Photoshop Filter Guide
Click on a Filter Category to view a sample of the Filters

Artistic

Transforms an image to appear carved in low relief and lit to accent the surface variations. Dark areas of the image take on the foreground color, light colors use the background color.

Redraws an image's highlights and midtones with a solid midtone gray back-ground drawn in coarse chalk. Shadow areas are replaced with black diagonal charcoal lines. The charcoal is drawn in the foreground color, the chalk in background color.

Charcoal

Redraws an image to create a posterized, smudged effect. Major edges are boldly drawn, while midtones are sketched using a diagonal stroke. Charcoal is the foreground color, and the paper is the background color.

Treats the image as if it were a polished chrome surface. Highlights are high points and shadows are low points in the reflecting surface. After applying the filter, use the Levels dialog box to add more contrast to the image.

Replicates the texture of dense dark and pure white Conté crayons on an image. The Conté Crayon filter uses the foreground color for dark areas and the background color for light areas. For a truer effect, change the foreground color to one of the common Conté Crayon colors (black, sepia, sanguine) before applying the filter. For a muted effect, change the background color to white with some foreground color added to it before applying the filter.

Uses fine, linear ink strokes to capture the details in the original image and is especially striking with scanned images. The filter replaces color in the original image, using the foreground color for ink and background color for paper.

Simulates the effect of a halftone screen while maintaining the continuous range of tones.

Creates an image that appears to be constructed of handmade paper. The filter simplifies an image and combines the effects of the Stylize > Emboss and Texture > Grain filters. Dark areas of the image appear as holes in the top layer of paper, revealing the background color.

Simulates the effect of photocopying an image. Large areas of darkness tend to copy only around their edges, and midtones fall away to either solid black or white.

Molds an image from 3D plaster, and then colorizes the result using the foreground and background color. Dark areas are raised, light areas are sunken (or reverse the effect by choosing the Invert option).

Simulates the controlled shrinking and distorting of film emulsion to create an image that appears clumped in the shadow areas and lightly grained in the highlights.

Is best used with black-and-white images. The filter simplifies the image to appear stamped with a rubber or wood stamp.

Is particularly useful for images consisting of text or high-contrast objects. The filter reconstructs the image as ragged, torn pieces of paper, and then colorizes the image using the foreground and background colors.

Uses blotchy daubs that appear painted onto fibrous, damp paper, causing the colors to flow and blend.