How to Create a Charcoal Drawing From a Photo (With a Photoshop Action)

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

Traditional art takes years to master, but you can create a beautiful charcoal drawing effect for any photo or background using a simple Photoshop Action. In the quick video below, I'll show you how to use this Charcoal Photoshop Action to convert a picture to a charcoal sketch quickly and easily.

Our charcoal Photoshop tutorial isn't the only one we've got. Don't forget to check our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel to watch more useful video tutorials.

Learn how to modify your initial result using the Photoshop charcoal sketch effect. Also, browse the incredible selection of Photoshop Actions available through Envato Elements for more wonderful effects.

How to Create a Charcoal Drawing Effect Using an Action

Let's start learning how to create a charcoal drawing from a photo. First, open your photo in Photoshop. I'll be using this Football Athlete Stock at 2000x1333 pixels.

Football Pixabay Stock — Football Athlete Stock

Now go to Window > Actions and load your Charcoal Photoshop Action into the Actions palette. This Photoshop charcoal sketch effect also requires a set of brushes, so select the Brush Tool (B) and then go to Replace Brushes under the gear icon to replace your current ones with the new set.

Create a New Layer and name it "brush." Use a Soft Round Brush to Fill your subject and any area where you would like the action to occur with color. When you're ready, select one of the action styles from the list (Style 5) and press Play.

The Photoshop charcoal action will take a few seconds to fully play out. Once it's done, modify your result by experimenting with the Adjustment Layers in the new action Group created. I decided to increase the Opacity of the photo layers to show the athlete more, and use the brushes from the original set to add more random brush strokes. You can play with the charcoal effect in Photoshop and convert a picture to a charcoal sketch as many times as you wish.

Here is the final result of our photo to charcoal drawing tutorial. See how easy is to use the Photoshop charcoal sketch effect?

Charcoal Photo Effect Photoshop Tutorial

Want to see this charcoal effect in Photoshop in real time? Check out the video above to see this lesson at work!

5 Top Charcoal Photoshop Actions From Envato Elements

If you want to create an awesome, premium-style charcoal drawing image, you don't have to follow the steps above. You can create your own drawing instantly by using the charcoal Photoshop actions on Envato Elements!

Envato Elements is your one-stop shop for premium creative digital assets. It's a subscription-based marketplace that, for one low monthly fee, allows you to download thousands of items for creative projects. Below, you'll find examples of the top charcoal Photoshop actions you can find on the site.

1. Sketch Charcoal Drawing Photoshop Action (ABR, ATN, TXT, PAT)

This first charcoal drawing Photoshop action will make coal drawing easy. In a matter of seconds, you'll get a soft, beautiful take on charcoal images. The download includes a video and text tutorial so that you can transform your designs even faster and better.

2. Pencil Sketch Photoshop Action for Drawing With Coal (ATN)

Give your photographs a sketchy, rough look that's cool and enticing. This Photoshop action will turn your images into a caricature made by drawing with a coal pencil. You can download this asset and elevate your work with just a few clicks.

3. Charcoal Photoshop Action (ABR, ATN, PAT)

This is a very powerful Photoshop action for charcoal images. It comes with well-arranged layers, so you won't have any trouble putting together some stunning work. Moreover, there's a YouTube video to guide you through the process and make coal drawing easy.

4. Smudged Photo Effect for Charcoal Drawing Images (PSD)

For a cool and abstract charcoal drawing image, you don't have to work extra hard. Simply download this Photoshop effect and get a high-quality image. You have full control over the outcome thanks to its easy customization options.

5. Art Charcoal Drawing Photoshop Action (ATN, PAT)

This is a fun, minimalist, and soft approach to the charcoal image. You can create a work of art out of any photo or image you have in your portfolio. With this download, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Discover More Awesome Photoshop Tutorials

I hope you've enjoyed this photo to charcoal drawing tutorial. Learn more from our Photoshop experts and check out the tutorials below.

Additionally, if you're interested in Photoshop actions and would like to know more, you can check our learning guide dedicated to this topic: Learn Photoshop Actions.

This post has been updated with contributions from Dacia Egurrola. Dacia is a staff writer with Envato Tuts+.