How to Use Photo to Sketch in PhotoDirector
Turn a portrait into a drawn or painted version of itself, in one click.
Updated Sep. 2, 2026 · 4 min read
In a hurry? Use the Photo to Sketch quick guide instead.
Photo to Sketch keeps the face from your photo and rebuilds the picture around it, as an oil painting, a marker drawing or a line sketch. It is not a filter laid over the original, so hair color, clothing and background can all come back different. Which of the two style tabs you use decides how far it travels.
- In PhotoDirector, open Guided & GenAI, click Portrait, then pick Photo to Sketch under GenAI on Faces.
- Import a well-lit photo of a face, then click Continue.
- Choose the Realistic or Artistic tab, then click a style.
- Click Generate, and use Re-generate if you want another take.
Steps to Use Photo to Sketch
Step 1: Open Photo to Sketch
From the PhotoDirector launcher, choose Guided & GenAI. That is the mode holding the step-by-step AI tools, rather than the full editing workspace.
In the Portrait rail down the left, Photo to Sketch sits under GenAI on Faces, between Professional Headshot and Photo to Anime. Click it and an intro screen explains the three stages. Click Start Now.
Step 2: Import a Photo
Drop in the photo you want redrawn. Three sample images sit underneath if you would rather see what the tool does before using one of your own.
The panel on the right is the part to read. PhotoDirector shows four kinds of photo that work and four that do not, as worked examples rather than a list of rules.
| Works well | Steer clear of |
|---|---|
| Half Body Shot | Animals |
| Full Face | Babies |
| Well Lit | Low Light |
| People | Scenery |
The pattern behind the list is that this tool is built around a face. A landscape or a pet has nothing for it to hold on to. Click Continue once your photo is in.
Step 3: Pick a Style
This is where the tool forks. Realistic and Artistic are two tabs with two different galleries, and the difference is how much of the photograph survives.
Painted, still recognisably you
Adds brushwork and color but holds the real proportions of the face. Pick Female or Male first, since this tab styles the two differently.
Illustrated, more of a drawing
Redraws the photo as illustration, so the result reads as artwork rather than a treated photograph. No gender setting here.
Both galleries share several style names, including Oil Painting, Intricate, Minimalist, Marker and Colorful, and the thumbnails show each one on a model so you can judge the look rather than guess from the name. The same name on the two tabs does not produce the same picture.
Realistic costs more per run than Artistic. The badge on the Generate button shows what the current selection will spend, so it is worth a glance before you click, especially while you are still trying styles out.
Step 4: Generate
Click Generate. Progress shows over the photo, so you can tell it is working rather than stalled.
The finished version replaces the photo in the preview, and the button becomes Re-generate. Running it again with the same style gives a different take, which is usually a better first move than switching style.
Haven't got PhotoDirector yet? One photo of a face is the whole input, and the gallery shows each style on a model before you spend a generation finding out.
Download PhotoDirector Free →FAQ About Photo to Sketch
How far the result travels from the original. Realistic keeps the face's real proportions and adds paint and color on top. Artistic redraws the photo as illustration. Realistic also asks whether the subject is female or male; Artistic does not.
A well-lit half body shot or full face. PhotoDirector shows this on the import screen, along with what to avoid: animals, babies, low light and scenery. The tool is built around a face, so a photo without a clear one gives it nothing to work from.
The gallery thumbnails are the preview. Each one shows that style applied to a model, so you can judge the look before you commit. Nothing renders on your own photo until you click Generate.
No. Re-generate runs the same style again and returns a different take, so try that first. Change the style only if the result is wrong in a specific way rather than just not to your taste.
