BenCrowder.net

I’ve forgotten this technique twice, so I’m writing about it in the event that I forget it again — this way I’ll have some place to look it up in. :)

It’s basically just a simulation of a pencil sketch. It’s not perfect — as you’ll see in the image below — but it’s a start.

1. Desaturate the layer. (Image->Adjustments->Desaturate)

2. Duplicate the layer. (Layer->Duplicate Layer)

3. Invert the colors of the top layer. (Image->Adjustments->Invert)

4. Set the blending mode of the top layer to Color Dodge.

5. Gaussian blur the top layer. (Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur)

The only part that really requires any thinking is step #5, where you have to decide what level of blur is good for your image.

Here’s a before and after:

If you want to get a woodcut effect, open Image->Adjustments->Levels and move the black slider most of the way to the right, like this:

The final result:

[tags]Photoshop, woodcuts[/tags]