In this tutorial I’ll show you how to make a simple comic book drawing effect. You can take any photo you like. It will work on almost every photo.

Step 1: The photo.

Duplicate your photo (ctrl+j) then convert it to a smart object. When you do this you can alter the effect on the photo. Now go to Image -> Adjustments -> Shadow/highlights. Use the standard settings. Remeber you can alter the settings afterwarts, because you converted the photo in a smart object.

Step 2: Stack of effects.

Now we can begin to create the comic book effect. with the following filters:

1. Stylize -> Oil Paint. With these settings: stylization 2, cleanliness 10. The rest is standard setting.
2. Filter Gallery -> Poster Edges. Settings: thickness 0, intensity 1, limitation 6. Then adjust the effect to: oppacity 60%, blend mode: normal.
3. Noise -> Reduce Noise: strenght 10, the rest of the setting 0.
4. Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask. Settings: quantity 70, radius 4 px, threshold 0.
5. Blur -> Smart Blur. Radius 4, threshold 25, Quality: low, mode: normal.
6. Filter Gallery -> Cutout. Levels 4, edges 4, precision 2. Then adjust the effect to opacity 50% and blend mode to Soft light.

So this will create a simple comic book effect. You can play with the settings of the effects to increase or decrease the effect if you want a more subtle of stronger effect.

Gallery: