{"id":6450,"date":"2024-06-11T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/?p=6450"},"modified":"2025-09-13T10:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T14:35:50","slug":"filters-on-elements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/filters-on-elements\/","title":{"rendered":"Filters On Elements!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I took a bit of a break from all the filter talk in last week\u2019s post. I hope you had some fun playing with the Pop Art<\/a><\/strong> effect. I only used one Photoshop Elements (PSE) filter last week\u2026an Adjustment filter. This week I\u2019m going back to some of the same concepts I used last month with paper. Only today I\u2019m going to be showing you how to use filters on elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in April I posted about Blending Elements<\/a><\/strong> and showed you some pretty nice effects. Today I\u2019m going to show you what the Filters available in PSE can do to manipulate elements such as flowers, transfers & word art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, not all categories of Filters will work well with elements. As with paper, the ones I\u2019ve used most often fall in the Artistic & Sketch categories. But the suitable options will tend to be more limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that blending post from April I used some elements from \u201cFriends For Life<\/a><\/strong>\u201d by Just Because Studio & LorieM Designs. Today I\u2019ll be using some elements from \u201cFriends For Life\u201d, along with some elements from \u201cHead In The Clouds<\/a><\/strong>\u201d by Just Because Studio and some from \u201cHead In The Clouds<\/a><\/strong>\u201d by TirAmisu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I explained how things look when accessing filters in a lot of detail in the post about Artistic Filters<\/a><\/strong>, I\u2019m going to keep things simple again this week. I won\u2019t be showing you a lot of images regarding how the Filter settings boxes appear. If you didn\u2019t catch that earlier post\u2026you may want to refer back to it if you\u2019re not sure about something I mention today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Fun With Filters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just a quick reminder before I get started…I use the current version of PSE \u2013 2024. So, everything I show you was accomplished using that software. Some of my screen shots may look different than what you see on your screen depending on the version you are using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artistic Filters<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to start with the Artistic category of filters. I\u2019ll be using this flower from \u201cHead In The Clouds\u201d by Just Because Studio (link at the top of this post):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Head<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As much fun as I had with PSE\u2019s Artistic filters on paper\u2026that category of filters doesn\u2019t give me as many options when it comes to working with elements like flowers. I worked mostly with the following filters; Colored Pencil, Neon Glow, Palette Knife, Plastic Wrap & Poster Edges. There are a few others that might work with different types of elements. But here\u2019s what worked fairly well on that flower:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Flower<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Next, I\u2019m going to try something other than a flower. This time I\u2019m using a \u201cbull nose\u201d clip from \u201cFriends For Life\u201d by Just Because Studio & LorieM Designs (link at the top of this post):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Friends<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I looked at a lot of the Artistic filters but only a few worked well on that clip; Fresco, Neon Glow, & Poster Edges. There could a few others but here\u2019s what worked best (in my opinion):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Clip<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Let\u2019s see what happens if I use a cluster with multiple elements in it. Here\u2019s a lovely one from \u201cHead In The Clouds\u201d by TirAmisu (link at the top of this post):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Head<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Well, this cluster worked out better than the clip for sure. I ended up using the following filters; Colored Pencil, Cutout, Neon Glow, & Plastic Wrap. Here\u2019s how those turned out:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cluster<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s take a look at what happens with this leaf from \u201cHead In The Clouds\u201d by Just Because Studio (link at the top of this post):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Head<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Well, this was a lot of fun. I ended up using the following filters; Colored Pencil, Cutout, Fresco, Neon Glow, Paint Daubs, Plastic Wrap, Poster Edges, Rough Pastels Smudge Stick & Watercolor. Here\u2019s how those turned out:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Leaf<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Leaf<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Look at that\u202613 different leaves all from that one original leaf. Talk about beefing up your stash without spending a dime!! Just image what else you can do now that you know how to manipulate elements using filters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Filters<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now I\u2019m going to show you just a few options with the filters from a few other categories. I used the same flower I used above. Unless otherwise specified the foreground\/background color chips were set to the default:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Flower<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Flower<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I only showed examples using the flower because most results using the same filter\/settings were the same on both the leaf and cluster that I used above. There were 2 exceptions; the Distort-Pinch filter did not work well on either the leaf or the cluster & the Distort-Twirl filter did not work on the cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filters On Word Art<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know I mentioned word art earlier. This can be a little tricky depending on the type of word art on which you want to try using the filter. Generally speaking, I wouldn\u2019t bother trying filters on most words strips or word art that is all black. