In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial,
we're going to learn how to easily create a simple wood picture
frame using a layer mask, a couple of layer styles, and one of
Photoshop's built-in patterns!
Here's the image I'll be using for this Photoshop tutorial:
Let's get started!
Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer
The first thing we need to do to create our picture frame is
duplicate our Background layer. The Background layer is the layer
which contains our original image, and if we look in our Layers
palette, we can see that it's currently the only layer we have:
Photoshop Effects The Layers palette in
Photoshop showing the image on the Background layer.
Let's duplicate the layer using the handy keyboard shortcut,
Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J
(Mac). If we look back in our Layers palette, we can see that we now
have a copy of the Background layer, which Photoshop has named
"Layer 1" for us, above the original:
Photoshop Effects Press "Ctrl+J" (Win) /
"Command+J" (Mac) to duplicate the Background layer.
Step 2: Add Extra Canvas Space Around The Image
We need to add some extra space around our photo. The extra space
is going to become our picture frame. The amount of space you add
depends on how large you want your frame to be. Go up to the
Image menu at the top of the screen and
choose Canvas Size. When the Canvas Size
dialog box appears, enter how much space you want to add around the
image. I want a fairly thick frame for my photo, so I'm going to
enter a value of 1.5 inches for both the
Width and Height
options. Make sure you have the Relative
option checked as well:
Photoshop Effects Enter the amount of canvas
space you want to add around the image. Here, I'm adding 1.5 inches
of space for both the Width and Height.
Click OK in the top right corner of the dialog box to exit out of
it and have Photoshop add the extra canvas space. You'll see the
extra space appear around your photo in your document window:
Photoshop Effects The extra space now appears
around the photo in the document window.
Step 3: Add A New Blank Layer
Next, we need to add a new blank layer above our two existing
layers. With "Layer 1" (the top layer) selected, click on the
New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers
palette:
Photoshop Effects Click on the "New Layer" icon
at the bottom of the Layers palette to add a new blank layer to the
document.
Nothing happens in the document window, but we can see in the
Layers palette that Photoshop has added a new blank layer for us and
gave it the descriptive name "Layer 2":
Photoshop Effects A new blank layer appears in
the Layers palette above the other two layers.
Step 4: Fill The New Layer With Photoshop's Wood Pattern
To make our frame look as if it's made out of wood, we could go
through the hassle of creating our own wood texture, but we don't
need to since Photoshop comes with a wood pattern already built in!
With "Layer 2" selected, go up to the Edit
menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut, Shift+F5.
Either way brings up the Fill dialog box. For the
Contents option at the top, choose Pattern
from the drop-down menu to the right of the word "Use". Then click
on the little pattern thumbnail to the right of the words
Custom Pattern and select the
Wood texture from the selection box that
appears (it's the fourth one from the left, top row):
Photoshop Effects In the "Fill" dialog box, set
the "Contents" to "Pattern" and select Photoshop's built-in wood
texture from the selection box.
Then, in the Blending section in the
bottom half of the dialog box, set the Mode
option to Normal and make sure the
Opacity option is set to
100%:
Photoshop Effects Set the"Blending Mode" to
"Normal" and make sure "Opacity" is set to 100%.
Click OK to exit out of the dialog box. Photoshop will fill the
entire layer with the wood texture, temporarily blocking the photo
from view:
Photoshop Effects The new layer is now filled
entirely with the wood texture.
We now have the wood for our frame. We'll make it look more like
an actual frame and bring back our photo next.
Step 5: Select The Photo On "Layer 1"
We're going to cut a hole in our wood pattern so we can see our
photo once again, and to do that, we'll use a layer mask. Hold down
your Ctrl (Win) / Command
(Mac) key and click directly on the preview thumbnail for "Layer 1"
in the Layers palette:
Photoshop Tutorial: Hold down "Ctrl" (Win) /
"Command" (Mac) and click on the preview thumbnail for "Layer 1".
This loads a selection around the photo in the document window.
We still can't see the photo itself, but we can see the selection
box where the photo should be:
Photoshop Tutorial: A selection box around the
photo appears in the document window.
Step 6: Invert The Selection
We've selected the area where the photo should appear, but what
we really need selected is the area around the photo (the frame), so
we need to invert our selection. To do that, go up to the
Select menu at the top of the screen and
choose Inverse, or use the quick keyboard
shortcut Shift+Ctrl+I (Win) /
Shift+Command+I (Mac). Either way inverts
the selection, and if you look closely in the document window,
you'll still see the same selection box around the photo as before
but now you'll also see a selection box around the edges of the
document window, letting us know that we now have the frame area
around the photo selected:
Photoshop Tutorial: The document window showing
the frame area around the photo now selected.
Step 7: Add A Layer Mask
Now that we have the frame area selected, click on the
Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers
palette:
Photoshop Tutorial: Click on the "Layer Mask"
icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
This adds a layer mask to "Layer 2", and now the only part of the
layer that remains visible in the document window is the area we had
selected, which is the frame area around the photo. The part that
was not selected - the area where the photo should appear - is now
hidden from view, allowing us to see our photo once again:
Photoshop Tutorial: With the layer mask added
to "Layer 2", the photo appears in the center of the frame.
