How to Turn A Photo Into A Drawing in Procreate

How to Turn A Photo Into A Drawing in Procreate

Do you want to know how to turn a picture into a drawing? In this blog post, I’ll lead you through a step-by-step process of how to convert a photo to a drawing. 

To turn my photo into a sketch, I’ll be using Procreate. If you have an image and Procreate, you should be all set.

Step 1

Import your photo. Here’s how to import a photo; click Actions (looks like a wrench), then click “Add”, and finally click either “Insert a photo” or “Take a photo”. When you add your photo, make sure you adjust the photo so it covers the entire canvas.

Step 2

Now, go to layers. Duplicate the layer featuring the photo. (To duplicate, put your finger on the right side of that layer and swipe left. Then, click “Duplicate”.)

Step 3

Make the new layer black and white. Do this by going to Adjustments (looks like a wand), click “Hue, Saturation, Brightness”, and lastly slide the saturation slider all the way to the left. 

Step 4

Duplicate the black and white layer. 

Step 5

Change the blend mode on the new layer to “Divide”. To change the blend mode of the layer, click the “N”. Then, scroll down the menu to find the divide mode. The layer should now look blank.

Step 6

Now we’re going to blur the layer. Go to adjustments and click “Gaussian Blur”. Slide your finger across the screen (from left to right) to increase the blur. The more you blur this layer, the more of the picture will show. I prefer to blur it about 13%. Right now, the picture should look like a black and white pencil sketch.

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Step 7

Now we’re going to begin the process of adding color to the drawing. First, we need to make the middle layer disappear. You can either delete this layer or click the checkbox. 

Step 8

Go to the bottom layer (this is the layer with color). Duplicate this layer. Now we’re going to move the layer to the top of layers. To do this, hold your finger on the layer until it bobs. Next, move your finger to the top of the layers. Now release the layer by lifting your finger off of the screen. 

Step 9

Change the blend mode of this layer to “Overlay”.

Step 10

Change your brush color to black. Make sure you have a plain, solid brush (one great brush to use that is included with Procreate is the Monoline brush in the calligraphy section of the brush library. I used the “Everything” brush, which you can buy from our website). I also suggest making your brush as big as possible in this step. Now, go over the whole picture. 

Step 11

If you want the colors in the picture to stronger, duplicate the top layer (the one mentioned in steps 8-10).

That’s all! Now the picture should look like a drawing. 

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