Create a beautiful wet glass effect with raindrops in Photoshop

Create a beautiful wet glass effect with raindrops in Photoshop

Wet glass effects can transform ordinary portraits into atmospheric, cinematic images that draw viewers into the scene. The technique simulates looking at a subject through rain-covered glass, creating natural blur and distortion.

This tutorial demonstrates how to build convincing wet glass using blend modes, smart masking, and texture overlays for professional results.

Watch the Tutorial

Video by PiXimperfect. Any links or downloads mentioned by the creator are available only on YouTube

Essential Tips for Wet Glass Effects

These key techniques will help you create more convincing wet glass simulations:

  • Use Box Blur instead of Gaussian Blur for more natural glass distortion effects
  • Apply Color Range with localized color clusters to precisely select gray areas in water textures
  • Set wet glass textures to Hard Light blend mode and reduce opacity to around 60% for realistic integration
  • Create selective focus by duplicating the background layer and painting white on a black mask for sharp focal points
  • Use Curves adjustment layers with clipping masks to brighten only the glass-affected areas

More Tutorials about Glass Effects

Explore additional techniques for working with glass and transparent elements in Photoshop.

Create Realistic Wet Glass Effect in Photoshop
Achieving a realistic wet glass effect in Photoshop can transform an ordinary image into a captivating scene, adding depth and a sense of atmosphere. This technique is especially useful for creative compositions, weather simulations, or product visualization. By understanding how light interacts with glass and water, you can craft truly convincing visuals. This tutorial provides a comprehensive approach, guiding you through the process of layering textures and applying precise blending methods.
Cut Out Glass in Photoshop with Blending Modes
Achieving a realistic cut-out of transparent objects, like glass bottles, can be a significant challenge in Photoshop. Traditional masking often struggles to maintain the natural light, shadow, and reflective qualities inherent in such items, leading to flat or artificial results. This video tutorial offers an advanced technique to meticulously mask transparent objects into new backgrounds. It leverages the power of blending modes and strategic layer organization to perfectly integrate the obje
Create an Abstract Liquid Glass Dispersion Effect in Photoshop
Abstract liquid glass effects combine the ethereal beauty of flowing water with the crystalline clarity of glass, creating mesmerizing visual compositions. These effects transform simple geometric shapes into complex, organic forms that appear to bend and flow like liquid while maintaining the reflective qualities of glass surfaces. This technique opens up creative possibilities for digital artists, graphic designers, and visual effects enthusiasts. The process involves building custom displace
How to Create Realistic Water Droplets on Glass in Photoshop
Water droplets on glass create one of the most captivating visual effects in photography and digital art. The interplay of refraction, reflection, and transparency transforms ordinary scenes into atmospheric masterpieces that draw viewers into the story. This comprehensive tutorial demonstrates how to recreate this cinematic effect using photographic textures, blend modes, and strategic layering techniques. You'll learn to build convincing glass surfaces complete with fog, handwritten messages,
Masking Glass and Transparent Objects
In this Photoshop tutorial by PSD Box, you'll master the art of masking glass using a straightforward selection method. The focus is on preserving the natural reflections and highlights present on the glass object, ensuring a realistic and seamless integration into new backgrounds or compositions. This technique is crucial for maintaining the transparency and depth of glass while removing its background, making it ideal for product photography or creative digital art projects. Follow along as

Get tutorials & freebies delivered to you.

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter, a weekly roundup of new tutorials, insights and quality downloads, trusted by 6500+ readers.

You might also like

How to Use Select Subject for Background Removal and Edge Refinement

Background removal becomes effortless when you know how to use the right tools. AI-powered selection can instantly isolate subjects from their backgrounds, but the real skill lies in refining those selections to create professional results. This guide covers the complete workflow from initial selection to edge refinement, plus creative techniques...

How to Wrap Text Around Any Shape in Photoshop

Creating text that flows naturally around irregular shapes transforms static layouts into dynamic, professional designs. This technique works particularly well for posters, magazine layouts, and editorial designs where text needs to integrate seamlessly with complex subjects rather than simply sitting in rigid rectangular boxes. The process combines selection tools, path...

How to Edit Text in Images Using Generative Fill

Changing text within existing images has traditionally required complex masking and reconstruction techniques. Modern AI-powered tools now make it possible to seamlessly replace words and phrases in photographs while maintaining realistic typography, lighting, and perspective that matches the original scene. This technique works particularly well for signs, storefronts, billboards, and...

How to Remove Dust and Sensor Spots Using Photoshop Tools

Dust spots and sensor particles are inevitable challenges in digital photography, appearing as dark specks that distract from otherwise clean images. Camera sensors collect dust over time, creating consistent spots that show up across multiple photos, particularly in bright sky areas or uniform backgrounds. Both Lightroom and Photoshop offer specialized...

Photoshop vs Affinity Photo: Feature Comparison and Professional Analysis

When choosing professional photo editing software, the decision often comes down to comparing features, performance, and value. This detailed comparison examines the core capabilities of both applications across noise reduction, smart selections, object removal, masking, and AI-powered tools. The analysis covers real-world scenarios that professionals encounter daily, from complex background...

Create Realistic Water Reflections Using Generative Fill in Photoshop

Traditional reflection techniques in photo editing often produce unrealistic results because they simply flip and copy existing image elements. Real reflections show different viewing angles and reveal surfaces not visible in the original photograph—like the underside of vehicles or objects viewed from below water level. Generative fill technology solves...

You’ve successfully subscribed to Photoshop Roadmap
Welcome back! You’ve successfully signed in.
Great! You’ve successfully signed up.
Success! Your email is updated.
Your link has expired
Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.