Creating cartoons from photographs. Unique caricatures and caricatures from ordinary photography

Caricatures are a fun alternative to traditional portraits. The idea is to comically exaggerate certain character traits to create a funny image of the person being described. Adobe Photoshop tools such as Transform, Warp, Liquify are ideal for creating caricatures from portrait photographs. This lesson is part of a series of lessons on Deformation, Transformation and Plasticity. All these lessons can be found on the Tuts+ website.

Final result:

An alternative method for creating caricatures.

In this tutorial we will create a caricature from a photograph. But if you look for an alternative method of creating a caricature, then the most best method- this is to use a Photoshop action, for example, such a popular action as Caricature Photoshop Action, which can be downloaded on the Envato website. You can download a whole range of caricature effects with just a few clicks.

If you still decide to create a caricature effect yourself, then you can proceed with this lesson.

1. Prepare the Photo

The most important thing in caricature technique is to find elements that are already, by their nature, emphasized, and then exaggerate them to a certain degree of comedy. In our original photo, the young man's jawline is pronounced, making his smile immediately noticeable. His horn-rimmed glasses catch his eye, as does his hairline, which appears to be receding. These are all characteristics that we can make fun of.

Step 1

A clean white background in a photograph makes it easier to separate the image from the background. Use any selection technique of your choice - I used the Quick Selection(Quick Selection Tool (W)) to create a selection - and then go Layer - New - Copy to new layer(Layer > New > Layer Via Copy) or press the keys (Ctrl+J) to copy the selected image of the man to a new layer.

Step 2

When each element of the image is selected individually, then it is easier to work with each individual element. So using the same selection technique, select the following elements of the image. The head, neck and jacket should be outlined exactly along the line of the T-shirt.

The head/neck should fit exactly within the line of the T-shirt.

When selecting the chin, it is not necessary to be precise, create a rough selection - later, we will combine the chin with the entire head.

Try to highlight the mouth along the outer area of ​​the lips, so that there is enough space for further alignment.

Select the nose in the same way. Create a rough selection around the nose, leaving enough room for blending.

Step 3

To make things easier, let's convert each image element layer into a Smart Object. Being on each layer, we go one by one Layer - Smart Object - Convert to Smart Object(Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object).

2. Transformation and Deformation

So, individual facial features are located on separate layers, now we can begin to transform them, creating a caricature. The versatility of Smart Objects will help you work with different combination sizes to get a fun effect.

Step 1

A traditional caricature technique is to make the head too large in comparison to the body. To do this, we need to significantly reduce the image of the torso, so we go Editing - Free Transformation(Edit > Free Transform).

Step 2

Next, go (Edit > Transform > Warp) to start warping the head image. The neck should fit the neck of the T-shirt, and also flare out the top of the head. The main goal of this step is simply to create a basic head shape that will serve as the basis for the rest of the image.

Step 3

Apply distortion to the chin to elongate it and also sharpen it a little. Try to align the top of the chin so that the seams at the transition of the element images are not too noticeable.

Step 4

Make a big grin even bigger by stretching out the mouth.

Step 5

Very often in cartoons noses are made very large and exaggerated. Big noses just look so funny! Enlarge the image of the nose to comic proportions - even if the nose overlaps the mouth, it's okay.

Step 6

The glasses require more careful work than simply scaling, which we applied to other elements of the image. Tool Deformation(Warp tool) will help align the stretched frame on the face, for this we go Editing - Transformation - Warp(Edit > Transform > Warp).

Step 7

During the distortion, we practically hid the ear on the main layer with the image of the man. To fix this, we'll zoom in on the ear so the ear is big enough to hold the glasses mounts!

Step 8

The most difficult part of the work is processing the chin on the layer mask, because... I have to treat the hairs in the goatee area on the chin. Just use a smaller brush and be patient. In the screenshot below, you can see the processing on the layer mask of the chin layer and the result of the combination.

Step 9

Create a new layer on top of all the selected elements of the head image and use the Spot Healing Brush(Spot Healing Brush (J)), in the settings, select the option Sample of all layers(Sample All Layers), paint over obvious seams or problem areas that you could not fix with a layer mask.

3. Apply Lifting to the Face

Next, there is a powerful tool that is used in the process of creating a caricature - this tool Plastic(Liquify). We've already done a lot of work with deformation, however, with the help of Liquify, we will create a really fun caricature. Tool Plastic(Liquify) is a powerful tool and at the same time it can be unpredictable, but fortunately the tool is supported Smart filter(Smart Filtering), so no need to worry!

Step 1

Select all the layers with the selected elements of the man's head, including the top adjustment layer, to merge them into one layer. Convert this layer to Smart Object(Smart Object), for this we go Layer - Smart Object - Convert to Smart Object(Layer > Smart Object > Convert to Smart Object).

Step 2

Step 3

Using a tool Deformation(Forward Warp Tool), brush size approximately 200, increase the volume of the frontal part. Gently lift the skin up towards the hairline.

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Using a tool Deformation(Forward Warp Tool), deform the area near the temple again, and then use the tool Bloating(Bloat Tool), slightly enlarge the eyes - the only thing is, do not forget to reduce the diameter of the brush when using this tool on eyeballs. After finishing work, click the button No(None) in settings Mask Options(Mask Options) to remove all frozen areas.

Step 7

Lengthen your chin a little using the tool Deformation(Forward Warp Tool), and also make the chin more round and convex using the tool Bloating(Bloat Tool).

Step 8

In conclusion, make a man's smile wider with the help of a tool Deformation(Forward Warp Tool). Pull the corners of your mouth towards the folds of your cheeks. The only thing is, be careful and do not deform the shape of your teeth.

After applying the filter Plastic(Liquify), the result should be as in the screenshot below.

