Adding Dimensionality to Vectorizer Cartoon Styles

[Synthetik]

I've recently been playing around with adding additional dimensionality to the typical flat color region styles you can create with the Studio Artist Vectorizer. An easy approach is to utilize the Gradient or Gradient Lighting Image Processing Operations to post-process the flat color Vectorizer regions. For this kind of application, i think you get the best results with a fairly low Ip Op mix percent, so that you mix in say 25% of the Gradient effect with the original canvas. Experimenting with various compositing operations for the Gradient Ip Op for this application can also be useful. Another trick is to run successive applications of the Gradient Ip Op with slight 20 degree angle offsets, and perhaps different compositing operations as well. You are using successive applications of the Gradient effect almost like you would put on thin coats of a paint glaze, except in this case you are adding dimensionality to your canvas. Here's an example of an image created using just the Vectorizer. Note the flat color regions with no additional dimensionality. Here's a similar Vectorized image processed with the Gradient Ip Op as described above. Note the additional dimensionality at the edges of the colored regions. For this next example i added some additional Gradient processing in a second layer to create a sketch effect layered in with min compositing on top of the processed vectorized regions. I used multiple applications of the Gradient Ip Op with it's parameters set to generate a black and white edge effect min composited into the second layer. After compositing an edge map, i then ran a warp operation to give the black and white edge map a looser sketchy feel. I did this cycle 3 or four times to build up the sketch effect. Here's another example created with multiple layers of Gradient processed Vectorizer effects. Of course, there are many other potential processing effects you could apply to Vectorizer output leading to radically different results. Here's an example of multiple applications of the Geodesic Warp Ip Op to Vectorizer output, again with a small Mix percent to create a soft pastel like effect.

[Donna Kuhn]

i found this tutorial very helpful and interesting. my vectorizations looked like 3d enamels after this.

[Synthetik]

I also wanted to point out that the Flat Region Colorize Image Operation (Ip Op) is really useful for post manipulating the colors of a flat color region image. For example, you could Vectorize your canvas (as opposed to the source) and then use Flat Region Colorize to convert the canvas region colors to match the source image colors.

The Variation popup in Flat Region Colorize also has 2 useful options called RGB Range Optimize and Lum Range Optimize. Running these options lets you run an algorithm similar to the Image Compressor Ip Op (ie, it optimizes the color range of the canvas by simulated dodge and burn) on the flat color regions in the canvas while maintaining them as flat color regions. Running the Image Compressor will optimize the canvas image but will do so in a way that destroys the flat color vector property of the canvas.

If you are going to use the Flat Color Regionize Ip Op after using the Vectorizer to optimize or otherwise modify the region colors you need to do it before you start applying other Ip Ops (like Gradient or the Image Compressor) which will modify the regions so that they are no longer flat. So remember, Flat Color Regionize only works on flat colored regions, not on normal raster images with noise and variation from pixel to pixel.