TURN PHOTOS INTO PAINTINGS
QUICK TIP
Three tools that come in handy when
recolouring are the Color Balance, Hue/
Saturation and the Replace Color
(Image>Adjustments>Replace Color) tools.
With Color Balance and Hue/Saturation, you
can recolour an entire image. With the Replace
Color tool, you can select and recolour a single
or multiple shades in an image.19
ADD ADDITIONAL PETALS
With the Soft Round brush, mask any extra
brush strokes that cover too much of the textured
background. Make sure the added colour feels
neither too smooth or too jagged. The left side of the
art feels too open and plain, so add in some petals20
REFINE ADDITIONAL PETALS
The newly added petals should help box in
and bring focus to the woman’s face. Use the Lasso
tool (L) if needs be to rearrange each petal. Using
previous methods of masking and brush strokes,
soften the edges of these petals and bring in aesthetic
colours such as a bright orange and deep red to match
the art. Keep these petals less defined and softer than
the original petals. Make sure they do not cover too
much of the background or original art details.21
ADD A SURFACE TEXTURE
At this point of the tutorial, a paper texture
is needed to tie the whole image together. Create or
find a stock paper texture that has varying shades,
but isn’t too dirty or repetitive. Bring in your texture
over every pre-existing layer. Desaturate it and use
Levels to make it mostly white with soft grey shades.
Next, use the Gradient tool and set its settings to
Overlay. Overlay a limited number of previous
colours from the art at randomised places.22
COLOUR THE SURFACE TEXTURE
On this texture layer, attach a blank mask.
Using the watercolour brush, mask out areas of the
texture, revealing the art underneath. Focus on
masking around her face and flower petals and start
with multiple light strokes. Try not to keep the
strokes too uniform; the texture needs to look
diverse. Set the texture layer to Multiply and Opacity
at 80%. Once applied, the texture should blend with
the art, and give it a slightly darker tint. Apply the
Sharpen filter (Filter>Sharpen).24
FINISHING TOUCHES
On another layer, place different coloured
Radial Gradients on different parts of the art, such
as near the edges and around the flower petals.
Check your work for any details that have been
missed or need to be added. Next, select the
entire document (Select>All), copy it (Edit>Copy
Merged) and paste it as a new layer. The art
should all be on this one layer with the original
layers underneath. Apply another Sharpen filter
and use Color Balance to bring in a bit of blue tint.23
ADD AMBIANCE WITH COLOUR
Next, add some overall ambiance to the
art. Create a new layer. Again using the Gradient
tool, select a greyish-red colour and make a Linear
Gradient from the bottom to a quarter up the image.
Set this gradient to Multiply. If needed, resize the
gradient to be further up or lower on the art
(Edit>Transform>Scale). Duplicate the gradient, flip
it vertically (Edit>Transform>Flip Vertical) and place
it at the top of the art.for decoration. Make a new layer above all of your
pre-existing layers, and brush in some smaller
petals on both sides of the woman. Make them
spaced out and very few, as the focus must remain
on the woman and original flower petals.