How to change photo into oil painting effect

[SuzieQQQ]

I have Photoshop Elements 2020.   Does this program allow me to change a photograph into the effect of an oil painting?  If so, please provide instructions.  If not, which program does this?  I've seen other artists do this and wondering how they do this.  Thank you.

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[Greg_S.]

Yes, there are various artistic effects that can be applied to a photo in Elements, using Expert mode. 

1.  Go to the Filter>Artistic menu and choose any of the options.

2.  This will open a filter editor dialog with a preview of your chosen filter.

3.  You also have many choices with thumbnails of different effects.

4.  As you try out the filters, you also get different sliders to adjust the effect.

You can also access these features through the Filters button in the tool bin at the lower right of the screen.

[SuzieQQQ]

Hi Greg - I have tried that.  I would like to have effects that demonstrate oil paint brush strokes.  Any suggestions?

[Greg_S.]

There is also the Oil Painting effect under Effects>Painting:

And/or you can play with the Texturizer settings under the Filter>Texture>Texturizer menu option.

A quick Google search will provide some other techniques.  Here is one for an older version of Elements, but you should be able to adapt it to Elements 2020

[Rickenbacker28]

I watched this video and tried this with many pics...  The results are too "one dimensional" for my liking.  Is there anyone that knows how to get this type of end results in Photoshop Elements?  Are there any plug-ins I can use or download that will help (that actually work) with Elements?  If there was just a plug-in that is extrememly similar to the "Art History Brush Tool"  The effect could be done easily in Elements.     Photoshop: Realistic OIL PAINTING Effect using NO Oil Paint Filters! - YouTube 

[Greg_S.]

@Rickenbacker28,  what version of Elements do you have?  Starting with Elements 2022, there is an Artistic Effects tool that is very easy to use.   Here are the kind of results that can be accomplished with this tool:

I don't think any of the templates have the depth of brush stroke seen in your video link. 

Elements will probably never have something like the art history brush available in Photoshop CC, and I know of no plug-in that would add this feature.  If you really want the features of the full Photoshop, you might want to consider the Photography Plan which gives you a subscription to Photoshop CC and Lightroom for about $10 per month.

[SuzieQQQ]

Great, I'll check it out.  Thank you!

[hatstead]

Here is a terrific (older) book which covers in detail various techniques that the author utilizes for projects such as you are working on. Amazon has it at bargain price.. He provides suggested initial settings for the various filters, etc. - - step by step.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0764535781/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

[SuzieQQQ]

Hi Hatstead - I just ordered the book.  I think that will be very helpful.  The layers are very confusing to me.  Any other advise would be appreciated.  Thank you for your help.

Janie

[hatstead]

Becoming familiar with layers is essential. For example, if you wish to add text to a picture, place the text on a separate layer. Now, you can position the information at a locus of choice,  or, if you made a mistake, delete the layer and start over.

This program has a steep learning curve. Come back here to the forum if you have questions.

Adobe has a user guide which you may find helpful

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/user-guide.html