Create a Quick Grunge Photo Border in Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, Gavin Hoey demonstrates how to achieve a grungy effect on an image.

Starting with duplicating the background layer and expanding the canvas, Gavin adds a clouds filter and adjusts blending modes to enhance the image's texture and depth. Using techniques like applying fibers filters and Gaussian blur, he further intensifies the grungy appearance, complemented by strategic strokes and brushwork to emphasize contrast and detail.

Gavin's tutorial offers practical insights into manipulating filters, blending modes, and brush tools to create a distressed, gritty aesthetic suitable for artistic compositions or stylized photo enhancements.

Watch tutorial

Get tutorials & freebies delivered to you.

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter, a weekly roundup of new tutorials, insights and quality downloads, trusted by 6500+ readers.

How to Use New Camera Raw Adjustment Layers in Photoshop Beta

Three new adjustment layers in Photoshop beta bring Camera Raw's most powerful tools directly into your layers panel. Color and Vibrance, Clarity and Dehaze, and Grain adjustments now work as standard adjustment layers, eliminating the need for smart objects while maintaining all the precision masking and blending capabilities...

How to Wrap Designs Around Complex Objects Using Displacement Maps in Photoshop

Professional mockups require more than simply placing a design onto an object. Complex surfaces like crushed aluminum cans demand advanced techniques to achieve realistic wrapping that follows every contour and deformation. This process combines displacement mapping, smart objects, and blending modes to create reusable templates that automatically conform any design...

How to Fix Three Confusing Default Settings in Photoshop

Sometimes Photoshop's default settings can make beginners think their software or hardware is broken. Images that fly around uncontrollably when panning, scroll bars appearing on full-size images, and zoom tools that seem to have a mind of their own are all caused by simple preference settings that can...

How to Create Better Shadows Than Drop Shadow in Photoshop

The basic drop shadow effect often looks flat and artificial compared to how shadows actually behave in real environments. Professional designers know that convincing shadows require understanding light direction, surface interaction, and atmospheric perspective. This technique demonstrates how to create custom shadows that respond naturally to your composition's...

How to Customize Your Photoshop Toolbar and Find Hidden Tools

A cluttered toolbar can slow down your workflow when you can't find the tools you need. Meanwhile, dozens of useful tools remain hidden in groups or completely out of sight. Learning to customize your toolbar lets you organize tools according to your actual workflow, remove tools you never...

How to Change Backgrounds and Match Lighting in Photoshop

Creating seamless background replacements requires more than just cutting out your subject. The real challenge lies in making the new composition look natural through proper lighting, color matching, and depth of field consistency. Modern Photoshop tools have simplified this process significantly, allowing you to achieve professional results with automated background...