How to Create a Watercolor Painting Effect in Photoshop

In today’s Photoshop tutorial I’m going to show you a clever combination of Photoshop filters that converts an image into a realistic looking watercolour painting effect. A range of built-in filters will produce the foundations of the effect, then the addition of a paper texture and some finishing touches with a watercolour Photoshop brush pack adds an extra level of realism to produce a convincing final result.

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Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator design tutorials from Chris Spooner of Spoon Graphics. Subscribe to learn how to create stunning artwork as I share my tips and tricks in video format.

[FOBsinCanada]

Note to self:

Convert layer to Smart Object
(1:01) Apply Dry Brush
(1:24) Apply Cutout
(1:35) Change Blending Options for Cutout to Pin Light
(1:53) Filter > Blur > Smart Blur, change the blending mode to Screen and reduce opacity
(2:13) Filter > Stylize > Find Edges, change blending mode to Multiply and reduce opacity --> Makes sketch lines, but can look ugly in places with gradients, so you can switch to Darken instead.

[whitesebi]

Dude I just realised who you are — I used to READ your tutorials 12 years ago when I was getting through my final years of design at high school. SO good to see you're still doing amazingly useful tutorials!! Good stuff!

[lensXgrade]

Thank you sir. I spent 4 days 3 nights to learn this. I have searched everywhere in the internet but finally found a

[uxerthekus]

For those who are struggling with the last step (I was too):
1. open the new image and copy it
2. Go to the original smart object (main) click twice on the thumbnail
3. Paste the new image
4. and Save (cmd+s) just right after so the main smart object updates and there you go.

[ruthkidson]

Just want to say thank you. I've been creating flower watercolours to illustrate a book I'm writing and they're amazing - and so simple to do! Thank you VERY much.

[d.a.ackerman]

Really clear step-by-step instructions. One thing worth noting -- the suggested filter settings are more effective for original images that are low-resolution. (Of course, you do not need high-res if you are going to trash the details to fake a watercolor painting!) So start by resizing to a few MPx. And remember to convert to 8-bit so all the filters work. The sky's the limit. Thanks, Chris.

[jonathandietrich]

This is fantastic, looks perfectly like what I've been searching for. Good video too, better than other tutorials which feel far too slow, only to realize when you've skipped forward that you've missed something critical, the pacing here was exactly what's needed in my opinion!

[fredfoto]

I've been looking for a good watercolour effect for several years on YouTube and this is the best to date.

[ahmedsuleiman]

This is a terrific and spot on tutorial for all and sundry. Concise, spot on and delivered rightly. You are the best always and forever ❤👍👌.

[RustadMarketing]

Always clear and to the point. I was able to learn the process and immediately apply my new skills to a project with pretty decent results. Thank you Chris!

[floridastateuniversityperc]

I've been looking for a way to convert my girlfriend's new office building photo into a watercolor to print on "thank you" cards--this is perfect! I'm so excited to mess around with it some more!

[mistyoutdoorsinaz]

Thank you so much for this excellent step by step tutorial!! Easy to follow and I've been able to create some beautiful art work.

[chasface]

Thank you for this video, I really appreciated the pace. As a more advanced user, it was nice to just get the information quickly instead of listening through a drawn out video!! Thank you!

[tkvbxqw]

Amazing, very easy method especially for newbie like me. Thank you for sharing this beautiful method.

[RaniaKaram]

Thanks heaps for this great videos of the basics of watercolor image rendering. As we are all developing our own individual ways and techniques, this video is a great step by step instruction

[kurtisca]

Love your tutorials! They are quality made, efficient and effective (everything you could want in a video).

[zhenikosha]

Thanks! It's very and completely useful short class. Especially interesting is the info on blending smart filters

[KateAnastasia]

This is the best tutorial I have seen yet! Thank you SO much!

[rubin]

Excellent tutorial . I am a new user to Photoshop & you really make it simple . Thanks

[t.p.]

Your video is unbelievably helpful and well-made. I often have a hard time following PS tutorials or my version is outdated. I can't thank you enough, the result was amazing!! 💯🧡🙏🌟