# Photo To Sketch Practice

> Use when practicing or producing observational sketches from real photo references -- ladder photoshoot (large, mid, micro), layout then structure then clarify, interpret do not mindlessly trace; feeds likeness and kids coloring.

- Skill: `chouswei/photo-to-sketch-practice` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add chouswei/photo-to-sketch-practice`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/chouswei/photo-to-sketch-practice/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: chouswei (https://skillmd.com/u/chouswei)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/chouswei/photo-to-sketch-practice

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# Photo to sketch practice

Turn personal photo references into sketch studies the way observational comic and illustration artists work.

## When

- User brings photos and wants studies, underdrawings, or a photoshoot plan.
- Likeness or a coloring page is starving for better refs or a cleaner read of forms.
- The last pass looked like a photo-trace (every wrinkle, no hierarchy).

## MUST / MUST NOT

- MUST shoot or select a **ladder**: large, mid, micro -- not one thumbnail.
- MUST pass **layout -> structure -> clarify** in that order.
- MUST interpret and communicate; MUST NOT mindlessly trace everything.
- MUST prefer the user's own photos over endless stock hunting.
- MUST feed studies into [likeness-face-sketch](../likeness-face-sketch/SKILL.md) or [kids-photo-coloring-page](../kids-photo-coloring-page/SKILL.md) when that is the job.
- MUST NOT skip to pretty texture before size and proportion are right.
- MUST NOT treat CV edge-detect as the sketch.

## Ladder photoshoot (engage the subject)

1. **Large** -- subject in environment (how they sit in space, full gesture, costume silhouette).
2. **Mid / portrait** -- move closer; head-and-shoulders or the main action.
3. **Micro** -- the "gosh, look at that" details (brow hair, glasses hinge, a toy, a hand).

Ask for missing rungs. One blurry selfie is not a ladder.

## Sketch passes

1. **Layout** -- size, proportion, dominant simple shapes (keep ridiculously simple). Place the subject on the page; lock scale.
2. **Structure** -- main contours, materials as big planes, supporting shapes. Build outside-in, shape before texture.
3. **Clarify** -- for coloring pages: open ink outlines; for studies: contrast, optional light screentone or hatch -- not muddy photo-trace.

Multi-angle perception beats one thumbnail. Turn the subject (or pick other frames) when a form is unclear.

## Rules

Interpret and communicate -- don't mindlessly trace everything. Build outside-in, shape -> texture. Hierarchy: big masses, then joints, then small marks.

Construction habits: [comic-construction-basics](../comic-construction-basics/SKILL.md). One failing part: [localized-feature-study](../localized-feature-study/SKILL.md).

## Outputs

Study sheets and underdrawings that feed [likeness-face-sketch](../likeness-face-sketch/SKILL.md) or [kids-photo-coloring-page](../kids-photo-coloring-page/SKILL.md). Caption each sheet with which ladder rung and which pass (layout / structure / clarify).