Using Textures and Overlays in Photoshop Painting

I started to experiment more and more with the use of textures and overlays when it comes to working on different photos. Got to tell ya' totally loving the results. I have started to experiment with making some of my own and with different brushes to get different looks and or effects. Watching several Youtube videos and reading different things on how some like to use them. Here are a few examples with before and after.

Textures and overlays help enhance an image or help you get closer to the look that you want to achieve. I used several textures which I made on this image. I was going for a slightly vintage painted effect and the filters with some textures that I removed from some areas using a watercolor brush tweeked to my liking really helped.

The best thing I found was to experiment with different blending modes with textures as well as opacities. Add a mask and paint them off or on the image. Play around with brush opacity as well. It takes some getting used to and trial and error but it is through trial and error you will most likely find the result that you like. Each time I tested another filter I would duplicate my original image and create a mask. Painting off the effect on certain areas. I would increase contrast or saturate the colors where needed and desaturate them in other parts of the photo.

 

Some filters to mess around with would be paint daubs, watercolor and find edges. The above before image is without any adjustments. Before starting with the "painted" effect I did some basic editing. Reduced noise, sharpened, used a level adjustments layer to give it a bit more pop. Then I played with the hue/saturation adjustment layer among others to exaggerate the colors a bit more to help with the painted effect. The beauty of working with layers, masks, and adjustment layers? That you could go back and make changes till you felt happy with the final result.

This next one is with basic edits (sharpening, noise reduction, etc..)

This is with one textured overlay that I made and filters within photoshop.

For the above I followed along with this video on another image and then changed it up to make the end result a bit different and in a sense my own. A great video just to get familiar with some of the basics!

Watercolor 101 by lpswampy

Here are some great textures to check out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chorando/sets/72157607835630011/

You are sure to find something that you will like. A texture as you can see in my two examples can be used as a background or as an element to alter the entire image. My first example I used several textures some rotated some flipped around to get the look I wanted. Textures MADE the image. While in the 2nd example the texture was used to add depth to the blues and masked out on certain parts using different opacity watercolor brushes.