How To Use Photoshop Textures

Textures create depth and a tactile element to your photographs. They can add visual interest to an average photo and make your images popular off the page. It is not difficult to add texture in Photoshop. Once yous know these iv steps, the creative possibilities are endless.

texture overlay on image of bridge and river — Mural with texture overlays.

What is a Texture?

Texture overlays are photos that alloy with your images. The texture image does non have a subject and oftentimes consists only of a detailed pattern. A texture is an image that focuses on the tactile elements in our world. They can exist rough, polish, fuzzy, or shiny. They can exist abstract or have an identifiable subject. Once you lot start seeing them, you volition find possibilities all around you.

Information technology is piece of cake to find texture overlay files. Search stock photography sites like Dreamstime, and thousands of options appear. Many of these are gratuitous to utilise.

You can also make your own texture files. There are textures in nature in a piece of driftwood or the pedals of a flower. Textures tin exist a graffitied wall, a rusty fence, or a physical sidewalk. Use your macro lens to go close. Find abstract patterns that nosotros exercise non ordinarily meet with the naked middle.

texture samples water, mud, graffiti, rust — Four texture images taken on a photograph walk beyond a bridge: h2o, mud, graffiti on concrete, and graffiti on rusted metal.

Many smartphone apps create patterns or use a fractal generator to create colourful patterns. Y'all tin as well use the many Photoshop filters to create backgrounds from existing images.

texture of purple fractal pattern — Pattern created with a fractal generator.

How to Add together Texture in Photoshop

To add texture in Photoshop, you volition need a photograph and a texture image. Do not worry if the texture file is smaller than your main image. We will resize it. Your main epitome can be anything. Textures work well on images that are non already too busy and have some space effectually the subject.

long exposure river and bridge — The sunrise was a lilliputian boring under this bridge. Adding a texture overlay will help the image popular.

Step 1: Open Images in Photoshop

Open both your main image and the texture image in Photoshop. If you lot are working in Lightroom, highlight both prototype files and click Photo > Edit In > Open as Layers in Photoshop. This will open one Photoshop document with two layers. Ane layer is your chief image, and the other is the texture. Rename the texture layer 'Texture'. Drag your texture layer above your main image in the Layers console if it is non already there.

Lightroom screenshot open files to add texture in Photoshop — Screenshot of Lightroom workspace showing how to open 2 images every bit layers in Photoshop.

If you are not seeing the Layers console in the lower right-hand cavalcade of the workspace, go to the Windows drop-down menu. Select Windows > Layers (or F7).

Photoshop layers panel — Layers console in Photoshop. Drag texture layer above main image.

To open files directly in Photoshop, first, open up your main epitome. You can either right-click on the image and open it with Photoshop. Or y'all can open Photoshop first, then select File > Open and navigate to it. Photoshop will open most image files equally well every bit pdfs.

Once your main image is open up, create a new bare layer. Go to Layer > New > Layer or use the new layer icon at the lesser of the Layers console. This looks like a rectangle with a + sign. Rename this layer 'Texture', and click OK. Find your texture file and drag it into Photoshop. The texture will copy onto the blank layer. The next step is to resize the texture to fit over your image layer.

Photoshop textures layer panel new layer — Layers panel in Photoshop. Create a new bare layer and rename it 'Textures'.

Stride two: Resize Texture Layer

Select the texture layer and go to the Edit drib-down menu. Click Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl or ⌘T). Drag the corners and edges until the texture covers your image layer. Property the shift key as y'all drag will let you drag each border independently. Click the checkmark on the acme of the workspace or hitting Return or Enter.

Photoshop screenshot free transform — Screenshot of Photoshop workspace showing how to open Free Transform tool and resize texture layer.

Also, try rotating the texture layer for a different consequence. Go to Edit > Transform > Rotate xc° Clockwise. Or open up Free Transform and hover your cursor over a corner. The cursor will modify to an arc with two arrows. Click and pull the corners around to rotate the epitome.

Photoshop screenshot rotate layer — Screenshot of Photoshop workspace showing how to rotate the layer.

Resize until the texture layer hides your main image. The next pace is to alloy the layers. This will reveal your main photo and combine the layers.

Step 3: Change the Blending Mode

Blending modes are different ways the layers collaborate. The blend modes are near the top of the Layers panel. By default, the blending mode drop-down menu is gear up to Normal. At that place is no 'right' blending mode. When calculation textures, popular alloy modes are Lighten, Overlay, and Soft Light. But click through each blend mode to see how your image changes. Some blend modes let your main image evidence through more than others. Others will change the colours in your image.

Photoshop layers panel blending modes menu — Screenshot of Layers panel showing how blending modes drop-down menu.

Compare three texture blending modes in Photoshop — Compare three blending modes: Soft Low-cal, Screen, and Darker Colour.

Exercise not worry too much about the details. Detect a blending mode that you like. The next step is to refine how much texture shows through.

Stride 4: Refine the Texture Overlay

You tin refine the texture overlay so that information technology shows through only where y'all want it. In most instances, we desire the texture to prove, but not overwhelm the main image. The kickoff affair to do is lower the opacity of the texture layer. Click on the texture layer and select the opacity slider at the elevation of the Layers panel. There is no right opacity. Endeavor setting the opacity at 50%. Then add more or less transparency until yous feel the balance is right.

Photoshop layers panel opacity blending mode — Screenshot of Layers console. For this image, I selected the Darker Colour blending fashion and x% opacity.

You tin besides lighten or remove the texture from parts of your chief image. For instance, when my primary image contains a person, I often remove or lighten the texture on the confront. To exercise this, create a layer mask. Click on the texture layer and go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All. Or click the layer mask icon at the bottom of the layer panel. This looks like a rectangle with a circle within.

You should now see a white rectangle to the correct of your texture. Click on the white layer mask.

Photoshop layers panel new layer mask — Screenshot of Layers panel showing layer mask. The indicated icon below the Layers panel creates a layer mask in the selected layer.

Select the paintbrush tool and set it to blackness. Apply a soft paintbrush set at a 40 – 50% opacity. Pigment over the places where you want to remove the texture. Notice that black appears on the white layer mask as you pigment. Black hides the texture layer. If you make a error and want to add texture back to an area, switch to a white paintbrush and paint the texture back in. White reveals the layer. With a low opacity paintbrush, you can lighten the texture from an surface area without removing information technology completely.

Layering Textures

To enrich the texture event, stack more than than 1 texture onto your main image. Yous can add a texture layer on some elements of your image and a different texture on other elements. For instance, you lot can use one layer for the background and another for a foreground element.

In this example, I added a texture made up of waves from the water. This added more than texture, especially in the sky.

Determination

In that location is no limit to the amount of visual interest yous can create using textures. To add texture in Photoshop is easy. Fifty-fifty a subtle texture makes a photo more interesting. The viewer may non even realise what yous have done to achieve a rich look.

The blend mode gives the textures a unique await. Y'all tin can use the same texture on many different images and change the blending mode. The results will be dissimilar each time. This, plus the ability to layer textures, opens upwards unlimited possibilities.

With textures, you tin make your images expect like they are printed on paper or silk. You lot can create a faded, vintage expect or a shiny, futuristic effect. Textures are piece of cake to apply, but the artistic possibilities are endless.

For more tips and tricks to make your images stand out, read our guide to Wow Factor Photography