Today we will start examining the filters that come with Photoshop. Before we begin, it might be a good idea to have handy a notebook, this way you can write down settings you find pleasing, and not waste all of this experimentation. As I go through guides and books, I write settings I find successful or pleasing in the margins; this allows me to at least have a starting point for future use.

Also, you need to understand that filters react differently depending on FILE SIZE. Sorry, as I said yesterday, there is no magic bullet. Experimentation is the only way to discover what works. Also, did you know that some filters were originally designed to work in conjunction with another filter? AHA! You learn something new everyday. I spoke to a woman who works mostly in prepress, and she said that this is a tidbit of information that pretty much slipped through the cracks during development. Truth, or urban legend? Well, you'll have to decide.

Keep in mind that you can apply the same filter more than once, you can apply two (or more) different filters on the same image in tandem, and starting with 4.0, you can FADE the effect of a filter . . . just remember you cannot go back and undo the original filter effect once you have used fade. For this reason, I normally make a copy of the layer and do my work there (apologies to Rick Billings). You can also apply a filter to just one layer of an image.

Here is a point many people miss: you can apply a filter to only PART of an image. How? By simply making a selection, either by using the magic wand, the lasso, or my favorite, the pen tool. Well, ok, the pen tool isn't my favorite, but Eddie Tapp convinced me that it will be if I work on it, and I really am getting better at it--I hardly ever swear at all while using it now. Anyway, an example is the Watercolor Filter (which really doesn't quite work like you'd expect it to, but we'll come to that sometime in March): it over-emphasizes the blacks and when used on portraits, makes faces and eyes go kind of alien looking. If you select the face with the lasso, then inverse the selection and apply the filter, everything in the image will be affected by the filter EXCEPT the face.

And finally, there are some filters you will likely never use. Some work in all modes, others work ONLY on RGB, ONLY on Grayscale, etc. Some were designed to be used primarily on text, some for prepress. And some, well, who knows why they were included! So prepare to start really learning about Photoshop filters. The information shared will work with nearly all versions of PS, but keep in mind if you are one of the last 3 people in the universe working in 2.5, the layers information will not apply to you (layers weren't introduced until v3.0).

To prepare for this, press CONTROL O (you might as well learn the keyboard shortcuts, kids!) and OPEN the image in your SAMPLES folder titled BALL. You'll notice this is a relatively small file, designed for monitor display. Click on the box next to the title of EACH layer--this will link the layers together. Go to IMAGE->SIZE: the size listed is 4x3 at a resolution of 72ppi. Let's resize this file by entering a "5" in the width window (you'll notice the height automatically changes to 3.75) and change the resolution to 150. The file was 883k, and is now 5.16Mb. This lets us get a more accurate idea of how long the filters will take to work on our systems in the "real world". We will save these to the SAMPLES folder, or if you would like, create a new folder called STEVES TUTORIAL if you would like to make it easy to track the series.

Now save TWO copies of the file as follows:

a) Keep all of the layers intact by saving it as a Photoshop file (psd): SHIFT CTRL S (FILE->SAVE AS) b) Next, go to the Layers Palette & click on the black triangle at the top right of the palette: select FLATTEN IMAGE--this combines all of the layers into one image (flattens it). Now SHIFT CTRL S
FILE->SAVE AS) Ball no_layers
Now we are set to begin.

The Artistic Filters

The 1st dozen filters (actually about 15) were new to PS 4.0: the ARTISTIC filters were previously an additional cost add-on known as Gallery Effects. While some may be used in conjunction with other filters, their effects are normally too "strong" to be doubled up. None of them will work on an empty layer, and none will work in Lab or CYMK mode. The first of these is COLORED PENCIL (cp).

This is supposed to mimic the effect of Derwent/Prismacolor pencil strokes, but in reality is more like colored cross hatching. The filter uses the prodominent colors in the image, and puts it on a neutral paper base--wherever it removes color, it replaces it with the paper base color.

Let's give it a try. CTRL-O (FILE->OPEN) Ball no_layers. Press D to set your FOREGROUND and BACKGROUND colors to the default setting. Press ALT I then D, which is the shortcut for selecting IMAGE->DUPLICATE. This will make a duplicate layer called Ball no-layers1 for us to practice on without futzing up our original image. Remember, Eddie Tapp says WHOOPS = CRTL Z (CMD Z on mac) for UNDO. Since we will only be working with the filters, you may want to hide the toolbar and other palettes.

You don't know how? Close the palettes by clicking their close window (the x in the box) and press TAB to hide the tool bar. Then press F to get a full screen view. DON'T PANIC! You can get all the stuff back: press TAB to get the tool bar back, press F until your normal window view returns, then click on the WINDOW option at the top of the screen to open the menu. Click on the palettes you wish to SHOW. Feel better now? Good.

Anyway, if you've never used the cp filter, the following values will most likely appear:
pencil width 4
stroke pressure 8
paper brightness 25

(if you've played around with the filter, the last values set by the user normally appears when opened). To begin with, drag the Pencil Width slider to 25. At 1, scratches of the background color shows through. For most files, you'll want to select 4 or 5 as your minimum (remember, you gotta experiment).

Next set the Stroke Pressure to 15--this controls the color intensity & 15 preserves the original brightness of the image. When set at zero, no image is produced.

Finally, set the Paper Brightness to 50. A setting of zero makes your paper BLACK, and 50 equals whatever color your BACKGROUND COLOR is set at on your toolbar. A setting of 25 is between the two. If your background color is set at white, you will find a Paper Brightness of zero or 50 works best--anything else seems to make the image muddy--but hey, experiment away.

Apply the filter. Do you like it? Undo the filter then change the settings. Try FADING the filter once it's been applied. For this particular image, my personal favorite was pw/10 ps/14 pb/50. What do you think? There's really no wrong answer! Practice away, and I'll see you next time.

Steve Bohne

All information contained herein is Copyright © 1999, Steve Bohne M Photog Cr

All Rights Reserved; may not be reproduced without written permission of the author. Image titled BALL is ©Adobe, Inc. and is for your personal use ONLY; image may not be reproduced without their express written permission.

PS: As per Steve's instruction, you will notice that the filter effects will appear smoother on their monitors than they do via the web. I think that is mainly because I used the Sharpen Filter to bring out the details, and maybe I should not have done that.