Introduction

While Premiere Elements doesn't have a true "watercolor" or other painterly effects such as those found in Photoshop Elements, we can, by combining a number of Premiere Elements' built-in effects, create a close and convincing approximation.

To achieve the Watercolor Painting Effect, we'll actually work with two copies of the clip. One will be used to apply a watercolor-like effect. This effect simulates the blurry, watery look of a watercolor painting. However, it doesn't give us the natural pen or pencil sketch marks that typically show through in a watercolor painting. Again unlike Photoshop, Premiere Elements doesn't have a "pen and ink" effect, either. Nonetheless, we can approximate this effect, too, by applying an edge effect to the second clip. By making the top clip somewhat transparent, it will act as an overlay of the pen sketch, simulating how watercolor paints are laid on top of the original drawing.

The Watercolor Painting Effect can be used in wedding, honeymoon, anniversary, and other romance- or nostalgia-themed videos, or anytime you want to achieve a softer feel to a scene. This effect is best used for short sections of a clip. For example, when the bride and groom kiss, you could freeze the moment, dissolve to the watercolor look, and then superimpose their names and the date. In this chapter, we'll be applying the Watercolor Painting Effect to a still from a video clip, but you can apply it to an entire clip, should you want to.