《Let's Create a Torn Paper Effect!》

This month's theme is 'Illustrations Utilizing Paper Textures.'

 

So, this time, let's try creating illustrations that use a torn paper effect! The torn paper effect is great for adding a sense of story to illustrations, and it allows for many design possibilities, making it very versatile!

 

Let's get started ✨

📃Torn Paper Edges

Depending on the design, generally, in addition to the base illustration, there will be at least one other illustration.

The second illustration can be an edited filter version of the first illustration, or another magazine, newspaper, or even a completely different illustration. Some additional editing methods will be appended at the end of the article, welcome for beginners to refer to!

 

✧ Get started!

 

1. Place all necessary base illustrations onto the canvas.

*Layers are hidden here to show the process more clearly.

 

2. Add a new layer at the top and draw the torn paper edge using CSP's default 'Crayon' tool.

 

3. While it's most time-saving to directly draw your desired shape from the start, you can also draw a straight line and then use the transform function to create a more natural and random feel.

 

[💡POINT]

The methods introduced below can be chosen as needed.

The goal is to create lines that match your desired look.

 

• 3a. ["Wave" Transform Filter]

[Filter]→ [Distort]→ [Wave]

[Value Settings]

 

Wave Type: Triangle Wave

Number of Waves: Recommended 3 or more

Wavelength: Distance between waves (horizontal distance between different peaks)

Amplitude: Change in wave height (vertical distance between the highest and lowest points of a single wave)

➡︎The greater the difference between the maximum and minimum values, the more 'random' the line may appear.

 

Horizontal/Vertical Scale: 100

➡︎The larger the value, the more noticeable the distortion.

 

**The above explanation is based on the filter's effect, not a professional physical explanation.

The 'Regenerate' button in the bottom right of the window can randomly regenerate wave variations based on the values above:

---

• 3b.[Puppet Warp] (Ver.4.0)

This elongated shape is very suitable for adjustment using the Puppet Warp function:

[Edit]→[Transform]→[Puppet Warp], after setting pins, you can move or rotate the pins to deform.

For more detailed usage, please refer to my article below:

Of course, other tools such as [Free Transform] and [Mesh Transform] can also be used for deformation.

---

• 3c.[Liquify Tool]

Additionally, you can use the 'Push Forward', 'Bloat', and 'Pucker' modes within the Liquify tool to create variations in shape thickness.

 

Select this tool from the toolbar and choose a 'Liquify method' in the Tool Property palette.

Depending on your design. If you're aiming for a gentler torn shape, it's perfectly fine to use only the Liquify tool from section 3c, without using the 'Wave filter' or 'Puppet Warp', etc.

 

When drawing, you can turn on the base illustration layer to match your design composition.

(It was hidden above to show the process more clearly.)

---

4. Next, we will start tidying up the torn edge shape, and then finally transform it into a torn paper look.

 

🔧Steps:

 

4a.[ "Motion Blur" Filter]

[Filter]→ [Blur]→ [Motion Blur]

Blur amount: Higher value, more jagged edges.

Blur angle: Use 90 degrees for lines that are more horizontal; use 180 degrees for lines that are more vertical.

 

4b.[Unsharp Mask]

[Filter]→ [Sharpen]→ [Unsharp Mask]

Here, the strongest values were used for the effect.

 

4c.[Binarization]

[Edit]→ [Tonal Correction]→ [Binarization]

Any value is fine. But make sure to uncheck 'Preserve transparency'.

4d.[Lower Brightness]

[Edit]→ [Tonal Correction]→ [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity]

Change the pattern to light gray.

The depth of grayness will affect the strength of the paper texture later.

 

4e.["Pencil Drawing" Filter]

[Filter]→ [Effect]→ [Pencil Drawing]

In the 'Pencil Drawing' filter, the thickness and roughness of the hatch lines, the value effects are shown in the figure below.

 

The angle of the hatch lines determines the direction of the paper texture.

• The step-by-step effect is shown below:

[💡POINT]

The methods introduced above can be chosen as needed.

The goal is simply to create edges that match your desired look.

For example, actions like 'Motion Blur' are used to create consistent edge shapes.

Even if you don't use them, it's fine; the next section will demonstrate a more simplified version.

---

5.

 

Because 'Show outline' was checked in the 'Pencil Drawing' filter, the edge of the graphic will have a slight black border.

This black border is kept to enhance the sense of three-dimensionality.

 

However, since the goal here is to create a torn paper edge, not a strip of paper, the next step is to remove one of the black borders.

For example, the upper paper edge belongs to the upper piece of paper, so I will remove the upper black border.

 

🔧Steps:

 

5a. While holding Ctrl, left-click on the layer thumbnail.

