For years I have tried to reproduce a true painting effect using nothing more than photo editing software. I have concluded that Adobe Photoshop is next to useless for the task, as is Photoshop Elements - along with many other consumer photo editors. Having said that, success with this really depends on your own expectations. I've found a few software 'recipes' online that describe how to create paint effects using Photoshop, but they were so long-winded and complex that I doubt most could be bothered to give it much of a go. And noting that most of Photoshop's artistic filter effects haven't been updated for years tells me that the company isn't interested in developing that particular feature-set any further. Same for Photoshop Elements. Perhaps this is because there are other software apps that produce better results?
Corel's Paint Shop Pro is better than Photoshop at reproducing a painted effect and Corel Painter is even better - but it's expensive, requires a high degree of experience, preferably using a graphics tablet - and you have to create something from nothing yourself.
If you just want a basic application that can convert a regular photo into something that looks like a hand painted picture there are now tons of Apps and plug-ins that do a pretty good job - converting your photos into something that looks more like an original hand made artwork. My all-time favourite is a product called Moku Hanga (from a company called Jixi Pix). With this plug-in you can knock off a reasonably credible-looking Japanese woodblock print effect in minutes and, unlike most of Photoshop's many filter effects, the Jixi apps (there are dozens of apps in its stable) have hundreds of preset options to choose from, most of which produce good-looking and credible results - all for around $20. Bargain!
My all time favourite though, and a product I have only just re-visited after several years abstinence, is Dynamic Auto Painter (DAP), produced by a Canadian graphics software company called Mediachance. DAP takes the process of converting a regular pixel-based image to levels that leave everything else I've tried in the deep shade. To start, all that's required is to choose a thumbnail preset, hit 'Start', and, within five or ten minutes the software has painted a sumptuous artwork based on the tonal and textural structure of that preset. If you are not sure of the result, DAP provides an almost limitless range of variants on features such as brush size, brush shape, brush pressure, intensity, paper surface, fidelity to the original (preset) image, outlines, contrast, colour intensity, colour palette and much more. I'm a bit lazy and generally choose just one of my favourite presets, often adding further edits to the finished DAP file using Photoshop Elements. I also often then print the result onto A3 inkjet watercolour paper and retouch that using real watercolours, pencils, oils - in fact a wide range of media - whatever I feel suits the picture.
To finish off such a painted effect I usually print on inkjet watercolour paper - for two reasons. Firstly anything printed on quality textured watercolour paper always looks and feels closer to the real thing than something printed on high gloss paper. Secondly, if required, you can paint directly onto the inkjet paper because it has a matte, textured surface, producing a very similar effect to plain watercolour paper. However in my experience, it's not exactly the same performance as painting on real watercolour paper - I think this is because inkjet paper is specially coated to help produce sharp, bright colour inkjet results. This alters the characteristics of how the paint reacts with the paper medium - but it's not a bad effect. I find that you just have to work with thinner colour washes than if you were working on regular watercolour paper Using regular watercolour paper in an inkjet printer works - but the result is often very low contrast. Muddy is another way to describe it! I have printed onto non inkjet watercolour papers in the past but you have to crank up the brightness and contrast radically first, so as to get an acceptable result. Doesn't work on all papers or image files so some experimentation is necessary.
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