Photoshop offers a variety of filters that can be used to make a photo appear to be a painting. Here's another, using the Median and Texturizer filters.
We'll start with PhotoSpin's image #0990001. It's a beautiful shot that will convert beautifully to a painterly look.
The Median filter, found in the Noise submenu, helps smooth the detail of the image without excessive blurring. Let's compare the Median and Gaussian Blur filters, both applied at a radius of two pixels.
Note that the Median filter helps maintain the edges while smoothing, while the Gaussian Blur filter blurs the entire image, softening edges. (This is one reason the Median filter is often better than blurring to remove noise or texture in an image or selection.)
Adding the Texture> Texturizer filter, using rather modest settings for this low-resolution image, finishes the effect.
Pete
Bauer is the Help Desk Director for NAPP, as well
as a Contributing Writer for Photoshop User and Mac Design
magazines. His books include "Special Edition Using
Adobe Photoshop 7" (with Jeff Foster), "Special
Edition Using Adobe Illustrator 10," "Sams Teach
Yourself Adobe Illustrator 10 in 24 Hours" (with Mordy
Golding), and "Special Edition Using Adobe Illustrator
9." Pete writes documentation for a variety of computer
graphics related products, as well as testing software
for a number of companies. As a computer graphics efficiency
consultant, Pete specializes in customized training programs.
He is based in Columbus, Ohio, and can be contacted via
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