The "pencil drawing" effect

Today we will consider the effect called "pencil drawing". All actions will be performed in Photoshop. It is worth mentioning right away that you do not need any in-depth knowledge of this program. This information is dedicated to beginners. This article describes only one way to get this effect. In general, there may be several.

Necessary funds

In order for us to get the "pencil drawing" effect, we need to select a suitable photo. It is recommended to select a picture with a homogeneous background, where there will be no small details, because the effect due to them can turn out to be unrealistic. Otherwise, there are no restrictions. You can use photographs of sculptures, buildings and, of course, pictures of people.

Instructions

To convert a photo into a pencil drawing, it is enough to follow a simple and clear instruction.

• Open the image in the image editor and create a copy of it at once (Ctrl + j).
• Make the image black and white (Ctrl + Shift + U). Copy this layer again.
• At this stage you should have 3 layers. On the last black and white image, change the blending parameter "linear bleach". Next, press Ctrl + I and you will inverse the colors.
• After all the manipulations done, the last layer becomes completely white. To fix this, go to the filters panel, select the "blur" option - "Gaussian blur". The more you have a value, the more the image will appear. Move the slider to your liking. The value will also vary depending on the resolution of the image.
• To make a colored pencil drawing, you just need to turn off the second layer and leave only the initial image and the last one that has been changed visible.
• If the image turned out too pale, then this can be corrected using the "Levels" option (Ctrl + L). Here you need to move the leftmost slider closer to the center.

additional information

The pencil drawing obtained with the help of the Photoshop program can be slightly changed. For example, you can add strokes throughout the entire outline of the image. In some cases, this effect looks pretty attractive. Go to the filters panel and select the "strokes" option, where you will find the "Airbrush" tool. Assign a value to your liking. This effect looks especially good with a color image. In some cases, there is no "strokes" item in the filter panel in the quick access list. To do this, at the top of the menu, click on the "gallery of filters" and already there select the strokes. As a filter, you can use not only "Gaussian blur". For example, for photos with images of any architectural buildings, the option "minimum" is preferable. This filter is in the "Other" tab. You can experiment with other similar settings.

Conclusion

The "pencil drawing" effect can be obtained by other methods. Photoshop does not limit us in the choice of tools. So combine different tools and styles. Perhaps you will be able to come up with a new way to get this or that effect.