How to Create Digital Paintings in Photoshop

To those of you out there who have Photoshop and have never used it, I can tell you it's a very fun program to get into, though in my experience, it's not very user friendly.

I love to take photographs and turn them into what I call "digital paintings." Being that I'm not a Photoshop expert, what I'm about to share with you here is for beginners in the program.

Are you artistic?

Those of you with an artistic bent are in for a treat if you're just now getting into Photoshop. If you don't own the program, you ought to download a free version of it for 30 days.

Here are the steps to take to create Monet-like paintings in Photoshop 6.0

What I love about Photoshop is the fact that I can take any great photograph and potentially turn it into a work of art that often looks better than the original. I've had friends tell me my paintings look like Monets. They ask me how I did this one or that one. They can't tell if it's an original or a photograph that's been enhanced.

Open your favorite photo in Photoshop. Next, choose Filter, then Artistic. From there, you have many selections from which to choose. You can play around and try different selections. I often use Dry Brush, then go to Brush Strokes and select, Splatter and Sprayed Strokes...and voila, you've got yourself a Monet-like painting. Too easy, eh? Yes, it is. The great thing about doing these digital paintings is that the outcome is just as good or better than much of the art you'll find in a gallery.

How to create a Digital Painting with Awesome Colors

One of the great benefits of Photoshop is the control a user has in taking any photograph and enhancing the colors, the tones, the levels of intensity and the ability to give it more dimension and contrast.

I love painting in blue tones. Many of my digital paintings are in blues. If you have a favorite color you like to work with, Photoshop will truly get you obsessed with what you can do with just one color.