Manipulate photographs to look like oil paintings in Photoshop.
Many artists transform photographs into paintings. Many use digital graphics software to manipulate existing pixels into works of art. Use Photoshop to create your own oil painting effects with filters, brushes and color correction tools. Learn a few simple tips to make your photographs look like oil paintings.
Brushes
The "Wet Media" brush set in Photoshop contains some useful choices for adding an oil paint effect to your photographs. "Oil Heavy Flow Dry Edges" paints thick bands of color with ragged edges. "Brush Heavy Flow Scattered" is good for stamping rough-edged patches of paint. The "Oil Medium Brush Wet Edges" brush blends well into other paint strokes.
Duplicate the exact color of any part of your photo by clicking on the image with the "Eyedropper" tool.
Paint on a separate layer so that you can use the photograph as a guide but leave it intact.
Filters
Painting brushstrokes takes patience and some practice to master, but Photoshop filters offer instant oil effects. No two photographs are the same; experiment with some of these useful filters and decide which works best for your image.
Start with the "Underpainting" filter. The "Underpainting" filter breaks up the photograph into blocks of color. Choose "Filter" then "Artistic" and "Underpainting" from the Menu bar and sub menus. All filters have options that are controlled by slider bars. Slide the "Brush Size" slider all the way to the right. This setting results in a loose, brushed look.
"Paint Daubs" also creates an oil paint look. This filter breaks up the image into circular blobs of light and color, whereas "Underpainting" breaks up details into square shapes. Some adjustable options include "Brush Size" and "Brush Type". Use a small, size "2" brush to create very realistic, tightly rendered paintings.
"Palette Knife" imitates the flat, geometric strokes of a painting made with a palette knife, rather than a brush. This filter works well with portraits that have simple backgrounds.
The "Texturizer" filter, located under "Filter" and "Texture," adds a canvas texture to your digital painting. The addition of the canvas texture to your image makes it look like a real painting.
Color Correction
Manipulating color is another way to make your photograph look like an oil painting. Turn a colorful portrait into a mood piece by making it sepia-toned. Choose "Image" "Adjust" and "Levels." Pull the "Blue" output levels slider to the left. Pull the "Green" output levels slider a small amount to the left. Your image is now a muted sepia-tinted color, reminiscent of an old master's color palette.
Boost colors to make them modern and vibrant using the "Hue/Saturation" controls.
Add the "Texturizer" filter to the image to complete the effect.
