How to create a fluttering flag with Photoshop

Let's make flag flutter by using some nice tricks and applying a couple of different filters in Adobe Photoshop.

Open a picture of a flag.

I've chosen the flag of Puerto Rico.


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Create a new layer by pressing Shift + Ctrl + N.

Choose the Brush Tool.

Right click the picture and set the size brush size.

Press Esc to close the window.

Paint the lines similar to mine.

Choose a different brush size for each line.

In the menu click Filter, Blur and choose Gaussian Blur...

Set the Radius to about 16 pixels and click OK.

Let's copy the lines layer and paste into a new document.

Press Ctrl + A to select the layer document and press Ctrl + C to copy it.

In the menu click File, New and OK.

In the new document press Ctrl + V to paste the lines.

In the menu click Layer and choose Flatten Image.

In the menu click Image, Mode and choose Greyscale, click OK.

Save the document as lines.psd.

In the menu click File, Save As...

Go back to the first document.

With the lines layer selected click Filter, Stylize and choose Emboss...

In the new settings window choose the same settings as I did and click OK.

With the lines layer selected click Filter, Distort and choose Displace...

In the new settings window choose the same settings as I did and click OK.

When ask to choose the file, select the lines.psd file you previously saved.

It should look something like this in the meantime.

Click and drag the flag layer to the top (see picture).

And choose Overlay for a blending mode.

With the lines layer selected click Filter, Distort and choose Displace...

In the new settings window choose the same settings as I did and click OK.

When ask to choose the file, select the lines.psd file you previously saved.

Done, the flag is now fluttering.


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