If you have ever wanted to give your photo a painted feel, this tutorial is for you! Below I have instructions on how to apply a hand-painted texture and stylize the photo using Photoshop<\/strong>, Luminar AI<\/strong>, and ON1 Photo RAW<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If you would like to follow along with these tutorials, go here<\/a> to access two free Artist’s Surface<\/strong> textures. And, if you’d like to play with even more of these textures, please take a look at the full Artist’s Surface<\/a> texture pack in the Nicolesy Store.<\/em><\/p>\n Jump to a tutorial on this page:<\/strong><\/p>\n Use Photoshop CC to apply an oil-paint effect and add a texture.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div> Open a photo into Photoshop by going to File > Open<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and then navigate to the photo you want to edit.<\/p>\n<\/div> Duplicate the background (main) layer with the keyboard shortcut Cmd + J (Mac)<\/strong><\/span> or Ctrl + J (Win)<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0Then, go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Objects<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0in the menu. You will know your layer is a Smart Object if it has a small icon in the lower-right portion of the thumbnail in the Layers panel.<\/p>\n Converting the layer to a Smart Object allows you to non-destructively add filters that can easily be re-edited if you desire.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div> Now, go to Filter > Stylize > Oil Paint<\/strong><\/span>. Play with your settings until you get it stylized where you like.<\/p>\n<\/div> Now, go to File > Place Embedded<\/strong><\/span> and locate the Artist’s Surface texture on your computer or hard-drive. If the image is too small when it is placed, resize and\/or rotate it so it covers the entire photo. When you are finished with the texture placement, press the Return (Mac)<\/strong><\/span> or Enter (PC)<\/strong><\/span> key.<\/p>\n<\/div> Now, in the Layers panel, make sure the texture you just added is selected. Then change the blending mode to Hard Light<\/strong><\/span>. Now you have a photo with an oil-paint effect and a textured surface.<\/p>\n<\/div> The first step is to open the photo you want to use in Luminar AI. You can do this either by using a photo from the catalog, or you can click the plus icon at the top<\/strong><\/span>and choose to edit a single image. When you have the photo open in Luminar, click Edit<\/strong><\/span> at the top.<\/p>\n<\/div> Next, use the tools in Luminar AI to add a subtle blur<\/strong><\/span> to the photo. This helps give the photo a smudgy painted feel. There’s no “blur” tool inside of Luminar, so you’ll have to get creative. Some of the tools I used to create this effect include:<\/p>\n You can also add some stylizing tools to the photo, which will help with the overall look to make it seem more vibrant:<\/p>\n Click on the Local Masking<\/strong><\/span> tab on the right, then click the Add<\/strong><\/span> button at the top and choose Texture<\/strong><\/span> from the drop-down menu.<\/p>\n Then, click the Load Texture…<\/strong><\/span> button in the tool and navigate to your Artist’s Surface texture. Then, click Advanced Settings and change the Blend<\/strong><\/span> to Hard Light<\/strong><\/span>. I also like to set the Opacity<\/strong><\/span> to a higher number, somewhere between 80 and 100, to intensify the texture blend effect. Now you have a beautiful painterly photo created in Luminar AI.<\/p>\n<\/div> Open a photo using the catalog or by going to File > Edit Single Photo<\/strong><\/span>. Then, click the Edit<\/strong><\/span> tab on the right to access the Edit module and click on the Effects<\/strong><\/span> panel.<\/p>\n<\/div> Click the Add Filter<\/strong><\/span> button and select Blur<\/strong><\/span>. Then, click the Surface preset and make the following adjustments:<\/p>\n In the Layers section near the top, click the plus icon<\/strong><\/span> and browse your computer or hard-drive for an Artist’s Surface texture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Photoshop<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Step 1: Open a photo into Photoshop CC<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 2: Create a Smart Object<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_02.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 3: Add an Oil Paint filter<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_03.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 4: Add the Artist’s Surface texture<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_04.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 5: Blend the texture layer<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_05.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Luminar AI<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>
Step 1: Open a photo into Luminar AI<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_luminar_01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 2: Use the Luminar AI tools to slightly blur the image<\/h3>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_luminar_02.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 3: Add the Artist’s Surface texture<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/AS_luminar_03_update2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>ON1 Photo RAW<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>
Step 2: Open a photo in ON1 Photo RAW<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 2: Add a Surface Blur<\/h3>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_02.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>Step 3: Add the Artist’s Surface texture as a layer<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_BEFORE.jpg\")
![\"With](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_ps_AFTER.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_luminar_BEFORE.jpeg\")
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_luminar_AFTER.jpeg\")
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_BEFORE.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_AFTER.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_03.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/nicolesy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AS_on1_04.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>