Techniques for creating a dripping paint effect

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How to Easily Make a Dripping Photo Effect in Photoshop

Lately, we have seen a lot of pictures with a dripping effect in many advertisings, websites and even Instagram posts, and making this effect in Photoshop is very easy if you know which tools to use. While some techniques requires you to use a dripping image shape as a mask, there many other methods to make this effect, and a simpler way to achieve this same effect (in fact, we will make some improvements so it does not looks flat like others dripping effects) is by using the Liquify Tool in Photoshop.

But before we begin, and if you want to follow this tutorial exactly as described, please download the following image from Freepik: Download.

Using your favorite method, cut off the subject from the background and place it over a new layer. Name this layer as “Subject Back”.

With the “Subject Back” layer selected, go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.

Step 4

Select the “Background” Layer and go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient. Name this layer as “Gradient Background” and click OK.

What You’ll Need

To recreate the design above, you will need the following photo:

Step 1

First, open the photo that you want to work with. To open your photo, go to File > Open, choose your photo, and click Open. Now, before we get started, just check a couple of things:

1. Your photo should be in RGB Color mode, 8 Bits/Channel. To check this, go to Image > Mode.
2. For best results, your photo size should be 1500–4000 px wide/high. To check this, go to Image > Image Size.
3. Your photo should be the Background layer. If it is not, go to Layer > New > Background from Layer.

Step 2

If you are using a different stock photo from mine, you should firstly follow the Unfinished Coloured Pencil Sketch Effect tutorial to get a sketch effect that is the base for this effect. Then I suggest that you merge all sketch layers into one layer named Sketch Effect so that it’s easier for you to follow this tutorial.

If you are using the same stock photo as I do, go to File > Place Embedded, select the Sketch Effect file attached, click Place, and place it so it fits the canvas as shown below:

How to Create Brushes

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create brushes that we will need for this effect. Go to File > New to create a new file, name it Dripping Brushes, and use the settings below:

Step 2

Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Brush_1. Then, while this layer is selected, choose the Pen Tool (P), select the Shape tool mode, set the Fill color to #000000 , and draw a dripping shape. If you prefer some other tools for drawing, feel free to use them.

Step 3

Now go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to define this shape as a brush and name it Dripping_Brush_1.

Step 4

Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Brush_2. Then, while this layer is selected, draw another dripping shape in the same way and hide the Brush 1 layer.

Step 5

Now go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to define this shape as a brush and name it Dripping_Brush_2.

Step 6

Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Brush_3. Then, while this layer is selected, draw another dripping shape in the same way and hide the Brush 2 layer.

Step 7

Now go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to define this shape as a brush and name it Dripping_Brush_3.

Step 8

Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Brush_4. Then, while this layer is selected, draw a drop shape in the same way and hide the Brush 3 layer.

Step 9

Now go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to define this shape as a brush and name it Dripping_Brush_4.

Step 10

Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Brush_5. Then, while this layer is selected, draw a drop shape in the same way and hide the Brush 4 layer.

Step 11

Now go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to define this shape as a brush and name it Dripping_Brush_5. After that, you can close the Dripping Brushes file window.

How to Create a Painting Effect

Step 1

In this section, we are going to create a painting effect from a specific area of the photo. Go to Layer > New > Layer to create a new layer and name it Painting.

Step 2

Now hide the Sketch Effect layer, and while the Painting layer is selected, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, and brush over the areas that you want to turn into a painting.

Step 3

Control-click on this layer thumbnail to make a selection of this layer. Then hide this layer, select the Background layer, and press Control-J on your keyboard to create a new layer using a selection. Show the Sketch Effect layer and drag this new layer just above it in the Layers panel.

Step 4

Now name this layer Subject, go to Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights, and set the Shadows to 20% and the Highlights to 5% as shown below:

Step 5

Press Control-J on your keyboard to duplicate this layer, go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen, and then go to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the Radius to 2 px as shown below:

Step 6

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen again and then press Control-Shift-U on your keyboard to desaturate this layer. After that, change this layer blending mode to Soft Light, Control-click on the Subject layer to select both layers at the same time, and press Control-E on your keyboard to merge these two layers into one layer.

Step 7

Now go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and set the Amount to 100%, Radius to 2.5 px and Threshold to 1 level as shown below:

Step 8

Go to Filter > Stylize > Diffuse and choose Anisotropic Mode as shown below. Then go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° clockwise to rotate this layer 90° clockwise.

Step 9

Now repeat the previous filter again, so go to Filter > Stylize > Diffuse and choose Anisotropic Mode. Then go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° clockwise to rotate this layer 90° clockwise once more. After that, go to Filter > Stylize > Diffuse and choose Anisotropic Mode for a last time, and go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 180° to rotate this layer 180° and return it to the original position.

Step 10

Name this layer Subject, and then go to Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise and use the settings below:

Step 11

Now we are going to add a contrast to the Subject layer. Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches, and then go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a new gradient map adjustment layer and name it Subject_Contrast.

Step 12

Press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask, and then change this layer blending mode to Soft Light and set the Opacity to 35%.

Step 13

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to create a new hue/saturation adjustment layer and name it Subject_Saturation.

Step 14

Press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask, and then Double-click on this layer thumbnail, and in the Properties panel enter the settings below:

Step 15

Now go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels to create a new levels adjustment layer and name it Overall Brightness.

Step 16

Press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask, and then Double-click on this layer thumbnail, and in the Properties panel enter the settings below:

Step 17

Now select the Subject layer, and then hold the Alt button on your keyboard and drag this layer just above the Subject_Brightness layer to duplicate this layer and place it on top of the visible layers in the Layers panel. Then go to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the Radius to 5 px as shown below:

Step 18

Press Control-Alt-G on your keyboard to create a clipping mask and then press Control-Shift-U to desaturate this layer. After that, change this layer blending mode to Hard Light and name it Subject_Sharpening.