A Better Method of Adding Texture in Photoshop

By Dawn Pedersen · 04/28/2009 ·

Canvas Texture

Photoshop has a number of texture filters that can be applied directly to an image. If you want to make an image look like it’s painted on a textured surface, don’t apply the texture on the same layer. I have found that a more realistic looking texture can be created by applying the texture to a layer above your image. I’ll show you a trick to accomplish this. I’ll also give you a quick rundown of what each of the texture filters looks like.

I’m working with this wonderful photo of meerkats that my husband took at the Los Angeles Zoo. But this technique will work with any image.

Meerkats

Make It Artsy

Before I apply my texture, I want the image to look a little more artsy, like maybe they were painted. Here’s what I did with my meerkats:

Copy the image to a new layer: Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J)
Filter > Cutout

Number of Levels: 8
Edge Simplicity: 0
Edge Fidelity: 3
Click OK

Cutout Filter

Set the blend mode of the new layer to Overlay. This allows some of the detail of the original photo back through.

Overlay Blend Mode

Save the file.

Artsy Meerkats

The Yucky Way to Apply Texture

What’s wrong with applying a texture to the image layer? It can look ugly. The texture filter applies the texture according to the lights and darks in an image. If I merge my two meerkat layers into a new layer (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E) and apply the Craquelure filter (Filter > Texture > Craquelure…), it looks pretty bad:

Bad Craquelure

This may be the effect you are going for in many images. However, to get a smooth, overall texture as if the meerkats were painted on a particular surface, I like the method below.

The Better Method of Applying Texture

Now let’s see what it looks like another way:

Add a new layer at the top of the layer stack. Click on the “Create a new layer” icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (Window > Layers if you cannot see the Layers panel.)

Add a New Layer

Edit > Fill
From the “Use:” dropdown, select “50% Gray” and click OK.

Fill 50% Gray

With the new layer still selected in the Layers panel, apply the Craquelure filter:
1. Filter > Texture > Craquelure…
2. Move the sliders around until you get a texture you like.
3. Click OK.

Nice Craquelure

Set the blend mode for this layer to Overlay.

Overlay Blend Mode

Save your file. You can compare the two texture applications below.

Yucky vs. Pleasant

On the next page, I’ll show each of Photoshop’s texture filters.

Page 1 Page 2

Share this Article

You can share this article almost anywhere but on your car's back bumper.
Hover over this bar to access the menu.

Category: Photoshop, Tutorials

Tags: blend modes, filters, Photoshop, textures

Comments

3 Comments

By Jawanza Hadley, 04/28/2009 @ 11:26 am

This is a great tutorial on textures. I am continually trying to find ways to spruce up my artwork on web pages I design!
By Dawn Pedersen, 04/28/2009 @ 11:41 am

Thanks, Jawanza!