How to Create a Photo to Watercolor Photoshop Action

What You’ll Be Creating

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an amazing watercolor photo effect in Adobe Photoshop. I will explain everything in so much detail that anyone can create it, even those who have just opened Photoshop for the first time. 

What You’ll Need

To recreate the design above, you will need the following resources:

• Stock Image – no longer available
• Texture

1. How to Start Creating an Action

Step 1

First, open the photo that you want to work with. To open your photo, go to File > Open, choose your photo, and click Open. Now, before we get started, just check a couple of things:

1. Your photo should be in RGB Color mode, 8 Bits/Channel. To check this, go to Image > Mode.
2. For best results, your photo size should be 2000–3000 px wide/high. To check this, go to Image > Image Size.
3. Your photo should be the Background layer. If it is not, go to Layer > New > Background from Layer.

Step 2

Now we need to expand the canvas on the left so we have more space around the subject on this side. Go to Image > Canvas Size and use the settings below:

Step 3

Choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), and click and drag to make a selection of the empty white space we have just added. Then, go to Edit > Fill, and set Contents to Content-Aware, Blending to Normal, and Opacity to 100% as shown below. After that, press Control-D on your keyboard to deselect.

2. How to Create the Brushes

In this section, we are going to create several watercolor brushes we’ll need. You can check this tutorial to follow the process described and create your own brushes from scratch or using the attached textures, or you can download my TechnicalArt 2 Photoshop Action and get over 60 high-quality and resolution watercolor brushes. Here are the main brushes I’ll be using:

3. How to Create the Background

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create the background. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color to create a new solid color fill layer, name it Background color, and choose the color #cccccc.

Step 2

Go to File > Place Embedded, select the texture from the second texture link, and click Place. Then, set the Width and Height of the texture to 83.03% as shown below, and name this layer Background_Texture.

Step 3

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light and set the Opacity to 52%.

Step 4

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White to create a new black & white adjustment layer, and name it BT_Desaturate.

Step 5

Now press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask.

4. How to Create the Sketch

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create the sketch. Select the Background layer and press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate it. Then, drag this layer to the top of the layers in the Layers panel.

Step 2

Now press Control-Shift-U on your keyboard to desaturate this layer. Then, go to Filter > Filter Gallery > Stylize > Glowing Edges and set the Edge Width to 1, Edge Brightness to 20, and Smoothness to 15.

Step 3

Press Control-I on your keyboard to invert this layer. Then, go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and set the Amount to 500%, Radius to 1 px, and Threshold to 0 levels.

Step 4

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Multiply and set the Opacity to 29%. Then, name this layer Sketch.

5. How to Create the Watercolor Painting

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create the watercolor painting. Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Temp.

Step 2

Now set the foreground color to #000000, choose the Brush Tool (B), and pick some of the watercolor brushes you have created. Then, brush over and around the subject area where you want to create the watercolor painting.

Step 3

Control-click on this layer thumbnail to make a selection of this layer. Then, hide this layer, select the Background layer, and press Control-J on your keyboard to create a new layer using the selection. After that, drag this new layer just below the Temp layer in the Layers panel.

Step 4

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Multiply and set the Opacity to 80%. Then, name this layer Watercolor_Painting_1.

Step 5

Right-click on the Temp layer and choose Delete Layer.

Step 6

Now repeat this process using the different watercolor brushes to create more watercolor painting layers. Here is my result:

6. How to Create the Main Subject

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create the main subject. Select the Background layer and press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate it. Then, drag this layer to the top of the layers in the Layers panel.

Step 2

Now go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All to add a layer mask that hides the whole layer.

Step 3

Set the foreground color to #ffffff, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick some of the watercolor brushes that you have created, and brush mostly over the subject area. Feel free to use different watercolor brushes.

Step 4

Now name this layer Main Subject.

7. How to Make the Final Adjustments

Step 1

In this section, we are going to make some final adjustments. Select the Subject Details layer, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves to create a new curves adjustment layer, and name it Color Look.

Step 2

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and, in the Properties panel, enter the settings below:

Step 3

Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches. Then, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a new gradient map adjustment layer and name it Overall Contrast.

Step 4

Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light and set the Opacity to 25%.

Step 5

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance to create a new vibrance adjustment layer and name it Overall Vibrance/Saturation.

Step 6

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and, in the Properties panel, set the Vibrance to +47 and Saturation to +23.

Step 7

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels to create a new levels adjustment layer, and name it Overall Brightness.

Step 8

Now Double-click on this layer thumbnail and, in the Properties panel, enter the settings below:

Step 9

Press Control-Alt-Shift-E on your keyboard to make a screenshot, and then press Control-Shift-U to desaturate this layer. Then, go to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the Radius to 2 px.

Step 10

Now change the Blending Mode of this layer to Soft Light and name it Overall Sharpening.

8. How to Crop the Image

Now let’s crop the image to cut out the empty area of the design. Choose the Crop Tool (C) and transform the Crop Box as shown below:

You Made It!

Congratulations, you have succeeded! Here is our final result: