How to Turn Photos into Digital Painting Using Photoshop

Transform your photos into stunning digital paintings with these professional Photoshop techniques—no drawing skills required! Whether you want an oil painting, watercolor, or cartoon effect, this guide covers everything.

Method 1: The Oil Painting Effect (Best for Realism)

Step 1: Open & Duplicate Your Photo

• Open your image in Photoshop.

• Duplicate the layer (Ctrl+J / Cmd+J).

Step 2: Apply the Oil Paint Filter

1. Go to Filter → Oil Paint (Photoshop CC+).

2. Adjust settings:

   • Stylization (10-15) → Controls brushstroke intensity.

   • Cleanliness (3-5) → Smoothes edges.

   • Scale (0.8-1.5) → Affects brush size.

   • Bristle Detail (5-8) → Adds texture.

Step 3: Enhance with Brush Strokes

• Add a New Layer and paint with the Mixer Brush Tool to blend colors like real paint.

• Use the Dry Brush Filter (Filter → Filter Gallery → Artistic → Dry Brush) for extra texture.

Result: A realistic oil painting!

Method 2: Watercolor Painting Effect

Step 1: Apply the Watercolor Filter

1. Duplicate your photo layer (Ctrl+J).

2. Go to Filter → Filter Gallery → Artistic → Watercolor.

   • Adjust Brush Detail (9-14), Shadow Intensity (0-1), and Texture (1-3).

Step 2: Add Paper Texture

1. Download a watercolor paper texture (or use Filter → Texture → Texturizer).

2. Place it on top, set blending mode to Multiply (Opacity: 30-50%).

Result: A soft, artistic watercolor look!

Method 3: Cartoon/Pop Art Effect

Step 1: Posterize the Image

1. Duplicate your layer.

2. Go to Image → Adjustments → Posterize (Levels: 4-6).

Step 2: Apply the Cutout Filter

1. Go to Filter → Filter Gallery → Artistic → Cutout.

2. Adjust Edge Simplicity (2-4), Edge Fidelity (1-2), and Number of Levels (4-6).

Step 3: Add Black Outlines (Optional)

1. Duplicate the layer, apply Filter → Stylize → Find Edges.

2. Set blending mode to Multiply (Opacity: 50%).

Result: A bold, comic-book-style painting!

Pro Tips for Better Results

✔ Use a graphics tablet (Wacom) for hand-painted effects.
✔ Try AI filters (Filter → Neural Filters → Style Transfer).
✔ Add canvas texture (Filter → Texture → Canvas).
✔ Adjust colors with Hue/Saturation (Ctrl+U) for a painterly look.

Bonus: Turn Photos into Pencil Sketches

1. Duplicate the layer → Desaturate (Shift+Ctrl+U).

2. Duplicate again → Invert (Ctrl+I).

3. Set blending mode to Color Dodge → Apply Gaussian Blur (Radius: 2-5px).

Result: A realistic pencil sketch!