If we look in our Layers palette, we can see that a
layer mask thumbnail has been added to the
right of the layer's preview thumbnail:
Photoshop Tutorial: A layer mask thumbnail now
appears to the right of the preview thumbnail for "Layer 2".
We're going to give our picture frame some depth and change its
color using some Layer Styles next.
Step 8: Deselect The Layer Mask And Select The Contents Of
"Layer 2"
At the moment, our picture frame is looking a little flat. We
need to give it some depth, and we can do that easily using Layer
Styles, which we'll do in a moment. First though, we need to select
the frame. Currently, we have the layer mask selected, not the layer
itself. We can see which one we have selected by looking at the
layer's thumbnails in the Layers palette. Whichever thumbnail has
the white highlight box around it is the one that's selected. The
layer mask thumbnail is currently showing the highlight box, which
tells us that we have the layer mask selected. We need to have the
contents of the layer (the frame) selected, so click on the layer's
preview thumbnail to select the frame itself:
Photoshop Tutorial: Click on the preview
thumbnail for "Layer 2" to select the contents of the layer and
deselect the layer mask.
Step 9: Add A "Bevel and Emboss" Layer Style
With the frame itself now selected, click on the
Layer Styles icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:
Photoshop Tutorial: Click on the "Layer Styles"
icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
Then select Bevel and Emboss from the
list of layer styles that appears:
Photoshop Tutorial: Select the "Bevel and
Emboss" layer style.
This brings up Photoshop's Layer Style dialog box set to the
"Bevel and Emboss" options in the middle column. In the "Structure"
section at the top, change the Technique
option to Chisel Hard, then raise the
Depth value to around 150%:
Photoshop Tutorial: Set the "Technique" option
to "Chisel Hard" and increase the "Depth" to "150%" in the "Bevel
and Emboss" options.
Then, in the "Shading" options at the bottom of the dialog box,
lower the Opacity of the
Highlight Mode down to about 50%,
then lower the Opacity of the
Shadow Mode to around 60%:
Photoshop Tutorial: Lower the "Opacity" of the
"Highlight Mode" to 50% and the "Shadow Mode" to 60%.
This gives our frame more of a 3D look to it:
Photoshop Tutorial: The picture frame now has a
three-dimensional appearance.
Step 10: Add A "Color Overlay" Layer Style
If you're happy with the color of the picture frame, you can skip
this next step. If, like me, you'd prefer a darker color to the
wood, here's how to change it. Click directly on the words
Color Overlay on the left of the Layer Style
dialog box. Make sure you click directly on the words themselves and
not just inside the checkbox. Clicking inside the checkbox will turn
on the Color Overlay layer style but it won't give us access to the
options for it. We want the options, so click directly on the words
themselves:
Photoshop Tutorial: Click directly on the words
"Color Overlay" on the left of the Layer Style dialog box.
This changes the middle column of the Layer Style dialog box to
the Color Overlay options. To change the color of the frame, click
on the color swatch to the right of the
Blend Mode options:
Photoshop Tutorial: Click directly on the color
swatch to the right of the "Blend Mode" options.
This brings up Photoshop's Color Picker.
I want to change my frame color to a darker brown, so I'll choose
that color from the Color Picker:
Photoshop Tutorial: Choose the color you want
your frame to be from the Color Picker. Here, I'm choosing a dark
brown.
Click OK to exit out of the Color Picker. You'll see the new
color applied to your frame, but the frame now appears as a solid
color. We've lost the wood texture. To bring the wood texture back,
change the Blend Mode of the Color Overlay
to Color Burn:
Photoshop Tutorial: To bring back the wood
texture in the frame, change the "Blend Mode" of the Color Overlay
layer style to "Color Burn".
Click OK to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. Here's my
frame after changing its color to a darker brown and setting the
Blend Mode to "Color Burn":
Photoshop Tutorial: The color of the frame has
now been changed to a dark brown.
We're almost done! We have one more simple layer style to add,
and we'll do that next!
Step 11: Select "Layer 1"
We need to select our photo once again, so click on "Layer 1" in
the Layers palette to select it:
Photoshop Effects Select "Layer 1" in the
Layers palette.
Step 12: Add An "Inner Shadow" Layer Style
We're going to finish things off by adding a bit of a shadow to
our photo, which is going to give the frame even more of a 3D look
to it. With "Layer 1" selected, click once again on the
Layer Style dialog box at the bottom of the
Layers palette:
Photoshop Effects Click on the "Layer Style"
icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
This time, choose Inner Shadow from the
list of layer styles that appears:
Photoshop Effects Choose "Inner Shadow" from
the list of layer styles.
This brings up Photoshop's Layer Style dialog box once again,
this time set to the "Inner Shadow" options in the middle column.
All we need to do here is lower the Opacity
of the shadow so it's not quite as intense. Lower the Opacity option
down to around 65%:
Photoshop Effects Lower the "Opacity" of the
Inner Shadow down to around 65% to lower its intensity.
Click OK to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box, and we're
done!
Here, after adding a a bit of a shadow to my photo, is my final
wood picture frame:
Photoshop Effects The final result.
And there we have it! |