "pencil 02" filter to the image, I tend to reduce this layer opacity down to 20% or even 10% to get it to look like pencil sketching. Do it to your liking by "eyeing" your image as you slide the opacity slider back and forth.
10. Flatten this layer so you only have one layer, but now duplicate your new single layer again. On this new layer is where you can "paint" in the areas you want to show as your sketch.
11. With your top layer selected, go to "edit > fill > use: white". You now have a blank white layer on top. With that layer selected, choose the "add layer mask" icon from the bottom of the layers pallette (it's the second icon from the far left). This is where you will "paint" with your brush to reveal the sketch you have on the bottom background layer. (Make sure this layer mask is selected so you can paint on it (this is the right-hand, white square of the two white squares on this layer). If the right-hand square isn't selected, simply click on it to select it.
12. Begin your painting with your brush of choice. I like the "Watercolor Loaded Wet Flat Tip" set to about 127 pixels to start with. You should use the brush you like best and set the size to your own preference. You can adjust and change size and brush selection as you work. As you paint, your sketch is more and more revealed from the layer below. Each pass over with the brushes makes the image darker.
13. Once you get it how you like it, you can flatten this layer. I tend to leave the outside edges white and the image itself with ragged edges.
(This can be cleaned up further with the eraser tool (set with a white "background" color) to further touch up your edges or even the image itself. Set the opacity of the eraser to very light so you can control how much you erase. I like to use that same watercolor brush for erasing and I click my way around the edges instead of applying strokes to keep the ragged rougher look to them. Use your brush of choice... whatever looks good to you.
14. Once again with the image flattened, we'll add some "paper texture" using the "edit > fill" but with a twist. Again, duplicate your single background layer. This time go to "edit > fill > use: 50% gray". Now you will see your top layer is gray not white. Now go to "Filter > texture > Texturizer > Sandstone". Set the sandstone to about 80% and 3 or 4 for the relief.
15. Now you have a gray nubby texturized layer. Change the layer from "normal" to "overlay" and you will see new texture on your image. If it's too nubby for you, simply reduce the layer's opacity to your liking with the slider control. This can vary from 80% down to 20%, depending on your preference and the image you worked with. If you want more of the sandstone texture, just hit CTRL-F (Command F on a Mac) and give it additional texture then reduce the opacity with the slider control as desired. Now flatten it for the final time.
That is the basic method I use to create the "pencil sketch" effects. Sometimes the overall image is too dark or too light. If so, I do final corrections by adjusting the levels or curves or using the burning and dodging tools to get the final effect I want. Once you have the image as you like it and save it, you can play with hand-coloring with a duplicate image using the brush tools set to low opacity and the colors of your choice.
If any of this is too convoluted, please let me know and I'll try to clarify any steps that are too vague or confusing.
Good luck and happy sketching.
;)
Ron