Photoshop Art: How To Make Your Photos Look More Like Paintings

photoshop art how to make a picture look like a painting

CreativeLive instructor Ben Willmore has proven that Photoshop can do so much more than slim down celebrities. It is a great asset in business and marketing and, of course, an essential tool for photographers. But Photoshop can also be used to create works of art, as well.

Photoshop art uses photographic imagery combined with imaginative effects to give you a final project that is as beautiful as it is artistic. Photoshop comes loaded with filters that make it easy to transform an ordinary photo into something truly original.

Ben Willmore has explored numerous aspects of the software’s artistic elements, including a simple way to “add a painterly feeling” to a photograph using a stock Photoshop filter.

The first step to transforming the image, says Ben Willmore, is to make sure that you don’t permanently alter the file. This might seem obvious, but it’s a good idea to make sure you’re not changing the image for good.

By making a photograph a smart image your edits can easily be reversed and, as Ben explains, the changes are, “just an accessory to the layer. It’s just sitting there and something you can turn on and off.” This frees you up to experiment without risking ruin — and, as a result, frees up your creativity, too.

Once you’ve made your image a smart object, you can tool around in the filter gallery. For his photograph Ben Willmore wanted the brush strokes you’d find in a painting that didn’t look overdone, so he tweaked the settings to get the right look. He also used layer masks to create distinction between the background and the subject and preserve the photorealism of his subjects face.

Check out the video below to watch the process in action:


Learn the basics of photography from photographer John Greengo. Learn more now.


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Rachel is the content marketing lead for the CreativeLive Craft Channel. Her side hustle is floral design and her day job is awesome. @ms_gregarious.