Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. I'm going to show you how to create a comic
book -style cartoon from a photo. This tutorial is an update that I did quite awhile ago on
an earlier version of Photoshop.
Open a photo you'd like to use. I downloaded this one
Shutterstock .com. Keep in mind, the photo's size and resolution are important in that
they directly effect how your final image will look.
For example, when we use the color halftone filter later, this is how it looks
when the photo's resolution is 150 pixels per inch.
..300 pixels per inch
and 72 pixels per inch.
To ensure that your final image will look like mine, do the following:
If your image is already cropped,
go to Image and Image Size and make the your image approximately
1000 pixels in Height and its resolution 150 pixels per inch. Its Width can be any amount.
If your image isn't sized and cropped like this one,
open your Crop Tool
and click on the width, height and resolution.
In the Width field, type in a temporary amount of 1000
"px" for pixels and for the Height, also type in 1000 pixels.
For the Resolution, type in 150.
Now, drag your photo to a position you like. To crop the Width,
highlight the amount
and hold down your Down arrow key on your keyboard.
To reposition it, just drag your image.
To crop it more, go to a corner of the Crop Tool and drag it. When you're happy
with your photo's size and position, click the checkmark at the top or press Enter or
Return. To fit your image back onto your screen, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0.
To check its size and resolution,
go to Image and Image Size.
As you can see, its Height is 1000 pixels and
its resolution is 150 pixels per inch.
Make 2 copies of your photo
by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J on Windows or Cmd + J on a Mac, twice.
Name the top layer, "Color Halftone"
and the layer below it, "Poster Edges".
Click off the eyeball next to the top layer to temporarily
hide the layer. Go to Filter and Filter Gallery. If you don't see it because you're working
on an earlier version of Photoshop, I'll tell you a work-around in a minute. Open the Artistic
Folder and click "Poster Edges". I'm making the Edge Thickness: 2, the Intensity: 1 and
the Posterization: 2. For earlier versions of Photoshop, go to Filter, Artistic and Poster
edges. When you're done, click OK.
To make your subject's eyes pop more, we'll add comic
book-sized, reflections on the pupils.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Let's zoom into the eyes to get a closer view.
Press "Z" to open your Zoom Tool and drag over the eyes of your subject.
Open your Elliptical Marquee Tool,
go to the center of the highlight
on the pupil and hold down Shift + Alt on Windows or Shift + Option on a Mac as you
drag out a small circular selection. We'll fill it with white and since white is the
background color, press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
To deselect it, press Ctrl or Cmd + D.
To make one for the other eye, copy the reflection by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J
and drag the copy over the center of the highlight on the other pupil.
To fit the entire image back onto your
screen, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0.
Let's merge the eye reflections with the Poster Edges
layer. To do this, press Ctrl or Cmd + E, twice.
Next, we'll add a cartoon border.
Double-click the thumbnail of the Poster Edges layer to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Stroke".
Click the color box and pick white. Then, click OK.
Make the Size: 23 pixels
and the Position: Inside.
Click "Inner Glow" and the color box.
Pick black and click OK.
Change the Blend Mode to Normal
and the Opacity to 100%.
Make the Choke: 100% and the Size: 25 pixels.
Then, click OK.
Let's increase its color vibrancy.
Click the Adjustment layer icon
and click Vibrance.
Drag the slider all the way to the right.
Make the "Color Vibrance" layer visible and active.
Go to Filter, Pixelate and Color Halftone.
Make the Radius 6 pixels
and keep the Screen Angles at their default amounts.
Then, click OK.
Change the Blend Mode to Soft Light.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Let's name it "Talk Bubble".
Open the Custom Shape Tool and invert the foreground and background colors. To do this,
press "x" on your keyboard or click this icon.
Choose "Pixels".
If you're using an earlier version of Photoshop,
click this icon for Pixels.
Open the Shape thumbnails and click the gear icon to open your list of shape presets.
Click "Talk Bubbles"
and when you see this warning,
click OK to replace the current shapes in the thumbnail window with the Talk Bubble shapes.
For this example, I'll click this shape, which is called "Talk 6". Click the
gear icon at the top, tick "Unconstrained" and check "From Center".
Drag the talk bubble to a size and shape you like.
It fills with white because the foreground color is white.
For this image, I'd like this part of the shape to point to the subject's mouth, so
I'll go to Edit,
Transform
and "Rotate 180 degrees".
To reposition it, press "v" to open your Move Tool and move it.
Double-click on the thumbnail of the "Talk Bubble" to open
its Layer Style window. Click "Stroke". Make the size: 4 pixels and the Position: Inside.
Then, click OK.
We're ready to add text.
Open your Horizontal Type Tool and pick a cartoon
font. I'm using "Yikes Regular". If you'd like to use it, I provided its link in the
video description or project files.
For this font, I'll make its size: 40 points, Sharp
and Center Alignment. Click the color box and pick a color for your text. If you want
to pick up a color from your image, just click on the color. Then, click OK.
Click on your document and type out your text.
To adjust the spacing between your lines of text, highlight
the lines and go to Window and Character. The Character panel will open.
Slide the "Leading" icon to the right or left
to move the lines of text further apart or closer together.
I'd like to italize the characters, so I'll click on the "faux italic" icon.
To close the Character panel click the double-arrowhead icon.
To reposition your text on the talk
bubble, open your Move Tool and move it.
Next, we'll add a stroke and a drop shadow to the text.
Click the "fx" icon and choose "Stroke".
Click the color box and pick white. Then,
click OK. Make the Size: 5 pixels. Click "Drop Shadow". Reduce its Opacity to 25% and make
the Angle: 135 degrees. Make the Distance: 15 pixels and the Size: 0. Then, click OK.
If you'd like to angle the talk bubble and text, Shift-click on the talk bubble thumbnail
to highlight it, as well and then open your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T.
To angle it, go to a corner and when you see a curved, double-arrow, rotate it to an angle
you like. To move it, click inside the Transform and drag it. Then, press Enter or Return.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!