Here’s a few simple steps to generate variations of line art from your digital photos.
The source image used in this tutorial is from absolutvision.com. Register today for a great high resolution image of the week or for a cost effective monthly or yearly memebrship.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/1.jpg)
To begin, have the target image layer selected, as I have captured above.
Next, go ‘Filter>Blur>Smart Bur’ as I have captured below.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/2.gif)
From the ‘Smart Bur’ dialog, make sure the ‘Edge Only’ Mode is selected and toy with the ‘Radius’/’Threshold’ sliders. The objective is to ensure that an edge line covers the entire image with some overspill into the interior of the image as well.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/3.gif)
This will produce a similar result as below.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/4.gif)
Next, with the same image layer active, go ‘Image>Adjustments>Invert’, as I have captured below.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/5.gif)
Inverting produces the below resulting image.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/6.gif)
The above result is quite satisfactory, but to add to the edge effects of the line art, go ‘Filter>Artistic>Cutout’ as I have captured below.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/7.gif)
Depending on how thick you want the lines, adjust the Cutout sliders for the desired effect.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/8.gif)
Here is the final result.
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/9.gif)
Other samples below:
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/2.jpg)
![Creating LineArt from Photos](http://www.heathrowe.com/tuts/lineartimages/3.jpg)
Summary:
1. Smart Blur with Edges Only Mode
2. ‘Ctrl/Command + I’ to invert the result of the Smart Blur.
3. ‘Filter>Artistic>Cutout’ for smooth line definitions.