Creating+Comic+Pictures

=**How To Make Your Pictures Look Like Comic Book / Graphic Novel Art With Inkscape**=


 * Choose the photograph you are wanting to use. It is best to use a high resolution photograph (at least 1024×768, at least 300dpi). The photograph used in this example (of a Girl with a Styrofoam swimming board) was 4,368 × 2,912, however it has been scaled down for display purposes.


 * Open Inkscape. (a blank image will be created automatically, but it will be replaced in the next step with the photograph)

//File->Open//
 * Open the photograph you chose earlier. (File->Open)

//Pencil Outline//
 * Then browse to find and open your photograph.
 * First, we want to draw a path around the focus object in the photograph, or the portion of the photograph that you want to apply this effect to. You can use any of the available tools ( IE rectangle, ellipse, star, pencil, pen, calligraphy, etc), however I find that in most cases the pencil or pen tool work the best. For this tutorial we’ll use the pencil tool for it’s speed and ease of use.

You will want to make sure and fully connect and complete the outline by ending the outline directly on the initial starting point. This point is represented by a small square that will turn red when you’re properly over it. (see above) //Object->Fill and Stroke//
 * Next, we’ll want to fill in the outlined area with a Flat color. (Object->Fill and Stroke)

//Flat Color//
 * Select the ‘Flat color’ button.

//Alpha = 150//
 * For easy visibility, set the Alpha channel to a value of approximately 150.

//Drag Selection tool over entire image//
 * With the ‘Selector tool’ we need to drag a selection box completely surrounding the two portions (original photo & shaded area) of our image.

//Path->Trace Bitmap//
 * This part of the process is where you’ll notice the effect start to take shape. It uses the SIOX implementation within the Trace Bitmap function of Inkscape. (Path->Trace Bitmap)

//Trace Bitmap settings//
 * Ensure that the Trace Bitmap settings are as below. (defaults settings + SIOX foreground selection + Remove background + ‘Colors’ selected)

Scans = 8 Scans = 16 Scans = 32
 * You’ll want to play around with the ‘Scans’ value to meet the complexity that you want. Choosing a lower value will result in lower color complexity, and a higher value will result in higher color complexity. Use the ‘Update’ button to update the preview. See the preview examples below. A ‘Scans’ value of ‘32’ was used for this tutorial. Once you have the scan setting as you wish, click the ‘ OK ’ button.

//Select the ‘shaded area’//
 * Once the process is complete, you will need to close the ‘Trace Bitmap’ window.
 * After closing the ‘Trace Bitmap’ window, use the ‘Selector tool’ to select the ‘shaded area’ (from Step 7).

//Select the original portion//
 * Delete this selection using the ‘Delete’ keyboard key (or Edit->Delete).
 * Next use the ‘Selector tool’ to select the original portion of the image as below.

//Resulting SVG image//
 * Delete this selection using the ‘Delete’ keyboard key (or Edit->Delete).
 * That’s it! Now simply save this remaining image as an ‘Inkscape SVG ’ and it will be a truly Scalable Vector Graphic for your collection or comic book/graphic novel. As a side note, the ‘Scans’ from Step 15 (minus the alpha) created a ‘Group’ of objects that comprise the final SVG image. This means that you can ‘Ungroup’ them (Object->Ungroup) and select them individually for direct manipulation of colors and shapes etc.