Here is a self portrait I took earlier this month:
A couple of days ago I was reading an article called
Imitating A Scanner Darkly, which inspired me to try something similar:
I didn't have the time to use quite the same technique and the result isn't exactly what I had in mind at the start but I was pleased with the overall effect.
I started with the image in The Gimp, used "posterise" to reduce the number of lcolours and blurred that layer a little to stop the edges being too jagged. I then created a layer mask using "threshold" to pick out all the darkest areas. This was applied to a black layer (giving my inking) and then made translucent (as otherwise the black areas were too large). The picture was then flattened, indexed down to 36 colours and saved as a .png file.
I imported this into Inkscape (vector graphics) and used the "trace bitmap" control to make 36 passes (one per colour) and create a vector version. My PC groaned a bit at using this (because it creates shapes made up of lots of nodes) so I then applied the simplify option, which has rounded everything off and provided the slightly bumpy edges. To post to Flickr, I just took a screenshot and saved as a .jpg image.
I think similar steps would have helped me towards achieving what was set out in the article, although a graphics tablet and more time would also have been useful ingredients. However, this was quick, easy and has produced a worthwhile result.
Wulf