Learn how to transform your photos into an oil painting masterpiece in Photoshop.
No Painting Required
As a photographer who is hopeless at drawing let alone painting, creating a photographic oil painting is not a hopless goal - all that is required is greatly taken photos and some Photoshop skills. Photographic oil painting refers to the process of taking a photo and precisely editing it in Photoshop (or your preferred editing software) to achieve an oil painting effect. The pixels in the photo are recycled to create an oil painting effect which makes each photo unique and retains it's original character.
Photoshop Tutorial
Photoshop is the ideal editing software for photos in general and also when transform a photo into an oil painting, most of the digital oil painting brushes are designed to be used in Photoshop. There is skill and creativity needed from the photographer/artist to successfully create this beautiful effect.
The below tutorial will guide you step by step on completing the transformation.
Transform Boring Background
A great opportunity to apply this effect are on close up shots where the background is lacking in visual quality and being able to specifically turn the background into a painting enhances the visual aspect of it but it can also make the subject standout as the subject remains untouched. The background needs to feature a few colours to create a nice colour contrast.
In the below picture the water is underwhelming and doesn't contribute to enhancing the photo, yet with the green plant life in the water it provides the colour contrast needed to create a nice oil painting while keeping the swan as it is.
Before & after
Wind Fade Effect
Creating a wind fade correctly can produce some remarkable results. The oil paint effect provides a beautiful warp that gives the illusion that object in the photo is being carried away by the wind. The artistic rearranging of the photo needs to be done precisely and skillfully so the new visual is able convince the viewers mind of the story being tolled even though it may appear as non-fiction.
In the picture below it appears the outer petals are leaving the tulip in an attempt to breakaway and be free.
Painting
Photos are fantastic in a portfolio, however the odd painting here and there will keep viewers surprised of what's coming on the next page. A beautiful waterfront scene with houses that resonate unique architecture is the perfect formula for this edit. The aim here is to turn the whole photo into a painting and not just selected parts.
Thank you for your time and effort :)
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