How To Create Glitter Washi in PhotoShop

Hi guys!  I'm going to show you how to make digital glitter washi using Photoshop!  I'm also including a link to my video tutorial at the end of this post for those of you who prefer a visual walk through.

Let's get started:

1) Open a new document - make sure it is a SQUARE.  I typically do 500px X 500px.  Resolution for printable needs to be 300dpi.  For digital you can use 200dpi just fine.  Remember - the higher the dpi, the larger the file size!

2) Choose your washi color by using the fill bucket tool (shortcut key "G" on your keyboard) to fill the square with the color of your choice.  Make sure that your secondary color (the one in the square behind your main brush color) is a strong contrast to the main color you chose or else you'll end up with a muddy looking final product that just won't have the desired effect.

3) Go to your FILTER menu at the top of your screen and select FILTER GALLERY.   Select TEXTURE and then GRAIN.  I usually do 50 for both intensity and contrast and the "sprinkles" option for grain type.  Play around with these settings though and see what works for you.  Hit OK

Note: if Filter Galley is greyed out on your screen it is because your channel is set too high.  You can correct this by going to IMAGE -> MODE and selecting 8 BIT CHANNEL.  

4) Go to FILTER and select PIXELATE and then CRYSTALLIZE.  Adjust the intensity of the filter to your liking.  I typically stay around 5 or 6.  Hit OK.

5) At this point you need to duplicate this layer 3 times to make a total of 4 layers.  You can simply hit CTRL+J on Windows or CMD+J on a Mac to instantly duplicate a layer.

6) Select the top layer (click on it in the layer panel on the bottom right of your workspace) and hit CTRL or CMD+T to TRANSFORM the layer -> Right click -> ROTATE 180 -> hit enter.

Highlight the second layer and repeat the steps above - this time select ROTATE 90 CLOCKWISE

Highlight the third layer and select ROTATE 90 DEGREES COUNTER CLOCKWISE

Leave the bottom layer the way it is.

7) Highlight the top three layers (leave the bottom unselected) and change your blend mode from "Normal" to "Multiply"

8) Adjust the Brightness of your layers until you get your desired glitter effect!

Once you reach this point you can use a white brush to add a few flecks of light onto the paper.  Use this sparingly however or else it starts to look very unnatural.

If your washi just isn't looking very "glittery" the culprit is almost always your contrasting color.  Choose a color that is far enough away from your main color to give it enough definition in the final glitter product.