Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe Photoshop
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Estimated Completion Time: 5 Minutes
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
In this quick tip tutorial, we will learn how to create a realistic paper texture from scratch in just 5 minutes. To do this we will use some simple filters and effects. Let’s get started!
Step 1
Create new file 1280 x 1024 px. Create a rectangular selection in the center of the image, hit Q to enter quick mask mode. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Crystallize, use small cell size and click OK. Hit Q again to return to normal mode. Hit Cmd+shift+alt+N to create a new layer. Press D then Cmd+Delete to fill selection with white. To remove selection press Cmd+D.
Step 2
Activate the burn tool with exposure 20%. Paint the paper until it looks dark and dirty. Go to Filter > Texture > Texturizer, use Texture: Canvas and click OK.
Step 3
Double click the paper layer to open the Layer Styles dialog and activate the Drop Shadow effect. Don’t worry with the settings, just click OK. This shadow is very flat and unrealistic, but we’ll fix it.
Step 4
From the Layers panel, right click Drop Shadow and choose Create Layer. This step will separate the Drop Shadow from the paper.
Step 5
Select the shadow layer, hit Cmd+T to transform it. Right click it and choose Warp. Move the handles until the shadow looks irregular, just like a real one.
Step 6
Activate the Gradient Tool, in the option bar and choose Linear and Mode: Difference. Create a random gradient, from top to bottom, bottom to top, left right, and right to left. Just go crazy!
Step 7
Go to Filter > Stylize > Emboss. Hit Cmd+L and move the white and black sliders to the middle.
Step 8
Hit Cmd+alt+G. Change blending mode to Overlay.
Conclusion
That’s it! You can turn this into a thin paper by lowering its opacity. Below is the final paper on a wood texture. Click here or click on the image to see it in full size.
The best thing about this technique is that the result is always different. Below are some alternative examples.
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By Mohammad Jeprie
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short and simple, thanks for sharing!
Very nice and useful tut … thanks :)
thanks!!! very useful…
really useful for even advanced level designs.
So simple but very effective, lovely tut merci
That’s great !
It’s so realistic, I almost had a paper cut when I saw it :)
This is similar to http://www.myjanee.com/tuts/crumple/crumple.htm. anyway u added some new technology.
Thank you for the link. It does a bit similar to this one.
In this tut I add some texture to the paper and tweak the shadow to make it more realistic.
Impressive. I look forward to trying it out. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome.
not bad!
Thanks for sharing this amazing tut
gr8 tutorial….
Nice work！
simple and nice
excellent
Cool! I could even adapt the instructions to Photoshop Elements and get a nice look. Thanks!
A nice start. I think to increase realism you could displacement map the texture onto the paper, but the simplicity of this is great. Thank you!
Actually, I’ve tried that, but the result is negligible with pattern used here. If you add more complex textures on the paper you’ll surely need to add displacement map.
You’re a Photoshop master, great job!
awesome, bagus om jeprie :)
I don’t know how many times I have spent hours looking for a decent folded paper. Finally, I get to created one from scratch. It really is nice work.
very good… short and simple…thanks for sharing this…
This is fantastic, thank you! And I like how quick and easy it is, too – very convenient. I’m often looking for the right paper textures, and sometimes it can be hard to find exactly what I need, so now I can have a go at making it instead. Cheers. :)
I am sorry to say I was very disappointed with this tutorial. It is badly explained, steps are missing and you do not finish with the exact same design at the end.
If I didnt have a lot of experience with PS I would not have been able to create anything like it.
Lovely tutorial :) Got a little lost at some points, but the outcome of it turned out well. Used it on my recent layout design as well, thanks!
Wow, I tried the same results earlier with some different techniques, but this one using ‘difference’ and high pass is very neat. Thanks for sharing!
uwaaaaa ~~~ good !!!
Awesome tutorial, but I’m having trouble with step 8, the texture won’t show up on the table.
