How to Apply Cartoon Effects to Photos

It's been a long time since I last posted a photo editing tut — one year precisely. The main reason has been lack of time, lack of inspiration, and also lack of motivation — due to lack of feedback. Well, I'm addressing that today not because I felt I had to do it, but mostly because an opportunity occurred and I thought it would be nice to share my recent experiments with you. The following manipulation won't yield good results with all your pictures though — you may want to avoid dark and/or detailed images — and you will probably need to edit them all a lot after so as to get a clean fake hand-drawn output.

© Gunther Dillingen

Materials

• - a clear contrasted photo
• GIMP 2.10.14 (Linux/Windows/OSX)
• G'MIC 2.91 (Linux/Windows)
• MyPaint Brushes For GIMP (collection of brushes)
• DigitalStrip (font)
• Pack PNG Comic Text (comics sounds)
• PNG Pack #17 (comics bubbles)
• PNG Pack #18(comics bubbles & sounds)

Instructions

1. Load a copy of your original in GIMP and resize if necessary.

2. Enhance edges with Filters - Enhancement - Sharpen :

- Range = 3
- Quantity = 3,650
- Threshold = 0
- Crop = Adjust

3. Push b/w contrast with Colors - Exposure :

- Black level = 0,100
- Exposure = 0,435

4. Apply Filters - G'MIC-Qt - Artistic - Cartoon :

- Smoothness = 3,45
- Sharpening = 186
- Edge Threshold = 30
- Edge Thickness = 0,026
- Color Strength = 1,368
- Color Quantization = 256

5. Apply Filters - G'MIC-Qt - Colors - Color Balance with default settings.

6. Apply Filters - G'MIC-Qt - Colors - Color Presets :

- LUTs Pack = Creative Pack
- Preset = Crisp Warm
- Strength = 100
- Other settings left as default

7. Copy-past your chosen comic bubbles and sounds as new layers then adjust sizes and layout.

8. Add a new layer and using MyPaint 002 Frame Line brush, draw an irregular border around the picture. TIP: To draw a full line, click on your starting point and holding the Shift key, click again on the ending point, making sure there's a slight offset. Then fill up the offset.

NOTE: I have also changed the colour of the 'Boom' with a variety of filters from the Colors menu plus some cosmetic editing such as removing blue stains with saturation and exposure tweaks. If you wish to edit out the caption of bubbles, you may select the inside with freehand tool and fill up with the original colour, then enter your own text with the same font I have used (or any other).

© Edward O'Brien

 

For my second example using a portrait, after 'cartooning' my character (and editing out the output with various brushes), I removed the white background around him and outlined him with the pencil tool, completing with a drop shadow to create some depth. Finally, I added a cartoon city background I found on the web (I could also have 'cartooned' one) which I copy-pasted as a new layer below. After merging, I applied G'MIC - Colors - Color Blindness filter with Blindness Type = Deuteranomaly.

As always, it is not possible to give you any precise guidelines because every picture needs different settings (and some won't be 'cartoonable'). Also, it all depends on the style you wish to create. At any rate, I do hope it made you feel like trying and why not create a whole comic strip with your existing photos (or take new ones in view of creating a story). I must say I'm thrilled at the prospect. That is if time permits...

© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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She's Pfizer

Elle est Pfizer

She's got that glimmer in her eyes
Which gives her an air of superiority
That redness on top of her arm
Where a plaster used to be
There's clearly something special about her...
For me, she sure is Pfizer!

Every day I see her walk by
In the neighbourhood, unmasked
She kisses her neighbours
And doesn't wash her hands anymore
She's not afraid of the virus...
For me, she sure is Pfizer!

And I'm still living in the Middle Ages
With a mask over my face
So I cry out: “Jab me!”
But labs are all overwhelmed
And there are delivery issues
So we make the best of what we've got...
With that yesterday I got my first dose
Of AstraZeneca at the vet's...¹

And when she tilts a head to the side,
She picks up 5G frequencies
While all I get is a stiff neck
And can hardly tune in to Nostalgia FM
In a blink of an eye, she can call a cab...
For me, she sure is Pfizer!

