Photoshop filter that makes photos look like paintings/drawings?

October 7, 2005 1:09 PM

Photoshop filter that makes photos look like paintings/drawings?

A while ago, when I still owned a PC and not a Mac, I used to use Jasc Paint Shop Pro. (Which is now Corel Paint Shop Pro, but I've never used the Corel-branded version.) It used to come with a trial version of a filter that would turn photos into various different types of painting or drawing.

PSP uses the same plug-in format as Photoshop, so I assume it would work equally well in Photoshop. Does anyone know what these filters were called, and where I could get a copy for Photoshop on my Mac?

Or, failing that, another filter that does a similar thing?

posted by Mwongozi to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Photoshop comes with many watercolor, pastel, etc. filters that do what you're describing. The "smart blur" filter, handled just right, produces a very oil-painting-like effect as well.
posted by argybarg at 2:16 PM on October 7, 2005

Not a single filter solution, but here's a good technique for doing this sort of thing. Someone asked nearly the same question not long ago.
posted by planetkyoto at 4:15 PM on October 7, 2005

This? Perhaps?
posted by jbradley at 4:50 PM on October 7, 2005

Just go through the "Filter" menu and look at the different "Artistic" filters. There's a number that do what you're talking about. Just play around until you find what you like.
posted by slimslowslider at 5:09 PM on October 7, 2005

Response by poster: planetkyoto's link is a good one, but none of these suggestions are what I was looking for. I'm familiar with Photoshop's built-in filters, but the one I'm thinking of was much more advanced, and would actually simulate the painting process to get the end result, even to the point of intentionally making small mistakes, etc.

They were really quite clever.
posted by Mwongozi at 5:32 PM on October 7, 2005

If you want to print them, you can buy canvas textured paper. It breaks up the "perfectness" of the digital photo to give it a more painterly look, but unless you're trying to imitate Raphael or Michaelangelo, you'll probably still want to combine it with a filter to add more of a human touch. Try googling "inkjet" and "canvas" and you'll find a number of places that stock it.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 6:03 PM on October 7, 2005

Microsoft had a very nice one. I used to have it, but I no longer do and I don't know what it's called.
posted by mr.dan at 11:25 AM on October 10, 2005