Tutorial: Colored Art to Lineart

i like lineart. it's a bummer the artists don't release lineart like they used to. today we're just messing around trying to get lineart out of some pixxx 😎

first, the end results

sakura x ino lineart

kaguya lineart

i'm sure you've all seen this technique before. it's an old photoshop trick which is basically a better "find edges"

we'll start with this pic with sakura and ino fully nude

sakura x ino

1. Waifu. enlarge the file first with waifu2x. use this or this site.
2. Duplicate the layer
3. Color Dodge. select the layer copy (the layer on top).
   set the layer blend mode to Color Dodge.
4. Invert the layer (ctrl + i)
5. Gaussian Blur. - from the menu go Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. adjust to get the most lineart as you can.
   
   (image after a gaussian blur of 8px)
6. Merge the color dodge layer with the original layer.
7. Desaturate the merged layer.
   you can simply use Desaturate (Ctrl + U, or go Image > Adjustments > Desaturate)
   or for more control over the desaturation, you can use Black & White - go Image > Adjustments > Black & White
   
   (grayscale image)
8. Clean up the mid-greys using Gradient Map or Levels.
   try to preserve as much antialiasing as you can.
   you can always brush out the remaining spots after.
   
   (image after cleanup)
9. Done! Enjoy your lineart!
   i did some outer glow on the lines for the final pieces.
   see the tutorial on isolating lineart on how to make the lineart transparent
   
   some tips: you can help get rid of darker colors by lightening them with Replace Color before step 2
   
   Black & White can save you a lot of cleanup time - use it to get rid of huge the swathes of yellow or cyan that commonly comes out of Color Dodge