Using Textures

A Guide to Blending Textures Seamlessly

Brooke Shaden

When I edit my images, my final step in finishing an image is to apply a texture.

Textures are used for numerous reasons, and popular uses are to add grunge to
your picture, to give it a painterly feeling, to create a dark background, or to create
separation between subject and background. I use textures for all of these reasons,
and often for many at the same time. Along with the free textures available to you for
download, this document provides my process to applying a texture to an image.
One of the biggest areas of concern for me when it comes to adding a texture is trying
to make the texture look natural. This comes down to choosing the right texture,
editing the texture, and making sure that the skin of the subject is not completely
covered in texture (unless that is what you’re going for, of course!). So, with this in
mind, here are my steps to adding a texture:

Step One: Choosing the Texture

Choosing a texture can be more difficult than it sounds. The way that I deal with
textures is to break it down into two types: photographic or painterly. This is an
example of a photographic texture:

I call this a “Photographic Texture” because of the way it mimics an old dusty
photograph. If you have ever experimented with TTV (Through The Viewfinder)
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A Guide to Blending Textures Seamlessly
Brooke Shaden

photography, in which you shoot with your DSLR through the lens of an old film camera,
you can get the most amazing photographic textures with natural dust and scratches. I
use this type of texture on images that I want to feel old and grimy, or that could benefit
from a timeless feeling.

The next type of texture that I use often is a painterly texture.

I classify a texture as painterly if it has a cloudy look to it. This often creates a canvas-like
feeling over the image that I associate with paintings.

Step Two: Applying the Texture

In Photoshop, head over to File-->Open and you can import the texture that you desire.
Once imported, you drag and drop the texture right on top of the image you are working
on. This will create a separate layer that you will notice in your Layers box. If needed, you
can go to Edit-- >Transform to stretch the texture over your entire image. Applying the
texture is as easy as that, but blending it is a different story.

Step Three: Coloring the Texture

When I apply my textures, I always do so in black and white. Because I always add
textures last, I have already colored my image exactly as I would like it to be. Because of
this, I convert my textures to black and white before blending them into my images. If I
would like to add some color to the texture later, I do so using curves and I add the color
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A Guide to Blending Textures Seamlessly
Brooke Shaden

uniformly over the image. If the color of the natural texture is kept, you risk applying
splotches of color to your image...which might be what you want, or not, so I recommend
experimentation!

Image-->Adjustments-->Black & White

Step Four: Blending the Texture

There are countless ways to blend textures into an image. One way is to simply lower
the opacity on the layer, but I do not prefer that method because instead of blending
the texture, it simple adds a film over the entire image, thus losing the contrast that was
established before the texture was applied.

When clicked on the texture layer, you will be able to change the layer mode, which
defaults to normal. You should see a dropdown menu just above the layer that says
“Normal,” and when you click that, you will have the option to change the blending
mode. Your options are varied

and can all create interesting effects, so I recommend playing with them and choosing
one that suits your editing style.

I prefer using soft light for my texture blending process. Soft Light allows for a very
natural blending of texture into the background. If I want a more prominent texture, I will
either change the blending mode to hard light or I will duplicate the texture layer, thus
doubling the effect of the texture on the image.

Step Five: Erasing the Texture

In almost every image I have ever completed, I have erased the texture off of the subject.
I do this to varying degrees. Sometimes I go in with a 30% erasure, and sometimes I use
a 90%. The amount I erase depends on how much I want the subject to be covered in
texture. This is a personal matter, but do consider one thing: printing. When you print
an image, and especially if you are printing quite large, the texture might show up more
than anticipated, and this could be exaggerated on a subject’s skin. I make sure to keep
the subject blended (i.e.: do not want to create a cut & paste look) while also maintaining
natural skin texture.
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A Guide to Blending Textures Seamlessly
Brooke Shaden

I erase the texture with a layer mask and can always bring it back later, or erase more, as
I see fit.

Step Six: Editing the Texture

Always remember that a texture can be edited just like any other image, so don’t think
that you have to leave the texture exactly as it is. Rotate it. Clone it. Darken it. There are
so many things you can do to make a texture your own. I have used some of the same
textures in countless images because I am always tweaking them slightly.

I often clone stamp my textures to get rid of prominent marks that might “give away”
the secret of using the same texture multiple times. If you don’t like a certain dot or dust
spot, feel free to take it away!

Rotating textures is wonderful because they will naturally have their own flow and
shading. By flow, I mean where the lines of the texture lead. If you have vertical lines
running through your texture, you might try rotating it 90 degrees to see if the lines flow
better horizontally in your image.

Finally, if a texture just isn’t blending right, try making it brighter or darker or adding
contrast. This will drastically change how the texture sits with your image. My personal
favorite tool for this is curves but anything that changes brightness/darkness/contrast
will do just fine.

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I hope that you enjoy the textures that come with this packet!
#shadentextures

Click here to download Brooke’s texture pack for free:

http://brookeshaden.com/downloads/textures_of_home_creativelive.zip