4. Artistic Background

So, we've finished deforming and working on the poor man's face, now let's give the photo a more artistic look. We'll start by creating a more artistic background.

Step 1

Add a layer mask to the caricature layer and use a textured brush to paint the bottom of the image, shading it on the layer mask. I chose the Sponge Brush Projection brush. Reduce opacity(Opacity) of the brush, up to approximately 40%, so the texture transition will be smooth.

Step 2

Open the texture with the background by downloading it from the link at the beginning of this lesson. Place this texture below the cartoon layer.

Step 3

Add a layer mask to the background texture layer. Using the same brush, paint over the texture on the layer mask to create a painted effect around the edge of the image.

5. Painted Picture Effect

So, we are ready to transform our caricature, giving it the effect of a painted picture. We will maintain a slight photographic quality, while creating the feeling of a painted picture. This can be easily achieved using the tool's technique. Finger(Smudge Tool).

Step 1

Small details have a destructive tendency to affect the created effect of the painted picture, so first we will soften them, this will be the best solution. Let's go Filter- Blur- Smartblur(Filter > Blur > Smart Blur). Set the following settings: Radius(Radius) 2.0, Threshold(Threshold) 10.0, Quality(Quality) High(High).

Step 2

The highlights in the photo have become a little brighter. We'll fix this with an adjustment layer. Curves(Curves). Add an adjustment layer to the cartoon layer Curves(Curves) as a clipping mask to soften the bright areas.

Step 3

Create a new layer on top of all other layers. Select a tool Finger(Smudge Tool), set the brush size to approximately 40 px. Set value Intensities(Strength) 80%, and also check the box Sample of all layers(Sample All Layers). Once you've set up the tool, start smearing it with your finger along the main features of the man's face. Go over the natural texture of the leather to give it a more fluid texture.

Step 4

Reduce the brush size to approximately 5 px. Next, use your finger along smaller details, such as eyebrows, individual locks of hair, eyes and teeth.

Step 5

Create a merged layer from the Finger smear layer, the caricature layer, and the adjustment layer. Curves(Curves). To do this, first, select all layers, and then, while holding down the Alt key, go to Layer - Merge Layers(Layer > Merge Layers (Ctrl+E)). While on the merged layer, go to Filter - Colour contrast (Filter > Other > High Pass). Install Radius(Radius) 5.0 px. Name this layer 'Details'.

Step 6

Change the blending mode for the ‘Details’ layer to Overlap(Overlay), and also reduce opacity(Opacity) of the layer up to 78%. Next, let's go Layer - Layer Mask - Hide All(Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All). Using a soft white brush, work in details such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth and beard to make them appear again.

Step 7

Create a new layer on top of all other layers. Fill this layer with 50% grey. You can fill it through Editing - Fill(Edit > Fill). Change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap(Overlay), and then using a soft black brush with opacity 30%, recreate the darkening effect. Switch the brush color to white to recreate the brightening effect.

Step 8

Next, we'll add the finishing touch. First, create a merged layer from all layers, to do this, hold down the (Alt) key + go Layer - Merge Visible(Layer > Merge Visible). Next, go Filter -CameraRaw(Filter > Camera Raw) and in the window that appears, set the following settings Contrast(Contrast) +10, Brightness(Clarity) +22, and Vibration(Vibrance) +48.

And we completed the lesson! I hope you enjoyed this awesome cartooning tutorial! Now using this technique, apply it to photos of your friends or family to create fun, unique, and one-of-a-kind portraits!

A comic cartoon image can pleasantly surprise and make the person to whom it is addressed laugh. Transforming a photograph into a cartoon is done by step-by-step deformation individual parts faces and heads. Let's take the original image (example). Make a duplicate of the layer. Using the Lasso tool, select the head and cut it out. Paste the cut fragment in a new layer.

Select the eyes, copy and paste each eye separately in a new layer.

Using “Scale” and “Rotate”: “Editing” - “Transform” tab, the eyes need to be enlarged and slightly rotated, positioning it anatomically.

Do the same with the second eye. But these changes are preliminary.

To warp the head, you can use Puppet Warp: Edit Tab. This function will allow you to fix parts of the layer, giving deformation to individual fragments, leaving individual areas unchanged. For example, you can stretch the cheekbones more, while leaving the lower and higher parts of the face unchanged.

In the Puppet Warp function, you should pin those parts of the layer that you want to remain at the original level.

After the final deformation of the head, the layers with the eyes and nose should be adjusted, possibly increasing them or changing the angle of inclination, that is, turning them relative to the axis of the face.

You can hide excess areas of the layers with eyes and nose by adding a mask to the layers and using a black brush in the mask to paint over the areas with the skin, or use the Eraser tool.

You can also deform other parts of the body, for example a hand.

Next, you can apply additional processing to the cartoon. To do this, you need to make a whole image using the flatten function. Select the image with the “Rectangular Area” tool, and in the “Editing” tab, select “Copy combined data” and “Paste”.

You can apply a number of filters to the resulting layer in the “Filter” tab:

— Camera raw, in which you can enhance clarity and play with shadows, the distribution of white and black components,

— “Color Contrast”, by changing the layer’s blending mode, you can enhance the contour of the image;

— “Smart sharpening”, which will add expressiveness to the image;

— you can combine several filters, for example, sharpen the original “flattening” layer, blur its duplicate and reduce the opacity of the duplicate.

You can also tint the image by applying some adjustment layers to it: “Color Search”, “Photo Filter”, etc.

You can add a glare effect to the image using the “Levels” adjustment layer, highlighting the image, filling the layer mask of this layer with black color and developing it in certain places of the image.

Styles were discussed in detail in previous lessons.

