O ’ R E I L LY D I G I TA L S T U D I O

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PHOTOSHOP

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2
Photo Effects Cookbook
61
Easy-to-Follow
Recipes for
Digital
Photographers,
Designers
& Artists

Tim Shelbourne
 Graphic
Watercolor art effects

A
lthough Photoshop includes filters and effects
rather optimistically labeled Watercolor, after
the first few attempts to use them to produce 1 Duplicate the background
a convincing fine art image, their shortcomings layer (Ctrl/Cmd+J). To
prepare the image for the
become all too apparent. watercolor effect, go to
In fact, the program does have the power to Filter > Blur > Smart Blur.
enable us to mimic real watercolor paintings, but This will simplify the tones
success relies on good technique rather than a and the detail in the image.
simple one-click process. Use these settings: Radius
14.1, Threshold 68.4, Quality
Although the techniques in this example are High, Mode Normal.
relatively basic—manipulating image layers and
adding some subtle brushwork—the results are
deceptively sophisticated.
A point worth noting here is that a pressure-
sensitive stylus and pad is virtually essential when
it comes to expressive and effective use of brushes.
Using Brush Options, a brush can be set to respond
directly to the pressure applied by the stylus. As a
result, extremely subtle variations in the opacity
and density of the brushstrokes can be achieved.

36

2 Duplicate this layer again grayscale by going to Image

(Ctrl/Cmd+J), and name it > Adjustments > Desaturate
“Glowing Edges.” To create (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U). Set this
the effect of an initial line layer’s blending mode to
drawing, go to Filter > Multiply, reducing the
Stylize > Glowing Edges. opacity to 41%.
Use: Width 3, Brightness 9
and Smoothness 10. This
layer needs to be inverted
so there are dark lines on a
light base. Go to Image >
Adjustments > Invert (Ctrl/
Cmd+I). Finally, desaturate
the line work to make it

3 Duplicate the first
background copy layer that
we applied Smart Blur to,
name it “Painting Layer,”
and drag it to the top of the
layer stack. Go to Image >
Adjustments > Invert (Ctrl/
Cmd+I) and set the blending
mode for this layer to Color
4 Select the Brush tool and
click in the Brush Picker. To
make sure that you are
using the default brush set,
click the small, right-pointing
arrow and choose Reset
Brushes. Next, scroll down
the brush thumbnails and
choose Dry Brush. If you are
using a graphics tablet, hit
Dodge. The image will turn
white at this stage, which is
exactly what we need. This
will be our blank canvas.
Paint onto it with black,
which, because of its
blending mode, will reveal
the colors in the image.
F5 to display the Brush
Options. Click in the Other
Dynamics panel, and for
Opacity Jitter, choose
Pressure in the Control box.
5 Hit D to ensure that the
foreground color is black.
Paint with this brush at a
large size over the main
central area of the image at
an opacity of about 60%.
Leave plenty of plain white
around the edges of the
picture. Gradually build up
the depth of color by
painting over certain areas
more than once. To give
the impression of real
watercolor, it’s important
to leave small areas of
white here and there.
6 Click in the Brush Picker
again, click the right-
pointing arrow, and now
choose Wet Media Brushes.
Select Watercolor Textured
Surface from the brush
thumbnails. Use the Zoom
tool to zoom into the main
windmill in the image. Paint
with this brush (using black)
into the windmill and
surrounding areas. Use 37
short, random strokes that
follow the contours and
shapes of the components
of the image.
7 Use this brush to paint
over the rest of the land
in the image. Use short,
expressive strokes. When
you paint over the grass
and the bushes, try to follow
the direction of the grass
and plant growth and use
directional strokes to define
the image. Gradually build
up color by painting over
some areas again with black
at low opacity.
 graphic art effects
Watercolor continued
8 Increase the size of the
brush using the right-hand
square bracket, and paint
large, loose strokes into the
sky and water. Don’t try to
follow the details of the
clouds or ripples in the
water, just add some
interest and movement
with these strokes. This
will give a real feeling of
pure watercolor.
38
9 Often, watercolors are
painted on slightly off-white
paper, so let’s establish that
next. Go to Layer > New Fill
Layer > Solid Color and click
OK. When the Color Picker
appears, choose a very light
straw color for the fill. Click
OK and set this layer’s
blending mode to Linear
Burn, opacity 31%. Paint into
this layer using black to hide
it here and there, exposing
the white beneath.
10 To add a subtle paper
texture, go to Layer > New
Fill Layer > Pattern and click
OK. Click the downward-
pointing arrow in the
Pattern Picker display and
then the right-pointing
arrow next to the pattern
swatch to bring up the
Pattern Picker itself, and
choose Artist Surfaces.
Choose Watercolor from the
swatches. Increase the scale
to 573 and click OK. Drag
this layer below the Color fill
layer and set its blending
mode to Multiply with an
opacity of 76%.
11 To give the impression of
broad, soft washes of color,
return to the background
copy layer and choose the
Eyedropper tool. Click with
the tool in the blue sky.
Now, go to Select > Color
Range, set Selection Preview
to Black Matte and use a
Fuzziness setting of 61, so
that just some of the blue
areas in the sky and water
are selected. Hit OK.
12 Go to Edit > Copy (Ctrl/
Cmd+C), Edit > Paste (Ctrl/
Cmd+V). Drag this newly
pasted blue layer up so that
it sits directly below the
Pattern Fill layer. Go to
Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.
Use these settings: Angle
90, Distance 283. Set this
layer to Darken blending
mode, opacity 60%.
13 To complete the image,
duplicate the background
copy layer again, naming it
“Watercolor Filter,” and drag
this copy to the top of the
layer stack. We’ll emphasize
the overall effect by using
Photoshop’s Watercolor
filter very subtly. Go to
Filter > Artistic >
Watercolor. Use: Brush
Detail 12, Shadow Intensity
0, Texture 3. Click OK to
apply the filter. Finally, set
this layer’s blending mode
to Luminosity, and the
opacity to 27% so that it
just adds a touch of
emphasis to the painting.
Tip
MAKING MARKS
Although this technique
results in a convincing
painterly effect, you
really don’t need to be an
accomplished artist to
successfully create it.
All we’re actually doing
here is making simple
marks with the brush
using black on the Color
Dodge layer. Due to the
blending mode of this
layer, the black marks
allow the colors on the
underlying layer to show
through at various
opacities. Because of the
special qualities of the
brushes used, the black
marks on the layer have
the effect and texture of
real watercolor on paper.
It’s important to ensure
that the marks we make
39
on this layer are energetic
and lively. As a general
rule, short dabs work
better than long strokes.

14 Return to the Painting

layer and choose the Brush
tool. Click in the Brush
Picker, selecting the
Watercolor Heavy Loaded
brush. Hit D on the
keyboard to revert to
default colors. Using black,
paint some small strokes
throughout the center of
interest in the image. This
brush produces distinct,
sharp accents that will
help to direct the
viewer’s attention.