How to Create a Pencil Drawing in Photoshop

Want to create a stunning pencil drawing from a regular photo? In this easy Photoshop tutorial, we’ll walk you through every step to transform your image into a beautiful hand-drawn sketch using built-in tools like Gaussian Blur, Color Dodge, and Levels.

Perfect for digital artists, content creators, and anyone looking to add an artistic flair to their photos—no plugins or brushes required!

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• How to desaturate and duplicate layers non-destructively
• Use Color Dodge and Invert for a glowing sketch base
• Apply Gaussian Blur for the perfect pencil texture
• Enhance depth using Levels and contrast controls
• Clean up backgrounds and highlight facial features with brushwork
• Add final detail and sharpness with a composite layer

⏱️ Chapter Markers:

00:00 – Intro: Pencil Drawing Effect in Photoshop
00:22 – Set Up Your Document & Image
00:39 – Duplicate Layer & Preserve the Original
00:44 – Convert to Black & White with Hue/Saturation
01:06 – Color Dodge & Invert for Glow Effect
01:23 – Add Pencil Texture Using Gaussian Blur
01:40 – Use Levels for Contrast & Density
02:08 – Brush Tool to Lighten Background or Dark Areas
02:35 – Add Final Detail with Snapshot Layer
02:57 – Clean Up with Brush at 100% Opacity
03:13 – Final Results & Outro

[jknuttel]

What happened to Marty, the guy who usually narrates these Blue Lighting tutorials?

[anasadel]

This is not the voice I used to hear in the channel 😮

[alanm.]

One problem, tried a few images. When you get to the stage where you invert the duplicated layer, the leftover image is very faint, almost white. Why would this be happening ?

[bighoss]

What happened to Marty? Wondering why he hasn’t been on the videos lately.