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How to compare a photo with pencil art on Mac

Turn a portrait into a pencil sketch and compare the artwork with your original photo side by side on Mac.

3 stepsUpdated 12 Nov 2026Get Sketch Drawing Photo Lab
What you'll achieve
You will see your original color photo beside its pencil drawing, making it easy to evaluate the illustration before you save it.
What you need
  • Sketch Drawing Photo Lab installed on your Mac.
  • A portrait image you want to turn into a sketch.
Original portrait alongside a pencil illustration in the Sketch Drawing Photo Lab comparison view.

Sketch Drawing Photo Lab lets you create a pencil illustration from a photo and check how the drawing compares with your original. Start with a portrait and use the Pencil treatment, then open the comparison view to inspect both versions.

  1. 1.Load the portrait photo

    Use Load image to open a portrait. The picture appears as an illustration in the canvas; Pencil may already be the selected treatment.

    A portrait rendered as a light pencil drawing, with the Pencil treatment selected in Sketch Drawing Photo Lab.
    A portrait rendered as a light pencil drawing, with the Pencil treatment selected in Sketch Drawing Photo Lab.
  2. 2.Select the Pencil treatment

    In the Treatment panel, choose Treatment pencil. A blue selection indicator confirms the Pencil style. If it was already selected when the photo loaded, the sketch will look unchanged.

    The Pencil treatment highlighted in the right panel beside the portrait drawing.
    The Pencil treatment highlighted in the right panel beside the portrait drawing.
  3. 3.Compare the photo and sketch

    Click Compare in the toolbar. Inspect the split view: your original color portrait is on one side and the pencil illustration is on the other.

    A split comparison of the original full-color portrait and its black-and-white pencil illustration.
    A split comparison of the original full-color portrait and its black-and-white pencil illustration.

Tips

  • Pencil may be selected automatically when the photo loads; selecting it again does not change the drawing.

  • Use the comparison view to check details in the illustrated faces against the original photo.