CLOUD FILTER TUTORIAL (FOR MAKING PAPERS)

By Hummie

One of the quickest ways to add depth to any paper is to use the cloud filter. Are you making a
quick layout and have just filled a background layer with a color from a photo, but it looks flat?
Add a cloud filter layer above the color layer, play with blending modes and opacity, and have a
whole new look!

This tutorial is only meant to inspire you in some of the many ways to make papers utilizing this
filter. You will need to play and play to learn how to utilize effectively. Other tutorials on my
site will use this filter as a base to expand upon, so there are many more uses for this filter than
are shared here.

First, create a
background layer and fill
it with any color using
the paint bucket. I
choose brown/tan as it
will make a nice
parchment paper.

Create a new layer.

Go to the Filter drop

down menu and choose
Render and then Clouds.

Note that my foreground

and background colors
are tan and white. Often
a black and white color combination is sufficient. Changing these colors will affect the outcome
of this filter. This alone opens up a myriad of possible paper creations. The filter meshes
together the foreground and background colors as it creates cloud-like formations on the layer.
Hold down the alt key
before going to the filter
drop down menu and
choosing the clouds filter.
This will also change the
outcome of the filter.

In the layer’s palette on

my screenshot you can see
the change in intensity
with and without the alt
key.

Change the blending

modes on the cloud layer
to obtain a variety of
results.

Lower the opacity of the

cloud layer. I prefer the
look of a rather low
opacity for digital
scrapbooking papers.
However, this may not
always be the situation.
Try using the same hue,
one lighter and one
darker for the
foreground and
background colors. This
will generate results
more applicable to
parchment paper.

Play around with odd

color combinations or
those that contrast each
other. It is amazing once
the blending modes are
applied what results can
be obtained.

After you have rendered

a cloud layer, run the
“difference clouds” filter
on the same layer.

It is helpful to remember
a main difference
between the clouds filter
and the difference clouds
filter; that being that the
clouds filter can make
something from nothing on a new layer, whereas the difference clouds filter cannot.

The difference clouds filter works in much the same way as the difference blending mode in that
the color that is being blended (the colors on the foreground and background when the difference
clouds are applied) is subtracted from whatever is beneath that same spot on the original layer.
(Recall from the Color Wheel Tutorial that each hue is assigned a value and other color schemes
can be manually calculated to obtain a new hue). Black has a hue value of zero and, therefore, if
the foreground or background color is black, some of the colors will not change when the
difference clouds filter is applied. Utilize this knowledge to create specific color combinations.
Choose other hues than black for a variety of outcomes.

To make a nice parchment paper, select two shades of the same color for the background and
foreground color, run the clouds filter once, and then run the difference clouds filter twice.

Keep playing. Each time you run the difference clouds filter a new result is produced.

Play with adding any of

the other filters to the
cloud layer. Add noise
to the layer to soften the
cloud effect. Move the
slider right and left as
you observe the preview
changes. Often a very
low noise (approximate
3) is all that is necessary,
but any range could be
applied.

Rendering clouds on an
entire layer results in a
very bumpy cloudy
paper. To create a less
drastic and smoother
effect, make a small
selection and apply the
filter to the selection (on
a new layer, of course).

Thereafter, resize the

selection to fill the page.
Another method to
smooth the bumpiness of
the clouds is to apply a
Gaussian blur. Any
range may be applied by
moving the slider.

So many possibilities are

opened up when
applying the levels filter
(Control L). Moving all
of the sliders all of the
way to the left will result
in a grungy, spotty feel.

Changing the brightness

and contrast of a cloud
layer will produce
similar results as the
levels filter.
After changing the
levels, brightness, or
contrast to create an all
black and white layer, it
is possible to use the
magic erasure (with the
contiguous box
unchecked) to delete all
of the white or all of the
black on the layer.
Applying blending
modes or grouping this
layer can lead to more
results. Most often this
effect should be utilized
in conjunction with other
texture methods.

Add a pattern layer and

group it with the cloud
layer. Remember to
play with the blending
modes.

Depending on the
method used to apply the
pattern, if needed, right
click and simplify the
pattern layer. Move the
pattern layer below the
cloud layer. With the
cloud layer as the active
layer, group the two
together (Control – G).
What a difference just
switching the two layers
make!
 Re

Remember that the cloud

filter is most effective if
used in conjunction with
other texture methods.

For this sample, I

brought in another
heavily textured paper
which I had previously
created and, when
applying the clouds to it,
it produced a wrinkled
effect.

I will provide one last useful tidbit of information before I get too carried away with all of the
possibilities in using the cloud filter.

The cloud filter repeats itself every 128 pixels. To make a seamless tile with the cloud filter,
create a new file in increments of 128 (128 x 2 = 256, 128 x 4 = 512, 128 x 6 =768, 128 x 8
=1024, 128 x 10 = 1,280). The tile does not need to be square, but can also be rectangle (128 x
256). Making a seamless tile allows for patterns to be created with the tile so that when the
pattern repeats, you cannot see where the tiles meet.

Have fun playing!