Picture this: you go through millions of photos on your phone-from selfies to candid moments, shots of food, and the million sunsets you click. Pretty soon, they all start merging into some kind of humdrum grid of pictures. But what if, by some quirkier turn of fate, it were possible to take those very ordinary images and rehone them into something quite different and a lot more interesting, like cartoons? Now you are thinking, “How?” Now, let’s dive into the fascination of rendering photo to cartoon.
Why Scores of People Engage in Them
When it’s so strongly visual, everybody can, at any instant, be everybody else’s competitor for his minute under the lights. Never was a star easier to become. What would be an impossible drag for the viewers – a dull picture – cartooned, is a good deal more successful! People like to think of themselves reimagined, in a marvelous, at least semi-artistic way. And who doesn’t like to imagine his everyday life in a style borrowed from the Sunday comics or animated movies?
Besides, cartoons are a lot of fun. Ever notice how your frown just feels futile when you are looking at a cartoon version of yourself? The humor encoded in those broad lines and bright colors seems to work almost like a mood elevator. That’s magic!
History in a nutshell
Well, cartoons started dancing since the 19th century-from caricaturing political events to whisking off to other avenues of entertainment like films and comic strips. Now, fast-forwarding to the present: it is that great blend of where technology meets art, since literally our photos of day-to-day life can be whipped out into cartoon narratives at just a button click. From Doodles to Digital Masterpieces
At one period in his life, conversion of a picture into a cartoon was a big hassle job. One would take his pictures to an artist. He would use quite a lot of pencil power to capture the essence of the picture and put it on the paper.
But today, once more, here technology swoops in like a knight in shining digital armor.
With a slew of apps and software programs, anyone can tweak, transform, and toy around with their images. You’d be surprised how a tap on your screen can conjure up comedic, larger-than-life renditions of your photos.
Dilemmas, Choices and Algorithms
Sometimes, the selection is just not a piece of cake when there are so many variants: different applications with a myriad of filters, techniques, and styles up for grabs.
Well, some actually turn your picture into a simple pencil sketch, while others create these vibrant, cell-shaded wonders that would make Disney jealous Not to mention the underlying technology: algorithms running around, detecting edges, shading backgrounds, amongst other things-little unsung heroes, sweating it out behind the scenes.
A true-life story
So, let me just fall into an anecdote: My friend Joe wanted to cartoon some picture of his dog named Max. Now, Max wasn’t just any other dog on the block; he was, well, shag royalty. Joe clicked on a photo where Max lay majestically atop a hill, wind-swept ears complementing the evening sky. Well, Joe used some application to make a cartoon out of Max’s portrait.
In an instant, that hilltop became filled with character, and Max was the neighborhood star; well, sort of. Whosoever saw Max’s cartoon version couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Not to mention the requests for paw-tographs!
Engagement Out of Boredom
Now, think of this as adding some pizzazz to your posts on social media: dull pictures-those have been done; animation-now you are adding a shot of spice, an artistic kick in the mix. People just can’t help but be drawn to creativity; it’s the plot twist or that special topping on your meal. You show them moments, an art in themselves. You bridge the gap in communication.
The Social Media Angle
Understandably, the social media space, surviving on likes, shares, and comments today, has developed an insatiable appetite for something weird, really striking. Be it a content creator or wannabe influencer, this could very well act as your golden ticket.
Okay, how would you manage to keep the ball rolling once every Tom, Dick, and Harriet snapped the same shots in the local park? Well, cartoonify!-like an ace up in the sleeve, a fresh narrative when things get stale. Jump in. Get wet.
Give it a shot: monkey around with your outdoors pictures; perhaps that forgotten picture from vacation-where your ice cream’s dripping, face mid-laugh-turn it into a comic book panel, this über-portrait of joy-well, and see how it ups the quotient of the day or simply brings a smile to one’s face. It’s all in having that pinch of playful sauciness and oodles of fun.
From static pictures to animated art, it’s a whole different world out there. Explore it, enjoy it, probably fall head over heels in love with your sketched likeness. And who knows, you might just find a new you-line and color at a time!
