CARTOON GRAPHICS: HOW TO DESIGN A COMIC LIKE CARTOON FROM A REAL IMAGE

Comic Cartoon is an awesome way of making your photos unique and making fun out of them. In this post, we learn the basic steps on how to achieve the below result:

Requirement: Photoshop CS4 or latest, Foto Sketcher software
Level: Intermediate
Result: Comic-like cartoon artwork

Foremost, try to download Foto Sketcher software. It serves an important role in sketchup of the image. Click here to download the fotosketcher software.

The Original image we are working on is the image of an ebony lady. Download the Original image for turorial purpose or try any image of your choice for this tutorial.

Step 1: Open the Foto Sketcher application from the shortcut created on your desktop.

Step2: Click on File, Open a picture....Select a picture from the source picture source then click Open. The below diagram should appear automatically. But, if it doesnt. Click drawing parameters noted as 1 in the diagram below. Select drawing style as Pen & ink sketch 2.

Step3: Click on the draw as noted in the below picture.

Step 4: The fotosketcher automatically sketchup your image into a comic-like sketch. NOTE: When loading, do not interrupt processing.

Finally, the Sketch should look this way. Press Ctrl + S to save the sketch. We then, continue on photoshop CS4 for coloring and final rendering.

Open your photoshop CS4 or any newer version.
Step 5: Create a new page of 300 x 300 pixel with resolution of 300. you can choose something different. But, its best to follow this tutorial if you are just learning cartoonizing. Click on File, select Place and select the fotosketcher image from the source.

Step6: There is so much space by the edges. Use the rectangular marque tool to form rectangles at edges to make the image look centered in the page. Make sure you are doing this on a seperate layer.

Step 7: Click on the fotosketcher image layer, set blending mode to multiply as noted in the diagram.

Step 8: The next is to give the image a skin color. Click on the set forground color (1), a color picker dialogue box is displayed, select only web color to make you pick from better ranges. We are using a brownish color because we are working on an ebony. If you are having difficulty selecting a color, untick the web color and select better from ranges.

Step 9: Use the brush tool to color the skin in the picture including the d face. NOTE: Do not paint the eye, the lips color is always different so make the lips an exception too. All this is to be done on a new layer.

Step 10: Create new layers to paint the wears and the wrist watch she is putting on. I decided to use a red wear because red wears are always flashy and the best color to make a cartoon more attractive. there are so many colors that can make your cartoon more cool. designers discretion can be used to apply colors but you dont want a situation where the colors affects each other. NOTE: Apply colors wisely.

Step 11: Add lightening and reflections to your image to make it look more attractive. Select a white forground color, select the brush tool, reduce opacity to 12%, right click on the page to set master diameter ranging from 1px - 2500px. NOTE: the hardness must be in zero.

Step 12: Apply refelections wisely...its better to always take a look at the image again when applying reflection so as apply correctly. NOTE: reflectons should be on another layer to enable ease blending of corrections and additions.