Watercolor Technique
Keywords: photoshop, painting, water, colors, watercolors, underpainting

1. Make an extra Color Image duplicate and use the Pencil Sketch Trick

2. Merge the two Black & White Layers. At this point you should have a B&W Layer on top of a Color Image

3. Change the Layer Mode of the B&W Layer to Multiply.

Make sure the color layer is NOT the background.
(Double-Click on the Layer Image and hit Ok).

4. Make the B&W Layer invisible (Click on the eye) for the next few steps.

5. >Filter>Artistic>Watercolor on the color Layer.

6. >Filter>Artistic>Underpainting on the color Layer.

7. >Filter>Artistic>Gaussian Blur on the color Layer. (use a low value to avoid blurring all of the details)

8. Create a new Layer, Fill it with White and place it Behind the Color Layer.

Photoshop Only (PSE instructions are below)

9. Make the B&W Layer visible (Click on the eye).

10. Double Click on the Color Layer or go to Blending Options via the Layer Filter Menu .

11. By moving the white arrows, you will assign a transparency to the light values. To create a "range" for your transparency, Hold the ALT key and Drag on half of the triangle...

12. You might want to lower the Color Layer Opacity to about 70% for lighter tones.

PSE Instructions
9. Add a Layer Style>Visibility>Ghost Effect to the middle Layer.