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t try\u2026I just haven\u2019t had much luck with most filters on either of those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that I\u2019ve said that, both solid black word art & most word strips can sometimes work out okay. Here\u2019s one example. I’ll use this set of word strips from \u201cArtist At Work\u201d by Thaliris Designs:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Word<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I scrolled through all the Artistic filters hoping to find some interesting effects. I had expected that the Artistic Plastic Wrap filter might make it look like a DYMO (3D embossed) label tape like this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dymo<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That ended up being a disappointing attempt. Not quite what I\u2019d hoped for. It may work better on larger groups of word art but I don\u2019t have high expectations. So, I moved on to the Sketch Filters. This too yielded nothing that was very attractive. There were really only two filters that did provided interesting results (at least for me) and here they are:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Word<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Just because I didn\u2019t have much luck doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t see what you can come up with using word strips that you may have on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for solid black word art there was one filter that provided a nice result. I used this piece of word art from \u201cSolar Eclipse\u201d by Manu Scraps:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Solar<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With a solid black word art, the filter that worked the best was Sketch->Bas Relief:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Black<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This filter gives the word art a gradient look. Changing any settings other than the Light Direction didn\u2019t seem to make a noticeable difference. It may be hard to really appreciate the gradient effect on these small images but it is nice. Unfortunately, trying to use this, or any other filter in the Sketch category on a piece of colored word art will only result in a grayscale image similar to what you see above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most other filters will not work well on any \u201cfine\u201d word art such as this one from “Querencia” (now retired):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Querencia<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As with the black word art, any filter in the Sketch category will result in a grayscale version of this or any other colored word art. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t try to use them. The Sketch->Plaster filter generally tends to produce a nice \u201cembossed\u201d look but it will be grayscale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pixelate category of filters will work on most any word art but the effect will primarily be just that\u2026some form of pixelization. I have found this category can produce some fun results when working with \u201cbigger\u201d colored word art such as this piece from \u201cChristmas Fun\u201d by Cindy Ritter Designs & Just Because Studio:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Christmas<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Both the Mezzotint & Pointillize Filter will tend to give this kind of word art an almost \u201cglittery\u201d effect such as this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Word<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

You can certainly experiment with various word art pieces in the Artistic category. In my experience good results are rather hit or miss if you know what I mean. But don\u2019t be afraid to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A while back I did a post about Outlining Text<\/a><\/strong>. If you read that post the piece of word art below might look a tad bit familiar:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Outline<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In that prior post it was just the word pumpkin. In any case I wanted you to know that outline word art such as this can generate some fun results when using filters in the Distort category:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pumpkin<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Try your hand at using filters on word art and let me know if you come up with some interesting results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layering Multiple Filters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know at the top of this post I mentioned that a lot of the PSE filters will work on all manner of elements including stamps\/transfers. I purposely saved transfers for the very end because I also want to show you how layering filters works and it\u2019s easier to do that by itself and it works great with transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Transfer<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It is possible to apply more than one filter to a given element\/paper. I can do this using the Filters option in the Layers Panel. But, in a lot of cases I\u2019ve found that I get different, sometimes better, results if I use the Filter Gallery instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To open the Filter Gallery, I just go to the top tool bar & select Filter>Filter Gallery. PSE then opens the Filter Gallery window:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Filter<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Gallery opens showing the last Filter I used (Artistic – Colored Pencil). If I had never used a Filter previously the default Filter Gallery window would look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Filter<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Either way, if the window opens on a Filter other than the one I want to use, all I have to do is click on the Filter category\/option I do want. In the example shown at the top of this section, I applied 3 Filters to the transfer \u2013 all from the Artistic Section of the Filter Gallery so selecting that category (if necessary) will be the first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Any time you want to return the Filter Gallery to the default, with the Gallery open press the Ctrl key and then click Default. This resets the Filter Gallery to its factory settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Filter Gallery shows thumbnails of each filter and what it will look like when applied to your image. If you don\u2019t see thumbnails when you open a Filter Category just click the double down arrow icon to the left of the OK button:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Display<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

