SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

SKETCH

Photoshop actions

For Photoshop CC, CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3

User Guide

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

CONTENTS

1. THE BASICS .............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1. About the effects ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.2. How the actions are organized ................................................................................................................... 1

1.3. Loading the Sketch actions in Photoshop ................................................................................................... 1

1.4. Removing an older version (or a trial one) ................................................................................................. 2

2. USEFUL TIPS ............................................................................................................................................. 2

2.1. Optimal photo size ..................................................................................................................................... 2

2.2. Choosing the right photos .......................................................................................................................... 2

2.3. Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................................... 2

3. THE ACTIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 3

3.1. The Sketch actions ...................................................................................................................................... 3

3.2. The Layers panel ......................................................................................................................................... 4

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

1 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

1. THE BASICS

1.1. About the effects The Sketch actions use a combination of tools (filters, vectors, alpha channels) to convert your photos into B&W and color pencil sketches. The action produces two different, customizable sketch versions. The first version is richer in details, therefore more appropriate for portrait photos. The second version has fewer strokes and is more suitable for images of buildings, cars, etc..

1.2. How the actions are organized The “Sketch it” Photoshop actions are included in the “Sketch & Engrave” bundle, which is available on PanosFX.com: https://www.panosfx.com/photoshop-actions/sketch

Like all PanosFX Photoshop add-ons, the name of the Sketch actions set begins with the 3 letters “PFx”. This makes it easier for you to locate all free and paid PanosFX add-ons that stored in your hard disks.

The name of the Sketch actions set is “PFx Sketch it.atn”.

The set contains two actions:

• The first action is called “For Photoshop CC 2015.5 or newer”. Please use this action if you have the latest Photoshop version and a relatively new graphics card (released after 2015). If you have an older Photoshop version or if you have an old graphics card or if your computer lacks a dedicated graphics card, please use the second action of the set.

• The second action is called “For Photoshop CC, CS6→CS3”. You may use this action in all Photoshop versions, from CC to CS3.

1.3. Loading the Sketch actions in Photoshop If you don’t know how to load and use Photoshop actions, please refer to this article on PanosFX.com:

http://www.panosfx.com/installation-troubleshooting/installing-photoshop-actions

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

2 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

1.4. Removing an older version (or a trial one) If you have an older product version installed, or if you installed the trial version before purchasing the full one, I recommend you remove it prior to installing the new files. This article shows you how to do it:

http://www.panosfx.com/installation-troubleshooting/uninstalling

2. USEFUL TIPS Below you can find a number of tips, aiming to help you make the most out of the filmstrip actions.

2.1. Optimal photo size You should load a photo in Photoshop prior to executing the Sketch actions. The actions work best on photos whose size is between 3 and 8 Megapixels. When the action execution begins, you will be given the option to resize your photo. Try to resize it to 6 megapixels for a start (e.g. 3000 x 2000 pixels) and check if you are happy with the final result.

2.2. Choosing the right photos Photos with crisp details produce much better cartoons. Avoid using blurry photos.

You should also avoid using poorly scanned photos, or scanned copies of old, textured photo papers. As mentioned above, do not use very small photos (smaller than 3 Megapixels).

2.3. Troubleshooting If you get any strange errors (e.g. “Couldn’t not complete your request because of a program error”) please reset the preferences and reload the actions. Refer to these instructions for more information:

https://www.panosfx.com/installation-troubleshooting/reset-preferences

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

3 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

3. THE ACTIONS

3.1. The Sketch actions Load a photo in Photoshop prior to running the actions. Depending on your Photoshop version and your graphics card model, select and execute the first or the second action of the set.

The action will give you the option to resize the photo. Hit Continue and set the size of the photo’s biggest side (width or height) between 2000 and 4000 pixels (preferably between 2500 and 3500 pixels):

Hit OK. Now wait until the action execution completes. This may take a few seconds, depending on your system.

You will get two different sketch versions on your screen:

The version on the left is richer in details and is more appropriate for photos of people, animals, etc. The version on the right is more minimal, with fewer strokes, and Is more appropriate for photos of buildings, cars, etc.

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

4 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

3.2. The Layers panel When the action execution is over, the layers panel looks like the screenshot on the right.

All layers and layer groups have their own layer masks. This allows you to paint selectively on the mask with a gray / black / white brush in order to hide / bring back certain details. This way you can bring the final sketch closer to your taste.

You can also try to change the default opacity of each layer, or even turn off certain layers by clicking the little eyeball icon to the left of the layer thumbnail.

The first layer is called “Paper Color”. Double click on its thumbnail to change the paper color. For example you can set the color to #fff4e2 and give your sketch and old look and feeling:

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

5 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

The second layer is called “Color” and is turned off by default.

You can turn it on by clicking the little eyeball icon on the left of the layer name. You may also change its opacity (default = 50%).

By activating this layer, you switch to a color sketch:

As was mentioned above, the second sketch has fewer details. Here’s a tip that you can use on sketches of portrait photos, to bring in more details. Turn on the “Color” layer, change its blending mode to “Multiply” and set its opacity to 100%

Click the “fx” button at the bottom of the layers panel and select “Blending Options” fron the pop-up list. Hold down the Alt key (Mac: option); click the white triangle in the “Underlying Layer” and drag to the left. The triangle will split into two parts.

Drag to the left and observe the effect on your color sketch. You will bring up more sketch strokes:

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

6 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

The “Lines” layers group contains 5 layers (“Lines 1” … “Lines 5”). These layers contain the sketch lines. Change their opacity or paint over their layer mask to adjust the sketch lines to your preference:

The “Details” layers group contains 3 layers (“Details 1” … “Details 3”). These layers contain the pencil strokes. Change their opacity or paint over their layer mask to adjust the overall appearance to your preference

SKETCH Photoshop actions – User guide

7 © Panos Efstathiadis | all rights reserved

3.3. Adding some texture to the paper You can add some texture to the sketch paper and make the overall effect look more interesting.

Select the “Paper color” layer at the top of the layers panel (no matter if it is turned on or off). Then select: Layer > New Fill Layer > Pattern from the menu.

Now choose a paper pattern fill.

• If you have Photoshop CC-2019 or an older Photoshop version, choose one of the patterns available in the “Grayscale paper” patterns set.

• If you have Photoshop CC-2020 or newer, you’ll have to perform some extra steps to show the “Grayscale paper” set. This set is included in the Legacy patterns, which are hidden by default. To reveal these old, very useful patterns select “Window > Patterns” from the main menu to show the new “Patterns” panel. Click the panel’s fly-out menu button on the upper right corner and select “Legacy Patterns and More”. This will re-activate the paper patterns that we all used in the older Photoshop versions. In the example below I added the “Pebbled” pattern from the “Grayscale paper” set:

If you have any questions, please use the contact form on my site.

Panos Efstathiadis

www.PanosFX.com