Using Texture...My Favorite Thing

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

In addition to being a "lighting junkie" I'm also a "texture junkie".  I use textures all the time and I own hundreds of them and have just started to paint my own.  A couple of people have asked that I share a little more about when and how I use them....and I promised Laurie I'd talk about "adding bokeh" to images.  Let's start with when I use them first.  I use them on almost all my portrait shots, landscapes, or still life images.  I guess I use them on almost everything.  Sometimes I only use them on parts of an image....mostly skies, but other times I use them everywhere.  I'll start with this landscape example.

So I wanted to accomplish a few things with this texture.  I wanted to add tone...that pinkish hue.  I wanted to really bring out the red in the "little house".  Most of all I'm going to print this image, so I wanted it to have some real substance...it was pretty flat with all the snow.  If you zoom in you'll see the canvas weave which prints so beautifully.  I wish I could share exactly which texture I used, but I just can't remember for sure.  The image was "okay" before added the texture, but it popped with it, and I was much happier with the result.

Now for an actual example.  Here's a picture of an angel that sat above the manger in front of our church.  I thought she was beautiful so I took this shot...

I thought it had potential but I really wasn't happy with it as is....so I did a few basic edits and then I started adding texture.  I added two textures to this one.  The first texture came from a Flickr site that a friend has created to share the textures she creates.  It's http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagefindings/10573338565/sizes/o/in....  You are free to use these textures as long as you acknowledge where they came from if you publish works that have used them.  To download just click on the texture image, then right click and select "original" for size, and then you can right click and "save as" to your desktop or a folder.  After texturing, this is the image.

There are lots of YouTube videos on adding texture, but I'll tell you how I do it which is so easy.

-Open the file in Photoshop and do all your pre-editing, and create a duplicate layer.

-Open the texture jpg that you'll be using

-Move it on top of the original image and go to Image...Transform....Free Transform

-The bounding boxes with come up and you can move the texture right over the image....often the texture is much larger than your image and you'll need to use the bounding boxes to get it to fit perfectly.

-Hit your "check" to indicate you are finished with the action.

-At that point the image will be totally covered by the texture, and this is where you start playing with your blend modes and opacity.  I usually go through and try out all blend modes to find the one I like best.

-Then I open a layer mask, check to see that black is my primary color, and start "painting off" any areas where the texture is too dark.  Select a soft brush and start with a low opacity.

-Then go ahead and flatten your image.  Often at that point I'll add a second texture...usually something translucent.

Many of the artists who sell their textures have demonstrations on their websites.  Later I'll put together a list of the texture sites I use the msot and add it in the comments. 

To add bokeh you follow this exact process.  You can shoot your own bokeh textures or there are some you can purchase.  Do a search on free bokeh textures.  Also there's a tutorial in the lighting discussion I put up yesterday that walks you step by step through how you can create digital bokeh.  Here are a few examples that I have...

I just keep a whole separate folder and in the Summer when the light is perfect I go out and just shoot bokeh.

So build a texture file for yourself and start playing....it's so much fun and it can add so much richness and interest to some images.  I'll put up a few more examples when I get time.  Let's everyone share some texture images here...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I love them both!  That cotton candy sky is so soft and pretty....great job.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, everybody!!

[DJ & Chance]

Beautiful!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I love what the texture did to the sky and the water!  And the colors. Great job!

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Lovely scene Laurie.  I love your edit.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow...that's a huge question.  I always know what I want the finished image to look like before I start playing with light or texture.  For that matter, when I shoot now I think about what the "finished image" will look like.  So if there's a "bland sky" that's no problem for me....it tells me what direction I will ultimately take with the image.  I look at whether the scene is delicate or dramatic and I'm always sure not to compromise the subject with an inappropriate texture.  Let me give you a couple examples.  Here's an image that I took of a milkweed seed pod in a field on a cold day....and it made me think of hope for Spring.  These seeds will give new life and beauty...but it was really delicate.  So I went looking for a texture that matched.....I found one that had the delicate "angel hairs" of the seed pod.

Here's an opposite view.  This image reminded me of an artist's canvas with its fabulous color....like God or the universe painted it.  So I wanted a texture that would really magnify the color and provide the look of canvas.

I follow several texture artists on FB, so let me know which one you mean and I'll get back to you.  I hope this helps.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

You really need to click on the images to fully see the actual texture. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's Jamie Heiden, and I don't think she sells textures.  She uses mostly Flypaper Textures and Distressed Textures.  I love the simplicity of her work....she's one of my favorites.  Here's an interesting interview that Flypaper did with her....http://flypapertextures.blogspot.com/2010/04/jamie-heiden-interview...

[F, Calla & Luca]

I just love the milkweed pod. To me a perfect blending of texture and subject.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, These are both beautiful!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Jane, this is absolutely beautiful. The beauty of the milkweed photo makes a painting that could be hanging in a beautiful room. Fine art!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks so much Sue.  Hope you and Lily are doing well....you're so lucky you're in FL and not CT this month.  It is FREEZING!