RESULT

Today it is difficult to name the field of design and graphics where graphic applications are not used. And this is quite understandable, because they allow you to almost instantly create an unusual photo montage or an intricate collage, turn a photograph into a real work of art, successfully adding several interesting effects, or creating an image based on an ordinary photograph that resembles traditional graphics or painting. In graphic applications, you can simulate smoke and fire, sky and water, the texture of metal, fabric and other natural surfaces. With their help, it is easy to depict various natural phenomena: snow, rain, wind, waves; amazing results can be achieved by adjusting the lighting, etc.

You can also use graphics applications to create caricatures and caricatures. Both of them, as before, quite often accompany a variety of news information, having a socially critical orientation and ridiculing any social, socio-political, everyday phenomena, real persons or characteristic types people, or are purely amateur in nature and are an original way of depicting friends, relatives and acquaintances. By the way, the service for creating caricatures and caricatures is offered today by many art studios, and it is in constant demand.

Note that it is not necessary to create caricatures and caricatures from scratch, drawing out all the elements of the image, because this will take more than one hour. Considering that the prototypes for caricatures and cartoons are most often real people and animals, it is much faster and easier to create them based on ordinary photographs. In this case, three paths are open to users, each of which we will consider further.

Creating caricatures and cartoons using universal graphics applications

To create caricatures and cartoons, you can use popular universal graphics applications; in one form or another, the corresponding capabilities are available in a variety of packages. For example, Adobe Photoshop has a built-in Liquify module, called by the Filter=>Liquify command and designed to distort images. Jasc Paint Shop Pro has a distortion brush called Warp Brush, which allows you to stretch parts of an image or create the effect of enlarging individual parts of it. There is a whole group of tools in the Adobe Illustrator package for this purpose. Liquify Tools, with the help of which you can instantly distort the image and quickly achieve bizarre deformations that are not achievable by other means. The possibilities of universal graphics applications in terms of image deformation to obtain one or another caricature effect are very wide. In addition, in many packages, after achieving the desired distortion effect, thanks to the presence of appropriate filters, it is easy to turn a photograph into a pencil drawing or a brush drawing and, if necessary, correct it by hand and add background elements and the cartoon or caricature is ready. However, there is one drawback - all universal graphic applications are quite voluminous and require a lot of time to master. However, they are the ones chosen by professionals.

Let's try to use Adobe Photoshop and Jasc Paint Shop Pro to create a friendly cartoon. Let's take as a source the photograph shown in Fig. 1, this photograph, due to its comical and enthusiastic facial expression, is ideal for the intended cartoon. We will carry out the necessary operations to color correct the image and remove all unnecessary elements that will significantly complicate the creation of the cartoon (Fig. 2).

After this, we will proceed directly to creating a caricature from the photograph. Load the built-in module Liquify(Fluidity) caused by command Filter=>Liquify let's take a tool Bloat(Bloating), adjust the brush parameters and start experimenting: enlarge the nose, make the cheeks plumper, etc., trying to emphasize the characteristic features of the person depicted in the picture. Then we will continue to work with other tools in this example the tools were used Pucker(Compression) and Warp(Distort), each time adjusting the brush settings as needed. The final result is shown in Fig. 4.

Now you need to turn the photograph into a drawing; let’s focus on the version of a black and white pencil drawing. It is more convenient and much easier to do this in Paint Shop Pro. To do this, first create a duplicate of the background layer with the command Layers=>Duplicate e (Layers=>Duplicate) and change the blending mode of the duplicate layer, for which all further actions will be performed, to Color. Make a negative of the image using the command Adjust=>Negative Image(Adjust=>Image Negative) and then turn the color photo into black and white with the command Image=>Greyscale(Image=>Grayscale). Call up the layer properties window again and change the blending mode to Dodge as a result, only the darkest details of the photo will be visible, and the resulting version will bear little resemblance to the finished pencil drawing, but rather only its individual sketches. Therefore, reduce the layer opacity parameter to an acceptable value - it will be different for each image; in this example, the opacity was set to 94%. As a result, the photo will look better (Fig. 5). Merge both layers with the command Layer=>Merge=>Merge All(Layer=>Merge=>Merge All). Now you can copy the person’s face into a new image and add other elements of the cartoon (Fig. 6) in this example, we simply used the caricature background of one of the cartoons of the ART art studio presented on the Internet.

Creation of caricatures and cartoons in specialized packages

You can use software products specifically designed for creating caricatures and caricatures. They are easy to learn just like in universal graphic applications, deformation in them is carried out using visual deformation tools and therefore are designed for amateurs who have no experience with graphic applications, but at the same time want to try themselves as an artist -cartoonist. Note that the programs of this group, despite external simplicity, can have very good opportunities and often allow you to achieve no less professional results, and with minimal effort and time.

But there are very few packages with such capabilities, so there is not much to choose from, and a significant part of them have not been updated for a long time. Perhaps the most famous and popular application in the world from this group is the SuperGOO program from the once famous company Metaacreations. Unfortunately, the company no longer exists, no new versions of SuperGOO appear, but when great desire the application can be found and it works fine under Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000. And among the specialized applications currently sold by developers, the clear leader is the Deformer 2.0 program from the Russian company STOIK Imaging.

Deformer 2.0

Developer: STOIK Imaging

Distribution size: 5.58 MB

Distribution method: shareware

Price:$29

Work under control: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

Deformer is currently the best program for quick creation funny cartoons and animations, aimed at a wide range of users. A friendly, albeit not entirely familiar interface, coupled with extremely simple operating methods, makes it the optimal solution for home users who, in a matter of minutes, can use it to create funny caricatures and caricatures of their friends and acquaintances, having only a good photo in their arsenal .

