Create your own Avatar - a FREE Macro

[smadell]

In my seemingly endless quest to create the perfect “cartoon” effect, I am posting a macro called Create an Avatar. This macro sets up a somewhat complex set of layers that can turn a photo into an avatar - the sort of image you might want to use on a forum or on social media. It is completely non-destructive, and allows for a large range of variation.

The macro creates a number of adjustments and filters, all enclosed in a Group. Because of this, the effect can be turned on and off by simply toggling the visibility of the group itself. Additionally, the effect is completely non-destructive. It can be edited at any time, and even turned off or deleted without having affected the original photo in any way.

The macro is supplied as a Macro Category and should be imported into the Library panel. It contains a single macro (called Create an Avatar). Once imported, the macro can be dragged into a different category, if desired. The macro was created using Affinity Photo 2 (v2.6.0) which means that it will not be compatible with version 1. However, since it is supplied as a category, it can be imported into the iPad version of Affinity Photo 2.

The macro works well on portraits, and especially those with simple backgrounds. I have found that doing a selection of the background and filling with White creates a good starting point. There is nothing that should keep you from trying this macro on images other than portraits; I will include a sample of one such image below.

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When you click on the macro, the layer structure is created and the user is faced with a lot of choices in the dialog box that opens. Here is what you can change in that dialog:

1) Set Brightness

Part of a Brightness and Contrast adjustment, the default is 40%. Experiment with this, but I have found that keeping the number a bit high makes for better end results.

2) Set Contrast

The second part of that Brightness and Contrast adjustment, the default is 25%. If the colors are too punchy, you can mute them by bringing the contrast down, even into the negative numbers.

3) Posterize to How Many Levels?

A Posterize adjustment, this will limit the number of colors in the result. The default value is 5. The higher the number, the more bands of color you will get. You can move the number of levels up and down in the dialog, and see what kind of result you get.

4) Smooth Edges of Colored Areas

This refers to a Median Blur filter, and is used to smooth out the edges of the posterized colors. The default value is 6, but sometimes a higher value is needed. The higher the value, the smoother the posterized areas will be. Don’t go so high that you lose all detail in your result.

5) Adjust Edge Darkness (higher = darker)

The macro applies a sketch-like set of edges that outline the areas of posterization. This value will darken the edges. The default value is 85%. Values can be entered from 0-100%, but understand that a value of 100 will result in a complete blackout of the image. The best results are usually going to be between 80 and 95%.

6) Adjust Edge Width (higher = wider)

This value changes the width of the individual edges. It does not affect the darkness of those edges, although a wider edge is certainly going to be more visually prominent. The default value is 1.5 px. You probably don’t want to enter values higher than about 3 or 4.

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Here are two examples of the macro results. The first is a portrait, and the second is a landscape (the circular clipping was done afterward!)

And here is a screen recording of the macro in action, so that you can appreciate the non-destructive nature of what’s being done by each of the sliders. Please take note that the resulting image remains non-destructive after the macro completes. Also, be aware that the Edges are all contained within a Group called “Sketch Edges” and its Opacity is set to 50%. You can make that opacity value anything from 0 to 100, which will eliminate or intensify (respectively) the edges.

 

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Just before posting all of this, I decided to add an optional Gradient Map adjustment to remap the posterized colors. You will find this inside the “Photo Adjustments” group. It has a Blend Mode of “Soft Light” and is turned off by default.

To use the gradient map layer, turn it on and open the adjustment panel. You can edit the default gradient map, and I have included a number of sample gradient maps that you can use. You may want to lower the Opacity of the layer in order to soften the result a bit. Download the ZIP file called “Optional Gradient Map Samples” for some presets you can use. (There are instructions!)

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As with all of the macros that I have submitted please remember that I am one person working with one computer. I have tested the macro in a fairly limited fashion, and it works well for me. I believe that the macro functions as stated, but of course I cannot make any guarantees.

On the other hand, if you like the macro you should keep it and enjoy it. It is free to use for personal and/or commercial work, and you do not need to credit me in any way. My only requests are these: (i) please post a response in this Forum topic to let me know that you are using the macro and (hopefully) enjoying it; and (ii) please remember to “pay it forward” by contributing to the forum in any way you can. It is by sharing your experience and your expertise that we all improve our skills and our enjoyment.

Create an Avatar.afmacros Optional Gradient Map Samples.zip