Tracing\outline help

[Little_Lisa]

I was just wondering if there was a program or plugin or even a way to outline\trace a image and ending up with a picture like a kids colouring in book without colour just the black outline???
I am using photoshop (just a beginner)
Thanks in advance!!!!

[Stephen M]

Hi Little_Lisa, yes there are some options - but it really depends on the complexity and noise in the original image.

Simplest but perhaps least useful is the Find Edges filter (stylize) and perhaps more useful is the Glowing Edges filter.

There are options in the Smart Blur filter (blur).

One can use high pass (other) or USM (sharpen) filters and duped layers and layer blend modes to find edges too.

There is also the option of using basic custom convulution filtering to detect elements - I have an action with five different filters for edgefinding, including Roberts, Robinson, Prewitt, Sobel and Kirsch operators.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binar...volcorner.html

There are more advanced methods to be found in some plugs, but the above should suffice to start with.

Hope this helps,

Stephen Marsh.

[KenB]

Here's a quick example on how to convert a photo to a line art image , easily colored.


Ken

[GOLDCOIN]

KenB ..Oh My What a tease!!! Great Example, now how did you do it??????

[KenB]

Originally posted by GOLDCOIN
KenB ..Oh My What a tease!!! Great Example, now how did you do it??????

I put the instructions right on the image, under the original. Maybe you needed to scroll down to see them all. Thanks for the comment, but really it's quite simple to do.


Ken

[GOLDCOIN]

........The instructions for finding the instructions were right on....

[Andrew B.]

I never saw this method before. Great technique!

Originally posted by KenB
Here's a quick example on how to convert a photo to a line art image , easily colored.


Ken

[KenB]

Glad I could help, that technique's a pretty common one, hope it works for you. You just have to play with the sliders in the smart blur filter to adjust the level of detail you want.


Ken

[Little_Lisa]

Thanks everyone for the very speedy reply's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my second post asking for something here and Ive found everyone extreamly helpfull.
I played around and found kenb's the easiest to work out and tadaaaaaa it worked ,Thanks ever so much it turned out just fine!!!

Thanks again all!!!!!!!!

[DannyRaphael]

Ken: Excellent example. Well done.

- - - - -
Hi Lisa:

If you have Photoshop 7, here's another twist.

Instead of (or in addition to) Poster Edges, try

Stylize > Diffuse > Anisotropic

This filter will soften the edges a bit.

~DannyR~

[Little_Lisa]

Thanks for the extra information Danny!!!