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WATERCOLOR EFFECT IN PIXELMATOR

Hi everyone. I just had the best time experimenting with different effects on Pixelmator and today I´m going to show you step by step how to transform your image whith this watercolor effect.

The image I´m using is a free stock photo from unsplash.com. They have amazing images which are definitively free which means you can copy, modify, distribute the images and use them for whatever you want to. Let´s get started.

1. Upload the image you want to use into pixelmator. If you use one from unsplash you just need to dowload it from the unsplash webside and drag it into pixelmator.

2. Next you need to remove the background. I recommend to use either the magic wand tool or the color selection tool. Use the eraser tool to go around the edges to remove the rest of the background.

3. Now it´s time to remove all the color. It´s necessary that your image is in black and white because you need a strong contrast. Use the desaturation effect and just drag it on top of your image. If your image hasn´t a high contrast itself, add the curves effect and adjust the contrast.

4. Now you need to select "choose color" in the top row and select the radius. All the areas which are selected will be colored later!

5. The next step is to open a new layer, change it into a group and create a clipping mask. Don´t worry it´s easier than it sounds, trust me. To open a new layer you simply need to click on the plus in the bottom of the layer window. To change it into a group press cmd + g and to create a clipping mask go to layer in the top row and click add clipping mask. Now you can deselect because you already have the clipping mask (cmd + d).

6. Open a new layer in the group and select the brush tool. Go to the smoke brushes and select 1000. Make sure everything is set like in the image you see above. Paint until you think it fits for your image.