Filter Tutorial
This is a quick & fairly easy filter tutorial if you are pretty familiar with Photoshop. This will achieve an end result similar to the image above of Michelle Trachtenburg. (click on images for full size versions)
1.  |
Firstly open your chosen image in Photoshop. Then you need to Duplicate that layer by right clicking on the layer in the Layer Palette & choosing 'Duplicate Layer'. |
2.  |
Set the top layer, the one we just duplicated to Mode: Screen You can play around with the Opacity if you find your image too light, or alternatively try it on Mode:Soft Light if it's a light image to start with. |
3.  |
Once you are happy with your image, we then need to 'Merge layers'. Make sure both image layers (shift+ left mouse-click) are selected, then go to Edit: Merge Layers. |
4.  |
Once the 2 image layers are merged we are going to apply our first filter by going to Filter >- Artistic -> Watercolour Brush, with the settings as shown below - I used the settings below, but you can change these to suit your needs - if you don't like the result at this stage, then just step back & try it again. |
5.  |
Once you are happy, we then need to go to Edit - Fade Watercolour -I used the setting below, but you can set if on Soft Light or less Opacity if you prefer. Settings |
6.  |
Settings |
7.  |
If you want to addd a border round your image, then follow steps 7 - 9 - if not then just skip to Step 10. To make our border, first we need to make a new layer, by clicking on the new layer symbol on the bottom of the Layer Pallette. |
8.  |
We now need to select the new layer we have just made, by going to Select: Select All |
9.  |
Next, go to Edit - Stroke - I used the setting below to add 10 pixel white border round the image - you can adjust these settings to your own preferences. Settings |
10.  |
Now we are going to use a gradient to soften the colours of our image. We do this by using a gradient map. To add a Gradient Map click on the 'Create New Adjustment Layer' symbol on the bottom of the Layer Pallette, then select Gradient Map & select your gradient.
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11.  |
Once we have applied our gradient we can then play around to get the effect we want, I set my gradient to the following settings:_ Set Layer Opacity to 21% |
12. |
Of course you can add more gradients, and any other effects you want to. I used a few masking brushes to give a soft edge, and then I added some text, and a simple brush. Just play around and try some things out - every image/gradient can give such different end results! :D |
