Quick Tip

The Photoshop CS6 new dark interface can quickly be adjusted with two keyboard shortcuts. Shift+F2 to incrementally lighten and Shift+F1 to incrementally darken (For Mac users, you may need to use the function key too Shift+Fn+F2 or F1).

Tips, Tricks & Tutorials

PHOTOSHOP

Photo into a Sketch
Below is the before and after. The left side is the original photo and the right is after the contrast, filter, and blend mode are applied.

  1. The first step to creating a good sketch is be sure the photo has good contrast levels.
    • I added a brightness/contrast adjustment layer to improve, even exagerate, the shadows and highlights in the photo. Click Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast to add a non-destructive adjustment layer. Adjust the sliders for a good contrast.
    • Next, on the image layer (not adjustment layer), use Overlay blend mode to add additional contrast. Painting in Overlay is like painting with sunlight! This is a common technique to improve photographs.
      • To increase the contrast and brighten the eyes, I used a small brush, white foreground color, Overlay blend mode at 50% opacity and painted the iris (color part) of the eyes.
      • Next, I used an even smaller brush, black as the foreground color, Overlay blend mode again, 50% opacity and painted around the iris on the black edge to make the eyes pop even more.
  2. After there is good contrast in the image, desaturate the image layer. Be sure the image layer is selected.
    Click Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue / Saturation. Click OK and drag the Saturation slider all the way to the left until the image looks gray scale.
  3. Click the original image layer to select it and then press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer.
  4. Select the duplicate layer and invert it. Click Image > Adjustments > Invert. Your photo should now look like a film negative.
  5. With the duplicated, inverted layer selected, change the blending mode on the layer to Color Dodge. Click the drop-down menu located in the upper-left of the Layers palette and choose Color Dodge. The entire layer will turn completely white.
  6. Finally, use Gaussian blur to make the image look like a sketch. With the same layer (looks completely white) still selected, click Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur. Adjust the Radius slider somewhere between 4.0 and 9.0 until your photo looks like a sketch. Click OK. After your work is complete, your photo should look like a sketch and Layers palette as follows: