How to convert a Photo into a Cartoon Sticker

In today's tutorial, I will show you how to convert a photo into a cartoon sticker using Photoshop that can be printed on a sticker paper or just use them into an application like WhatsApp. Let the fun begins.

1.Tips & Preparation

If you intend to print stickers you need to do one extra step. After you open your image, go to Image - Mode, and change it to CMYK. So that the final result can be printed without any problems. Next, you need to check your image size. The image resolution should be any value between 3000 to 4000 pixels, in width and height. If your image resolution is smaller or bigger than the acceptable value, please change it for a better result. Grab any selection tool, and make a selection around the object you want to apply the effect on. After making your selection press Ctrl + J, to take what you've selected to a new layer. Hide the background layer and name the other layer model. Select the background layer, and create a Solid Color above it. Change the color to a lighter grey.

2. Apply the Effect

In this step, we will get a smooth cartoon effect, with very easy-to-use filters. Select the model layer. Go to Filter - Stylize and choose Diffuse. The diffuse filter is an alternative way to make an oil paint effect. Change the mode to Anisotropic.

You may see some imperfections in your image. We want to apply the Diffuse filter about 3 to 5 times to give as a good effect. To handle this problem, every time you wanna apply the Diffuse filter, you should rotate your image 90 degrees. Go to Image - Image Rotation and choose 90 clockwise. This will apply the diffuse filter from different angles. Repeat this procedure 4 times. Which means we will rotate the image 4 times and then apply filter 4 times. With your model selected, go to Filter - Blur and choose Surface Blur. Change the Radius to 20 and the Threshold to 7. This will make the skin smoother and softer.

Next, go to Filter - Sharpen and apply the Smart filter, change the Amount to 200%, Radius to 2 pixels, Reduce Noise to 50%, and select Remove Gaussian Blur. This will filter is to sharpen your edges and outlines.

Next, go to Filter - Shaprent and apply the Unsharp Mask filter. Change the Amount to 30%, Radius to 50 pixels, and leave the Threshold to 0. This will increase the overall image sharpness and add some contrast to it.

Press Ctrl + J to make a copy of the model layer. With this layer copy selected, go to Filter - Other and choose High Pass, change the Radius to 2 pixels. Change the blending mode to Overlay. Thi high pass filter is used to emphasize the whole image details.

Select the top layer, then press Ctrl and select the model layer, right-click, and choose Merge Layers. Those filter combinations can be repeated again and again, with a slight amount of changes to give you a better and thicker effect. ( Diffuse filter x 3, Surface Blur with the same previous value, Smart Sharpen- decreasing Radius to 1 pixel and amount to 100%, Unsharp Mask- change the Radius to 25, High Pass- change the radius to 1 and the blending mode to Overlay, and merge both layers)

3. Adjustments & Extra tip

Select the model layer and make a copy of it, rename in HDR. With this layer selected, go to Image - Adjustments and choose Desaturate. Again, under Adjustment choose Inverse. Go to Filter - Blur and choose Gaussian Blur, change the Amount to 10%. Change the blending mode to Overlay. Depending on your image, decrease the opacity to a value below 50%. This will hake the HDR effect, and give you a great result in most cases. Righ-click on the HDR layer and choose a clipping mask.

Select both layers and click on the group icon to group them. Double-click the group to add a stroke and some shadow. Check Stroke and change the size between 40 to 60%, with Outside position and white color.

Next, we will add some Drop Shadow. Change its blending mode to Normal, set Opacity to 15% set Angle to 30, check Use Global Light, set the Distance to 130 px, Spread to 0, and Size to 75px.

Next, we will add some contrast to the image by adding the Levels Adjustment Layer, which can be found in Image - Adjustments - Levels. Adjust levels values depending on your image, click on the clipping mask icon. This will make the levels layer affect only the group below it.

If you want to print a sticker on a sticker paper or use it in WhatsApp, please do these extra steps. Hide the background layer and also hide the shadow layer style. Then from the Image menu choose Trim, check to Trim All Transparent pixels, and also check all 4 sides. This will trim all empty pixels. Then export your image as a PNG. And now you can print it.