Or, right-click on the layer thumbnail → 'Selection from layer' → 'Create selection'.

 

5b. Use any selection tool. Use the [↓] key or mouse to slightly move the selected area downwards until it exceeds the black border.

 

5c. [Selection]→[Invert Selected Area]

 

5d. Press [Delete key] to remove the image. Deselect.

---

6. Next, create the shadow beneath the paper.

 

🔧Steps:

 

6a. While holding Ctrl, left-click on the layer thumbnail.

Or, right-click on the layer thumbnail → 'Selection from layer' → 'Create selection'.

 

6b. Add a new layer and place it below.

 

6c. Fill with gray.

 

6d. Deselect. Slightly move the layer downwards (upwards), and if necessary, slightly deform it to emphasize the light source position.

 

6e. [Filter]→ [Blur]→ [Gaussian Blur]

 

6f. Set the layer's blending mode to 'Multiply'.

 

6g. If necessary, erase any protruding shadows.

---

7. After completing the torn paper edge, use the layer mask function to set the exposed parts of the base illustration.

 

7a. Click the icon below.

7b. After clicking the mask thumbnail, erase the unnecessary parts.

 

If needed, you can use multiple layers.

For example, even if the base illustration is the same, I separated the upper and lower halves.

This makes it easier to handle if you want to change the torn position later.

---

📃Half-Torn Remnant Sticker

Creating the 'half-torn remnant sticker' effect uses a similar principle to the above.

The steps are as follows.

 

1. Draw shapes with a crayon

2. Select 'Transparent' color and use the crayon to erase some holes.

3. Lower Brightness

4. Unsharp Mask / USM Sharpen

5. Pencil Drawing Effect

6. Erase some more holes with a crayon.

This time, some steps mentioned in the first part, such as Motion Blur and Binarization, were omitted, so the edges of the shape are smoother than above.

This demonstrates that, depending on the desired effect, not all steps mentioned in the first part necessarily need to be performed.

 

Adding one or two more tears will make the image very rich:

📃Post-Production

The illustration is basically complete. However, we can add some post-production to enhance the 'paper feel'.

 

✧

Typically, printed materials cannot achieve the 'black' and 'white' effects seen on computer screens due to ink color and paper color limitations.

Simply put, the following tone adjustment converts 'black' to 'very deep gray' and 'white' to 'very light gray' to simulate the feel of physical print.

(However, because the example image has generally light colors, the dark adjustments are not obvious)

[Edit]→ [Tonal Correction]→ [Tone Curve]

✧

Add overall paper texture.

If you want the texture to be consistent with the torn paper texture above, you can:

Create a new layer → Fill with light gray → Pencil Drawing filter (same values as before) → Set layer blending mode to 'Divide'

✧

If you want to create a 'different' paper, you can use various paper textures and composite them onto different layers.

Besides 'Divide', blending modes like 'Overlay', 'Soft Light', etc., can also be used.

 

In Clip Studio Paint Assets, searching for 'paper texture' or 'image material' will yield many different user-uploaded materials:

✧

To create an uneven paper feel, you can slightly offset the position of the base illustration by moving, scaling, or rotating it.

However, be careful to ensure the original image size is large enough to avoid revealing white edges.

(The degree of offset here is not obvious; this merely provides a post-production idea.)

📃BONUS: Some Simple Designs

As an extra section, here are some design ideas that utilize the torn paper effect.

The creation methods are very simple, feel free to refer to them!

✧

I. Taking the demonstration image above as an example, after adjusting the tone directly from the base illustration, use it as the 'second image'.

The method for adjusting tones is very simple and has been mentioned above.

Consider converting hue, making it black and white, etc.

[Edit]→ [Tonal Correction]→ [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity]

 

✧

II. Additionally, you can use layer property effects to quickly create a screentone version of the base illustration.

Layer Property palette → Click the 'Screentone' icon (third icon) → Enter screentone line count, mesh shape, and angle.

 

✧

III. Of course, you can also use a completely different illustration.

And use the torn paper effect for a collage effect.

Here, this material is used:

✧

IV. Imitating a 'transparent' bottom is also a good idea.

The method is very simple; here, the following material was used, and it can be achieved by rotating and changing its color.

✧

V. There are also some designs resembling newspaper or magazine inner pages.

Here, the following brush material was used:

✧

VI. If there's a message you want to convey, adding text directly is a great idea!

✧ Done!

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far!

 

Besides the designs above, the torn paper effect is also very suitable for collage-style illustrations.

If you're interested, feel free to refer to my other article:

I hope this sharing provides some creative ideas for everyone!

 

What do you think of this article's content?

If you liked this article, please like or leave a comment to let me know! See you next time ✨