How to Create Dust in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create dust in Affinity Photo. By adding dust to images, you create a feel of atmosphere to your images. This effect works best with indoor images or backlit images.

Before you learn how to create dust, go to the following link to download the image used in the tutorial.

Warehouse

Step 1

Go to File > New. Next, set the Document Units to Pixels. Then, set the Page Width and the Page Height to 1000 px. Set the DPI (Dots Per Inches) to 72 px and click Create.

Step 2

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

Step 3

Now, grab the Paint Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Go to the Brushes Panel and click the Basic Brushes. Next, select the 64 px Round Light Brush.

Step 4

In the Context Toolbar, set the Opacity to 100%, Flow to 50%, and Hardness to 0%.

Step 5

Take the brush and make a few random dots on the document.

Step 6

After that, go to File > Export. Select PNG. Then, click Export. Label the file Dust Brush and save it.

Step 7

Go to File > Open and select the image you downloaded. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the image and turn the original image off.

Step 8

With the duplicated layer selected, go to the Toolbar and select Auto White Balance.

Step 9

In the Layers Panel, click the Adjustments icon and select the Recolor adjustment. Set the Hue to 195 degrees, the Saturation to 41 percent, and the Lightness to -20 percent. Then, lower the Opacity to 50%, and set the Blend Mode to Soft Light.

Step 10

Go to the Brushes Panel. Click the hamburger menu. Next, click the hamburger menu again and select Rename Category. Name the brush Dust Brush. Now, click the menu once again and select the New Intensity Brush. Then, select the PNG file we saved earlier.

Step 11

Grab the Paint Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Go to the Brushes Panel and select the dust brush. In the Context Toolbar, click More. Now, go to the General tab. The Accumulation, Flow, and Shape should be set to 100%. The Hardness should be 80%, and the Spacing should be 15%.

Step 12

Now, go to the Dynamics tab. Set the Size Jitter to 100%. Set the Controller of this to Random.

Step 13

Next, increase the Rotation Jitter to 100%. Leave the Controller of this as it is.

Step 14

After that, set the Scatter X and Scatter Y to 50%. Leave its Controller as it is too.

Step 15

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

Step 16

Go to the Swatches Panel and double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. The hex code that I used is #A39696. Alternatively, you can sample a color from the image. The hex code for one of the sampled colors is #66746A.

Step 17

After selecting the dust color, make sure the new layer we added is selected. Then, take the brush and start adding the dust. Start by placing dust below the lights and work your way to the floor adding dust. Make the dust that’s by the light smaller. Then, as you add dust towards the floor, make the dust slightly larger. To decrease the brush size, press the left bracket key, and press the right bracket key to increase the brush size.

Step 18

In the Layers Panel, select the dust layer. Then, click the Live Filters icon and select Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to .5 px. Make sure this layer is nested inside the dust layer.

Step 19

Select the background layer in the Layers Panel. Then, grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar. Set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box.

Step 20

Now, take the brush and select the two lights. Then, click the Adjustments icon in the Layers Panel and select the Curves adjustment. Place a point in the middle of the curve and drag it up to brighten the lights.

Step 21

Grab the Selection Brush Tool again and make sure the background layer is selected in the Layers Panel. Take the brush select the area below the window. Spread the selection (as you see on screen) until you reach the area underneath the light that’s in the foreground.

Step 22

After that, go to the Layers Panel and click the Adjustments icon. Select the Curves adjustment. Place a point in the middle of the curve and drag it slightly up.

Step 23

With this layer still selected, go to the Filters menu. Then, go to Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 50 px.

Congratulations, you’ve completed the tutorial! You now know how to create dust in Affinity Photo, and you created your own dust brush. For more, Affinity Photo tutorials, check out this tutorial on how to create a lightning effect.