... continued from the previous page.
Next, the grit and grain process ...
Step 6: Create a new layer named "Grain"
Choose Layer > New Layer or press Ctrl+Shift+N.
Type in "Grain" (without the quotations) as the layer name and select Overlay as the blending mode. We will use this layer to add noise to the image.
Step 7: Add a 50% gray fill
Select the Grain layer that we created in the previous step. Then, press Ctrl+Backspace to access the Fill tool. In the Fill tool, select 50% Gray in the Use drop down menu and click OK. This will fill the layer with 50% gray.
The reason we're using 50% gray is because it will not be visible on many layer blending modes including Overlay. This means that the gray will not be visible on our Grain layer because it's using Overlay as the blending mode. So why did we do this if it does nothing?
Some filters including the Add Noise filter we'll be using in the next step won't work on an empty layer. In order to use it, we had to fill the layer with 50% gray and change the blending mode to one of the blending modes that won't show the 50% gray.
Step 8: Add Noise
Choose Filter > Noise > Add Noise. In the Add Noise tool, checkmark Monochromatic and click OK.
Step 9: Blur the noise
Choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and enter 0.3 in the Radius setting then click OK.
Step 10: Increase the contrast of the layer with Auto Levels
Choose Image > Adjustments > Auto Levels. This will increase the contrast of the layer making the noise extremely visible. Reduce the opacity of the layer until you get the noise level you desire.
Special thanks to Johnson Koh, for creating this tutorial. Johnson is Art Director of Garena Online, based in Singapore, and founder of 10Steps.SG to share his experiments and interesting design news. The tutorial was ubmitted by, and published at TutorialsPortal
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