She's able to follow Jean Castex's²
Most complex conferences
She can understand first hand
New certifications
Curfews, timeshifts...
For me, she sure is Pfizer!

And I won't get my second dose,
There's been a bit of a hiccup
From AstraZeneca.³
It is said that for people my age,
It can cause carnage.
So I'm unsure, don't know why...
I was already picturing myself in the world after
Whereas in reality it's thrombosis.

She's a master in teleportation,
She pays for her groceries with her forehead.
The only inconvenience
Is that she gets all the security alarms ringing.
She can understand the whole of Schopenhauer
For me, she sure is Pfizer!

And I feel restless like a lion in cage
At the end of its rope.
Inject me anything!!
Since I couldn't wait any longer,
I made an appointment with my garage
And was treated like a king!
From now on, I walk with an air of superiority
After my motor oil jab...

Endnotes

1. ^ In France, vets have been requisitioned to vaccinate people.
2. ^ Jean Castex is the actual French Prime Minister, infamous for his contradictory, kafkaesque sanitary measures which keep changing all the time, getting people utterly confused.
   
3. ^ In France, like in many countries in Europe and worldwide, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended due to severe side effects.

Original text by LES GOGUETTES translated from French by EY@EL
© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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Down in the Well

One lousy Christmas

For a jailed Easter,

And none of them catatonic bells

All glued to CNN,

In a mainstream coma,

Will ever ring the end of Lent.

Get your bets down,

The wheel is now going.

To hell or high heaven,

The die is cast.

Bafflegab

And iron masks,

Go astray

And hope to die.

Resist or conform

For better or for worse,

Mindfulness

Seals our fate.

Truth will mess you up.

Or set your free.

Faith or fear,

The choice is yours.

Where we sow light, we glow all!

© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow

I'm on a roll!
I'm on a roll!
This time I feel
My luck could change.

"Lucky", Radiohead (1997)

In Irish mythology, a pot of gold is hidden at the end of rainbows by leprechauns which are mischievous little fairy creatures akin to grumpy pixies and spend their time playing nasty tricks on humans.

This legend originates from long ago, in 795 when Vikings invaded Ireland and were known for burying their loot in undisclosed locations which leprechauns found and buried again at the end of rainbows so no man could ever find it.

Of course, rainbows do not have an end since their arch shape is an illusion — they are actually full circles reflected from raindrops and seem to move farther from us as we move toward them. In most European countries though, rainbows herald fair weather after rainy days and are often linked to exhilaration, joy and happy changes of fortune.

A rainbow is also a symbol of hope, patience and renewal. All we need on this Saint Patrick Day prior to the spring equinox, long considered the true beginning of the year and also the astrological New Year's Day (as the Sun moves at zero degree Aries, the first sign of the zodiac).

May the odds be with us!

© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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Waking up as a Free Country

I'm taking up the presidential challenge!

The aim is to get 10 million views to force President Macron to invite me at the Élysée. I'll take this opportunity to sing him this little song expressing all OUR demands without resorting to neither arms nor violence.

Spare no effort !!! Come on, go and share massively! I'm counting on you. Also, my friends, please, do not reupload. You need to share directly from this page otherwise it won't work.

Thank you for your support. Hang in there! I love you.

Ingrid

No, Ingrid does not pay me to promote her videos — even though I thank her for following me on my spare Twitter account (the first got suspended during the great purge in January). I know I don't usually share two music videos in a row (especially of the same artist), but it is a rather urgent matter and it's for a very good reason. So even if you're not French, please, go to Ingrid's channel on YouTube and share this pastiche cover of Charles Aznavour's "Emmenez-moi" to help her reach her target.

