Step 1: The Displacement Map

Okay Im going to start with the picture of Leo and Pat and I go Command-A (select all) and Command-C
(copy) and then Command-N (new) to start a new image document the same size and resolution as the
original. When you are confronted by the New document dialog box, choose Lab for the Mode type.
Everything else should be set properly, so click OK.
This new document is going to be used later on in the tutorial, but I wanted to get you to copy the image
now before we apply a bunch of layers and filters to it. With your new document started, hit Command-V
(paste) and open the Channels palette and click the channel marked Lightness.
Go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. Photoshop will ask if it is okay to flatten the imageit is. Photoshop may
even ask if it is okay to discard hidden layersthats okay too. This will leave us with a pretty nice black
and white rendition of the original image.
Now when we eventually need to use this document we will be using it as what is called a displacement
map. Were going to use the highlights and shadows of the original image to distort something. Its an
effect that is usually used on water droplet effects or when warping one image onto another. But I think
Ive come up with a fairly unique application for the effect here. It will look really cool, but youll have to
wait. You will also have to save this document as a Photoshop (.psd) file. Go Command-S (Save) and
save the document somewhere where youll be able to find it later. Set the Format to Photoshop and
name the file DispMap.psd
Keep that file open but switch your attention (and Photoshops) to your original image.
Step 2: Tone
Open up the Layers palette if it isnt already and duplicate the Background layer. Name this new layer
Tone
Were about to do some things that may make you wonder if I know what Im doing. Well, I wonder some
times too. But trust me for now. Go to Filter>Artistic>Poster Edges and plug in a value of 0 for Edge
Thickness, 0 for Edge Intensity and 1 for Posterization and click OK. Not bad.
Now go Filter>Artistic>Cutout and set the Number of Levels to 4, the Edge Simplicity to 3 and the Edge
Fidelity to 2 and click OK. Scared now? Heres what mine looks like

Now go Filter>Blur>Smart Blur and use a Radius setting of 6.0, a Threshold of 80.0, set the Quality to
High and the Mode to Normal and hit OK.
I know. It might not look promising, but it will improve. Actually, this layer will set the tonal foundation for
our color, but not the color itself. I could have made tone and color on one layer, but I had inconsistent
results and this method provides greater controlwhich youll see later.
Step 3: Color
Duplicate the Background layer and drag it to the top of the layers currently listed in the Layers palette.
Name this new layer Color and set its Blending Mode to Color Since this layer is only here to add back
the color of the original photo to the tonal map we created in Step 2, we really dont need any of the detail
in the shot, just the color.
Go Filter>Noise>Dust & Scratches and set the Radius to 10 pixels and the Threshold to 0 levels.
This has brought back the natural color of the image back into our effectwhich would be fineif we
were going for a natural look. But were not. The kind of comics this effect has been created to emulate
are those from the first early years when the colors were almost entirely homogenous and extremely
vibrant.
Go Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and leave the Hue at 0 but bump the Saturation up to 80 and the
Lightness to 50.

Thats as far as we can go with color until we get some ink to define these characters.
Step 4: Ink 1
Duplicate the Background layer once more and drag it to the top of all the layers currently listed in the
Layers palette. Name this layer Ink 1 and set its Blending Mode to Multiply This layers sole purpose is
to keep the shadows black. Thats it.
Go Image>Adjustments>Threshold and give it a setting of 25 and click OK.
Now if you take a look at the edges of black areas this effect produces, youll notice that theyre very
rough and pixelated and look nothing like the ink strokes in a comic book. The ink in the old comics was
laid down with a brush or a pen and gave a very smooth look. Were going to try to achieve a bit of that
now
Go Filter>Stylize>Diffuse and click the radio button beside the word Anisotropic before clicking OK.
Anisotropic??
Step 5: Ink 2
Guess what? Youre going to duplicate the Background layer again and drag it to the top of all the layers
currently listed in the Layers palette again. This time, name this layer Ink 2 and set its Blending Mode to
Multiply This layer will draw the detail back in our image.
It is very important that you reset your Foreground and Background colors to default before proceeding,
so hit the D key before its too late!!

Go Filter>Sketch>Photocopyand use these settings: Detail of 12 and Darkness of 15 and then click OK.
Now, that has probably added a bit too much detail and schmutz to the image, so well tone it down in
some places and strengthen the good details in the process.
Go Image>Adjustments>Threshold give it 100 and click OK.
Were going to run the Anisotropic Diffuse here too go Filter>Stylize>Diffuse and select Anisotropic
before clicking OK.

Not bad, but the thing I really like about comic book art is those brush strokes in the shadows. You know
what I mean? Theyre almost like a woodcut effect and they add shadow while also defining the curvature
and shape of the object they shade. There is no way to faithfully duplicate what only God-given talent and
years of practice can produce, but Ill do my best
Step 6: Ink 3
I bet you think were going to duplicate the Background layer again, huh? Nope.
Make a new layer at the top of the layers list and name it Ink 3.
Go Edit>Fill set the Contents to Use: 50% Gray and the Blending to Mode: Normal, Opacity: 100% and
leave Preserve Transparency unchecked. Click OK.

