How to make a VHS image

[Sakana Oji]

This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download it

 

The older VHS tutorial was alright, but sometimes the colors just seep through and it doesn't look good. So I have decided to make a newer, more improved tutorial. For this tutorial, I shall be using this image: 

 

Plugins needed:

Curves+

Average Blur (optional)

Smooth (optional)

Extract Channel

Panelling

Splinter

 

1. Resize the image so that it has a maximum height of 480. It works best with landscape-size images.

 

2. Open Curves+, and use the "Lighten" preset.

 

3. Duplicate the image, and use Emboss with an angle of 90. Then set the blend mode to "Overlay" with an opacity of 128. Then merge the layers together.

 

4. Use Add Noise, with an intensity of 36 and the color saturation set to 50.

 

5. (Optional) Use Average Blur with a radius of 1. This will make the image more softer and of lower quality. (You could also use Smooth if you like)

 

6. Duplicate the image 3 times. Name the layers from top to bottom: Red Glare, Red, Green and Blue. Use Extract Channel, with Grayscale unchecked, on layers names "Red Glare" and "Red", with the Channel option set to Red. Then extract the Green channel on the "Green" layer, and the Blue channel on the "Blue" layer.

 

7. Uncheck the Red Glare layer for now. Set the blend modes of layers "Red" and "Green" to Additive.

 

8. (Optional) On the Blue layer, use Brightness/Contrast and set the Contrast to 10. This gives the image a slight yellow tint, making it look "vintage".

 

9. Use Panelling on the Red layer, and set the Move Horizontal setting to 2. Then on the Blue, use Panelling, and this time move it horizontally by -1. This makes the image look kind of old.

 

10. Check the Red Glare layer. Use Panelling, and set the Move Horizontal setting to the width of the image multiplied by 0.03. In this case, I shall use the setting of 26. (The width of my tutorial image is 853 and I got 25.59 when I multiplied it by 0.03. You need to round it up, as the Panelling plugin does not support decimal numbers.

 

11. Use Splinter, either use default settings or set the splinter value to 5. I used the latter. Then use Unfocus at default settings.

(This is the Red Glare layer on its own. I unchecked the rest of the layers.)

 

12. Set the blend mode of the Red Glare layer to Overlay with an opacity of 100. Make sure the Red layer is below it, then merge the two layers. Make sure the merged layer has a Blend Mode of Additive.

(This is the merged layer on its own.)

 

The finished image should now look like this:

 

13. If you don't want the terrible looking color edges on your image, follow these instructions: Copy and/or import this edge image into PDN:

 

14. Resize it to fit your image.

 

15. Put it in a new layer on top of your image, then set the blend mode to Multiply.

 

16. Use Unfocus with a radius of 10.

 

You are now done! In the words of Dwayne Johnson, what can I say except you're welcome.

[GillFelis]

Hello,

The '... older VHS tutorial...' that you refer to (y'know - the one that you have 'more improved'). Indulge me. Post a link to it.

 

[Sakana Oji]

2 hours ago, GillFelis said:

The '... older VHS tutorial...' that you refer to (y'know - the one that you have 'more improved'). Indulge me. Post a link to it.

 

Oh Dinkleberg! I didn't know I have to post a link to that - Here you go: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/20756-vhs-look/?tab=comments#comment-344996

Apparently, it belongs in the Graveyard due to no screenshots or something. I put screenshots in my tut, so it's bound to be better.