Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to quickly transform photos into the look of beautiful watercolor paintings.
This is an update of watercolor tutorials I've done on earlier versions of Photoshop.
This version is quick and effective and will allow you to replace your subject without
having to redo most of the effects.
I provided a link to a great set of watercolor brushes
as well as a link to a watercolor paper texture image that we’ll use later to create a pattern.
Both links are in my video’s description below or project files.
Before we begin, if I've helped you learn or improve in Photoshop or even inspired you
to explore your creativity, please become a patron through Patreon.
For as little as just $2 dollars per month, you'll be showing your support and helping
me to keep my tutorials free!
Click the Patreon card at the upper, right.
Open a color photo of someone that you'd like to use for this project.
I downloaded this one from Shutterstock.
To ensure that your results will similar to mine, check your photo's size and resolution
by going to Image and Image Size.
Its width and height should be within a few hundred pixels of mine and its resolution
should be 72 pixels per inch.
We'll make a selection around our subject, so we can separate it from its background.
There are many ways to do this and I covered them all in prior tutorials.
For this example, I'll use the Quick Selection Tool.
If you're using this tool as well, I find that a radius of approximately 10 pixels generally
works well for most images of this size and resolution.
Drag your tool over the inside of your subject to select it.
Do remove selections outside your subject, press and hold Alt or Option as you drag over those areas.
To check your selection, press "Q" on your keyboard to see it as a quick mask.
We'll refine the edges in a moment.
Press "Q" again to revert it back into a selection.
If your working on version CC 2015.5 or later, click the "Select and Mask" button or go to
Select and "Select and Mask".
However, if you working on an earlier version, click "Refine Edge".
I did in-depth tutorials on both of these filters, so if you want to watch them, I provided
their links below in my video's description.
If you prefer to use Refine Edge instead of "Select and Mask", Shift-click "Select and
Mask" to open Refine Edge.
Check, "Smart Radius".
This enables the tool to determine which edges are soft and hard.
To adjust the size of your tool, make sure your CapsLock key is off and press the right
or left bracket key on your keyboard.
Drag the tool over the edges of your subject
and adjust its size to cover a larger area such as fly-away hair.
Check "Decontaminate Colors"
to prevent the background colors from seeping into the edges of your subject.
I'll slide the amount all the way to 100%.
Output it to a "New Layer with Layer Mask".
This allows us, if we want to later, to refine the cutout even more by finessing the layer mask.
We'll convert our visible image into a Smart Object, so we can add filters to it non-destructively.
This will allow us to adjust or change any of the filters at any point, as well as replace
our subject with another without having to re-apply the effects.
Click the icon at the upper, right corner of the Layers panel and click "Convert to Smart Object".
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer and fill it with any color.
The color is irrelevant since we'll be filling it with a pattern.
I'll fill it with my background color by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
Open the watercolor paper texture I provided.
Go to Edit and "Define Pattern".
Double-click an empty area of the top layer to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Pattern Overlay".
The paper texture you saved as a pattern should be visible.
If you open your pattern thumbnails, the last one is the paper texture you saved.
I'll reduce its Scale to 23%, but feel free to adjust this amount to a scale that looks good to you.
Convert the paper texture into a Smart Object and change its Blend Mode to Multiply.
Make the cut-out subject active and go to Filter and Filter Gallery.
Open the Artistic folder and click "Dry Brush".
I'll make the Brush Size: 8, the Brush Detail: 10 and the Texture: 1, however, since each
photo has its own characteristics, feel free to adjust the size and detail if you like.
Go back to Filter, Blur and Smart Blur.
I'll make its Radius: 5, the Threshold: 100 and the Quality: "Low".
Double-click its Blending Options icon.
Change the Blend Mode to "Screen" and the opacity to 50%.
Go to Filter, Stylize and "Find Edges".
Click its Blending Options icon and change its Blend Mode to "Multiply".
Next, we'll increase its vibrancy and color saturation.
Click the Adjustment Layer icon and click "Vibrance".
I'll make the Vibrance: 50 and the Saturation: 30, however, every photo has its own amount
of color vibrance and saturation, so feel free to adjust these amounts.
Lastly, we'll use the watercolor brush set I provided to feather out the edges of our
subject and add some outside our subject.
Click the Layer Mask icon to make a layer mask next to your subject.
If you haven't already installed the brush set I provided, do so now.
If you're not sure how to install brushes or other presets, click the link in my video's
description below for the tutorial that I did on this subject.
Open your Brush Tool and Brush Picker.
Scroll to the bottom of the panel and you should see a folder labeled, "Watercolor Splatters (675 pixels)".
Open the folder.
I'll expand the window to see all of the brushes in this set.
You'll notice that all the brushes have a size of 675 pixels.
You can adjust the size of a brush by clicking on a brush and moving your cursor over your
image to see the brush.
Pressing Enter or Return to close the panel and press the right or left bracket key on your keyboard.
You can can also adjust its opacity and even change its angle.
In addition, you can compress it, as well.
Click on the bottom of your image to mask out those areas of your subject.
Feel free to adjust your brush's opacity, size and angle.
Pick various brushes to add variety of different strokes.
If want to add back areas of your subject, press "x" on your keyboard to invert your
foreground and background colors and then, click on your portrait.
Let's add some watercolor strokes over your portrait.
Make your subject active and make a new layer above it.
Pick a watercolor brush and press Enter or Return.
Press "i" on your keyboard to open the Eyedropper Tool and click on a color of your portrait
to pick up that color.
I'll reduce its size and its opacity.
Make sure your brush is active and add the stroke.
Pick another stroke, adjust its size and add that stroke.
To change the stroke's color, open your Eyedropper Tool and click on another color of your portrait.
Open back your Brush Tool and click on your image.
Continue to add them until you're happy with your portrait.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!