Go Filter>Sketch>Halftone Pattern and set the Size to 2, the Contrast to 25 and the Pattern Type to
Line. Click OK.
Now is when we get to use that displacement map we built in Step 1. Go Filter>Distort>Displace and
set both the Horizontal and Vertical Scales to 25, the Displacement Map setting really doesnt matter
since were using a map that is custom fit, but set the Undefined Areas setting to Wrap Around just in
case. Click OK and Photoshop will ask you to show it the file you want to use as the displacement map.
Point it to the one we created earlier and click Open.
What you see might might disturb you, but have courageit will all work out.
Go Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 2 pixels and click OK.
Go Image>Adjustments>Threshold and set it to 120 and click OK.
Now go Filter>Stylize>Diffuse and select Anisotropic before clicking OK.
Set the Blending Mode of the Ink 3 layer to Multiply hmmmlooks weird huh?
Hopefully, you have followed this tutorial straight through and you still have the Background image in your
clipboard from when we copied it in Step 1well soon find out.
Hit the Q key to enter Quick Mask Mode and hit Command-V (paste) to paste whatever you might have in
your clipboard thereit should be the image we started with only in red or whatever color you have Quick
Mask set to displayif not or if youre not sure, open the DispMap.psd file we created, hit Command-A
(select all) and Command-C (copy) and then come back to Quick Mask mode in your comic book image
and hit Command-V (paste). With me still?
Still in Quick Mask Mode, go Filter>Blur>Smart Blur use a Radius of 6.0, a Threshold of 80.0 in High
Quality, Normal Mode. Click OK.
Hit the Q key again the exit Quick Mask Mode and return to Standard Mode (aka Marching Ants Mode).
You should see selections around the lighter parts of your image.
Go Layer>Add Layer Mask>Hide Selection. This will have lightened or obliterated the horizontal lines
from the highlights of your image, but it will still leave it looking like everyone and everything is made of
wood with very deep grain showing.
The layer mask you just added to the Ink 3 layer should automatically be selected, but if it isnt, select it
now. Go Image>Adjust> Threshold now, here Im going to ask you to make a judgment call start with
a value of 200 in the Threshold dialog and adjust it to your own liking. I found 200 to be fine for the picture
of Superman and the one of Bill and Pat, but this image with Pat and Leo needed to be set at 225. So Ill
leave it up to you. When youre happy with it, click OK.

See how the displacement map warped the horizontal lines so that they show the contours of the wrinkles
in Leos shirt. Niiiice.
If youre happy with the way your image turned out, thats awesome. You need go no further. But for steps
on plugging in your own color, adjusting the tone, whitening the whites (notice Pats teeth?) and adding
that cool dot pattern effect that comics have, continue on tothe Optional Stuff
the Optional Stuff:
Color:
Remember that shot of Digital Bill and Pat? I went through all the steps of the tutorial with that shot and
came up with this:

I guess its not horrible, but the guys are looking a bit green. Superman was never greenBatman wasnt
greenand the Hulk waswasa really bad movie. Anyway, I digress. Were going to fix the color
problem by creating a new layer above the Color layer named Painted Color with its Blending Mode set
to Color.
I opened up my Swatches palette with the default colors loaded, selected a suitable skin tone color and
began to paint over their faces with the Brush tool. I didnt have to be too careful: I can paint over the
black areas without hurting anything and if I did paint somewhere I shouldnt, I can just erase it. See?

Hmmbut Bill could use a whitening treatment on his teeth

Whites:
One weak spot of this tutorial is that it kills the whites of peoples eyes and teeth and, in comics,
everybody has gleaming white teeth. We can fix this rather simply. Make a new layer just above the Tone
layer and name it Whites and leave the Blending Mode as Normal.
Grab the Brush tool and make white your foreground color and go in and paint in white where you want
white. If you make a mistake, use the Eraser tool to fix it.

Now those are a couple of Pepsodent smiles! But I dont like their tone
Tone:
Often the original image is a bit dark and that darkness just gets worse and worse as you develop the
Tone layer for this effect. Its easy enough to fix. Select the Tone layer in the Layers palette and go
Image>Adjustments>Levels. Youll see a nasty looking bar chart (a histogram if you like) with a black
pointer under it on the left, a white pointer under it on the right and a gray one in the middle. Grab the
gray one and drag it to the left to lighten the Tone layer or drag it to the right to darken it. I lighten the Tone
layer of this image and got this result:

I think all these images need a bit of a dot screen effect to really sell it as a real old school comic book
this sounds like a job for Superman!!!
Dot Screen:
I really dont like applying filters to an image unless I leave myself a way out. Using layers is the best way
I know to do this. So to add the dot screen effect to finalize this image of Superman

were going to create a new layer below the Ink 1 layer and name it Dot Screen
Go Edit>Fill set the Contents to Use: 50% Gray and the Blending to Mode: Normal, Opacity: 100% and
leave Preserve Transparency unchecked. Click OK.
Then go Filter>Pixelate>Color Halftone use all of the default settings except change the Max Radius to
4 pixels and click OK.
Now set the Blending Mode of the Dot Screen layer to Overlay

COOL!!
Now I leave you with the finished versions of the other two images and thank you for making it through
the Comic Art Effect tutorial (Mac Awesomeness Edition):