Ey@el

Libres au réveil

– Good morning Mr. President!
– Oh, you know the President?
– No, but you know, it's about his challenge to YouTubers.
– Yes, he did ask YouTubers to promote barrier gestures for free.
– Oh!
– And altogether, a cheap way to boost his popularity.
– Sure, it's all about the forthcoming election.
– Also given what happens to former presidents¹, he'd better watch out his expenses.
– So he asked youths to make a video.
– For free!
– Yes, but in return they will be invited at the Élysée!
– Ah, so you want to go sing your song at the Élysée? You're not supposed to sing it in the street?
– Yes, but it's because all the other venues have been closed.
– Wait, there's a long way to go! You need to make ten million views. You need people to share, share...
– Ah, it must be a lot of sharing!
– So Mr. President, this song is about your barrier gestures to our freedoms which have been going on for months. If I can get ten million views as promised, I agree to come and sing this little popular ditty directly to you. Is that okay for you? And also, you don't want to miss the little extra in the end.
– Here we go!

Our world today is in shock.
We're in a state of chaos,
Every Tuesday they report new variants
Which stay out of the subway.

Knowing all these students,
Alone in their campuses,
Bound by the shackles
Of their screens, isolated,
Held hostages.

And seeing all those
Crowded department stores,
Whereas when you want to
Go for a beer, all you get is
Vaccine soup.

While our elderly, all alone,
Exiled in their nursing homes,
Are waiting patiently for the final blow
With a shot of Rivotril.

Bring me back to the Age of Enlightment.²
Let's revive this sleeping country.
And may France stand united
To wake up as a free country.

Hey you, ordinary citizen, it's your fault they say
If there are so many deaths.
It's been months LCI² is telling us
We're in Black Mirror.³

Archaic measures
Failing to decide
To stop the wrecking
And maiming
In intensive care units.

With your so many mistakes,
We end up missing
All your predecessors
Who were no less wrong.
I'm bagging!

Stop it with all your fears and doubts
When it's time to get your shot.
Have you ever seen them getting off track,
Urging us to go to the polls?

Bring me back to the Age of Enlightenment.
Let's revive this sleeping country.
And may France stand united
To wake up as a free country.

Alone, in your restaurant,
With tears in your eyes
When they told you
You were a danger
To your customers.

The days of warm food festivities
With soulful entertainers,
And our dreamy souls
Being carried away,
All seem long gone.

They provided us with shackles
And lost the key.
“Watch TV
And look at the figures!”
They tell us boldly.

No more need for 49.3,⁴
They got Covid 19.
Will we have to go and take back our rights
Like we did in '89?⁵

Bring me back to the Age of Enlightenment.
Let's revive this sleeping country.
It won't be Voltaire's fault⁶
If we're less peaceful when we wake up.

Bring me back to the Age of Enlightenment.
Let's revive this sleeping country.
And may France stand united
To wake up as a free country.

Bring me back to the Age of Enlightenment.
Let's revive this sleeping country.
And may France stand united
To wake up as a free country.
It won't be Voltaire's fault
If we're less peaceful when we wake up.

Endnotes

1. ^ Former French president Sarkozy has just been sentenced to three years in prison for corruption and influence peddling.
2. ^ The Age of Enlightenment is a reference to The Lumières (the Enlighteners), a cultural, philosophical, literary and intellectual movement beginning in the second half of the 17th century, originating in France and spreading throughout Europe. It included philosophers such as Spinoza, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Newton...
   
3. ^ LCI is a French news TV channel.
4. ^ Black Mirror is a British dystopian science fiction anthology television series.
5. ^ With article 49.3 of the French Constitution which allows them to impose the adoption of a text by the Assembly, immediately and without a vote, the governments of the Fifth Republic are stronger than ever as it allows them to compel the majority if reluctant to adopt a text, and also to accelerate the legislative process, and in particular to end any obstruction from the opposition.
6. ^ 1789, the year of the French Revolution.
7. ^ A famous line from French musical Les Misérables based on Victor Hugo's eponymous novel.

