Have you ever wanted one of your photos to look like a painting? In this tutorial, we'll show you how to add a texture to your photo and then transform it to look like a painting in Photoshop. It's easy and fun. Let's get started.

What Textures Work the Best?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the old saying goes. But when it comes to textures, it's best to do a little planning when you want to create a painting out of one of your photos.

If you want your photo to look like a painting, then it's best to find a texture that looks like one already. Ideally, you want an uncolored texture, or you'll have to perform this easy task in Photoshop.

You can use more than one texture. You can get as detailed as you like with specific textures to fit into different parts of the photo. As to where to get textures, you can download them for free from websites like Unsplash and Pexels. Or, you can buy them from creators.

Once you see how easy it is to turn your photos into paintings, you'll be able to better plan your workflow. You can also use free plugins from the NIK Collection to add color and texture effects.

Download the Material for Turning Photos Into Paintings

Download These Free Images

The best way to learn how to turn your photo into a painting is by following along with our tutorial. We've already done the hard work of figuring out a good texture and subject. You can download each of them for free at Pexels.

How to Add the Texture to a Subject in Photoshop

The first part of our tutorial involves adding the texture and then blending it in with our main subject image using a couple of Blend modes. We'll also desaturate the color so that only the texture will come through. The goal is to keep all the color of the original image and only apply pure texture.

  1. With both images loaded into Photoshop, let's move the texture onto our main image. Press V for the Move tool and simply drag the image onto the photo of the woman as shown.
    Step 1 Move Texture
  2. With Layer 1 active, press Ctrl + T for the Transform tool. Then, move the texture so that it covers the entire image. Use the handles to rotate and place the texture for the best look. Then, click on the Checkmark or press Enter to accept the changes.
    Step 2 Transform
  3. Press Ctrl + U to bring up the Hue/Saturation tool. Move the Saturation slider all the way to the left, then press OK.
    Step 3 Saturation Slider
  4. Press Ctrl + J twice to make two copies of the texture layer.
    Step 4 Two Copies
  5. Make Layer 1 active. Then, double-click on the right side of Layer 1 to summon the Layer Style menu.
    Step 5 Layer Style menu
  6. In the Blend If sliders in the Underlying Layer, click on the bottom right white handle and press Alt + Left-Click to split it into two handles as shown. Then, move the left handle all the way to the left to where the black handle is. We can't show the end result because the white handle would be obscured. You have to move the slider all the way over to the black handle. Then, press OK.
    Step 6 Split Handles
  7. With Layer 1 still active, change the blend mode to Multiply.
    Step 7 Multiply
  8. Make Layer 1 Copy active. Then, double-click on the right side of Layer 1 Copy to summon the Layer Style menu as before.
    Step 8 Layer Style 2
  9. In the Blend If sliders in the Underlying Layer, click on the black handle in the lower-left corner and press Alt + Left-Click to split it into two handles as shown. Just like before, move the slider but in the opposite direction all the way to the white handle. Then, press OK.
    Step 9 Black Handle
  10. With Layer 1 Copy still active, change the blend mode to Screen.
    Step 10 Screen
  11. Make Layer 1 Copy 2 active. Change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge.
    Step 11 Color Dodge
  12. Change the Opacity to 30 percent.
    Step 12 Opacity 30
  13. With Layer 1 Copy 2 still active, press Shift + Click to highlight the texture layers as shown.
    Step 13 Highlight Layers
  14. Press Ctrl + G to group the texture layers together in a folder.
    Step 14 Ctrl + G
  15. Press Ctrl + J to duplicate the Group 1 layer.
    Step 15 Ctrl + J
  16. Change the Blend Mode to Multiply.
    Step 16 Multiply

We've just successfully blended the original texture layer with the portrait of the woman.

Texture Blended

But we're not finished yet. The image is still too dark in some places and the woman could stand out more. We'll add the finishing creative touches in the next section.

Apply Finishing Touches

The finishing touches are completely subjective and up to the creator. For purposes of this tutorial, we'll simply brighten a few places and do some basic color corrections to make the image look more like a painting. One handy tip to keep in mind is that rarely is any part of a real painting pure white or pure black.

  1. Add a Curves adjustment layer. Click Auto.
    Step 1 Curves
  2. Change the Opacity to 70 percent.
    Step 2 Opacity 70
  3. Add a Color Balance adjustment layer and change the Midtones sliders to the following values.
    Step 3 Color Balance
  4. Add one more Curves adjustment layer and raise the lower-left point on the graph as shown. This will give the image a more matte look, eliminating any pure blacks.
    Step 4 Curves adjustment
  5. Next, we'll add some noise to the image to blend all the effects together cohesively. Press and hold Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E to create a Stamp Visible layer.
    Step 5 Stamp Visible
  6. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
    Step 6 Add Noise
  7. Change the Amount Slider to 15 percent. Check Uniform and check Monochromatic as shown. Press OK.
    Step 7 15 Percent Noise

Final Result

End Result

The fun doesn't have to end here. If you're familiar with Photoshop, you can continue to make creative adjustments. If you own any third-party plugins like Anthropics Smart Photo Editor, there are many filters and effects that can be applied to polish your images.

Making a Photo Look Like a Painting Has Never Been Easier

Let's face the fact that there are no shortcuts to making your photos look like paintings. We've shown you one method of simply adding a texture to your image in Photoshop. Hopefully, you've followed along and will expand on the methods here to create beautiful paintings from your photos by adding a single texture.