The program supports a very large set of visual deformation tools, for convenience, grouped into groups Catastrophe, Toolkit, Global, Shrink, Plain and Grow and allowing you to perform various manipulations with image fragments captured by the mouse: compression, stretching, twisting, etc. (Fig. 7 ). The deformation process is carried out by simply moving the mouse across the image. After performing a few manipulations, you can quickly transform a photograph into a cartoon, caricaturing the characteristic features of a person. All transformations are carried out in real time and displayed on the screen, and at any time you can abandon the resulting caricature and return to the original image.

Any images can be used as source images, both available on disk and downloaded from TWAIN devices. The results of the work are saved in TIFF, BMP, PCX, TARGA, JPEG, GIF AND PNG formats, image optimization is possible. The created deformations can be included in the video track to create an animated video in AVI or animated GIF formats.

A Russian-language version of the Deformer 2.0 Reformer+ program is available for sale (publisher: New Disk (http://www.nd.ru/), price: $4.5, Fig. 8). It additionally contains a built-in database of photographs of politicians, which can be transformed at your discretion, and is intended for everyone who loves funny jokes and pranks and feels hidden talent cartoonist. As already noted, the program interface is extremely simple, and hints that pop up during operation make it easier to master the application. Thanks to this, even children can master Reformer+, and it can be useful for them for two reasons: Reformer+ is suitable for teaching the nuances of graphic transformation and at the same time allows for easy and in a cheerful way get acquainted with the art of creating cartoons and caricatures.

Cartoonist 1.0

Developer: VicMan Software

Distribution size: 3.15 MB

Distribution method: shareware

Price:$19.95

Work under control: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003

This compact and easy-to-use program allows you to quickly create caricatures based on photographs by deforming their individual fragments. Cartoonist has a simple and intuitive interface, allows you to see the results of transformations in real time and supports step-by-step rollback or a complete return to the original image in case of an unsuccessful operation. The created cartoon images can be saved in BMP, JPG and PNG formats. If desired, in JPG format it is easy to determine the quality of the saved images and save EXIF ​​data.

While Cartoonist only has one distortion brush, it supports adjusting brush size and background color. However, the program is currently under active development (its latest version appeared in late 2004), so there is every reason to believe that Cartoonist will support a wider range of warping tools in the near future.

Using morph editors

Theoretically, there is a third way to create caricatures based on photographs: deforming photographs using morphing editors. The term "morphing" comes from the word metamorphosing, which means "transformation", and refers to an animation technique in which one image is gradually transformed into another. Thus, the main task of morph editors is to create animations, but they can also be useful when creating caricatures. An ordinary photograph can serve as the source, and the final result will be presented in the form of a series of generated intermediate frames, ensuring a smooth transition from the initial image to the final one. As a rule, frames can be saved not only as a whole as animation, but also individually in popular graphic formats JPG, GIF, etc., which you can use.

The technology of deformation in morph editors is fundamentally different from the deformation methods discussed above and consists in the fact that it is necessary to manually compare the correspondence points in the source and final images. How more points you place on the images, the better the morphing result will be. For best results, dots should be placed in all key areas of the images. Moreover, in the case of creating a caricature, the role of the initial and final images will be played by the same photograph. Note that achieving a good result by choosing this method is much more difficult than in the case of deforming photographs using visual deformation tools; you will also need some knowledge about morphing technology and the ability to work in morphing editors. And creating a caricature this way will take much more time, and placing correspondence points is a very tedious process.

As for editors for creating morphing, there are a lot of them. For example, consider one of the most popular and at the same time quite simple ACD Morpheus Photo Animator. This program comes in two editions: standard Morpheus Photo Animator and professional Morpheus Photo Animator Pro. To create caricatures and caricatures, the standard version is sufficient.

ACD Morpheus Photo Animator 1.85

Developer: ACDsystems

Distribution size: 3 MB

Distribution method: shareware

Price:$29.95

Work under control: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP

ACD Morpheus Photo Animator is an internationally recognized program for morphing photos, allowing you to add dynamics and emotions to them and is a plug-in module for the ACDSee package. The program is a convenient, fast and even fun tool for both beginners and experts.

It supports operating modes for beginners ( Beginner Mode) and for qualified users ( Normal Mode) and has a convenient and intuitive interface. In Beginner Mode, almost all customization tools are hidden from the user, except for the minimum set of tools necessary to perform simple morphing. To implement more complex morphing using a wider range of program capabilities, you will need to switch to Normal Mode. Morphing results can be saved in Shockwave, Flash, Animated GIF, AVI, JPEG, etc. formats.

The process of creating a caricature here, as well as in any other morphing editor, consists of three stages: loading the same photo as the source and final images, adding correspondence points and creating a morph with saving intermediate morph frames in graphic files. As a result, you will receive a series of graphic files, the last of which, if the morphing is successful, will be a caricature.

IN this lesson you will learn how to retouch images to create a caricature portrait from a photograph. Photoshop includes a lot powerful tools, which will help you work with photos.

In the process, you will learn how to use Adobe Camera RAW to make changes to the settings of the photo, and we will also actively use the tools Transformations(Transform tool) and filter Plastic(Liquify) to change the outline of the character.

Let's start!

Video for the lesson:

To complete this lesson you will need a photo in good quality:

Step 1: Original Image

Below you can see an image that I haven't changed in any way yet.

Open the DNG file in Photoshop Camera Raw. Click on the row button (highlighted in blue) for the photo's workflow options at the bottom of the window.

Check the box next to “Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects.”

Step 2. Raw Conversion

Open the photo in Photoshop. Right-click on the original layer with the guy and in the submenu that appears, use the item “Create a smart object by copying" (New Smart Object via Copy).

Translator's note: To open a photo from Camera Raw in Photoshop, click the "Open Object" button at the bottom right of the Camera Raw panel.To go back from the smart object copy to the Camera Raw settings, double-click the left mouse button on the smart object mini-icon on the copy layer.

