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Borrow a style from your favourite comic book.
Cartoon art has been a massive and enduring cultural influence, from the mid-century pop art movement to your favourite comic or graphic novel. Whether you want to posterise your pets, give your profile picture an illustrated look or turn a portrait into retro art like a Lichtenstein, cartoon effects can give your photos a fun, fresh twist. These techniques work across different types of photography, including selfies, group portraits and travel pictures.
If you’re on the hunt for a quick and easy way to convert an image to a cartoon or create a cartoon from a photo, look no further.
How to cartoonise a photo.
- Add your photo.
Choose the picture you want to turn into a cartoon drawing in Photoshop. - Convert your image into a Smart Object so you can make non-destructive edits.
Go to the Filter menu and click Convert for Smart Filters. - Apply the Poster Edges effect.
Click Filter › Filter Gallery › Artistic: Poster Edges. From here, you can set a high Edge Thickness, set the Edge Intensity to a low value or add a low Posterisation value depending on the image. - Save your cartoonised photo.
Use Save As to export your cartoon photo in different file formats such as JPG, PNG or TIFF for easy sharing across social networks.
When it comes to Poster Edge effect adjustments, a higher edge thickness will make heavier, more noticeable edges, while a low edge intensity will give you a cleaner, less gritty look. Posterisation values control how simplified the colours in the photo are. A higher value will give a more screen-printed look, while a lower value will retain more colour gradations. These settings give you full creative control over how your cartoon effect looks, whether you want bold outlines or a softer hand-drawn style.
Go further with the caricature look.
Once you’ve learnt how to cartoonise a photo, it’s easy to take your sketch creativity even further with caricature-style edits. For example, if you have a selfie or portrait and want to create an illustrated version of yourself in the style of a caricature, simply overlay another filter to exaggerate the eyes. Here’s how to do it using Photoshop tools:
- Go to Filter › Liquify.
- Choose the Bloat tool in the toolbar on the left.
- Set the Brush Tool Options and make the brush two to three times the size of the eye.
- Centre the brush over the pupil and click a few times until you get the look you want.
You can try this effect on portraits, group photos or even pet pictures to create cartoon drawings that are wildly creative, humorous and unique. It’s a fun way to experiment if you’re exploring how to convert a photo to cartoon art with more exaggerated features.
Different photography types you can cartoonise.
Cartoon effects are not limited to portraits. With Photoshop, you can convert photos to cartoons across many photography types, giving you creative results for personal and professional use.
- Portraits and selfies, perfect for profile pictures and avatars
- Group and family photos, ideal for sharing on social media
- Pet photography, turning your dog or cat into a fun cartoon drawing
- Travel and landscape shots, adding a playful illustrated style to scenery
- Event pictures, from weddings to festivals, which can be transformed into colourful cartoon art
These examples show how easy it is to use Photoshop as a photo to cartoon converter, whether you are creating something for social networks, gifts or artistic projects.
Cartoon photo ideas for social media.
Cartoon effects are a fun way to make your pictures stand out online. With Photoshop, you can convert a photo to cartoon art and share creative edits across popular social networks. Here are a few ideas:
- Instagram profile pictures, giving your feed a bold illustrated style
- WhatsApp stickers, made from cartoon versions of your selfies or pet photos
- Facebook cover art, turning group photos into colourful cartoon drawings
- YouTube thumbnails, using image to cartoon effects to catch attention
These ideas show how easy it is to use Photoshop as a photo to cartoon converter for social sharing, helping your pictures look unique and engaging.
Put your best photo forward with Adobe.
The fun doesn’t have to stop there. There’s even more you can do with Photoshop, the industry-leading photo editing software used by beginners and pros alike. Try to turn your cartoon photo black and white for a pencil sketch look, add a watermark and then convert the image to different file types before you share your photo on your social networks. Whether you need a photo editor to convert photos into cartoons with AI, create cartoon drawings for profile pictures, or simply boost saturation in a single click, Photoshop gives you the tools you need. Even if you want to go all out with art filters, customised photo filters or AI generative fill — you can count on Photoshop to bring your idea to life.
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