How to Turn Your Photo Into a Landscape Watercolor Painting
It’s no wonder that some of the prettiest watercolor paintings feature landscapes as the subject. The watercolor effect looks amazing with a variety of landscapes – beaches, snow-capped mountains, cactus-dotted deserts, and virtually everything in between. If you’ve ever wanted to convert a landscape photo into a watercolor painting but lacked the supplies (and maybe art skills as well), BeFunky’s Artsy Effects are the easiest way to get the job done. Simply upload a photo, add a watercolor filter, and you’re done!
The best part about BeFunky’s collection of Watercolor effects is that they’re fully customizable, making it easy to create one-of-a-kind works of art with your photos. You can control everything about the way your effect looks, right down to the color scheme. So whether there’s a landscape on this earth that means a lot to you or you just need a cool piece for your home decor, BeFunky has everything you need to turn photos into watercolor paintings that are sure to impress. Read on to see how it’s done!
How to Convert Photos to Watercolor Paintings
To start transforming your favorite photos (or stock photos) into brilliant watercolor paintings, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Upload a Photo
Click this link and you'll be prompted to upload a photo. You can click the Open button at the top of the Photo Editor and choose a file from your computer, or simply drag-and-drop a file right onto the canvas.
You can also upload a photo from your BeFunky account, Facebook, and more from the same dropdown. Or, you can use the Search Stock Images button in the Image Manager to search over a million free stock photos to use.
Step 2: Choose a Watercolor Effect
Click on the Artsy tab in the left sidebar menu to find many different styles of photo to art effects. Choose the Watercolor category to start browsing the different watercolor effects on your image.
Each time you click on a different Watercolor effect, you’re able to preview what it looks like on your photo. Browse our assortment of effects and feel free to use the slider to increase or decrease the amount as you go along.
Step 3: Customize the Watercolor Effect
Once you find the effect you want to use with your photo (we decided that Watercolor 1 was perfect for this one), you can customize the effect even further by clicking on the Settings menu, which is located on the effect thumbnail.
Each effect will have its own unique Settings menu. In the Settings menu for this Watercolor 1 effect, for example, you’re able to adjust the Amount, Paint Amount, Sharpen, and Smoothness. Simply drag the sliders to increase and decrease until the watercolor filter looks just right.
The Settings menu also gives you the ability to erase the Watercolor effect from parts of your photo if you want. To erase portions of the effect, click on the Erase tab. Then, use the Remove and Keep buttons while clicking and dragging the brush.
Step 4: Apply the Watercolor Effect
Once it looks perfect, click Apply to go from photo to watercolor painting.
Step 5: Change the Color Scheme (Optional)
If you want to go a step beyond with your customization process, you can tweak the colors in your watercolor landscape. Click on the Edit tab in the left sidebar menu, and then choose the Replace Color tool.
The Replace Color tool does just what it sounds like: replaces any color in your image with another color of your choice. To start replacing colors, choose the box next to Source Color and choose the Eye Dropper icon. Then, select the color on your image that you want to replace.
You’ll notice that when you choose the Source Color, every part of your image that includes that color gets replaced with a transparent (checkered) background. Adjust the Tolerance slider to the left to decrease the transparent areas where you want to replace the Source Color, or to the right to increase those areas.
Next, you’ll choose the Target Color, aka the color you want to replace the transparency with. Click on the box next to Target Color and choose a new hue using the menu that appears. When you do, the transparent areas of the image will be replaced with any color you choose! You can keep playing around with the Tolerance slider and choosing colors until it looks just right.
Step 6: Save Your Photo to Watercolor Painting Creation
When you’re ready to save your image, click the Save button at the top of the Photo Editor. You’ll be presented with several options for saving photos – to your computer, BeFunky account, Facebook, and more.
Choose a destination and follow the prompts to give your image a file name and choose a format.
Photo to Watercolor Landscape Results
Worlds easier than breaking out the art supplies, right? BeFunky’s Watercolor Effects come with everything you need to get the look you want.
Photo to Watercolor Landscape Inspiration
Wondering what kinds of landscape photos work best with BeFunky’s Watercolor filters? The answer is pretty much any landscape – the more detailed the better. Here are a few of our favorite looks:
Colorful Watercolor Canyons
Our Watercolor DLX 2 effect adds just the right colors to this desert canyon to transform it into an artsy rendition.
Artsy Roadside Landmarks
Going on a road trip? Turn those landmarks you love into watercolor landscapes with or without a person in the shot. Our Watercolor DLX 3 effect makes this one shine.
Favorite City Turned Watercolor Dreamscape
Hopefully, you have a long list of places you’ve been that mean a lot to you, and tons of photos to remember them by. Keepsake photos like that are perfect as watercolor paintings – like this one with our Watercolor 1 Effect.
Mountain Shot, But Make It Art
Whether it’s a stock image or one you took yourself, a majestic mountain photo is a great pairing for BeFunky’s Watercolor effects. Just look at how our Watercolor DLX effect (found in the Digital Art Category) makes this one look like a true masterpiece.
Create a Beautiful Watercolor Landscape
Ready to get started with these amazing Watercolor effects by BeFunky? Check out our full collection of Watercolor effects!
