Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to create beautiful, watercolor portraits from photos
using your own brush strokes. Because they're your own brush strokes,
it allows you to create your own subtle nuances. Open a photo you'd like to use.
Since every photo has its own unique characteristics, such as lighting,
brightness, contrast and color, the results of the watercolor effect will vary.
If the subject has very light skin, it may be necessary to darken the mid-tones.
You can achieve this by pressing Ctrl + L on Windows
or Cmd + L on a Mac to open your Levels window.
Slide the Input mid-tones to the right.
I'd also recommend using a photo that doesn't have a dark background
If it does, just lighten it. Its size and resolution will ultimately determine the
setting amounts for the filters and brushes.
This photo is 1550
by 870 pixels with a resolution up to 150 pixels per inch.
Unlock the background by holding down Alt on Windows
or Option on a Mac as you click on the lock.
We'll name it "Base". Make a copy of it
by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J. Name it
"Smart Blur". Go to Filter,
Blur and Smart Blur. For the size and resolution
of this photo, I'll make the Radius: 10... the Threshold: 20...
the Quality is High and the Mode is Normal.
Depending on the size and resolution of your photo,
you may want to adjust the amounts for the Radius and Threshold
to get a similar result as this. Click on the thumbnail of the Base to make it active
and make a copy of it. Drag it to the top
and name it "Pencil Lines". Go to
Filter and Filter Gallery. Open the "Stylize" folder.
In it, you'll find "Glowing Edges". If you have an early version of Photoshop,
go to Filter, Stylize and Glowing Edges.
Make the Edge Width: 1... the Edge Brightness between 14 and 17
and the Smoothness: 15. Then. click OK.
Invert the image by pressing Ctrl
or Cmd + I. Then, remove the color
by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + Shift + U.
Change the Blend Mode to Multiply.
Make the Smart Blur layer active
and make a copy of it. We'll name it "Brush".
Invert the layer and change its Blend Mode
to Color Dodge. Open your Brush Tool
and press "d" on your keyboard to make your foreground and background colors
black and white. respectively. Click the arrow next to the brush size
and click the gear icon to open your list of brush presets.
Click "Reset Brushes" and click OK
to replace the current brushes with the default brushes.
Click back on the gear icon and choose
"Small List". Scroll down
and click "Dry Brush". Reduce its opacity to 10%.
To increase the size of your brush,
press the right bracket key on your keyboard. I increased to 200 pixels.
Now, brush across your image. Open your gear icon again
and click "Wet Media Brushes".
Click OK and choose "Watercolor Textured Surface".
Press Enter or Return to close the Brush panel
and increase your brush size.
I made mine 300 pixels. Now, selectively brush
over areas of your image. It's okay to leave lighter areas untouched.
I'll make my brush smaller by pressing the Left bracket key.
Continue to brush over your image to bring out contrast and color.
If you want to lighten or remove some pencil lines,
make the Pencil Line layer active and click the Layer Mask icon
to make a layer mask next to it. Increase the opacity to 80%
and lightly brush over the pencil lines you'd like to lighten or remove.
Next, we'll darken the Input levels of the brushstrokes, but leave the pencil lines as is.
To do this, hide the Pencil Lines
and make the Brush layer active.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + E on Windows
or Cmd + Shift + Option + E on a Mac to make a composite snapshot of your image.
Press Ctrl or Cmd + L to open your Levels window
and then drag the Input darks to the right until it's at the point where the
histogram starts to rise.
Make the Pencil Lines visible and go to Filter
and Filter gallery. Open the Texture folder
and click "Texturizer". Choose "Sandstone".
The Scaling is 100%... the Relief is 2 or 3
and the Light is from the Top. Then, click OK.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!