How to Grunge Layers in Photography
- 1). Open Photoshop and select “Open” from under “File” in the menu bar. Navigate to the photograph that you wish to make grungy and select “Open.”
- 2). Open your “Layers” palette from under “Window” in the menu bar and duplicate the layer by right clicking on it and selecting “Duplicate Layer.”
- 3). Change the blending mode, accessible by the drop-down menu in the “Layers” palette, for your duplicate to “Hard Light” to add punch to the colors.
- 4). Duplicate the original layer again and then select “High Pass Filter” from under “Filter” in the menu bar. Adjust the slider to give a desired effect.
- 5). Select the “Create a New Layer” button on the “Layers” palette and then select the “Paint Bucket Tool” from the “Tools” palette. Click the colored box in the “Tools” palette and select a golden brown color. Use the “Paint Bucket Tool” to fill the layer with the color.
- 6). Change this layer’s blending mode to “Overlay” and then go to the menu bar and select “Filter,” then “Noise,” and then “Add Noise...” Select the amount of noise you wish to add and select “OK.”
- 7). Click and drag this layer to the top of the “Layers” palette.
- 8). Duplicate the original layer again and set its blending mode to “Hard Light.” Select “Filter” from the menu bar and select “Ripple” from under the “Distort” selection. Adjust the slider to about 700% and select “OK.”
- 9). Select “Diffuse” from under “Stylize” in the “Filter” menu bar menu and select “OK.”
- 10
Select the “Eraser Tool” from the “Tools” palette and begin to erase portions of this layer that you want the viewer to focus on. Once complete, the focus of the photograph will be sharp while its surroundings will be more grungy. - 11
Select “Open” under “File” in the menu bar and select some grunge textures to import. Open the files and drag them using the “Move Tool” in the “Tools” palette onto your photograph, moving them to the top of the “Layers” palette. - 12
Select “Edit” in the menu bar, then “Transform,” and then “Free Transform” and scale these textures so that they fill up the photograph. - 13
Change the blending modes for these added textures to emphasize the grungy appearance of the photograph. Begin to turn on and turn off layers by selecting the eyeball icon in the “Layers” palette to player around with your grunge layers and finish processing your photograph.
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