Let's start with the very basics. We need a good foundation for our comic image, so use my settings for this image.

Now let's sharpen the photo a little

Stay on this tab and adjust other colors.

Step 3: Workspace Size

As we work, our character will change - we will enlarge the head, make the arms and legs thinner in order to give the guy a cartoonish look.
For such manipulations we will need more working space than we see at this stage. Activate the tool Frame(Crop Tool).

Using this tool, we increase the working field. To do this, pull the corners of the frame in the direction “from the center”.

Step 4. Enlarge the face and head

Activate the tool Oval area(Elliptical Marquee Tool).

Using this tool, create a selection around the character's head. Then copy the selected area to a new layer using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J.

Activate the tool Moving(Move Tool).

Change the anchor anchor point. Move it from the center of the transformation frame to the character's neck area. Now drag one of the top nodes of the frame towards the top edge of the canvas. This way you can enlarge the guy's head.

Translator's note: in other versions of Photoshop, in order to enlarge the desired element, you can use the tool Free Transformation(Editing - Free Transform).

You notice that an unnecessary halo has formed around the character's head. To remove it we will use layer mask. To add a layer mask, click on the corresponding icon “ Add a layer mask" ("Add Layer Mask") at the bottom of the layers panel.

Then activate the tool Brush(Brush Tool). To quickly access this tool, press the Latin key “ IN».

With the Brush tool active, right-click on the canvas to quickly access the tool settings. In the window that appears, set the necessary brush parameters and hide the halo area around the head on the layer mask.

Translator's note: In the settings, set the black round brush, the brush color is black.

Step 5. Let's work on the character's shapes

Press combination CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + E to create a new (merged) layer. Then go to (Filter - Convert for Smart Filters).

Translator's note: or right-click on the new layer and select “Group into new smart object ».

Go to the menu again Filter, but this time select a filter Plastic(Liquify).

From the suggested filter tools, select Deformation(Forward Warp Tool).

On the right side of the Liquify filter panel, you can adjust the size of the working brush. You can see in the image below that I am using quite great importance, but remember that you can change the size at any time.

In order to deform an object, move the cursor over the required area, hold down the left mouse button and, without releasing it, move the cursor in the desired direction. In the picture below, the arrows show the areas of the body that I made thinner.

If there are areas in the photo that you want to preserve from the effects of deformation (for example, in my case, I want to preserve the shape of a delicious pineapple), then activate the “ To freeze» (Freeze Mask Tool) and process the desired area.

Reactivate the tool Deformation(Forward Warp Tool) and modify the areas lying close to the “frozen” one. As you can see in the example, I deformed the armpit, but the shape of the pineapple was not affected.

It's time to pay a little attention to organizing your workspace. Select all layers with the main character and form a single group from them.

Step 6. Remove the background

A good tool for background removal is Feather(Pen Tool.). Activate this tool on the toolbar. Create an outline around the main character.
Of course, this is quite painstaking and time-consuming work, but as he says folk wisdom: “You can’t even pull a fish out of a pond without difficulty”!

When the path is closed, make it active and add a layer mask to the group with the character by clicking on the “ Add a layer mask"("Add Layer Mask")

Step 7. Create a new background

Switch to Layer - New Fill Layer - Color(Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color).

In the window that appears, you can select the color with which the new layer will be filled. I'll use gray - #494949, but you can of course choose any other.

Please note that a new layer with a colored background must be placed under the group of layers with the character. Also, for the convenience of further work, I immediately added the “Background” group, in which I placed a new gray layer.

Step 8: Retouching

Activate the tool Lasso(Lasso Tool).
Step onto the layer with the character (to which you previously applied the Liquify filter).

Create a selection of the hat area as shown below. And then press the key combination CTRL+J in order to copy it to a new layer.

Always name your working layers, this will greatly speed up your work. I named the layer with the hat piece “Retouching”.

Activate the tool Moving(Move Tool). Flip the copied section of the headdress and place it as shown in the example below.

In order for the new section of the hat to blend in with the entire headdress, make its edges softer. This tool will help you with this Eraser(Eraser Tool).

We're not done yet! Let's fix some skin imperfections using the tool Revitalizing brush(Healing Brush Tool).

Working with this tool is very simple. Hold down the key Alt and select an area of ​​clean skin that you want to replace the defect with. And then simply draw the place you want to “mask”.

Step 9. Frequency Decomposition

Now I will show you wonderful retouching techniques from Natalia Taffarel. Many people use them for high quality retouching. The basic principle is that the image is divided into two parts: color and details. This way you can make significant adjustments without losing quality! Let's start!

Step 9.1

Press combination CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + E to create a new (merged) layer. Then create a copy of the resulting layer ( CTRL+J).You end up with two copies of the merged layer.
Create a separate group from these two layers called “Frequency Separation”. Rename the first copy layer to “Color”.

Step 9.2

Make the “Color” layer active and apply to it Blur - Gaussian Blur(Gaussian Blur).

In the filter settings, set the radius to 10 px. (this is a very important point!).

Step 9.3

Now rename the other copy layer to “Details”. Switch to Image - Correction - Brightness\Contrast(Image - Adjustments - Brightness/Contrast).

Now be careful! First of all, check the box next to the function Use previous ones(Use legacy), and then set the contrast value to "-50".

Step 9.4

We will apply a filter to the “Details” layer Colour contrast(High Pass). You will find this filter by going to Filter - Other - Color Contrast(Filter - Other -High Pass). In the filter settings, set the radius to 10 px again.

Set the blending mode of the “Details” layer to Linear light(Linear Light)

Step 9.5

In this step we will remove the print on the T-shirt. Go to the “Details” layer. Activate the tool Stamp(Clone Stamp Tool).

