Learn how to convert an image into an aged document. aged, document, photoshop, tutorial, old, torn, vintage, faded, burnt Learn how to convert an image into an aged document. 1.jpg 220 306 Step 1 1 Open up an image you want to make look as if it's 'aged'. Press 'D' to reset you colors. Go Image>Canvas Size and expand the height and width of you canvas by about 10%. Now you should have a nice white border, if you want a different background color, before you expand your canvas, change your Background color to what you want it to be. When we hit 'D' to reset our colors, it sets Black as the foreground color and White as the background color by default. 2.jpg 220 306 Step 2 2 Now, grab the Magic Wand tool and click on your border to select it. Apply an Ocean Ripple filter by going Filter>Distort>Ocean Ripple to it and use very low settings. Also, your photo must be on the same layer as your background color in order to get the best results! 3.jpg 220 306 Step 3 3 Next, we need to remove the photo from the background. Grab the Magic Wand Tool and select your background color. Then hit Ctrl+Shift+I (Mac: Command+Shift+I) to inverse the selection, then hit Ctrl+J (Command+J) to copy the selection into a new layer. Now, you can apply a drop shadow by right-clicking the layer in the Layer's Palette can choosing Blending Options and the Drop Shadow style to separate it from the background a little. We also want our image to look old, so lets hit Ctrl+U (Command+U) to bring up the Hue/Saturation window and desaturate the color (by dragging Saturation to the left), and thereby give it a brownish hue. We also want the image to have kind of a damaged look to it. Duplicate the layer, and get rid of the extra drop shadow by getting rid of the Layer Styles on the duplicated layer. Now apply the Filter>Noise>Dust & Scratches filter. Play around with the sliders to get an outcome that suits your image. Now most likely the effect will be too strong, so lower the opacity a little. I set mine to around 60 - 70%. 4.jpg 220 306 Step 4 4 Now we're getting somewhere. The image already looks old and damaged. But let's finish this baby off :)
Grab the trusty Burn Tool, and use a fairly large, soft brush, with pressure set to about 30 - 40% and the Exposure set to Shadows. Select the layer right above your background layer (if you're following this tutorial, it's the second layer). Now burn the edges of the image. I also burned the inside of my image, then grabbed the Dodge Tool and made some random strokes. Don't be afraid to experiment! And here is the final outcome. Not bad, I'd say! :)