How to Make a Rough Edge in Photoshop

A rough edge on a photograph can add interest to the subject.

Adobe Photoshop has many tools and functions used by digital photographers to enhance and improve their photographs. Some photos can be improved by adding rough or ragged edges to the picture to make it appear as though it has been torn from a printed page or perhaps damaged through years of handling.

Instructions

1. Open the image in Photoshop. Select the "Rectangular Marquee" tool from the main toolbar and drag out a selection box around the edges of the photo where the rough edge is to be created. Click "Select>Inverse" to select this edge area and press "Delete" on the keyboard to fill this part of the image with black. Press "CTRL + D" to deselect the image.

2. Press "D" to bring the color swatches back to the default black and white. Press "B" for the brush tool and select "Window>Brush" to see the brush options. Scroll down through the brush types and select "#17 Chalk." Click on "Shape Dynamics" and set the various sliders to "Size Jitter: 100 percent, Minimum Diameter: Zero percent, Angle Jitter: 50 percent, Roundness Jitter: 25 percent and Minimum Roundness: 25 percent." Select the "Flip X Jitter" and "Flip Y Jitter" boxes.

3. Click on "Scattering" and set the sliders to "Scatter: Zero percent, Count: One and Count Jitter: Zero percent." Click the "Both Axes" box. Select "Texture" and choose a random black and white dotted texture from the available styles. "Amoeba" is a good choice, although similar noisy textures will also work. In the "Texture" options, choose "Invert: Check, Scale: 100 percent, Texture Each Tip: Uncheck, Mode: Color Burn and Depth: 50 percent."

4. Select "Transfer" ("Other Dynamics" in earlier versions of Photoshop) and set "Opacity Jitter" to 50 percent and "Flow Jitter" to zero percent. Select "Wet Edges" and confirm that "Smoothing" is also checked.

5. Paint on the edge of the picture with black paint. This painted edge will have a jagged texture in shades of gray. Paint over areas as necessary to darken the edge. Crop the image using the "Crop" tool to complete the effect.

Tips & Warnings

• Try other textures to generate different effects on the edge.

• Modifying the "Depth" in the "Texture" options makes the edge more ragged.

• Save the brush as a preset for future use.

• Always save the image using "File>Save As" to avoid overwriting the original photograph.

References

• Photoshop Lab: Ripped and Torn Edges
• Digital Scrapbook Place: Torn edges in Photoshop