Ink Sketch PhotoImpact 8.0 Level: Beginner Needed Items: None. Description: Create an ink sketch from any photo. This tutorial will teach you more about the new level commands in PhotoImpact 8.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I'll be using the beach scene in PI's fill gallery . You can use any photo you like, but I suggest starting with this one.

Drag the photo from your fill gallery and drop it on the pi workspace so that it opens in its own canvas, or open the photo you would like to use. For practice sake, I suggest you start with this one though.

1. Go to effect/ artistic/ monochrome in version 8, or effect/ special effects/ monocrhome in 6 and 7. Version 5 users can use format/ hue and saturation, and slide the saturation all the way down to 0.

2. Go to effect/ artistic/ colored pen. Set the level to 70. (Versions 5-7 go to effect/ natural painting/ colored pen)

3. I chose this photo because it presents a special problem in creating an ink sketch. The dark noisy areas of the photo (the palm leaves and mountain) will become too dark in step 4 if we don't work with two layers. Choose your lasso tool. (Click on the arrow in the lower right corner of the general selection tool, and click lasso tool.) In the attribute bar, set the soft edge to 24. (Soft edge will depend on the size of your photo)

Now click around the palm tree, the mountain behind it and the shadow under it. (You can also simply click and hold down the mouse button while outlining the area if you'd rather not make a series of clicks.) When you get to the beginning again, double click the square to finish the selection. Version 8 users double click inside the selection or click the finish button in the attribute bar. Right click, convert to object. Step 3 depends on your photo. You may not need to do this. If you are not sure, I suggest duplicating your image before you go to step 4. (Control D) If you find you need it, you'll have a copy with which to work.

4. If you created an object in step 3, you will need to do this step to both the orignal image and your object. :-) The next part is for Version 8 users only!! Go to format/ level. Click the button marked 1:1 so that your image is full size. If you are using the same photo I am, click on the left window and drag up and to the right until you can see the cloud line as in the screen shot. Click the first eyedropper so that we can set the gray line to be black in our finished picture. If you need to, you can click the + magnifying glass to zoom in a little more first. Then click on the line to set that color as black. (You should be clicking on the left panel, not the right one.) This may cause most of your final picture to be black, but don't panic! It's cool. :) Now click the white eyedropper (the one on the right) Click a gray area that you want to be white in your final picture. If that didn't produce a white enough background, keep clicking on the gray areas until you get the effect you like. There is a reset button you can use but I found that you really don't need it. If you click the wrong color you can try again until you get it right. Click ok, and select the object. Repeat step 4 on the palm tree object you created in step 3. Merge all, and you're done. :)

Alternate step 4 directions for versions 5, 6 and 7. 5 and 6 users, go to format/ tone map. 7 users go to format/ highlight, midtone and shadow. Create more contrast in your picture by moving the highlight slider to the right, and the shadow slider to the left. How far you slide each will depend on the picture so I will leave the exact settings out. Remember to click the 1:1 button so you can see the end result better.   I have found these make rather large files. So go to web/ image optimizer. Click the gif tab, and change the palette to browser safe. This will produce the smallest size end image. This is especially important if you will be displaying the image on the web or in an email.       Tip: Some photos, such as the architecture sample in the fill gallery, have dark areas that you may want to be white in the final image. The door ways in this photo are an example. In this case, I use a filter from Martijn W. van der Lee called solarize after step one. Just use the default settings. You will find it under effects/ Unplugged colors/ solarize after the filters are installed.

Here are some additional examples.