Wow greate tutorial nice and beautiful Thank You Very Much. i already to learn Photoshop.
Sir,
I am a hobbyist (so I ask for some indulgence) and I have a CS2. When I follow the steps, right at the top, after hitting Q, filter>pixelate>crystallize…the filter option remains grey…dulled out…not accesible. So the remaining tutorial becomes redundant to me. Obviously there is something I appear to be missing.
I await your expert suggestion.
Thank you.
sb
Maybe you use CMYK color mode not RGB. Try to check its color mode from Image > Mode.
you published this already http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/drawing/how-to-draw-a-photorealistic-coffee-cup/all-pages.html
Hey!
Could someone throw some light on how to do the same effect but on an image with colors and forms. Like a poster?? Because trying this with an image from a movie poster at some point, with the gradient tool, it all goes to hell.
Thanks a lot!
There are steps missing from this tutorial, you should go back and re-read it.
Goooooooood Job
HI there, Great Tutorial!
I think there are steps missing. I can’t quite seem to get it for some reason . . . .
Ok! This total amateurr, tried it and failed. Cause I don’t know what Cmd is. Must be a pro thing.
Can someone explain?
Cmd=command or Control in Windows.
Umm…why coudn’t you just crumple a piece of paper, scan it and use that as a layer? The tutorial says it’s for beginners and only takes 5 min. I am a beginner and I can tell from reading the instructions that it would take me at least a half a day to figure out all the steps and commands!
Nicely done! Respekt!
what layer do the gradients go on and how do I keep the entire layer from going black? You seem to be quick to respond to praise but I’ve yet to see you respond to any negative feedback.
The layer needs to be in a new layer. I didn’t wrote that because I assume you all can see it from screenshot Step 8. I’m sorry for missing that.
GRAET! Again! It doesn´t works with photoshop elements!!
i like it it works
This tutorial is great but not very well written, there seems to be steps missing or not shown.. But I was able to get the same effect by improvising.. Might be an issue for beginners though…
SORRY TO SAY THAT TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS TUTORIAL Mohammad Jeprie WHY YOUR’S ALL OF TUTORIALS WHICH EVER I TRIED THERE IS ALWAY SOME STEPS ARE MISSING OR NOT CLEARLY MENTION SO PLEASE GET SOME ACTION ON IT & ALSO IN THIS TUTORIAL AFTER STEP 5 THERE IS ONE OR TWO STEP MISSING SO PLEASE EXPLAIN ME & OTHERS THAT WE CREATE A NEW LAYER AFTER STEP 5 FOR GRADIENT OR NOT.
ATTENTION FOR ALL : PLEASE BEFORE START YOUR TUTORIAL READ ALL THE STEPS & COMMENTS BELOW THEM BECAUSE ITS HELP YOU.
Great. Let u know later if it works.
Thanks for your great Tut..
Just I got a problem when I have tried to make the shadow wrap via ctrl+T and then right clicking on it… the option of wrap is not getting on, i dont knwo why.. then I have used alternative alt->e->a->w from edit ..
well thanks for this shadow tutorial.
Awesome….. :D
AS like as creative Design
Wow… great indeed…. Very useful for me as a long biginner. …… thank
I’ve been using Photoshop for several years, and have been perusing some of the tutorials here to brush up my stagnant skillset. I stumbled on this one because I needed a quickie, but I was held up on step 3. Painting with the burn tool set to 20% exposure on the new layer did not do a thing, I had to change from Midtones to Highlight to get anything. I saw someone else had the same problem. I tried painting for a while with no result, even the eyedropper tool showed the RGB value as 255 across the entire thing, so nothing was changing even slightly. Otherwise everything else (missing steps notwithstanding) was pretty spot on. Never thought of using gradients with different blends like that, you can make some interesting textures.
Nice tut, please how can I get/create the wooden background
The only problem with this is anything wrote, or drawn on it will not be distorted by the crinkles, which makes it really weird looking.