Vintage Effect
The Vintage Effect
Add antique charm to any modern image by easily creating a vintage effect.
Layers, filters, the Gradient Tool, transform tools, and color adjustments are used in this tutorial.
Step 1
Open an image to which you would like to add a vintage effect in Pixelmator.
Step 2
Make the image black-and-white by choosing Image > Desaturate.
Step 3
To defocus the image just a bit, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set Radius to approximately 1 pixel. Click OK when done.
Step 4
Since the Gaussian Blur filter washes out the image corners, go ahead and smooth them. Click to select the Blur Tool (R) in the Tools palette and drag over the image corners. Make sure that the blur strength in the Tool Options bar (View > Show Tool Options) is set to 100% before using the Blur Tool.
Step 5
Vintage pictures aren’t very smooth, so a bit of grain would make the image look aged. To add some grain choose Filter > Stylize > Noise and set Radius to 3-4%. Click OK to apply the effect.
Please note that the Noise filter looks most accurate with a 100% Zoom (View > Actual Pixels).
Step 6
To create an old-style sepia tone for the image, choose Filter > Color > Sepia Tone, set Intensity to 90-100, and click OK.
Step 7
Download the old paper texture from the Tutorial Resources to your Desktop and simply drag-and-drop it to your composition. Use the example in the image below as a reference.
The texture will instantly appear as a new layer. If necessary, scale the texture to fit your image proportions by choosing Edit > Transform.
Step 8
In the Layers palette, change the texture layer’s Blending to Multiply, since the Multiply blending mode darkens and tones down the color of an image. Also reduce Opacity a bit to get a perfect texture blend with your image.
Step 9
Next, download and add the scratches image from the Tutorial Resources to your composition, the same way as the paper texture. If necessary, scale the texture to fit your image proportions by choosing Edit > Transform.
Step 10
In the Layers palette, change the Scratches layer’s Blending to Overlay, since the Overlay blending mode combines pictures equally. Reduce this layer’s Opacity to approximately 50%.
Step 11
And the final touch — color adjustments. In the Layers palette, click to select the layer with the image you’re applying the effect to (in our case, a picture of the Eiffel Tower). Choose Image > Brightness and Contrast. Reduce the Contrast to approximately -20%, since many old pictures aren’t very rich in contrast. Click OK when done.
Once you’ve learned to create the vintage effect, feel free to experiment by applying it to different images.
Very bun tutorial, I liked it very easy to understand.
this is an awesome picture and i was very interested in the ease of the technique.
Great tutorial, helps you ease in so many tools and ways to work with the pics, I loved it!
Great straightforward tutorial – ideal for beginners like me. Does just what is says on the can!
This is a really amazing and easy to understand tutorial,just follow the tips))) Thanks !
When I drag the old paper texture it doesn’t seem to create a layer, but rather, just takes over the entire frame. You aren’t clear on how to synthesize the image with the texture.
When it takes over the entire frame click on view and then click on show layers and then you can do the proper blending as it says.
Very nice tutorial, I prefer not so heavily vintage look thou, but still great tutorial.
Very good and easy to understand, however I could not access the scratches.png
Thanks!
The scratches are there.. you just can’t see them. You just right click and download the same as the other.
Great tutorial. I am new to Pixelmator and this is the first thing I tried when I opened the box. It worked great! The tutorial was easy to follow and my picture came out gorgeous! Looking forward to using other tutorials as I feel my way around this new (for me) app. Thank you!
Awesome tutorial! So simple to understand… a huge THANKS!
where is the scratches download? I am trying to do this tutorial & I very much need it, please. tx Jennifer
Awesome! I love the simplicity of Pixelmator
This one sentence in step 5:
> Please note that the Noise filter looks most accurate with a 100% Zoom (View > Actual Pixels).
Clears up a ton of frustration I’d been having. I would always apply a noise filter, stripes generator, or halftone effect and wondered why it would suddenly change appearance when I actually applied the effect.
This “nuance” really needs to be listed prominently somewhere (like when you are applying such effects and not viewing at actual size zoom). Maybe a pop-up message with a “do not show again” checkbox.