Smart Blur Your Watercolor Photo Edits

Today, Margos is sharing a cool technique to Smart Blur Your Watercolor Photo Edits.

Introduction

Uplift your photos and artistry layout designs using sketch and coloring techniques to yield a Watercolor photo effect.

• Use the Smart Blur Filter with inversion to yield the sketch.
• Colorize your image using duplicate layers and the Layer Mask with Brushes technique.
• Apply additional Filters, Blending Modes and Adjustment Layers to refine the watercolor effect.

1. Apply Filter

Add a Smart Blur Filter to a duplicate copy of your photo layer.

• Choose and open a photo into your work space.
• Make a copy of the photo layer by pressing CTRL/CMD + J.
• Select the ‘copy’ layer in the Layers Panel.
• Go to Filter> Blur> Smart Blur, set values to preference
• Start with Quality: Medium and Mode: Edge Only.
• Proceed then to the the Radius and Threshold values.

2. Invert and Colorize

Invert the Smart Blur Filter layer and use a Layer Mask with Brushes to colorize the image.

• Press CTRL/CMD + I to invert the photo ‘copy’ layer and reveal the sketch effect.
• Make a copy using the CTRL/CMD  + J command.
• Turn off visibility of this layer by clicking on the ‘eye’ icon to the left of the layer.

• Add an Layer Mask to the original sketch layer.
• Click on the Layer Mask layer to activate.
• Choose a soft ‘painting’ brush of your choice.
• Ensure your Foreground Color is BLACK and your Background Color is White.
• Set the Blending Mode to Dissolve from the top of the Layers Panel.
• Paint on the Layer Mask to reveal the underlying color photo layer.

Note. Invert the Fore- and Background Colors so that the Foreground Color is WHITE to bring back more of the sketch layer.

3. Soften and Blur

Apply a Gaussian Blur filter to a copy of the original photo layer to add a ‘dreamy’ effect to your image.

• Duplicate the original photo layer via CTRL/CMD + J.
• Right-click on the ‘copy’ layer and select  Convert to Smart Object. 
• Ensure the Smart Object layer is selected in the Layers Panel.
• Go to Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur and set the values to best suit your photo.

4. Add Detail

Apply Blending Modes and Adjustment Layers to refine the effect.

• Turn back on the visibility of the photo sketch copy layer by clicking on the ‘eye’ icon.
• Set the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light from the top of the Layers Panel.
• Reselect the Smart Object (copy of the original photo) layer in the Layers Panel.
• Go to Filter> Brush Strokes> Accented Edges and set values to preference.
• Apply a Levels and Vibrance Adjustment Layer by clicking on the Adjustment Layer icon.
• Modify the layers using the Layer Mask and brushes to refine the effect.
• Save the image as a .jpg file.

5. Create Artistry

Incorporate the filtered photo into a layout design.

• Create a new 12 X 12 300 PPI layout
• Select a digital paper as your layout foundation.
• Clip the edited image to a FotoBlendz mask or Frame.
• Embellish with DigitalART supplies that support the THEME and COLORS in your layout design.

DigitalART Supplies

A full list of [aalogo] DigitalART used to complete this photo artistry and digital scrapbooking project can be found here.

Summary

Find unique approaches to create beautiful photo artistry and digital scrapbooking pages.

• There are multiple ways to achieve similar effects in Adobe Photoshop and it’s encouraged to experiment.
• Play with different Filters, Blending Modes and Adjustment Layers with the addition of Layer Masks and Brushes.
• Use the Photoshop Tools you already know to enhance the Visual Interest of your layout designs.

See also:

• ArtsyKardz Coloring Effect
• The Best Watercolor Painting Effect
• Selective Coloring with Adjustment Layers

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