Adding Impressionist texture to a photograph
by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis

By combining two powerful effects, Glass Distortion and Apply Surface Texture, you can create an Impressionist look with textured highlights and shadows.

1. Choosing an image. Choose an image with a strong focal point and good highlights and shadows. You can achieve good results with either crisp or soft-focus images.

This photograph of my friend RK surfing in California has beautiful late afternoon lighting, color and dynamic surfing action. I shot the photgraph with a Canon 20D at ISO 1600, and a 300mm focal length.

2. Initiating texture. Choose a medium-to-coarse paper texture-organic textures with a broad tonal range help to emulate the look of paint on paper. for a subtle, natural look, I chose French Watercolor Paper from the Paper Selector in the Toolbox. To diffuse or break up the image into paint-like strokes on paper, choose Effects, Focus, Glass Distortion. In the Using menu select Paper. Choose subtle settings-my settings were Amount, -0.11; Variance, 1.00; and Softness, 0. Click OK to apply your settings.

You can see the photograph subtly broken up into strokes of paint.

3. Adding texture and shadows. Now, to add realistic relief, choose Effects, Surface Control, Apply Surface Texture. In the Using menu choose Paper. To avoid a harsh look and to preserve the original image, I recommend low-to-moderate Surface Texture settings. I used Amount, 22%; Picture, 100%; Shine, 0%; Softness, 0 and Re?ection, 0. Choose a light direction that complements the light in your photograph, and click OK. To shine a glow down from the top of the image, adding to the back lighting, I clicked the top light direction button.

As you can see in the final illustration, the image is embued with the subtle texture of Impressionist watercolor washes on paper.

Good work! You've completed this month's Painter Wow! tip.

Content and images: © 2006 by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis

An award-winning artist and author, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis has always worked with traditional art tools. A pioneer in digital art, Cher has created illustrations using the Macintosh computer for two decades. She has been widely recognized for her mastery of Painter, Photoshop and the Wacom pressure-sensitive tablet, and has used these electronic tools since they were ?rst released. Exercising her passion for Painter's artist tools, Cher has worked as a consultant and demo-artist for the developers of Painter. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide and her articles and art have been published in many books and periodicals, and she is a member of the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild. She has taught Painter and Photoshop workshops around the world, and is the principal of the consulting ?rm Cher Threinen Design.

Cher is the author of The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book, Creative Techniques in Digital Painting and all seven editions of The Painter Wow! Book. The Painter IX Wow! Book is the latest edition of this highly-praised volume of techniques and inspiration.

To learn more about Cher, please visit her Web site at www.pendarvis-studios.com