Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop

Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop

Learn in this Photoshop tutorial how to create comic strip effect from any photo you want.

Final Image

Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop

Resources

Step 1

Start by opening photo in Photoshop. Resize image to 669px width and 1000px height by going to Image > Image Size.
Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 1

Step 2

The picture should be black & white. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate to convert color picture to monochrome.
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Step 3

Duplicate layer (Ctrl+J) and apply Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast with following settings to duplicated layer:
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 4

Step 4

Apply Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen More.
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Step 5

Apply Image > Adjustments > Levels with following settings:
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 7

Step 6

Right now we have 2 layers: black and white photo and upper layer where we apllied all those effects. Choose the Eraser Tool and soft-edged brush with 200 px in diameter and remove carefully the white color around the girl on the upper layer. In the end you will have something similar to my image below.
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Step 7

Now we need to add contrast. Copy the upper layer with effects (Ctrl+J) and blur copied layer by using Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with next settings:
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 10

Step 8

Assign Darker Color blending mode to this layer.
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Step 9

The image of the girl should look more bright, so let’s darken the area around her. For this purpose we’ll create a new layer, choose the Brush Tool and soft-edged brush with 400 px in diameter with foregound color #000000 and begin to darken the area around the girl.
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Step 10

Change layer opacity to 76%.
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Step 11

Create a new layer on top. Apply Filter > Render > Clouds to it.
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Then apply Filter > Render > Fibers with the settings, that are shown in the screenshot below:
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We get this result:
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Step 12

We apply now Filter > Blur > Motion Blur with the following settings:
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 18
To increase the effect, keep applying filter hitting Ctrl+F until you get the result as in the image below:
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Step 13

Apply Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast:
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 21

Step 14

After that apply Image > Adjustments > Levels to lighten the image.
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 23

Step 15

Finally, assign Overlay blending mode to this layer.
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Step 16

Duplicate layer (Ctrl+J) and go to Edit > Transform > Distort and do like i have on screenshot below.
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 26

Step 17

Duplicate layer (Ctrl+J) with the inclined strokes and move to the right to fill empty space.
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Step 18

Select Custom Shape Tool and one of the standard shapes (Talk1 from Talk Bubbles) and draw a shape with white color (#ffffff).
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Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop 30

Step 19

Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal to correctly position talk bubble. After that, apply Stroke layer style to this layer.
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And We’re Done!

Create Comic Strip Effect in Photoshop
Try with different photos to gain the best possible effect. Good luck!