Watercolor painting effect in web design has become very important the last couple of years, many professional designers are using this style. Effect of a watercolor painting can be achieved digitally using graphics editing program, in our case Photoshop. I used Adobe Photoshop CS5, but previous versions should do just fine, since the tools used are quite basic.
So today, in this Photoshop effects tutorial, we’re going to learn how to easily make a photo look more like a watercolor painting. Creating the effect is as simple as applying a few filters, and using layer blend mode, and the whole thing takes only a couple of minutes from start to finish.
More useful photoshop tutorials:
- Design a Nature Inspired Photo: Photoshop CS5 Tutorial
- How to Create a Pencil Sketch Effect in Photoshop CS5
- How to Create a 3D Volcano Text Effect in Photoshop
- How to Get Smooth and Soften Skin in Photoshop
Tutorial details:
- Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Estimated Completion Time: 15 Mins
Creating a Watercolor Painting Effect in Photoshop: Final Preview

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Lets start to create our painting effect tutorial in Photoshop.
Step 1
First of all insert your picture in Photoshop as like in preview below:


Step 2
Now duplicate this flower picture layer and hide the original flower layer.


Apply a Watercolor Filter to the duplicate layer, Filter > Artistic > Watercolor. The amounts shown on the left looked the best for this picture.


When we applying watercolor filter then we get a new effect as like in preview.


Step 3
Now in this step we applying an Emboss Filter on duplicate flower layer. Go to Filter > Stylize > Emboss.


After applying emboss filter, we have get a cool effect as like in picture.


Now we change the blend mode into Linear Light.




Step 4
In this final step we will show the original flower layer. Now we have successful to create the watercolor painting effect in Photoshop.


Final Preview:



I hope you have enjoyed this watercolor painting effect tutorial, now you can create painting effects own your pictures with these useful techniques. Never forget to share your comments with us. Follow TutorialChip on Twitter or Subscribe to TutorialChip to Get the Latest Updates on Giveaways, Tutorials and More for Free.