An example-based facial sketch system and process that automatically generates a sketch from an input image depicting a person's face. Sketch generation is accomplished by first training the system using example facial images and sketches of the depicted faces drawn with a particular style by a sketch artist. The trained system is then used to automatically generate a facial sketch that simulates the artist's style from an input image depicting a person's face. Nonparametric sampling and a flexible sketch model are employed to capture the complex statistical characteristics between an image and its sketch.