How to Create a Cyanotype Effect in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a cyanotype effect in Affinity Photo. Cyanotype originated in 1842, and it was created by English scientists Sir John Herschel. He used this process to create blueprints for his notes and diagrams. Architects also used this for their diagrams. Herschel’s cyanotype process became popular among photographers, and they used it to print copies of photographic negatives. The cyanotype process traditionally required the use of fabric or paper that was created with a photosensitive solution that contained ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. This process would produce a cyan-blue print. The cyanotype was popular among many people at the time because it was inexpensive to create.

Before you start, go to the following links, and download the images used for this tutorial.

• Two Women
• Paper Texture
• Fern Plant

Step 1

First, go to File > Open and select the image of the two women. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the image and turn the original image off.

Step 2

Next, click the Adjustments icon in the Layers Panel and select the Black and White adjustment. I set the Red to 54% and the Green to 79%.

Step 3

Now, click the Adjustments icon again. Select the Brightness and Contrast adjustment. Then, set the Brightness to about 38% and the Contrast to 14%.

Step 4

After that, click the Add Pixel Layer icon in the Layers Panel.

Step 5

In the Swatches Panel, double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code for blue #0000FF. Then, go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color.

Step 6

With the filled layer selected lower, the Opacity of the layer to 50%.

Step 7

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer icon to add another layer.

Step 8

Double click on the fill color in the Swatches Panel to bring up the Color Chooser again. Enter the following color code #0B8B8B.

Step 9

Next, go to the Edit menu and click Fill with Primary Color to fill the layer. Lower the Opacity of this layer to 40%.

Step 10

Select the layer that’s filled with the blue color. Go to the Filters menu. Then, go to Noise > Add Noise. Set the Intensity to 50%, select Gaussian and check the Monochromatic box.

Step 11

Now, select the cyan filled layer and go to the Filters menu. Go to Noise > Add noise. Change the Intensity to 60%.

Step 12

Click the duplicated image in the Layers Panel. Then, click on the Live Filters icon. Select Halftone. Make sure the halftone filter is inside of the image layer. Set the Screen to Color and Dot to Round. Set the Cell Size to 2. Next, set the Gray Component Replacement to 80. Now, set the Under Color Remove to 10. Set the Screen Angle to 270 degrees.

Step 13

After that, press CTRL + ALT + Shift + E to merge all our visible layers into one layer. Or go to the Layer menu and select Merge Visible. Turn the other layers off in the Layers Panel.

Step 14

Go to the paper texture link. Right click on the image and click Save Image As and save it.

Step 15

Now, go to File > Open and select the paper texture.

Step 16

Copy the merged layer we created and paste it onto the paper texture. Go to the Transform Panel and turn on the Lock Aspect Ratio. Then, resize the picture.

Step 17

Once you’ve done that, go back to the other document. In the Layers Panel, select the blue and the cyan filled pixel layers. Copy the layers.

Step 18

Go to the paper texture document. Select the paper texture. Then, paste the two pixel layers we copied onto the document. In the Layers Panel, the color-filled layers should be between the paper texture and the merged layers.

Bonus

[The how to create a cyanotype tutorial is complete.] Here’s another type of cyanotype effect you can create that involves plants. This was made popular by English botanist Anna Atkins. She created cyanotypes of plants and made a book with them. Atkins is considered the first woman to create a photo book.

Step 1

Go to File > Open and select the image of the fern plant.

Step 2

Next, go to the Layers Panel and click the Adjustments icon. Select the Black and White adjustment. Set the Green to 0% and increase the Cyan and Blue. I set the Cyan to 139% and the Blue to 144%.

Step 3

Now, click the Adjustments icon again and select the Brightness and Contrast adjustment. Set the Brightness to 45% and the Contrast to 20%.

Step 4

After that, go to the Layers Panel and click on the Adjustments icon. Select the Invert adjustment.

Step 5

Once you’ve done that, click the Add Pixel Layer icon twice to add 2 new layers.

Step 6

Select the first pixel layer that was added. Next, go to the Swatches Panel, and double click the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the hex code for the blue color we previously used which is #0000FF. Then, go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color. In the Layers Panel, lower the Opacity of this layer to 50%.

Step 7

Now, select the second pixel layer we added. Go to the Swatches Panel and bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the hex code for the cyan color we previously used which is #0B8B8B. Go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color. Lower the Opacity of this layer to 30%.

Step 8

After that, select the original image in the Layers Panel. Then, click the Adjustments icon and select the Levels adjustment. Set the Black Level to 46%. This adjustment should be right above the original image.

If you’ve enjoyed the how to create a cyanotype effect tutorial, check out this article on how to create a blueprint effect in Affinity Photo.