Color Sketch in Photoshop

Use Photoshop like a box of crayons. Reduce a Photo to a color sketch in a few simple steps. I am using Photoshop CS3, you can do it in an earlier version too.

Step 1 : I have opened this photo in Photoshop.

Step 2 : Press CTRL+J on the keyboard which will duplicate the background. Look in the Layers/Channels/Paths pallette. You will find Layer 1 (the new layer) over background (the photo we set off with originally).

Step 3 : Go to Filter>Sketch>Photocopy.

Step 4 :The Photocopy dialogue box opens.

Step 5 : Look at the top right and give the settings shown.

Step 6 : This what your image looks like now.

Step 7 : Go to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen More.

Step 8 : After applying the Sharpen More filter, go to Filter again. The last applied filter is always found at the top. You wil find sharpen More there. Apply it thrice.

Step 9 : This is what the photo looks like after applying the Sharpen More filter thrice.
Step 10 : Change the blend mode of the layer i.e. Layer 1 to Overlay from the popup box in the Layers/Channels/Paths pallete.

Step 11 : The Blend Mode is now set to Overlay.

This is how the image looks.

Step 12 : Now click on the background layer to select it.

Step 13 : Press CTRL+U. The Hue/Saturation dialogue box opens up. I have given these setting, because they look right to me for this particular image. The settings will vary with the image you use. Just experiment.

This is the finished image.