Make sure that in the tool settings you have set the sample stamp " Active layer"("Current Layer").

Step 9.6

Now carefully draw the inscription on the T-shirt using the selected sample.

The result looks blurry, but that's how it should be.

Add a new layer above the "Color" layer. Name the new layer "Magic".

Step 9.7

Activate the tool Brush(Brush Tool). Set the brush opacity to about 20% in the tool settings.
With the Brush Tool active, hold down the key Alt and click on the T-shirt to choose yellow. Now paint over the lettering on the T-shirt (while standing on the "Magic" layer).
You can also remove some dark areas on your face or pineapple using the brush method described above.

Step 10.1 Color Correction

Activate the tool Straight-line lasso(Polygonal Lasso Tool). Create a selection along the outline of the T-shirt.

Add an adjustment layer Color tone\ Saturation(Hue/Saturation). Select "Yellow" from the shade palette. Then activate the Eyedropper tool and click on the character's T-shirt.

Now we'll quickly change the color of the T-shirt to blue. To do this, just drag the "Color Tone" slider to the right to the value "+155".

Enlarge the image and you will notice that there are still yellow areas in the picture. In order to remove them, you can use the small arrows on the color scale. If this is not enough, adjust the layer mask of the Hue/Saturation layer.

Step 10.2

Activate mode Quick mask(Quick mask mode). Using the brush tool, select the area of ​​the character's teeth. Click on the Quick mask mode icon again to load the selected area.

Using the resulting selection we will change the color of the teeth. To do this we will use an adjustment layer. Hue\Saturation(Hue/Saturation). The settings are shown in the picture below.

Step 10.3
Retouch your eyes in the same way.
Create a selection of the eye area and use an adjustment layer Selective color correction(Selective Color). In the settings, select a color - neutral. You can see my settings below.

Set the blending mode for the adjustment layer Selective Color to Linear Dodge(Linear Dodge) and lower the opacity (opacity) to 20%-30%.

Step 10.4

Let's work on the hat.
Create a selection of the hat in any way convenient for you. Add an adjustment layer Vibration(Vibrance). You can use my settings which are shown below.

Change the Vibrance layer blending mode to Soft light(Soft Light), and lower the opacity to 40%.

Step 11.1 Draw a smiley face on the T-shirt

Switch to File - Create(File - New) and create a new document with the settings below.

Change the foreground color to yellow, the color I'm using is #f1b500. Activate the tool Ellipse(Ellipse Too).

Draw a big yellow circle. Press the key combination Ctrl+R in order to add Rulers to the work environment. Add two horizontal guides that will serve to draw the eyes.

Translator's note: To add guide lines, simply drag the top edge of the ruler. Remember that guides are auxiliary lines that will not be visible when saving in PNG orJPEG.

Step 11.2

Activate the tool Ellipse(Ellipse Too) again to draw the eyes. Hold down the key Alt(this will allow you to subtract the shape you are drawing from the already completed area) and draw an oval. Use the tool Outline selection(Direct Selection Tool) to adjust the position of the “empty” oval.

Draw the mouth in exactly the same way.

Select a tool Pen - Delete Anchor Point(Delete Anchor Point Tool) and delete the point on the top of the oval-mouth.

We turn the oval into a smile. Move the anchor point guides toward the center. Once you're happy with the shape of your smile, activate the tool Moving(Move tool) and drag the entire smile into the main working document.

Step 11.3

Place the smiley layer as shown below. Create a group and name the layer and group "Smilie".

Right-click on the "Smilie" layer and in the submenu that appears, select " Rasterize layer"("Rasterize Layer").

Activate the tool Moving(Move tool) and place the smiley face on the guy’s T-shirt. If necessary, use the tools Transformations(Тtransform tool) and correct the perspective. Set the blending mode of the "Smilie" layer to Chroma(Color)

Step 11.4

Let's make the smile look more realistic. Activate the tool Finger(Smudge Too). Using this tool we will create folds in the fabric.

Now add a layer mask to the "Smilie" layer and edit the area with the petals (open the petals).

Step 12. Change the background color

The color I'm using for the new background is #bf8213.

Use the tool Oval area(Elliptical Marquee Tool) and draw a small round selection as shown below:

The next step is to change the outline of the circular selection, to do this go to Selection - Modification - Feather(Select - Modify - Feather). Enter a value for the radius of 400 px.

At the bottom of the layers panel, click on the small “” icon and select from the list Levels(Levels).
Move the midtone slider to the left or enter "2.57" in the Input Values ​​field.

Now you need to repeat the previous steps, but use different values:

1. the initial discharge is oval;
2. leave the Feather radius value the same or select it to your own taste;
3. add an adjustment layer Levels 2;
4. invert the layer mask of the Levels 2 layer ( Ctrl+I);
5. set the value of the midtones of the second layer Levels 2 (Levels 2) to “0.65”

Step 13. Adjust the layer mask

If you look closely at the character image, you'll notice some dirty edges. It is for this reason that we will additionally adjust the layer mask of the group with the main character. Click once on the layer mask of the Person group.

Switch to Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur(Filter — Blur — Gaussian Blur). Set the blur radius to 1.5 px.

For the next mask adjustment, go to Filter - Other - Minimum(Filter — Other > — Minimum). The radius value for this filter is 2.5 pixels.

Step 14: Light and Shadow

Create a new group and name it “Dodge and Burn”. In this group, create a new layer ( Layer - New - Layer(Layer — New — Layer)). Name it “Dodge and Burn Hard”, set the layer settings to: Blend Mode – Overlap(Overlay), fill - 50% gray(50% gray).

Activate the tool Brush(Brush Tool). In the brush settings, set the opacity to 2%, brush type to round, hardness to 0%. Draw shadows and highlights on the “Dodge and Burn Hard” layer. To do this, use the brush color black (for shadows) and white (for highlights) / To quickly switch between colors, use the "X" key.

