Rose City Watercolor Tutorial

Before we get started you'll need to gather some materials below:

Photoshop Brushes:

Dirt Brush - download

Cloud Brush - download

Stroke Brushes - download 1, download 2

Images:

Step 1

First, let's start by creating a new document with a width of 1200px and a height of 800px. Set the resolution to 72pixels/inch and set the Color Mode to RGB.

Step 2

Create a new layer above the background layer and label it "bg texture". Load the Dirt Brush Set by selecting "load brushes" in the brush flyout menu.

With a foreground color of #c7c6c6 select the Brush Tool and paint with several different Dirt Brushes to get a similar look to the one below.

Step 3

Next we'll create another new layer above "bg texture" and label it "cloud base". Load the Cloud Brush Set as we did in the previous step. With a foreground color of black decrease the Opacity to 40%. Use several of the Cloud Brushes and paint along the bottom of the page. Select the Erase Tool with a Cloud Brush and erase in the bottom corners.

Step 4

Open the cloud photograph and drag it into the document above the previous layers. Label it "cloud texture".

Go to: Adjustments>Hue/Saturation then reduce the saturation to -50 and slightly raise the lightness to +15.

Step 5

Select the Elliptical Tool and draw an oval in the lower portion of the photograph. Apply a mask and then go to: Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the radius to 30px.

Step 6

With the "cloud texture" layer still selected press Ctrl+J twice to duplicate the layer two times and change the Blend Mode on "cloud texture copy 2" to soft light.

Step 7

Add a Curves Adjustment layer above "cloud texture copy 2" and set the output to 205 and the input to 173.

Step 8

Above the "cloud base" layer create a new layer and name it "city". Open the image of Portland, delete the black border on the top and the bottom of the photo. Then scale and position it in the center like seen below.

Step 9

Create a mask on the "city" layer. With black as your foreground color select a soft brush and paint along the top and the bottom of the photograph. Next select several different cloud brushes and do the same thing for both of the sides.

When that is finished add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the "city" layer and give it the following settings: Hue +15, Saturation -5, and Lightness +11.

Step 10

With the "city" layer selected press Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer. Drag the copy to the top and set the Blend Mode to Screen.

Step 11

At the very top, create a Black & White adjustment layer with the settings you see below, then change the Blend Mode to Multiply.

Next, select the "city copy" layer and press Ctrl+J three times to create three more copies. On copy 2 and 3 leave the Blend Mode set to Screen. On "city copy 4" change the Blend Mode to Soft Light. With a combination of both a soft brush and a cloud brush paint around the upper left part of the mask on the "city copy 4" layer.

Step 12

With the "city copy 2" layer selected apply a watercolor filter by going to: Filter>Artistic>Watercolor and increase the Brush Detail to 14, but leave the Shadow Intensity and Texture set to 1.

Step 13

To add a little more richness to the "cloud base" layer select it and press Ctrl+J to copy. Drag the copy to the top of the layers and change the Blending Mode to Overlay.

Step 14

To sell the watercolor effect a little more we need to create a new layer above the "cloud base copy" layer and label it "water color effects". Set the Blend Mode to Overlay. Using several different stroke brushes set the foreground color to #c7c7c7 and paint in a couple areas over the whole surface.

Create another layer above the "water color effects" and give it a similar name. From the brush flyout menu select and load "Natural Brushes 2" and repeat the process with a couple of the watercolor brushes.

Step 15

At the top of the layers create a new Color Balance adjustment layer. Adjust the settings to what you see below.

Step 16

With a foreground color of black choose a soft brush, set the Opacity to 80% and the Flow to 60%. Paint lightly around the marked areas to create some contrast and more of a realistic look.

Step 17

And now your finished...Feel free to customize the image with some vector art and/or text of your liking around the edges.