Charcoal Drawing with Photoshop
Here’s a tutorial on how you can apply charcoal drawing effect to your photos using photoshop;
Step 1. Open your image in photoshop (ctrl-o). I’ll be using this beautiful bride photo by papaleguas.
Step 2. Add new layer (Shift+ctrl+N), let’s name this layer ‘paper’ and fill this layer with the desired color of your charcoal paper. Mine is #c5b88f
Step 3. Copy the background layer, place it on top of the stack of layers, then apply ‘glowing edges effect’ (filter > stylize > Glowing Edges Filter). Experiment with the sliders in the dialoque box to your taste.
Step 4. Now invert this layer (image > adjustments > invert) and make it b&w (image > adjustments > desaturate) to create black and white drawing
Step 5. Set the blending mode of that drawing layer to multiply. Here’s what you should come up to..
Step 6. Copy your background layer, desaturate it (image > adjustments > desaturate) and place it on the top of your layer stack, and add some noise to this layer. (filter > noise > add noise > monochromatic & gaussian). Set the opacity to 75%
Step 7. Add a layer mask on that layer (layer > layer masks > hide all), select the charcoal large smear brush and paint with white on the mask to reveal the charcoal specks.
Step 8. Select the layer mask, and apply motion blur (filter > blur > motion blur). Still on the same layer mask, apply crosshatch brush strokes (filter > brush strokes > crosshatch)
Step 9. Select the paper layer, and fill it with pattern (new fill layer > pattern). You can choose any pattern you like. I just chose the charcoal flecks pattern. Then change the layer blending mode to multiply
Step 10. Copy your color layer, and place it on top of the stack of layers, change the layer blend mode to ‘color’ and from here you can add a curve adjustment layer to increase the contrast, play with the color balance and so on.. Here’s my final result;
Have fun!
See also: Photoshop Tutorials
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Good Job thanks for tutorial
I am stuck trying to find the desired color of the charcoal paper I want to do it exactly as this tutorial states. I cant find the option to add #c5b88f. What version do I need.
what are you doing! you are not drawing and you are on the web under charcoal drawing! photoshop and others are taking away from people that enjoy what comes naturally!
Wow, amazing! Thanks so much! Now if I can just remember all of these steps..
Wicked tutorial. thanks for sharing it.
what am I doing wrong here. Your last instruction is to ‘Copy your color layer’, by that I’m taking it’s the first layer I used? IE the original photo? So why do I copy this to put it on top of the stack of layers? Surely that just takes me back to the start. The last instruction makes no sense, which is a shame, as the tutorial seemed good till that point!
Kick..it’s not the original photo layer.. It’s the color layer you’ve created on step 2..
sumthings wrong with this turtorial… something was missing from the procedure.. i hope it could be fixed.. this one was awesome.. i love charcoal picture,,
I had a problem while trying this tutorial.
Where to select the charcoal large smear brush?
Hi Piggy, try this..
- Choose your brush tool
- Open the brush presert picker
- choose text only
- Load Dry Media Brush
- FInd the charcoal brush..
hey there,
when you say load dry media brush,
what do you mean by that?
i cant find it anywhere
After you’ve got your brush preset picker open, do this to find your dry media brushes..
(Comments wont nest below this level)thank you thank you
hi, with regards to step 2 “fill this layer with the desired color of your charcoal paper” , I cant seem to be able to colour my layer with any colour at all.
Can you help? tks.
Use alt +del to fill your layer with foreground color
@dphotojournal
it says “copy your color layer” on step 10.. what do you mean by that? i’ve been trying this tutorial for many times but that’s the part the i got a problem.. i hope you can help me with that.. i really love this photo effect.. help pls.
Copy the layer you’ve created on step 2
omg.. i can’t really make this work…. i don’t know what’s wrong.. or where did i get wrong.. i really love this..
@dphotojournal
how many layers do you have when you finish this effect?
when i copy the layer i’ve created on step 2 and put it on the top of all the other layer.. i just cover them.. where did i get wrong? help pls
after you copy and move the layer, don’t forget to change the layer blend mode to ‘color’
(Comments wont nest below this level)Can someone help me getting over step 7
after applying the layer mask, simply select brush from the tools window, and have white as the foreground color, then simply rub over the charcoal area..
thanks for a great tutorial!
Yea Im stuck on step six exactly what layer am i doing this to.
everything went smoothly, but i don’t have a charcoal option in my patterns.. is there a way to mimic it?
have the same problem..done everything except for the charcoal brush tingy.. what could be used as a substitute for the charcoal brush? may i know what photoshop you’re using?
thank you all. these are very helpful for beginners.
i’m stuck on step 6 what happened?? im a little bit confused.. pls help me.. and STEP 7 im so confused on this step.. can someone help me pls…
its nice do u have any other tips
this helped alot thx luv ya
thanks dear
i cant stand step 7 please
thanks again
Hey. it was going rly well, but i’m stucj at Step 7 now… could you PLEASE clarify that?! anyone?
For eg. where do I get the large charcoal smear brush from?
PLS reply.. it’ll rly help!
Okay I must be doing something wrong. Would anyone know why my layer mask is not allowing me to show the charcoal layer in step 7? I’ve redone this tutorial several times and cant get it to work. I know which brush and white as the forecolor and to make sure the mask is picked, but still nothing
Does anyone know why my layer mask is not allowing me to paint the white to reveal my charcoal image? I have the layer mask selected, my forground color is white, and I have the charcoal brush selected still nothing is happening? Please help!
where to i get photosshop
Great tutorial. I have been looking around to try and find different ways to create charcoal portraits from photos and trying out every tutorial.
So far, I have found a few ways, but still it required some practice. The first few tries were really not that nice.
Lovely job you did above. But I think it is still a little too dotted to resemble a real charcoal portrait.