Hi. It's Mike from Pixivu! Today, you will learn how to convert photos into a cartoon stickers using photoshop. Your result will be a something like this! And also, it can be printed on sticker papers like that. OR just use them into applications like WhatsApp! All this is brought to you through this tutorial. Please LIKE the video and Let's get started! Step 1. Tips & Preparation. Before we start, if you intend to print your sticker like this. Please do this extra step... After opening your image, go to Image> Mode, and change it to CMYK. So that the final result can be printed without any problems! First of all, you must check your image size. Your image resolution, should be any value between 3000 to 4000 pixels, in width or height. in my case, the height is the smallest value with 3000 pixels, which is acceptable. If your image resolution is smaller or bigger than the acceptable values, please change it for a better result. Let's explain why the image size is a major factor when dealing with filters. As you can see, This image resolution is about 3800 pixels. It's final result is pretty good! And with 1000 pixels resolution for the same image. You'll get a very bad result with very low details like this! Let's get back to our tutorial! After changing your image size to the acceptable values. Grab any selection tool, and make a selection around the object you want to apply the effect on. In my case, I will use the Quick Selection Tool, and select the head only. After making your selection, Press CTRL + J, to take what you've selected to a new layer. Hide the Background layer. and name the other layer as you like. Select the "Background" layer, and create a solid color above it. Change its color to a grey. Then click OK. And let's move to the second step. Step 2. Apply the Effect. In this step, you will get a smooth cartoon effect, with a very easy-to-use filters. I will apply each filter and try to explain why we use it! Let's start by selecting our layer. Now go to Filter> Stylize> and choose Diffuse. Diffuse Filter is an alternative way to make an oil paint effect. Now Change mode to Anisotropic. then click OK. I want to apply the diffuse filter 3 to 4 times for a good result. Each time I apply the filter, I should rotate the canvas first. Just go to Image> Image Rotation> and choose 180 degrees. Now, Apply the filter again. Rotate another 180 degrees. And apply the filter again. Let's see why we are rotating our canvas! This image is made by using Diffuse filter without rotation. As you can see, without rotation you will get these lines all over your image. Rotating the canvas is like applying the diffuse filter from a different angles. and this will help you getting rid of these imperfection lines! Now, Let's continue! With your layer selected, Go to Filter> Blur> and Choose Surface Blur. Change Radius to 20 and Threshold to 7. As you can see, This will make the skin smoother and softer. Now click OK. Now, Go to Filter> Sharpen> and let's apply the Smart Sharpen Filter. Change amount to 200%, radius to 2 pixels, reduce noise to 50%, and select Remove Gaussian Blur. This filter is to sharpen your image edges & outlines. Now, Let's apply the Unsharp Mask filter. Change Amount to 30%, Radius to 50 pixels, and leave threshold 0. This will increase the overall image sharpness. and add some contrast to it. Then click OK. Now, Select "Object" layer, then press CTRL+J to duplicate it. With this duplicated layer selected. Go to Filter> Other> and choose High Pass Change Radius to 2 Pixels, then click OK. Change Blend Mode to Overlay. High pass filter is used to emphasis the whole image details. Select top layer, then press CTRL and select the object layer. Right-click and choose merge layers. Those filters combination can be repeated again and again, with a slight amount of changes to give you a better and thicker effect. But here, I will repeat them once. Now, apply the diffuse filter 3 times with 2 rotations. I'm speeding that part because it is kinda similar to the previous one. Again, apply the Surface Blur Filter, with the same previous values. Then, Apply the Smart Sharpen Filter, with decreasing both Radius to 1 Pixel, and Amount to 100%. And, apply the Unsharp Mask filter, with changing the Radius to 25 Pixels. And finally, apply the High Pass Filter. but change radius to 1 pixel. Merge both layers, and Let's move to the final step. Step 3. Adjustments and Extra Tip. Now, Select "Object" layer, Then press CTRL+J to Duplicate it. And with your layer selected, go to Adjustments> and choose Desaturate. Again, under adjustments> choose Invert. Now, Under Filter> Blur> Choose Gaussian Blur. Change Amount to 10 Pixels. Then Click OK. and with your layer selected, Change Blend Mode to Overlay. Depending on your image, Decrease Opacity to a value below 50%. In my case, 20% opacity works great for me. This would fake an HDR effect, and give you a great result in most cases. Now, Right-click the HDR layer, and choose Create a Clipping Mask. Select both layers. Then drag and drop on the group icon to group them. Double-click the group to add stroke and some shadow. Check Stroke. and change size between 40 to 60 pixels. With outside Position and white Color. Add drop Shadow if you like. Check the Drop Shadow. and start adding a soft shadow using these values. Then click OK. Now, select the "Effect" group, and let's add some adjustment layers. Add Levels Layer. Adjust Levels values depending on your image. Each image varies from each other. stay flexible and don't copy my values. Now, click on the clipping mask icon. This will make the Levels layer affects only the group below it. Adjust levels sliders depending on your image Now, let's create a Color Balance layer. Create a Clipping Mask of it, then adjust Midtones. Adjust Shadows And Also Highlights. I usually don't calculate anything. I just drag the slider of each channel in both sides like this, to see how this will affect my image, and then I decide which value should I use. Add a Selective Color layer. But I will skip this part because it is kinda similar to the previous one. I Usually Adjust Whites, Neutrals, and Black colors here. Let's see the before and after. That's Great! If you want to print this sticker on a sticker paper, or use it in WhatsApp. Please do this extra step. Just hide the background and color layers. And also hide the Shadow layer Style. Then from Image menu>choose Trim. Check to trim all transparent pixels, and also check all 4 sides. then click OK. This will trim all empty pixels Then export your image as a PNG Now, you can print it. And to make a WhatsApp sticker you should install a sticker maker application to do that. I prefer the "Sticker Maker" app. It's very easy and full of options! And that's all for today. Please LIKE the video.. and SUBSCRIBE for more free tutorials. Thanks for watching!
