How do I Change Images to Comics in Photoshop?
Comics, by definition, are images combined with words. You can turn photographs or other images into comics by adding word balloons, thought balloons and captions. Although other comics creation programs exist, you can accomplish all these tasks by using Photoshop.
The process outlined here focuses on adding word balloons. You can use the same process to create thought balloons and captions. For captions, you'll want to use the "Rectangle" or "Rounded Rectangle" tool instead of the "Custom Shape" tool, but otherwise the process will be identical.
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Things You'll Need
- Photoshop 7 (You can use other versions, but menus and buttons may be in slightly different locations)
- An image to change, or a copy of that image if you want to play it safe.
Instructions
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Once you've opened your image, you'll probably want to add a new layer (click "Layer," then "New," then "Layer") so you can change or delete your new additions later, if necessary.
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Go to the Toolbar and select "Custom Shape," next to the "Type" tool.
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On the "Options" bar, choose "Paths." Then find the pull-down menu labeled "Shapes," also in the "Options" bar. A variety of shapes will be listed, including one word balloon. However, if you click the button in the upper right corner of that menu, a second, much longer pull-down menu will offer a list of various other shapes. Near the bottom of the list is one labeled "TalkBubbles." Choosing this item will give you a variety of word and thought balloons. If you select "Append," it will add these shapes to the first menu, instead of replacing the items already on the menu.
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Position your word or thought balloon. You can stretch it while positioning it, or hold down the "Shift" key to keep its original shape. Once set, you won't be able to move it, so it might take a few tries to get the right shape and position. Ideally, the "tail" of the word balloon should point toward the speaker's mouth, or at least his lower face. Make sure the balloon is big enough to fit all of your text.
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In the Toolbar, make your foreground color white, or whatever color you want the word balloon to be.
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Open the "Paths" window. If you have the "Layers" window open, it'll be a tab in that window; otherwise, go to "Window," then "Paths." The "Fill" button, the leftmost bottom button in the "Paths" window, will fill the balloon with your foreground color.
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Now change the foreground color in the Toolbar to black. Also in the Toolbar, choose the "Brush" tool. Make the brush a hard, round shape, 1 to 5 pixels in size.
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In the "Paths" window, click the "Stroke" button, the second-to-left bottom button, to create a border around your word balloon based on your brush. You can, of course, change the settings and colors to fit your preference, creating a thicker border, for example.
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Once you've got the word balloon the way you like it, click on the "Paths" window anywhere below the "Work Path" heading to remove the path itself.
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Now you can fill in your balloon using the "Type" tool.
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Tips & Warnings
To aid legibility, leave some space between the words and the balloon border; that is, the words shouldn't touch the edge of the balloon. You can accomplish this by breaking the text into lines. For example, the text in an ellipse-shaped balloon can be broken into two short lines and one long one, with the long one in the center, where the balloon is longest. Luckily, the "Type" tool allows you to move and change text once written, so you can play around until it looks right.
References
- Photo Credit books image by ana malin from Fotolia.com
