There are many Photoshop Special Effects. Would you like…

to follow someone who has already been through the learning maze?

Photoshop Special Effects was a nightmare for me to figure out. But I did it by trial and error. I Googled stuff but all the sites I found seemed to just teach advanced methods.

Well here we are. I will take you through the basics of Photoshop Special Effects and how to use them. I will give you some ideas. From there you can expand out on your own creativity. How does that sound?

Turn, if you will to page 136. Just kidding!

Some Photoshop Special Effects, What They Look Like and How to Use Them;

A couple of Photoshop Special Effects I use regularly are Old Paper and Old Photo. I also combine Dry Brush and Canvas Texture. I will go through each one to give you a few ideas to help you stand out in your circle of Photographer friends.

My site is ultimately about easy steps that create professional and artistic results. Much of what I provide will be one click Effects in Photoshop.

This will make it both quick and easy to create pictures. Initially it always takes a long time to get through a single step. After a couple of times doing the same thing you'll be a whiz. Who knows you may decide to start selling your art.

Let’s get started on some Photoshop Special Effects.

This is an old train station near me. Now it’s a museum. I took some pictures of it while I was there over Christmas. I turned this one into an old looking photograph using Photoshop’s “Old Photo” Effect.

I experimented with different file dimensions to see which I felt looked best at this tiny size. I ended up using dimensions normally suitable for an 8”X10” print. I feel those dimensions give the picture the appearance that most makes it look like it was taken in the late 19th century.

At 8”X10” or 16”X20” it is gorgeous. It really looks like the old photos you see in museums.

The train office was turned into an “Old Photo” at three different dimensions. The first picture was the same as you see it below. 500X375 pixels. The second was 800X1,000 pixels. Normally designed for and 8”X10” photograph. The third was at full size. 3,872X2,592 pixels.

The top picture is the most realistic. The second one shows more detail but, to me, lacks 19th century authenticity. And the bottom picture, worked at full file size, is just too darned clean to even consider. I often speak of experimentation.

You have to experiment with different looks and file dimensions each time you create something. Each of these was created for optimal appearance at the tiny size on this page. I would have had to create them differently in order to get the same look in print.

If I am losing you with all this talk about file dimensions, go here.

Here’s what I do.

I choose the picture I want to work. I resize it to several sizes. I load the pictures into Photoshop.

I do all the usual Quick Fixes first. Then I start experimenting. In the “Full Edit” screen I click on one of the Effects.

The above links are in here so you can learn those first if you haven't already. If you have already gone through them feel free to refresh your memory.

Notice the three little arrows in the next picture. The little moon, the little sun, whatever. It is to apply Effects and filters. Second, the “Dry Brush” is highlighted. That is one of the effects.

When you click on “Apply” the next screen will come up.

Zoomed in to the circled area you see this.

Now you can click on each Effect. It will show you what your picture will look like if you click apply on that Effect. You don’t have to undo anything here. Just click on the next Effect and the program will automatically update it for you.

As you finish in Brush Strokes, click on the triangle in the upper left corner of the block. That closes Brush Strokes. Now click on the arrow next to distort. Continue this until you find an effect you like.

When you choose the exact look you want, just click O.K. in the upper right corner. Don’t like it? Just simultaneously click the “Control” and the “Z” key on your keyboard. That will reverse up to about 20 moves one at a time.

Want to redo one you just undid? Click “Edit”. In the drop down box the second choice is “Redo” and whatever you just eliminated is listed. You can do and undo to your little heart’s content.

The only limitations are;

1) It will revert about 20 steps.

2) They revert and redo in the original order they were created. Unfortunately you cannot pick and choose which to keep and which to not. Oh, well, maybe in a future Photoshop.

Use everything you can see. Each effect will look different on different pictures. When you are familiar with your choices you will want to explore even more. I love to explore. How about you?

Here is one of my favorites.

I combine “Dry Brush” with “Texture.” When done right this combination makes for a beautiful oil rendition. You’ll see a bunch of these around my site.

Resize a picture for an 8”X10” finish picture. Load it into Photoshop. Complete the Quick Fixes. Go back to “Full Edit.”

On the right you’ll see all the Effects. At the top right is “Dry Brush.”

Click on “Dry Brush.” Then “Apply.” This screen will pop up.

If you like the way it looks click “O.K.” If not, make some adjustments. Combine adjustments to find what you like. Then hit “O.K.” Remember you can always undo up to about 20 moves. Simultaneously hit “Control” and ”z” on your keyboard. This will reverse your moves one at a time.

Once you click O.K., click “Filter” at the top of the screen. Slide your cursor down the box, then right, click on “Texturizer...”

Once again, on the right are the adjustment slides. Canvas texture is the default. I use almost exclusively canvas, though there are others to be had. Save several different scales and reliefs.

Then you can compare different scales and reliefs at different file dimensions. This will familiarize you with how to get the look you want.

When it is time to save your work, click on “File” in the upper left corner of your screen. Then click “Save As.” The resultant screen will look something like this. With many of the effects the format will come up as PSD.

Look at the red arrow leading from “format” to the box. Inside the box you see “Photoshop (*.PSD; *.PDD)". That is a type of file. You don’t want to save your file as PSD or PDD. You want to save it as a .jpg file. Here’s how.

At the “2” click on the little blue arrow. In the drop down box, by the “3” click on the line that has all the jpeg designations in it. Forget all the rest. You will most likely never use them. Finally “4” click “Save.” This will save your picture in jpg format. It is the most widely used format.

For now you want to be sure to always save your work as a jpg file. If you click on save with the format showing as PSD. Your computer will not be able to open it. Only Photoshop will.

You will know you have saved as PSD because the thumbnail in your picture folder will look like this.

Delete that, go back to Photoshop and resave it as a jpg.

Another option is to "flatten" the image before you save it.

If you want to avoid the steps above, flattening the image will automatically save it as a JPG image. Beware, when you flatten the image you will be given the option of discarding hidden layers. That will discard some stuff you may actually want to keep.

Now, if you want to keep all the layers you just save it as a PSD file. You're computer probably won't be able to open the PSD, but reloading into Photoshop will open it so you can see what it is. I simply save a small JPG with the same name so I know what picture it is.

I use abbreviated names, from whatever Effect/Effects I used in Photoshop, as the file name.

This way I know what I did to the picture.

One more lesson I learned the hard way. When saving a picture you can use all kinds of letters and numbers, but some of the punctuations will cause a file to save as such. I can’t even tell you which punctuations cause it. I don’t know!!

All it means is again, your computer won’t be able to open the file and show you the picture. It confuses the computer. So, whatever you use as your file naming system, if you see this icon, you can expect to repair the problem simply by renaming the file without using punctuation marks.

There are other ways punctuation marks mess up your file names. I won't go into it other than to say I have completely stopped using punctuation marks in my file names. I use no spaces either. I only use letters and numbers. Dashes and I think underlines work.

Another special effect I like is lighting. Click, Filter, Render, Lighting Effects. . .

This screen will show. Now experiment.

There are a lot of confusing adjustments here so take your time and enjoy the journey.

Above is the actual picture size you will be working with. Because of the small size of the picture it's hard to see the result of your settings until you hit "OK." That makes for a lot of "Control-Z" work.

These two pictures are the before and after. The settings shown above are what led to this result. It looks three dimensional. Notice the clouds and look at the extra detail in the hull.

And that's what I have to say about Photoshop Special Effects.

Have a great day. Go for it and have a blast! See Ya Next Time.

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