


This is a great treatment for when you have a really good shot but not the cleanest background. If the background is not ideal, you can also replace it with a painterly texture instead.Adjust the brush size to suit the areas you are working in, fine detail needs a smaller brush, and larger areas may support bigger brush strokes (a bigger brush covers more area quicker which is an added bonus).You may want to use a layer mask to show fine details like eyes or whiskers after painting to bring back a bit of sharpness in those areas.Adjust your Flow value to get harder or softer strokes.It can be a bit tricky to get the hang of at first. The paint is very wet and colors will mix and blend readily which can be used to your advantage where colors change in the image.Use the textures in the image to help direct the flow of the brush strokes.Start with the dark areas of the image first.Plus you have more control in areas of fine detail with a tablet. My recommendation would be to do this with a graphics tablet and a pen, otherwise, you will get a cramp in your hand from the mouse. It can be quite fiddly and time-consuming but the end result can look really good. The Mixer Brush is a very effective way of getting a painted look for your image because you actually paint over your image in Photoshop.

NOTE: Please be advised I am using CS6 so things may be in different places if you are using the CC subscription model. Everything else might be perfect but if it’s a tiny bit blurry, apply a painting technique and no one will notice. This digital painting technique is ideal for use on an image which is not 100% in focus. Perhaps you might want to create a birthday card or give someone an extra special present. Mostly you can get some great effects without having to purchase any other software or features, but those options are available and can extend your portfolio of choices. In this article, I will go over a method of digital painting using Photoshop to give you one technique you can add to your toolbox.

In fact, it offers such a variety of options it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which one might be the right one for you in a given situation. If you have ever felt the need to be a bit more creative with your photos, then Photoshop contains a multitude of ways to make that happen.
