Have you ever looked at a photo and thought “This would be an amazing drawing”? Well, you’re not alone. Converting images into sketches is like making apple pie out of oranges, very fulfilling. A sketch may lend that bit of whimsy, be it for a cherished family recall or just your lastest selfie photo to sketch.

Remember back on your last birthday blow out. Your friends were standing around grinning while you had that cake with lit candles. Now picture that scene re-imagined as a hand-drawn masterpiece. The clean lines capture the warmth, and the smudged edges tell tales.

Daydream Peanut, your dog, elegantly perched near a window having sunshine dance around his coat. if we could transfer that to the world of sketches Peanut would appear much closer to whatever canine ruler he thinks himself. And all without chasing one ball.

Making a picture into a sketch is not just monkey business. Many software ablutions and tools target smart magic ninjitsu. Got ten seconds? Toss an image inside, presto! Here’s a sketch! Some of these apps are almost like wizards; just do some hand wavy ministrations and watch reason being surpassed by likeness.

I know at this point what’s going through your mind. Don’t worry, it’s not just an app filter. You can play with some sliders and adjust until you discover that “magic” factor. Heck, it will make you exclaim, “Wow, I am a true artist!” well, closer to be one anyway.

While you are at it please don’t get into too much tech babble. You don’t need a PhD to be good at graphic designing. A little bit of curiosity and willingness to experiment gives out great results. If it doesn’t workout the first time—so what? Not like Picasso was the Oracle or something.

Notice how a sketch shows you a raw emotion by stripping the fluff away? Like the fable of onion layers but minus the teary ones because you know, they’re good. The main idea of the picture shines out all coated in nostalgia and charm.

Now let’s talk for a moment about the tiny elephant in the room. There are some people who are traditionalists, only the sketched that can be mocked up by hand and pencil are accepted as ‘real’. Great, they can have their easels and oil paints. as for you, well; just click away at the memories like it’s no biggie.

Making sketches from pictures is a nice passtime. Think of it as your creative yoga. Dive in, play a little – it might be the happiest rabbit hole you’ll ever fall down into.