How To Make Watercolor Background

This step-by-step tutorial will testify y'all how to make a photo look like a watercolor in Photoshop. We will use a couple of filters, a Smart Mistiness, blending modes, a newspaper texture overlay, and some brushes to create the watercolor effect in Photoshop.

What is a Watercolor?

Watercolor paintings are made by mixing water-soluble paint with water. The textured newspaper absorbs the color as the water dries.

Watercolors are soft and luminous. The color is most transparent, letting the texture of the paper show through. The colors bleed into each other on the edges. They also oft have bright, vibrant colors. The subject can go all the way to the edge of the paper. Sometimes they seem to emerge from the white background.

The drips and smudges add together an ethereal quality. The paintings are dreamlike or otherworldly.

Gather Your Materials

Only like a watercolor creative person, you will need some paper and brushes.

Download a digital paper texture. Unsplash has many free options. Search "watercolor paper" and choose the one yous similar.

I used a uncomplicated white textured newspaper by NordWood Themes. You can too apply colored paper or paper with watercolor brush strokes. These will interact with the colors in your photo every bit we change the blending modes.

Y'all as well need some watercolor brushes for Photoshop. There are many complimentary options. Search for "watercolor brushes." I used Moisture PS Brushes from Brusheezy. I volition show yous how to load the brushes into Photoshop in a minute.

Don't you feel like a watercolor painter! At present that we have all the materials nosotros need let'south leap into Photoshop.

How to Add together a Watercolor Painting Event

Follow along to create a watercolor painting in Photoshop. In that location are a lot of small steps, only none of them are difficult. Let's start by opening an epitome and installing the brushes.

Step 1: Open up Photo in Adobe Photoshop

Start by opening a photo in Photoshop. You tin can send one from Lightroom or the File drop-downward menu. Select File > Open (Ctrl/Command+O). Then, navigate to the file.

Click Open up.

Stride 2: Modify Image Style

To apply the filter gallery later, you lot need to change your photo to an viii-bit epitome. An 8-bit file is smaller and has less color diversity. But that does not thing to the effect nosotros are creating.

Get to the Image drop-down menu and select Epitome > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel. Your file may already be viii-bits.

Step three: Copy Background Layer

Get to the Layer driblet-down menu and select Layer > New > Layer via Copy (Ctrl/Commnd+J). Rename this layer "Watercolor Consequence."

Then turn off the Background by clicking on the eye icon. We volition add together the blur in a minute.

Pace iv: Convert Layer to a Smart Object

Catechumen the Watercolor Effect layer to a smart object. This lets us add effects similar mistiness and then become back and modify the effect later.

Get to the Layer drop-downward menu and choose Layer > Smart Objects > Catechumen to Smart Object.

Stride 5: Install Brushes

Next, import the brushes. If the brushes yous downloaded are in a ZIP file, double-click it to expand the folder.

Go to the Window drop-down carte and select Window > Brushes. Click the three-line icon in the peak correct corner of the brush panel. Select "Import Brushes" from the bill of fare.

Navigate to the brush file you downloaded. Our example icon says, "Brushes." Click Open.

In the list of brushes, there should now be a folder labeled with the name of your watercolor brush collection (i.e., "20 Watercolor Brushes"). We will apply these towards the end of the tutorial.

Pace half-dozen: Add Watercolor Effects to the Photo

Watercolor paintings have a soft blur. We will use a couple of Photoshop filters to become the effect.

Go to the Filter drop-down card and select Filter > Filter Gallery. If this option is greyed out, make sure you converted the file to 8-bit manner.

Open the Creative card. We will apply two of the filters.

Offset, click the Watercolor effect. (Y'all could too utilise the Dry out Brush filter.) Set Brush Detail to 14, Shadow Detail to 0, and Texture to three. Then click the plus icon at the bottom of the window.

So, open up the Sketch bill of fare. Set the Fiber Length to 35, the Brightness to 65, and the Contrast to 65. Experience gratis to experiment with these settings.

Click OK.

Step 7: Add together a Smart Blur

With the Watercolor Consequence layer selected, click the Filter carte again. Select Filter > Mistiness > Smart Mistiness. Move the Radius slider to fifteen and the Threshold slider to 100. Alter Quality to High.

Click OK.

Step viii: Add Sketched Edges

The last filter to add is Find Edges. This makes information technology look similar you sketched the picture show before painting. Go to the Filter driblet-down bill of fare. Choose Filter > Stylize > Detect Edges.

You should accept 3 Smart Filters in the layers panel—Notice Edges, Smart Blur, and Filter Gallery.

Pace 9: Modify Blend Modes

Nosotros will alloy each Smart Filter a little differently using blending modes. Allow's start with the Filter Gallery. Double-click on the icon to the right of the name. Change the blending fashion to Soft Lite.

Click OK.

Double click on the icon to the right of Smart Blur. Choose Screen alloy style and set the Opacity to l%.

Click OK.

Finally, double-click the icon to the correct of Observe Edges. Alter the fashion to Multiply and the Opacity to fifty%.

Click OK.

Step ten: Add Paper Texture

To add the paper texture you downloaded earlier, go to the File driblet-down carte du jour. Choose File > Place Embedded. Navigate to the file.

Size the texture layer until it covers the entire photograph. Change the blending mode to Multiply. If y'all chose colored paper, another blending manner like Soft Lite might look better.

Pace 11: Add a Layer Mask

Become back to the Watercolor Effect layer and add a layer mask. Go to the Layer drop-down menu. Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All.

Step 12: Paint!

Select the layer mask and the brush tool. Fix your foreground colour to white.

Paint using one of the brushes that you downloaded earlier. Set Opacity and Flow to 100% in the Options toolbar.

Pigment a little at a time and use more than one brush at more than than 1 size. The watercolor movie gradually appears.

Conclusions

This tutorial showed you how to create a watercolor result in Photoshop. We used a few filters, a texture overlay, and brushes. Some of the tools may have been new to yous, but each pace is easy… and in that location is room to experiment—especially when painting with watercolor paintbrushes. Be creative and enjoy!

Attempt out our Digital Dreamworlds east-book to learn more about blend modes and create stunning photo collages!

How To Make Watercolor Background,

Source: https://expertphotography.com/watercolor-effect-photoshop/

Posted by: cliffordponeely.blogspot.com

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