Original text by INGRID COURRÈGES and FLORIAN MARTINEZ translated from French by EY@EL
© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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We'd Like Them to Know

I had promised you to share more pastiches by Ingrid Courrèges, so here is another adaptation of a song by Francis Cabrel written and recorded in just 24 hours as a protest against nonsensical (criminal) measures making face masks mandatory for children as from age six which like most of us, infuriated her.

“To you, little guy stunned and out of breath in the playground. To you, parent who saw the fear and disbelief in the eyes of your child, with a knot of rage and helplessness in your belly. To you, grand-parent who refuse to serve as an excuse to wipe the smile off children's faces. To you, teacher coerced to implement these nonsensical measures” she wrote on her YouTube page, ending her dedication with a thumb down: “To you, leader who still cannot make the right decisions in the management of this crisis.”

Ever since the song was released, back in November 2020, a collective of parents organised in local communities has formed in France to address their concerns regarding the ongoing dynamics ruining our daily lives and threatening our children and our basic individual freedoms. They even made a video to expose the abuse of the implemented token system where each child is forced to a careful and thorough management of their right to breathe and go to the bathroom.

Ey@el

On voudrait leur dire

Since they're coercing us
And that from age six, the rules are the same
We'd like them to know
It feels like a Brown Morning^†
Just one look
At my mother distraught
That a piece of fabric might suffocate me

Since they tell us we're at war
And that we are school soldiers
We'd like them to know
We're going to the battlefield
To attend the smileless classes
Somewhat dazed
But all united
We, the reckless contingent of the little ones

Just some more additional limitations
With far less joy
Far less laughters
Far less rights

Since all the grown-ups have fever
And we can't lip-read anymore
While we're learning to read
Words we cannot see
Access to knowledge is expiring
We are left aside
To the sound of shackles
In the playground with less air to breathe in

They say it's to save grandma
That my face is covered
We'd like them to know
That grandpa/grandma would rather let us breathe
All these hugs we can no longer give them
It's far less love, but it's for public health

Endnotes

• Brown Morning is a French fable, written by Franck Pavloff in 1998. The title is a reference to the infamous Nazi militia known as "Brown Shirts". This universal shortstory is against single mindset and what Pavloff calls "small compromises".

Original text by INGRID COURRÈGES and FLORIAN MARTINEZ translated from French by EY@EL
© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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The Year of the Great Cosmic Show of Strength

Further to the historical Great Conjunction in Aquarius on the winter solstice, today a new rare planetary alignment is taking place (last one occurred circa 1999/2000) which should set the tone for the whole of 2021 since it will happen three times (next is by mid-June then last will be on Christmas eve). An exact square (90°) between Saturn sitting at 7° in Aquarius and Uranus at 7° in Taurus (supported by a Moon conjunction, foreboding a highly emotional climate and potential event trigger) is tantamount to a cosmic show of strength between two uncompromising signs, which is bound to create tension and conflict throughout the course of the year.

The World Is Going To Change

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

"Won't Get Fooled Again", The Who (1971)

At world level, Danielle Clermont says “this square involves considerable contingencies, surprises and unexpected events. Uranus is also known as the ultimate pioneer and rebel of the Zodiac. It is conducing to all sorts of scenarios in which the lightning of Uranus is sure to potentially ignite already 'tricky" situations.” (source)

Named after the eponymous Roman god identified with the Greek Cronus, Saturn is the second largest planet of the solar system in mass and size and the sixth nearest in distance to the Sun. Infamous spoilsport of the Zodiac, Saturn is also considered as the Lord of Karma and represents patience, reliability, austerity, authority, rules, limitations, traditions, and the status quo.

