Turn photo into a cartoon using Gimp

  1. Make a copy of your photo.
  2. Scale it down to the size you wish to use ( Image -> Scale )
  3. Copy the background layer ( Dialogs -> Layers -> Duplicate Layer [duplicate layer is the button on the bottom with the two sheets of paper] )
  4. Gaussian Blur top layer ( Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur [I use 8 px ] )
  5. Divide Layers ( Go to your Layers Dialog and under the Mode drop list select Divide )
  6. Flatten Image ( Layer -> Merge Down )
  7. Apply Cartoon filter ( Go to Filters -> Artistic -> Cartoon and play with the settings till you are happy with the preview, then hit OK )
  8. One thing that makes cartoon drawings stand out from other drawings is the heavy use of black lines. Every wall, all the items in a room are given dark black outlines in a cartoon.