PSE will then display the thumbnails. With the Artistic category selected the thumbnails should look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Filter<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first filter I will apply is the Watercolor Filter. I set the Brush Detail to 14. I leave the Shadow Intensity & Texture both at the default of 1. If you\u2019re following along using a transfer of your own, you can use the sliders provided to change the settings to get the look you prefer.  This is how my transfer looks now:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Transfer<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

You can now also see the Watercolor color filter showing up on an \u201ceffect\u201d layer off to the right side of the Gallery window:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Add<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In order to apply my next filter, I now have to click the \u201cNew Effect Layer\u201d icon below that effect layers area (it\u2019s the one that looks like a blank sheet of paper with the lower left corner turned up). When I click on that I see that a new layer is created in the panel above and it is a copy of the previous Filter (Watercolor):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"New<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now I click on the next Artistic Filter I want to apply, Cutout. I set the Number of Levels to 6 & the Edge Simplicity to 2. I leave Edge Fidelity at the default of 2. Again, you can use the sliders to tweak the Filter as you like. This is how my transfer looks now:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Transfer<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And you should be able to see that the new Effect Layer that I added now reflects the second Filter name of Cutout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once again click the New Effect Layer icon so I can add another Filter. With that new Effect Layer in place, I click on the last Artistic Filter I want to apply, Poster Edges. I set the Edge Thickness to 5. I leave the Edge Intensity at the default of 1 & set the Posterization to 0 (zero). You can adjust the settings as you like. This is how my transfer looks now:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Transfer<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now I click OK to commit the filters and return to the main workspace in PSE. At this point you should notice the Filter Effects Indicator icon (it looks like overlapping circles) on the transfer\u2019s layer:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Filter<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If I should decide that I\u2019m not happy with the effects on the transfer all I have to do is Right-Click on that icon and select Clear Smart Filters. This will set my transfer back to its original state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, with that transfer layer active, I can go to the top menu bar & select Filter->Filter Gallery & PSE will re-open the Filter Gallery for this layer. I can then go in and easily modify the settings (or order) of the different filters. This is something I can’t do when applying filters via the Filters option within the Layers Panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above I mentioned that it is possible (at least in my version of PSE) to apply multiple Filters using the Filters option in the Layers panel. But I cautioned that the results could be different. So, going back to the original (non-filtered transfer) I tried adding the same filters\/settings from the Layers Panel. It did look different to me. The variations are very subtle but nonetheless different. Here are the original transfer and both Filtering options so you can see all three versions:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Transfer<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I know it’s very difficult to discern the differences on these small images but they are noticeable in full-size, I’d encourage you to try this multi-filter technique both ways. Then you can be the judge of whether it\u2019s worth it to use the Filter Gallery process vs. just adding Filters via the Layers panel. And remember filters & filter combinations will behave differently depending on the element you\u2019re using. It never hurts to try using both methods to see which works best in each instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Tips On Filters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"More<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As usual\u2026I\u2019ve barely skimmed the surface of what all you can come up with using different elements and filters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working in the Filters Gallery try dragging a filter name to a new position in the list of applied filters at the bottom of the dialog box. This can have an affect on how the filters work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, you can apply filters to only a selected portion of your element. This would come in handy when working with filters on some word art images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take your time when experimenting with filters. If you\u2019re a beginner, the best approach may be to use filters via the Filter Gallery. This will let you keep better track of the filter effects you\u2019ve applied.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Fear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Never be afraid to try a filter\u2026there\u2019s always the \u201cundo\u201d button!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all else just have fun with filters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have any questions or want to make a suggestion about a topic you\u2019d like me to cover, please don\u2019t ever hesitate to \u201cMessage Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading this week\u2019s Tuesday Tip. <\/em>Be sure to check back next week for tips on creating Gesso textures. If you want to stay informed about new posts, just click \u201cFollow Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Stay<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I took a bit of a break from all the filter talk in last week\u2019s post. I hope you had some fun playing with the Pop Art effect. I only used one Photoshop Elements (PSE) filter last week\u2026an Adjustment filter. This week I\u2019m going back to some of the same concepts I used last month with paper. Only today I\u2019m going to be showing you how to use filters on elements. Back in April I posted about Blending Elements and…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"0","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-tip-day"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}