---
title: "simple image to cartoon images"  
description: "image processing libraries like OpenCV (via Emgu CV) or Accord.NET. The basic idea is to apply edge detection and then blend it with a simplified colo"  
author: "ICSM Computer"  
published: 2025-02-11  
updated: 2025-02-12  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/338497/simple-image-to-cartoon-images  
category: "c#"  
tags: ["c#", ".net", "image view"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# simple image to cartoon images

In C#, you can convert an image into a cartoon-style image using **[image processing](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/102702/what-is-the-purpose-of-google-s-coral-camera-for-ai-powered-image-processing) [libraries](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/49244/which-company-is-ahead-in-classification-of-data-for-libraries-innovations)** like **OpenCV (via Emgu CV)** or **Accord.NET**. The basic idea is to apply **edge [detection](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/23143/long-press-detection-in-andriod)** and then blend it with a **simplified color version** of the image.

## Steps to Convert an Image to a Cartoon in C#

1. **Load the Image**
2. **Apply Bilateral Filter** (to smooth colors while preserving edges)
3. **Detect Edges** (using Canny or Laplacian edge detection)
4. **Convert to Grayscale and Apply [Threshold](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/39821/golden-threshold-is-a-collection-of-poems-written-by-whom)**
5. **Combine the Edge Mask with the Smoothened Image**

## Code Using Emgu CV (OpenCV for .NET)

```cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using Emgu.CV;
using Emgu.CV.CvEnum;
using Emgu.CV.Structure;
using Emgu.CV.Util;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        string inputPath = "input.jpg";  // Replace with your image path
        string outputPath = "cartoon.jpg";

        Mat src = CvInvoke.Imread(inputPath, ImreadModes.Color);

        // Apply Bilateral Filter for smoothing
        Mat smooth = new Mat();
        CvInvoke.BilateralFilter(src, smooth, 9, 75, 75);

        // Convert to Grayscale
        Mat gray = new Mat();
        CvInvoke.CvtColor(src, gray, ColorConversion.Bgr2Gray);

        // Apply Median Blur to reduce noise
        CvInvoke.MedianBlur(gray, gray, 7);

        // Detect edges using Adaptive Threshold
        Mat edges = new Mat();
        CvInvoke.AdaptiveThreshold(gray, edges, 255, AdaptiveThresholdType.MeanC, ThresholdType.Binary, 9, 2);

        // Convert edges to color
        Mat colorEdges = new Mat();
        CvInvoke.CvtColor(edges, colorEdges, ColorConversion.Gray2Bgr);

        // Combine edges with the smoothened image using bitwise_and
        Mat cartoon = new Mat();
        CvInvoke.BitwiseAnd(smooth, colorEdges, cartoon);

        // Save the cartoonized image
        CvInvoke.Imwrite(outputPath, cartoon);

        Console.WriteLine("Cartoon image saved at " + outputPath);
    }
}
```

**[Installation](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/711/php-installation-on-windows) [Requirements](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/49891/what-are-the-system-requirements-for-mac-os-x-10-3)**

1. Install **Emgu.CV** from NuGet:

```c
Install-Package Emgu.CV Install-Package Emgu.CV.runtime.windows
```

2. Ensure **OpenCV dependencies** are [available in your](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/109084/how-to-resolve-this-video-is-not-available-in-your-country-on-a-streaming-site) project.

The result is a **cartoonized version** of your input image with **bold outlines and smooth colors**.

Would you like help integrating this into a GUI [application](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/59/xaml-extensible-application-markup-language) (like Windows Forms or WPF)?

---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/338497/simple-image-to-cartoon-images

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