Adobe Photoshop CS6 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks by Lynette Kent

SIMULATE A PAINTED EFFECT with a filter
You can quickly create an oil painting from any photo
using Photoshop CS6’s new Oil Painting filter. The
filter lets you visually control the brush style and
lighting angle in a large preview window. You can
apply the Oil Painting filter to a Smart Object, or to
any pixel layer, so you can combine the effect with
other layers for a completely unique look.
Artistic filters generally give a more painterly look to
a “simplified” photo, that is, one with fewer details.
You can remove the digital noise and add vibrance to
the colors, as well as reduce the amount of detail
before applying the filter by opening the image in
Camera Raw. Use the Luminance and Color sliders, as
shown in task #70, for a softer look. Or apply single
image HDR toning as in task #80. Most painting and
drawing filters also work best on smaller files with
lower resolutions than normal photographic files.
You can simply apply the oil filter to the photo layer,
or you can build up layers for more creative options.
Start by adding a white background layer, run the
filter on the photo layer, and then add a layer mask
filled with a canvas pattern to finish the look.
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4
5
3
1 Open a previously “simplified”
photo.
2 Press Ô+A (Ctrl+A) to select all.
3 Press Ô+Shift+J (Ctrl+Shift+J) to
put the photo on a separate layer
with a white background layer.
4 With the top photo layer
selected, click Filter.
5 Click Oil Paint.
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10
7
8
The Oil Paint dialog box appears.
6 Click the drop-down menu and
select Actual Pixels to view the
image at 100%.
7 Click and drag the Brush sliders
to get different effects.
8 Click and drag the Lighting
sliders to change the direction
and amount of visible surface
texture.
9 Repeat steps 7 and 8 to get the
effect you like.
0 Click OK.
Photoshop applies the filter.
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