Pen & Ink Effect

[smoke665]

Playing with a pen and ink conversion effect in PS. Still a work in progress as I explore the process.

 

[terri]

Nice! I've seen variations of this in other programs and it doesn't always look good. Maybe it's the subject matter here, but it's really working nicely.

 

[smoke665]

Nice! I've seen variations of this in other programs and it doesn't always look good. Maybe it's the subject matter here, but it's really working nicely.

Simple subjects without a lot of detail work better. This is getting there, but no cigar yet. Oddly when using the filter on a b&W image, it actually creates a negative. Getting that back to a positive is a little more difficult than just inverting.

 

[smoke665]

2nd try on a pencil sketch action for PS.

 

[terri]

This one's better. You can still see individual bricks, and is less contrasty than the first, seems to mimic graphite better.

 

[cgw]

With respect, I like the shots but think the effects do them a disservice. The "pencil sketch" is horrid.
Ever look at the Nik Silver Efex plug-ins? Personal fave for b&w.

 

[smoke665]

This one's better. You can still see individual bricks, and is less contrasty than the first, seems to mimic graphite better.

The first one is more of a pen and ink, while the 2nd is more representative of a pencil sketch with shading. I used to spend hours at a drafting table doing very detailed architectural drawings in pen and ink, and pencil sketches. In the case of pen and ink, shading was represented by meticulously drawn cross hatch lines. I could possibly do some custom brushes that would give the same effect, but I don't know if the effort is worth the result. The second is more like a pencil sketch with broad shading, using the pencil side, blended with tissue.

With respect, I like the shots but think the effects do them a disservice. The "pencil sketch" is horrid.
Ever look at the Nik Silver Efex plug-ins? Personal fave for b&w.

They're not meant to be photographs, but a way of duplicating the look of hand drawn art. Nik, like presets in LR are canned effects, I stopped using both years ago. I prefer creating my own Profiles, Actions and PS Smart Object Files. The last one above was developed using a Smart Object file that lets me swap a new embedded image without having to redo the whole stack, but still edit individual layers as required.

 

[terri]

Agreed, the pen and ink one ends up being so contrasty that it may not be worth all the effort. The second one is much nicer.

You could always use your own shots as photo refs and break out your set of graphites, just for fun. Wouldn't have to be architectural minutiae in detail, but an artistic rendering.

 

[smoke665]

could always use your own shots as photo refs and break out your set of graphites, just for fun. Wouldn't have to be architectural minutiae in detail, but an artistic rendering.

Yes, but this is also an educational exercise, learning new ways to use blending modes, patterns, blend if, custom brushes and Smart Object files.