Adding Texture with an Overlay

After applying the filters, the image is quite "watercolorish," but it still lacks something: The small fluctuations in color density that result from the natural uneveness of watercolor pooling on paper surface.

The best way of simulating the fluctuating density of color on textured paper, to my knowledge, is adding a texture layer in Overlay mode over the image.

To create the texture layer,

1. Add a new layer on top,
2. Fill it with white,
3. And select Express Texture from "Effects / Surface Control."

When you set Gray Threshold to 150%, Grain to 100%, and Contrast to 100% in the "Express Texture" dialog, you can exactly reproduce the paper texture on a white surface. For best results, adjust Gray Threshold and Contrast to make the expressed texture's average luminance 50% gray.

Next, change the composite method of the texture layer from Default to Overlay to make the image underneath becomes visible. You can adjust the effect of the texture layer on the image using the Opacity slider in the Layers palette.

An alternate, more straightforward method to emulate textured color density is to use Dye Concentration from "Effects / Surface Control" which directly affects the image. The result you get is often a little different from the one described above. You cannot tweak texture strength after you apply it when you choose to use this method.

In the left image, I used "Italian Watercolor Paper" from Painter 8's default paper library, and set the opacity of the texture layer to 50%.

A texture layer in Overlay composite method makes the color underneath look denser where the texture is darker, and lighter where it is white. At the same time its effect is more pronounced on the darker parts of the image underneath.

As the combined result of these two effects, the overlay layer hightens the contrast of the image while giving it texture. That is why the overlay texture looks a little different from one added by adjusting "Dye Concentration," which gives texture but does not affect contrast.

Adding Surface Texture

And there is antoher kind of texture: The bumpiness of the paper surface itself. In Painter, this is simulated by using Apply Surface Texture based on paper from "Effects / Surface Control."

The amount of the applied texture should be kept low. Here the it is 17%.

Apply Surface Texture produces the effect of subtle shadows cast by the bumps on paper surface.

Combining Texture Effects

Since the pooling density of colors and the shadow on the paper surface are two totally independent elements in the picture, they can be combined. To do this, create the texture overlay first, and set its opacity lower than when you would use the overlay alone. Clone the image to combine the canvas and the texture layer, or alternately drop the texture layer to the canvas. Then apply surface texture at a setting lower than when used alone.

In the image left, the overlay texture with 40% opacity is combined with surface texture applied at the amount of 15%.

To see the entire image, go to the [ before and after ] page.

Using other settings and other plugins, you can produce a wide range of watercolor effects. On the next page, I am showing you some.

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(Last Modified: 2003/10/18)