GRUNGE IT UP! I’ve seen images online where a texture seems to have been added. I’d like to know how to do it. Can you help?

If you want the easiest solution, there are lots of plug-ins for Photoshop, such as Alien Skin Exposure ($149, www.alienskin. com), that will do this for you at the touch of a couple of buttons. To be fair, most of these plug-ins are very good at their job, and they can save you lots of time, as

1 well as get a bit addictive if you don’t watch out! You can usually download the software for a free trial period to see whether you like it.

Alternatively, and much more fun in my opinion, simply do it yourself in Photoshop. You need to create a little library of your own textures as backgrounds,

2 but that doesn’t take long if you go out with your camera and always keep your eye open for possible options. Old walls, patio slabs, faded wooden facades and so on are rich hunting grounds for textured surfaces. I’ve collected hundreds of different texture images over the years, and keep a folder of them saved as JPEGs on my computer, ready to rummage through when I need something.

Not every image suits having a texture added to it, but you can experiment to your heart’s content, trying different subjects

3 and looks. I’ve used landscape and portrait subjects with added textures in the past, and have liked some of the results.

The basic steps of how to add a texture are set out below, but remember that it’s all about experimenting and varying the opacity of the brush to create some areas that have more texture and some that have less.

You’ll get an idea of whether the image and texture you’ve chosen will work together in minutes, so it’s a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon when you’re stuck indoors.