How to Make Your Footage Look Like a Painting in Premiere Pro CC (2018)

Turning your footage into something that looks like a moving painting is one of the more striking stylistic effects you can apply in Premiere Pro. It works great for music videos, intros, transitions, or any moment where you want your footage to feel more artistic than realistic. The technique uses three effects stacked on an adjustment layer: Find Edges, Posterize, and Brush Strokes. Each one contributes a different element to the overall painterly look.

Today we go over how to make your footage look like a painting in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

How to Create the Painting Effect

Setting Up the Adjustment Layer

1. Go to File > New > Adjustment Layer. Click OK with the default settings.
2. Drag the adjustment layer from the Project panel onto the timeline, on a track above your footage.
3. Extend the adjustment layer to cover the full duration of the footage you want to affect.

Applying the Effects

4. Select the adjustment layer. Go to the Effects panel and navigate to Video Effects > Stylize > Find Edges. Drag it onto the adjustment layer.
5. In Effect Controls, find the Find Edges effect. Change its Blend Mode to Multiply. This blends the edge detection with the original footage, giving it a drawn outline look while preserving the colors underneath.
6. Go back to Effects and search for Posterize (under Video Effects > Stylize). Drag it onto the same adjustment layer.
7. In Effect Controls, find Posterize and set the Level to about 22. This reduces the number of colors in the image, giving it that flat, painted quality. Lower values create fewer colors (more abstract). Higher values keep more color detail.
8. Go back to Effects and search for Brush Strokes (under Video Effects > Stylize). Drag it onto the adjustment layer.
9. In Effect Controls, adjust the Brush Strokes settings. Set the Stroke Length to about 11 and the Brush Size to about 2.9. This adds visible brush stroke texture to the image.

Rendering the Preview

10. These three effects together are CPU intensive. Your playback will likely lag. Press Enter on the timeline to render the preview. Once rendered, you can play it back at full speed.

Making It More Dynamic

• Transition from painting to reality. Keyframe the adjustment layer’s Opacity from 100% to 0% over a few seconds. This creates a cool transition where the painting gradually becomes the real footage.
• Animate the Posterize level. Keyframe the Level value from a low number (5-10) to a high number (30+). This creates a transition from heavily stylized to nearly normal.
• Combine with a dreamy effect for an even more ethereal look. The blur from the dreamy effect softens the hard edges created by Find Edges.
• Try different blend modes on the Find Edges effect. Multiply is the most common, but Overlay and Soft Light create different looks worth exploring.

Tips

• Footage with strong contrast works best. Scenes with clear subjects, bold colors, and distinct shapes translate well into the painting style. Flat, evenly lit footage can look muddy.
• Lower the Posterize level for a more abstract look. A level of 5-8 creates something closer to pop art. A level of 20-30 keeps it more realistic while still feeling painted.
• This effect is render-heavy. If you are working on a long sequence, consider applying it to only the specific sections that need it rather than the entire timeline.

That is how you make your footage look like a painting in Premiere Pro. Three effects on an adjustment layer and your video transforms into moving art.