How to turn a photo into a Sketch drawing in Gimp

In this tutorial, I will show you how to turn a photo into a sketch drawing so that you can use it on coloring books, for example.

Here is our starting image:

Here is what we will get:

Get Started

1. Open your photo with Gimp. Or use the photo given above (first photo).

2. If your background color is not white, you can click Colors > Levels, then adjust it so that it appears white.

3. Click now Filters > Edge-Detect > Edge and select these settings:

-Algorithm: Differential

-Amount: 1.0

-Smear

Then click OK.

Here is what we obtain:

4. Click now Colors > Invert. Here is what we obtain:

5. Now click Colors > Desaturate. In the window that appears, choose shade of gray based on Average, then click OK.

 Here is what we will obtain at the end:

6. If your photo have some defects when zoomed in, you can remove them using the eraser or the white brush. When done, press CTRL+S to save your photo (sketch).