# cartoonish programs - how to take a photo and give it a cartoon look? Software?



## doublej (Mar 6, 2007)

AM looking for a program that changes like a racing picture into a cartoon look. Trying to do some racing t-shirts locally, for example like the t-shirts you can by of nascar. Any help would be great.


----------



## dodank (May 4, 2007)

*Re: cartoonish programs*



doublej said:


> AM looking for a program that changes like a racing picture into a cartoon look. Trying to do some racing t-shirts locally, for example like the t-shirts you can by of nascar. Any help would be great.


yea i'm looking for some too. hope somebody can help us


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

*Re: cartoonish programs*

This set of Photoshop plugins is as close as I could find:

Free Actions for Adobe Photoshop - Cartoon Effects


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

*Re: cartoonish programs*

If you're familiar with Cutout, Photocopy, Line Trace, (all standard Photoshop filters), you can quite simply make something like this:


----------



## JPD (Nov 8, 2006)

*Re: cartoonish programs*

That is REALLY cool Nick!! You can't just post that out there and not give us more hints on how it's done! 

Eric


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

*Re: cartoonish programs*

I have never heard of line trace in PS. I use Live Trace from time to time in Illustrator. I then combine it with PS filters.

Care to elaborate on the line trace filter?


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

*Re: cartoonish programs*



JPD said:


> That is REALLY cool Nick!! You can't just post that out there and not give us more hints on how it's done!
> 
> Eric


It isn't mine! I just google for art made with cutout.

Line Trace must be a random plugin I found in the dim and distance past. It basically is a cross between cutout and photocopy, putting heavy bold marks between areas where major colour changes occur.

I'll see if I can did it up (my Photoshop pc is currently 10,000 miles away...)


----------



## Mistewoods (Jul 7, 2007)

*Re: cartoonish programs*

You can get close to this effect by doing the:

Open your picture (layer one)
Duplicate layer and apply cutout filter. (Name it layer two)
Duplicate the cutout layer and apply photocopy filter (name it layer three)
Apply stamp filter
select all white and delete it.
Make sure you have layers are sitting with three on top of two on top of one.

It wont be as clean as the image above, but it is a good start.

Steve


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

The image above was not created with just a few clicks, and one step filters. I do quite a bit of this work, and it takes some manual tracing to get the appropriate details.


----------



## Mistewoods (Jul 7, 2007)

Printzilla said:


> The image above was not created with just a few clicks, and one step filters. I do quite a bit of this work, and it takes some manual tracing to get the appropriate details.


I agree! It would take quite a bit of time to produce that image. The steps I gave will work for a starting point, but you better expect to put in some time with a file to get it as clean as the one above!

Steve


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

Printzilla said:


> The image above was not created with just a few clicks, and one step filters. I do quite a bit of this work, and it takes some manual tracing to get the appropriate details.


I wasn't saying it was by any means a one-step process.

It is not, however, very tricky with only basic Photoshop savvy.


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

We will just have to disagree. While it is easy to produce an average vector look, to accomplish a piece representative of what you posted is not easy.

It seems to me that you think it can be accomplished in just a few minutes by using filters. If that is true, I am sure several people, myself included would like to see a short write up, or even an example of art you have done with your not very tricky process.


----------



## Lnfortun (Feb 18, 2006)

*Re: cartoonish programs*



Printzilla said:


> I have never heard of line trace in PS. I use Live Trace from time to time in Illustrator. I then combine it with PS filters.
> 
> Care to elaborate on the line trace filter?


Printzilla,

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements V2.0 and yes Trace contour is standard filter with this version. It is part of Stylize dropdown list of the filters menu. Not sure if it is standard filter with the main Photoshop application program. Check Stylize though if it is listed, Trace contour might be there.


----------



## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

The animation above was produced using Rotoshop. Its not the program for the average joe. To get something looking like that via Photoshop would be very complicated and take a considerable amount of time. Even with Rotoshop


> Each minute of animation required 500 hours of work with 30 people working full-time every day.


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

*Re: cartoonish programs*



lnfortun said:


> Printzilla,
> 
> I use Adobe Photoshop Elements V2.0 and yes Trace contour is standard filter with this version. It is part of Stylize dropdown list of the filters menu. Not sure if it is standard filter with the main Photoshop application program. Check Stylize though if it is listed, Trace contour might be there.


I am familiar with trace contour, but not *line trace. *When it comes to Photoshop I find it is important to be specific.


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

zhenjie said:


> The animation above was produced using Rotoshop. Its not the program for the average joe. To get something looking like that via Photoshop would be very complicated and take a considerable amount of time. Even with Rotoshop


I think this is the same software used for the investment commercials (cannot remember what company).


----------



## Stryker (Sep 9, 2007)

I guess there are any number of plug-in's for PhotoShop that will do the trick - BUT you still need to know your way around the software!
I have found using a program called EasyArt 2 automates a lot of the key strokes and saves not only time but many frustrations.


----------



## monkeylantern (Oct 16, 2005)

Printzilla said:


> It seems to me that you think it can be accomplished in just a few minutes by using filters. If that is true, I am sure several people, myself included would like to see a short write up, or even an example of art you have done with your not very tricky process.


I can assure you I'm intimately familiar with Photoshop. I also never said "a few minutes".

This sort of solid-cell colour art, on the scale of difficulty of things Photopshop *can* produce, is in the lower end. I wasn't suggesting that it could be knocked up by someone not at ease in Photoshop. But it is not rocket surgery, to coin a phrase.

I *did* give one-step filters in my first response, made specifically to "cartoonise". The results are very so-so.

PS. There is an exact article you describe in an issue of Computer Arts last year....I'll see if there's an on-line version.


----------



## Printzilla (Mar 22, 2007)

I apologize for misunderstanding your post. 

I read that someone could "simply" create the type of finished piece that you uploaded, not a so so piece, if they were familiar with the 3 filters you listed. I took this to mean simply, with the three filters.


----------



## dodank (May 4, 2007)

doublej said:


> AM looking for a program that changes like a racing picture into a cartoon look. Trying to do some racing t-shirts locally, for example like the t-shirts you can by of nascar. Any help would be great.


 
anybody seen fluid? fluid where r u? help!


----------

