I just saw this thread today. If you’re thinking that’s there’s a compositing node tree, FORGET IT. “Waking Life” wasn’t made by shooting footage and then applying some Photoshop/Gimp filter on top; every frame (or some fraction thereof) was ROTOSCOPED by a large team of animators utilizing a program developed by the head animator (whose name escapes me at the moment) to interpolate the hand-traced, keyframed splines.
That said, if you’re looking for an approximation of that look (emphasis on approximation), you have two, maybe three options:
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I recently saw this thread that will approximate a “painterly” effect not unlike some Photoshop/Gimp filters. I personally have not tried it. This is the simplest way to achieve something remotely similar.
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If you’re not talking about footage but 3D elements rendered out in an animation in Blender, experiment with the Freestyle settings. Maybe that’s all you need…?
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You can rotoscope your footage using the grease pencil and in a similar fashion interpolate the spline movements. This will probably be far closer to the true “Waking Life” look but unless you have 30 friends helping you you’re gonna have BIG WORK ahead of you using this method. I’m thinking anything more than 25 frames and you’ll see why there’s no quick solution to your request.
I once had a client who asked me for a “Waking Life” look. Then I presented him with a cost estimate…!
I don’t want to discourage you (or anybody looking to do this) but be aware it is not a matter of chaining together four compositing nodes and you’re Richard Linklater! Cheers!