Repeat the previous step again on a new layer, but use the blending mode Soft light(Soft Light) instead of Overlay.

Step 15

Create a new group called “Color and Light Front”, and then click on the familiar “ Create a new adjustment layer" In the list of layers select " Color" (Solid Color). In the settings window, enter the color - #bf8213.

Position layer" Color" (Solid Color), as shown below. Set the opacity value to about 5%.

Click on the " Create New Layer" (at the bottom of the layers panel). Name the new layer "Light".

Activate the tool Brush(Brush Tool). In the settings, set: opacity about 3%, brush type - round, hardness - 0%, color - white. The brush size should be small, since we will use this brush to draw light rays on the character's neck.

Step 16: Pattern Effect

Create a new group called "Final". In this group, create a copy layer of all layers by pressing the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Sshift+Alt+ E.

Rename the resulting layer "Paint Look" and convert it to a smart object (right-click on the layer and select "" from the submenu). Convert to Smart Object").

Then go to Filter - Oil painting(Filter - Oil Paint). The settings are shown below.

Translator's note: In this step you can experiment with other filters, for example: Filter - Imitation - Pastel (or "Dry Brush").

Add a layer mask to the picture effect layer. Then invert the layer mask by pressing the key combination Ctrl + I.

Activate the tool Brush(Brush Tool). Brush color - white, brush type - standard round.

Using the specified brush, go over the layer mask, revealing those areas of the image where the created effect looks most appropriate.

Step 17

Our cartoon is almost ready. Remained finishing touches!
Create a merged copy of all layers ( Ctrl+Sshift+Alt+E) and transform it by going to Filter - Convert for Smart Filters(Filter - Convert for Smart Filter). Name the last layer "Camera Raw Filter".

Now go to the menu again Filter- Camera Rawfilters(Filter > Convert for Smart Filter).

Translator's note: you can go to settingsCameraRawanother way. To do this, open your work viaBridge- click on the image of the work with the mouse once - press the key combination Ctrl+R

All that's left to do is make the settings (my settings are listed below).

Congratulations! You've done this lesson!

You can open the original photo and view the work you have done. The cartoon is ready!

I hope you learned something new from this lesson and can lift the spirits of many people!

How to draw cartoons

Usually experienced caricaturists, when drawing cartoons, rarely ask the question: how they do it.
If you ask an artist to explain to you why he draws this way, he will most likely say that he draws purely intuitively, relying on his creative experience. And this, to some extent, can be explained by the fact that so far, the theory in the field of cartoon drawing has not been sufficiently studied and systematized. The theoretical knowledge that exists is not taught in art schools, for the simple reason that it is not yet applied nature. Each artist, however, has his own techniques for drawing cartoons, and I want to introduce you to some of them on the pages of the site.
The basis of caricature is the mobility of the face shape. In a portrait we find this form static; the artist draws facial features as they exist in reality. In a cartoon, proportions are distorted, exaggerated, they move, deform, and yet the resemblance to the original is not lost at all. Why does this happen? Does the cartoonist’s drawing obey any precise measurements or is it born as a result of an inexplicable creative exaltation?
Looking at the work of a cartoonist, the uninitiated viewer is left with a feeling of surprise, which is slightly reminiscent of the feeling we experience when seeing the work of a magician. If the drawing of a portrait fits well within the framework of our understanding (we see how the artist is just copying nature), then cartoon drawing, sometimes suggests a miraculous ability that cartoonist endowed since childhood. An ability that is almost impossible to learn.
Let’s now try to figure out whether everything is really so hopeless, or, after all, no matter what, there are certain ways and mechanisms by which cartoons Any even more or less prepared person can learn to draw.

Facial proportions

The faces of all people differ from each other in minor details: the size of the nose, eyes, mouth, oval of the face, ears are different for all people, but the proportions - the ratio of the distances between the nose, eyes and mouth - are approximately the same for each person. Classic proportions divide the human face into three equal parts. These are the distances between the eyebrows and the roots of the hair on the forehead, the distance between the base of the nose and the eyebrows, and the distances between the base of the chin and the base of the nose.
Also, the distance between the eyebrows and the tip of the nose is equal to the size of the ears, and a line drawn at the base of the lower lip divides the lower part of the face into two symmetrical parts

The figure clearly shows how lines a, b, c, d divide the face into equal parts, and how the size of the eye can fit proportionally into the face. But they may object to me. What to do if a person’s features are not proportional? Do the laws of ratios really work just as flawlessly? After all, there are people with long, short noses, small, wide-set eyes. As an example, you can compare two completely different faces. One with absolutely perfect proportions, and other completely disproportionate.

This portrait shows what a perfectly proportional face looks like. However, if we take another face, devoid of proportions at first glance, and draw the same lines, we will discover in a completely unexpected way that the size ratio between them will remain approximately the same

We can therefore conclude that proportions are a very convenient thing for an artist. Without knowing the basic proportions, it is almost impossible to draw a portrait correctly, because it is very difficult to grasp the ratio of the sizes of various parts of the face by eye. Mostly the mistakes that beginner portrait painters make are mistakes related to the violation of proportions.

