n01getsout

Rotoscope is a program for Linux and Windows XP that allows you to rotoscope a picture, giving the picture a cartoon-like appearance while maintaining a good deal of realism. If you have ever seen the movie “A Scanner Darkly” then you know what I am talking about.

I installed the Ubuntu .deb file from the rotoscope download page and installed it without any problems. I also tried it on a Debian Sid machine and it worked fine. The program is pretty basic - you can load an image, change the outline color, and it has multiple undo so you can fix any mistakes. I was looking for a simple picture to use as an example when I came across a mug shot of Robert Downey Jr.

I thought it was great since he was one of the stars of A Scanner Darkly. The program itself is very simple - you simply use the left mouse button to start drawing lines to highlight similar areas of the photo and the right mouse button to start a new line. Then all you have to do is press the Render button.

I believe the next thing the author should add is zoom functionality for precision work and the ability to save the source. I think the outcome is pretty cool for such a simple program. The first picture is exactly what was produced from the source above, but I think it looks a little better if you blur it.