How to Use the Filter Gallery in Photoshop

Start with a Duplicate Layer

Everything in the Filter Gallery is applied directly to the layer you have selected, so drag the Background layer onto the New Layer icon first. That copy lets you toggle the effect on and off and always get back to the original. Then go to Filter > Filter Gallery to open the dialog.

A Tour of the Filter Gallery Groups

The Filter Gallery is organized into folders. Artistic holds Colored Pencil, Dry Brush, Plastic Wrap, Watercolor, and Cutout, which Aaron rates as the most useful of the bunch. Brush Strokes has Accented Edges, Splatter, and Sprayed Strokes. Distort includes Glass, with sliders for distortion, smoothness, and a texture you can scale. Sketch effects like Charcoal, Stamp, and Torn Edges render in your current foreground and background colors, so set those before you open the gallery. Stylize gives you Glowing Edges, and Texture has Patchwork and Stained Glass. Honestly, the best way to learn them is to click through and watch the preview.

Stack Filter Gallery Effects and Mind the Order

Click the New Effect Layer icon at the bottom right of the dialog to add a second filter on top of the first, so you can combine Patchwork with Splatter or Glowing Edges. The stack works like layers: drag one above or below another and the result changes, because each filter is processing the output of the one beneath it. Cutout under Patchwork gives simpler, chunkier squares; Patchwork under Cutout keeps more of the original detail. Every filter’s own settings still feed the ones above it.

Cutout: Levels, Simplicity, and Fidelity

The Filter Gallery Cutout effect reduces a photo to flat shapes of color. Number of Levels controls how many tones survive, Edge Simplicity smooths or preserves detail along those shapes, and Edge Fidelity decides how closely the shapes hug the real edges. Aaron drops Simplicity all the way down and nudges Fidelity up so the scene stays readable, which gives the poster-like look for the invitation.

Clean Up the Sky

With the Filter Gallery layer in place, grab the Lasso Tool, hold Alt (Option) to switch to the Polygonal Lasso, and select the sky and any stray poles or wires. On a new layer, sample the sky color with the Brush Tool and paint it in. For the second tone in the sky, use Select > Color Range with a low Fuzziness, then paint that one over on its own layer too.

Add the Type

Press T for the Type Tool and type the headline, then open Window > Character to set weight, all caps, and a color sampled straight from the photo. Duplicate the text layer for the date line, switch it to a lighter weight, and pick a color from the flag. Ctrl/Cmd-click both text layers, align them left with the Move Tool, group them with Ctrl/Cmd + G, position, and crop. One filter, a bit of cleanup, and two lines of text later, the photo is a printable invitation.

Quick Reference

• Duplicate the layer before opening Filter > Filter Gallery.
• Cutout for poster and postcard looks; Levels, Edge Simplicity, Edge Fidelity are the controls that matter.
• New Effect Layer stacks filters; drag to reorder and the result changes.
• Sketch and Texture filters use your foreground and background colors.
• Alt / Option with the Lasso switches to the Polygonal Lasso mid-selection.