Whereas, as Ouranos the Greek god of the sky, Uranus is the seventh planet in distance from the Sun and the least massive of the solar system’s four giants, which also include Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. As the Great Awakener, Uranus tends to represent unpredictability, innovation, originality, freedom, change, rebellion, and challenge.

With one of the two giants in the groundbreaking sign of communities and new technologies (Aquarius) clashing with the other in the traditional sign of individualism and possessions (Taurus), there should be no compromise as both will stand firm and remain unyielding.

“Saturn will want to control. Uranus will want to go with the flow. Saturn will want to impose boundaries and structure, Uranus will want complete freedom to roam wherever it pleases. These two energy dynamics will clash, and we may see it manifesting as rebellion, revolution, change to traditional structures, controlling freedoms, or the breakdown of the old.” (source)

What makes this Saturn-Uranus square even more interesting, however, says Nikki Harper, is that here the roles are reversed. Saturn in Aquarius is the rebel, with Uranus in Taurus fighting tooth and nail to keep things just as they are:

“There’s a certain elegant irony here too regarding how things have changed since the last Saturn-Uranus squares. We were in the middle of an emerging digital landscape at the turn of the millennium, with new tech startups pushing the boundaries of everything we knew. Fast forward and here we are today, with those former upstarts now giant tech companies which can – and do – call all of the shots and hold most of the cards. Symbolically at least, it’s easy to see how Uranus now represents the status quo, with Saturn challenging for a return to “the good old days”.”

“Perhaps more importantly, however, especially given the upheaval the world is in, this battle between Saturn and Uranus has a spiritual and psychological dimension too. In a “post-truth” world, which of these two powerhouse planets speaks the truth? Is it Uranus, speaking up for the widening of human rights and the greater acceptance of our fellow humans? Or is it Saturn, harnessing the Aquarian energies of philosophy and religion, railing against progressive values and seeking a righteous return to a more conservative (with a small c) world view?”

“It’s up to us to understand that neither of these energies has all of the answers. Both directions of travel can claim right and might on their side, and both would be on shaky ground in doing so. To successfully navigate this Saturn square Uranus energy, we do need to pick a side, yes, but we need to understand that “our side” is also a work in progress, with faults and issues of its own. Realism is needed more than ever, because too much idealism and righteousness is leading only to more division and chaos.” (source)

Rekindling The Innner Fire

My life — you electrify my life!
Lets conspire to ignite
All the souls that would die
Just to feel alive

"Starlight", Muse (2006)

On a personal level, Danielle Clermont explains that Uranus will strongly encourage our desire to free ourselves from limitations, restrictions, and "old structures calcifying our lives".

“We are seeking to implement new thought patterns and new ways to "ride" the flow of our daily tasks more smoothly. If we can just pass through the stormy phases caused by this square, then Saturn and Uranus will open our minds to new possibilities. Both planets will also teach us to accept change "for the better" as the only sure thing this unpredictable square has to offer is that there will be change!“ (source)

While this is something we can see manifesting in our outer reality, change may also take place within us.

“Old thoughts and beliefs that we have held about ourselves or the world may crumble. As we allow old thoughts and patterns to fall away, we may find ourselves being more curious and open-minded. We may even find ourselves getting better at balancing structure and a routine, and making time for spontaneity and creativity. Depending on where we are on our journey, we may find that we need more of Saturn’s wisdom or more of Uranus’s wisdom.“ (source)

I, for instance, have this square affecting both my self-image (1st House) and emotional foundation (IC/4th House) while also impacting my Black Moon, which is where lie all our taboos and repressed stuff. So let me assure you that I'm currently going through very distressing inner crises, challenging the way I usually cope with painful emotions.

As someone I like a lot (who is also going through dark places with the same houses impacted) wisely told me last week, “the key is to be fully in each rather than trying to wish it away”.

Anyhow, we have no alternative — there is nowhere to hide, so we'd better buckle down.

© La Pensine Mutine. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.

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