Learn how to digitally paint in Photoshop
Discover how to Digitally Paint in Photoshop
Turn your photos into painterly works of art with Photoshop! Step inside a creative process where brushstrokes replace pixels and photographs become paintings. Through guided written and video lessons, you’ll explore the Smudge Tool, Mixer Brush, and Watercolor Brushes, transforming everyday images into expressive works of art. With textures, overlays, and resources included, you’ll have everything you need to experiment, play, and bring your vision to life.
What is in the Online Course
Video Tutorial
Plus, the same images used so that you can follow along
Overlays
Painterly Backgrounds
Written instructions
In this virtual course, you will be able to watch the pre-recorded videos and learn at your own pace how to transform photographs into stunning digital paintings using Photoshop. You will start with the Smudge Tool to create painterly brushstrokes, explore the Mixer Brush to achieve the look of old master oil paintings, and use custom Watercolor Brushes and textures to bring fluid, expressive styles to life. Along the way, you will learn essential Photoshop fundamentals, keystroke shortcuts, custom workspaces, and how to download and install free brushes. All photos, overlays, textures, and resources are included for download, allowing you to follow along step by step. By the end of the course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to turn any photograph into a painterly masterpiece with Photoshop.
Photoshop Fundamentals
Learning some fundamentals in Photoshop will make digital photo painting easier. In this course, you will learn what items you need to photo paint, keystroke shortcuts to speed up your process, and how to change and save different workspaces in photoshop. Finally, you will discover how to find, download, and install free Photoshop brushes to make your photo paintings come to life.
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In this lesson you will learn some of the most often used keystroke shortcuts for photo painting.
Learning Keystroke shortcuts will make photo painting more efficient and more enjoyable.
Instead of navigating through Photoshop's menus or moving your mouse to select a tool, you can become more productive by using Keystroke shortcuts.
While I photo paint, I leave my left hand on the keyboard and my right hand controlling a mouse or Wacom Tablet.
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In this lesson you will learn how to set up Photoshop to work best for you.
You can create a custom workspace by moving and manipulating Document windows and panels. You can also save workspaces and switch among them.
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Photoshop offers free brushes, but you have to fetch them and download them. In this lesson I will show you where to find them, how to download them and how to upload them to your Photoshop.
The Smudge Tool
The Smudge Tool, the first lesson in this series, is a great tool for beginner photo painters or for someone who has never photo-painted before. You will learn how to smudge the pixels of your photo using different brushes and options in Photoshop. You will also gain a better understanding of how to create directional brushstrokes, allowing you to produce your own unique, non-computer-generated work of art. Digitally, painting from a photo lets you be truly artistic without having to draw.
Downloads included in this lesson:
1- Girl in window photo
1- Owl Overlay
1- Smudge Tool recipe card
Smudge Tool Video Lesson + written instructions
The Mixer Brush
Learn how to turn a photo into an old master's oil painting, easily and without overcomplicating. After completing this course, you will be able to turn any photograph into a digital oil painting in Photoshop that you can be proud of. I break down all the key concepts you need to know and understand in Photoshop to transform your images from a photographic appearance to a painting style, using the Mixer Brush.
Downloads included in this lesson:
1- Woman Playing the Cello Photo
2- Brown Painterly Backgrounds
2- Texture Overlays
Mixer Brush Video Lesson+ written instructions
Watercolor Brush
Learn how to turn a photo into a watercolor painting in Photoshop. After completing this course, you will be able to turn any photograph into a watercolor painting you can be proud of. I break down all the key concepts you need to know and understand in Photoshop to transform your images from a photographic appearance to a painting style, using the Brush tool and overlays.
Downloads included in this lesson:
1- Old Car Photograph
1- Watercolor paper texture
Water Color Video Lesson + written instructions
A photographer for decades, ranked amongst some of the top Men’s ASP competitors during the late 70s.
Featured Student’s Work
“Carly’s Photo Painting Masterclass tutorial was exactly what I’d been searching for over the years. I’d long aspired to transform my photographic images into expressive digital art. Had tried, many options and was frustratingly never satisfied with the outcomes. Her clear, inspiring guidance finally made that possible. Her approach gave me both the confidence and the tools to bring deeper emotion and creativity into my work.
As one of her statements mentions.. ‘Helping artists move beyond technique into authentic expression’. That truly happened and am very grateful of Carly’s efforts to share her talents.”
- Rob Meiring
A student who took the Photoshop - Photo Painting Masterclass
Turn your photos into painterly works of art with Photoshop! Step inside a creative process where brushstrokes replace pixels and photographs become paintings. Through guided written and video lessons, you’ll explore the Smudge Tool, Mixer Brush, and Watercolor Brushes, transforming everyday images into expressive works of art. With textures, overlays, and resources included, you’ll have everything you need to experiment, play, and bring your vision to life.