This openframeworks app uses canny edge detection and background substraction to find relevant contours in a scene taken from a webcam. It redraws the contours using a generative drawing algorithm.
The edge detection component is crucial in order to obtain a good portrait to seed into the program. Small tweaks in lighting and in the preparation of the image can make a huge difference. I'll continue to play with this segment of the program to see how I can improve the accuracy of the detection algorithm.