Transformation of a Video into a Cartoon

The Batch Processing feature in AKVIS Sketch allows automatic applying of the software to a group of files.
It can be helpful if you want to create a comic book or a cartoon from a video.

If you use the standalone version just click on and adjust the settings.

If you use the plug-in in Adobe Photoshop, you will need to create an action with the help of Automate -> Batch command first, and then apply the action to a folder with images. An action can contain more than one command (AKVIS Sketch) so that you can process a large number of images in one way.

In this tutorial we'll show how to transform a short video into a black and white cartoon. It's possible to make a color cartoon, it depends on the program's settings.

We used an MOV video file as an example. You can download and watch the original video and the result.

• Step 1. In your hard disk, create two folders: 'frames-original' and 'frames-sketch'.
• Step 2. Convert video files to frames and put these frames into 'frames-original' folder. We use the Avidemux 2.5 program.
• Step 3. After your video is converted into frames, we choose one of the frames out of 'frames-original' folder and open it in Adobe Photoshop. We chose the 212th frame.
  
  Video frame
• Step 4. Call AKVIS Sketch from filter menu (Filter -> AKVIS -> Sketch).

  The software offers these photo-to-sketch conversion styles: Classic, Artistic, and Maestro.

  It's a matter of taste, which style to choose. We will combine the positive points of the Classic and Artistic styles: well-defined contours of the first style and marvelous hatching of the second one.

  Firstly, select the Classic style of the photo-to-sketch conversion. Save the settings as a preset (for example, sketch-classic) to use them in the future.

  
  Pic. 1. Classic Style

  Then select the Artistic style and adjust the parameters. Save the settings as a preset (for example, sketch-artistic). Close the plug-in's window.

  
  Pic. 2. Artistic Style
• Step 5. Now create an action in Photoshop.

  Open Actions palette and click the Create New Set button. In the appeared window set a name for the new set of actions, for example, Film.

  Let us press the Create New Action button in the bottom of the palette. In the appearing window set the action name, for example combine-sketch.

  

  Press Record button, the recording of the action will start.

  Operations:

  1. Duplicate the layer.
  2. Call AKVIS Sketch plug-in and select the sketch-classic preset. Apply the result (Pic. 1) by pressing .
  3. Choose the background layer.
  4. Call the Sketch plug-in again, select the Artistic style and the sketch-artistic preset. Apply the result (Pic. 2) by pressing .
  5. Activate the upper layer, select Darken from the blend mode drop-down list, and set Opacity = 80%.
  6. In the File menu choose Save As and save the image into 'frames-sketch' folder.
  7. Close the file.

  Here is the result (for 212th frame).

  
• Step 6. Stop action recording by pressing Stop playing/recording button in the bottom of the Actions palette. Delete the file we have just saved into 'frames-sketch' folder.
  
• Step 7. The action is created, we can procede to batch processing of the video frames. In the File menu of the editor choose Automate -> Batch command. In the appearing Batch folder assign all the data and settings.
  1. In the Set field choose Film, and in the Action field select the combine-sketch action.
  2. The Source field is used to select the sourse of the image. Choose Folder entry that allows to point a specific folder as a sourse. Press Choose folder and choose 'frames-original' folder.
  3. As far as we have not recorded the 'file open' command into the action, the Override Action "Open" Commands option should be disabled.
  4. In the Destination field choose Folder entry, press Choose, and select 'frames-sketch' folder.
  5. Enable Override Action "Save as" Commands option.
  6. In the File Naming section, the file naming structure for processed images is set. In order not to change the names choose Document Name in the first field and extension in the second.
  

  Press OK button in the Batch window and Photoshop will start processing one frame after another out of the 'frames-original' folder and save them into 'frames-sketch' folder.

• Step 8. All we have to do now is to assemble separate cartoon frames back into a video. You can download and watch the resulted black and white cartoon.

  You can also make a color cartoon, it depends on the parameters of AKVIS Sketch!

   

Sketch v. 27.1 - Free 10-day Trial