But let's return to the caricature, for the sake of which we actually started our research. In a caricature of a face, the laws of proportions are just as important as when drawing a portrait. What usually happens if an artist draws a long nose instead of a short one, leaving all other proportions unchanged? In this case, the painted portrait seems to us devoid of resemblance to the original. It is not necessary to just lengthen the nose; you can reduce the distance between the eyes too much or, on the contrary, increase it too much. So if you compare the pictures a And b, then it is clearly noticeable that by increasing the distance between the eyes in the figure b we created something strange, ugly and out of proportion. Our consciousness, the mechanism of perception of which is based on purely geometric laws of identification of human faces, instantly signals a violation committed by the artist, and is perceived by us as a negative, unpleasant fact.
Here it is important to understand the fact that proportions are one of the subconscious mechanisms of perception human face. In our daily lives, we constantly read subconsciously information from the numerous faces we meet. Even ours aesthetic perception based on proportionality. The more a person’s face fits into the classical canon, the more pleasant emotions and desire to communicate it evokes in us, and vice versa, people with disproportionate, asymmetrical faces evoke in us, if not feelings of regret, then at least laughter. At the end of the 19th century, the theory of one Italian psychologist Lombroso Cesare was popular, who published the book “Criminal”, in which he argued that there are certain biological characteristics, mainly related to the disproportionality of the face, that contribute to the commission of crimes. So, according to his theory, people with massive chins and developed jaws are potential criminals and scoundrels.

And oddly enough, even today his theory finds supporters precisely because of our psychological desire for ideal proportions.

Maybe this is where the division into caricature and cartoon came from. Many people cannot understand this difference between a caricature and a cartoon. In my opinion, certain distortions of facial proportions are perceived comically by us and cause laughter, while others, on the contrary, cause condescension. As a rule, we experience positive emotions when we see a fool and a simpleton; we find it funny. Just remember the Soviet jokes about the Chukchi or Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev and Petka. The English caricaturist John Law paints a completely different image in his works. His caricature of Margaret Thatcher is too exaggerated.

When I was still a novice cartoonist, and took my first steps in this genre of art, I trained in the subway, looking at the faces of the passengers sitting opposite me, mentally imagining what a cartoon of this or that person would be like. These exercises later provided me with invaluable help. I learned a very important quality for an artist - to see your work in a finished form even before starting to draw it. True, then it began to seem to me that the faces of people 100 meters underground seem more caricatured than on the surface. Perhaps our perception depends on the position in space in which we are at the moment, but this is a topic for another study.

Let's try to understand what the proportions are based on. Undoubtedly, their basis is close interaction with each other. It is absolutely impossible to change any part of the face without affecting other parts. From physics we know that every action causes an equal reaction. In the cartoon, changes in relation to the nose lead to a certain change in the basic shape, position of the eyes, and mouth. Like in the picture c An increase in the distance between the eyes leads to a shortening of the nose and expansion of the oval of the face, the head becomes wider and, in turn, shorter. Further, shortening the upper part of the head leads to lengthening of its lower part: drawing d.

Variations of the letter T

Thus, caricature of the face is still based on a change in proportions, but not arbitrarily, when we simply take and make the nose larger, or enlarge the ears or eyes, but subordinated to a certain method based on the relationships of its various parts. For clarity, we will need to introduce some simplification of the form by combining the nose and eyes in the form of the letter T. Now let’s try to consider some of the variations that the letter T takes on various types persons

As can be seen in the figure, the letters T take different shape, the variations of which are countless, but we are interested only in the most characteristic of them, which are shown in the figure. For me, the shape of the letter T is a fundamental element in a cartoon with the help of which I can easily stretch and exaggerate the face, not for a second without fear of making any mistakes related to the overall expressiveness of the drawing. To begin with, you can take these six most characteristic shapes of the letter T as a basis and try to caricature faces according to these schemes, the most important thing in the work is the initial observation of the shape of the face: either it is a straight, long, thin nose, or a thick, large, or upturned. The shape of the eyes correlates with the shape of the nose in direct sequence; the main thing is to mentally imagine what shape of the letter T the face will have in each specific case. When I talk about the letter T, I'm talking about geometric shape created by the eyes and nose in each special case. As a rule, the eyes and nose always work together within their relationship. To visualize this more clearly, imagine that the eyes and nose are connected by a thread, a thread that moves through wheels attached to the center of the eyes and the tip of the nose.

Here's roughly how it works in action. Notice that the eyes and eyebrows shrink slightly as the lower part of the face grows and stretches.

If a person’s eyes are widely spaced relative to the bridge of his nose, then the strings pull the nose closer to the eyes, and more a long nose pulls his eyes closer to each other. The mouth, nose and chin have a similar relationship. Since the distance between them is constant, the mouth located close to the nose leads to the removal of the chin. Thus, it is easy to conclude that deformation of any part of the face immediately leads to reverse deformation of another part directly adjacent to it.

The pictures below show the main types of patterns used when caricaturing a face. The peculiarity is that, based on the general shape of the face, the caricaturist, stretching the shape, respectively, in the same direction, stretches or compresses the remaining parts, the nose, eyes and mouth. Please note that as the lower part of the face is stretched out, the nose does not remain the same as it was before caricature, but changes. In one case it decreases, in another it lengthens.

Now the question? Why is this happening? Answer - the basic principle of any cartoon is that we lengthen the long and shorten the short. So, if the nose was in relation to general form is small in size, then it should be shortened further, as we see in the cartoon of Ron Perlman (artist V. Belozerov). In another cartoon of Vladimir Bystrov (artist V. Belozerov), the long nose becomes even longer.

In the caricature of Leonov (artist V Belozerov), the rather large nose becomes even more massive.

As you can see in the picture, before drawing a cartoon, the artist makes a small sketch on a sheet of paper. He draws the shape of the head as it will be in the finished cartoon and correctly places the schematic dimensions and location of the remaining parts of the face. So, then all that remains is to copy the details correctly.

Thus, you can see how a simple formula is based on a fairly simple basis, using which you can easily learn how to caricature a face. To begin with, I would recommend that you simply start by drawing the outline of the head, and a schematic representation of the letter T. This is necessary to develop your ability to dynamically transform the face. At least ten drawings a day will allow you to master the technique in a fairly short time.

V. Belozerov ©