Artistic Effects Learning Path

What You’ll Learn

Some edits are not about making a photo better; they are about making it something else. The Artistic Effects Learning Path is six tutorials, each building a recognizable effect from a photo and showing the Photoshop underneath, so you can adjust it and combine it with the others. It starts with the two most graphic effects, pop art and sketch, then graphic photography, which mixes illustration with photos, moves through double exposure and glitch, and finishes with watercolor, the one that takes the most hand work. Every tutorial includes the actions, brushes and textures used.

• 1. Create a pop art effect Warhol and Lichtenstein styles, with included actions, brushes and patterns, and the halftone and color steps behind them.
• 2. Create a sketch effect Photos into pencil sketches, in black and white and in color, with an included action and custom brushes.
• 3. Mix graphics with photos Six start-to-finish projects blending illustrations, sketches, halftones and textures with portraits, from a dreamy double exposure to a screen-printed poster.
• 4. Build a double exposure Double, triple and quadruple exposure portraits with blend modes, masks and texture.
• 5. Create a glitch effect A glitch effect from scratch with custom brushes and textures, then animated as a GIF.
• 6. Paint a watercolor effect The most involved one: photo to watercolor painting with included actions and brush work by hand.

Who This Path Is For

Designers and illustrators who start from photographs, photographers who want portfolio and social pieces that stand out, and anyone who has bought a Photoshop action and wants to know what is inside it.

You should be comfortable with layers, masks and blend modes. Each effect is built step by step.

What You Need

• Photoshop Any recent version. The included actions are tested in current Photoshop.
• Sample files Included: the photos, actions, brushes, patterns and textures for every effect.
• Layers, masks and blend modes Assumed knowledge. If not, start with the Getting Started in Photoshop & Lightroom.
• A tablet Helpful for the watercolor brush work.

For light, glow and cinematic effects on photos that stay photographs, see the Special Effects Learning Path.

How Long It Takes

Six tutorials and 45 lessons, about 18 hours of video. Watercolor is the longest at almost five hours; the others run one and a half to four. At a few hours a week, plan on four to five weeks.

Run each effect on one of your own photos the same day. The actions do the first pass; the tutorials teach you to make it fit the picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a PHLEARN PRO membership?

Yes. This is a PRO Learning Path, so all six tutorials and their sample files, actions and brushes are included with a membership.

Artistic Effects or Special Effects?

Special Effects adds light, glow and cinematic treatments to a photo that stays a photo. Artistic Effects turns the photo into a different medium: a print, a sketch, a painting. Many people take both.

Can I just run the actions?

You can, and they are included. The tutorials show how each action is built so you can fix it when it does not suit a photo, which is most of the time.

Do I have to follow the order?

The first four stand alone. Steps five and six assume you are comfortable with custom brushes and masks from the earlier effects.

Are the older tutorials still accurate?

Yes. These effects are built with blend modes, masks, brushes and filters that have not changed.

Where to Go Next

• Special Effects Learning Path Light, glow and cinematic effects on photographs.
• Graphics & Text Learning Path Type, logos and mockups to go with the artwork.
• Magical Compositing Learning Path Build the scene before you stylize it.
• Coloring Learning Path The color tools behind every toned look here.
• Photoshop Effects: Sketch, Glitch, Glow & More A shorter set of five effect tutorials, including text and glow effects.