Satya
Everybody has a favourite photo that they highly cherish. If you have one, you would know. Every time you look at it, it reminds you of that one moment. A moment now trapped forever in a photo for you to relive again and again. It may occupy a place by your bedside, work desk or above the shelf. But how about reliving that moment from a completely different perspective?
For example, how about cartoons? Ever find yourself thinking, “How do I convert my photo to a cartoon?”. It’s certainly worth the try. The new colours, shades, texture and appearance show your photo in a new light. Both pictures evoke a variety of emotions. However, one does it differently than the other. And it’s this difference that you will see once you try this.
In order to do that, you will need a tool that has all the basic features and qualities you need for the conversion. What are those exactly? That’s what this article will tell you. It will also tell you how you can discover a different side of your photo with this process.
Bring out the hidden details
A high-resolution photograph enjoys a high degree of detailing. However, making it a cartoon brings out the hidden ones. You would obviously have noticed only a few of them before. To give you an example, the finer textures and patterns tend to get overlooked in a photo. That happens because the focus is on the overall action. The scope for personal effects or enhancement is quite limited.
But not so with a cartoon. You can add some fine lines and colours to draw focus on a particular feature. This applies to all kinds of photos. Just make the edges more prominent or sharpen the lines at the edges. That’s it, you’ve got a completely different side of the image now staring at you. It’s fun doing all this once you get the hang of it.
Relive your memories differently
The next time you look at your favourite photo, just think. What kind of emotions does it evoke? Now, turn that image into a cartoon. Examine it for a few minutes closely. How does it appeal to you now?
Doesn’t it add a bit of fun to the entire thing? That could be followed by nostalgia or a longing for the past. But why does this happen? Well, you become accustomed to seeing your memories in a particular set of colours, textures, etc. Now, you see them in another way – enhanced features, new colours, perhaps a new background, etc. What all this does is let you relive your memories differently.
The artful way to do things
Have you ever seen a cartoon of a person sitting in a cafe, thinking? Black and white or colourful, that hardly matters. What is the first thought that crosses your mind? You admire the art behind it, right? The creativity behind it lends it more weight and gravitas.
Now, suppose you had a similar photo in your collection. You could make it an incredible work of art. Add colours, change the textures, choose a background, and do all the required editing. The result will amaze you. Cartoons are fun by their very nature. But they can be incredible works of serious art, too. They can have weight and a strange mystery around them.
Add a bit of humour
A bit of humour never hurt anybody. It will work well for your photo, provided the subject is such. It could be a photo from your beach vacation, a hiking trip, or random fun moments captured around the house. While photos capture and convey the realist side of things, cartoons do more than that.
For instance, they add humour to the scene. You could emphasise certain features to bring out the comedic effect in them. Try adding a funny expression or exaggerating an already existing one. You could be smiling in a photo. To exaggerate it, make the smile wider. Or make your eyes look bigger to express surprise. There are so many ways you can add fun.
Choosing a tool for this purpose
To do all of the above, you need to choose an appropriate tool. Choose one with a wide variety of features and options for customisation. It should have the basics like effects, filters, and edge detection. Features like adjusting brush sizes, colour saturation and thickness, and shades are an added benefit.
It should also have options like layer based edits. These allow you to change certain parts of an image independently. User interface is another factor. You should find it easy to use without going through a complex tutorial guide. Another thing you should check is the format it supports. Go for one that supports formats like TIFF, PNG and JPEG.
The answer to “How do I convert my photo to a cartoon?” is obvious. You need a tool with features like the ones mentioned above. Once you do that, there will be a whole different side of your photo that you were completely unaware of.
