How to Create VHS Glitch Art in Adobe Photoshop

Do you like that grunge, glitched look on old VHS tapes? There are different ways to add such effects to your images and even create an animation from a static photo using an Animated VHS Creation Kit.

How to Create VHS Glitch Art in Adobe Photoshop

This tutorial will show you how to convert your image to a VHS frame in simple steps using only standard Photoshop tools.

Tutorial Assets

• Any photo you want to use for this manipulation.
  You can find some free photos on UnsplashandPixabayor buy high-quality photos on PhotoDune. I chose
  this photo from
  Pixabay.
• Free font: VCR-OSD-Mono font.

1. Prepare the Document

Step 1

Use Control-Nto create a new document and use thefollowing settings:1500 x 1000 px; 300 dpi.

Step 2

Go to File>Place and put your image inside the document.

Step 3

Resize your image to the borders of the document and click Enter.

Step 4

Click Tand create a new text layer in the top right corner.

Step 5

Click U and select Polygon Tool,and create a triangle shape. Then place it as shown in the image below:

Step 6

Select your layers by holding Shiftand then Right Click>Merge Layers.

Step 7

NowRight Click on the layer and thenConvert to Smart Object.

Step 8

Create four duplicates of your smart object using Right Click>Duplicate.

2. Create the Effects

Step 1

Make all layers except the first two invisible, and then Double Click on the second layer andUncheck the Green and Blue channels.

Step 2

Click V and Move your second layer,holding Shift, 30 px to the right.

Step 3

Make the third layer visibleand Uncheck the Red and Green channels the same way as listed above. Then move it, holding Shift,20 px to the left.

Step 4

Make the fourth layer visible, and go to Layer> New Adjustments Layer>Hue/Saturation.

Step 5

Double Click on the adjustments layer and change the Saturation setting to +100.

As you can see, the saturation effect is applied on the entire image, but we need to crop it to only a few areas.

Step 6

Right Click on the “Hue/Saturation” layer and selectClipping Mask, so this effect will be applied only on the necessary layer.

Step 7

Now Add Mask to the fourth layer.

Step 8

Alt-Left Clickto open the mask layer. Fill it with black.

Step 9

Click M and select the areas on the mask where you want to reveal the effect, and Fill it with white.

Now the saturation effect is applied only on a few areas:

Step 10

Add aMask to the fifth layerand Fill it with black. Then create a big white areaa littleabove the center.

Step 11

Move this layer600 px down, whileholdingShift.

Step 12

Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur and use the following settings: Angle: 15°; Distance: 15.

Step 13

Let’s add some more distortion to the image. Go toFilter>Distortion>Twirland use the following settings: Angle:50°.

Step 14

Right Click ontheHue/Saturation layer and selectDuplicate. Thenput it above the fifth layerand Create A Clipping Mask.

This is how our image will look after all the manipulations listed above:

3. Create the VHS Textures

Step 1

Create a new layer using Shift-Control-N, and Fill it with white.

Step 2

Go to Filter>Filter Gallery> Sketchand select Halftone Pattern. Use thefollowing settings: Size: 2; Contrast: 2.

Step 3

Double Сlick on the layer and set the following settings: Blending Mode: Overlay; Opacity: 25%.UnchecktheRed and Blue channels.

Step 4

Duplicate the texture layer and then use Control-Twhileholding Shift torotate it90° and resize to the borders.

Step 5

Double Clickon the layer and set the following settings: Blending Mode: Normal; Opacity: 15%.UnchecktheGreen and Blue color channels.

Step 6

Click U and select Rectangle Tool. Then create a shape with the following settings: Width: 1800 px; Height: 120.

Step 7

Right Click on the rectangle layer and select Rasterize Layer.

Step 8

Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise and use the following settings: Amount: 400%; Distribution: Uniform; Monochromatic.

Step 9

Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur and use the following settings: Angle: 0°; Distance: 20 px.

Step 10

Go to Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast and use the following settings: Brightness: 150; Contrast: 100.

Step 11

Use Control-Ion the rectangle layer to invert the colors of the noise texture, and then change theBlending Mode to Color Dodge.

Step 12

Duplicateyour noise stripe layer a few times and move it, holding Shift, to different places.

Step 13

Create a new layer usingShift-Control-N, andFillitwith black.

Step 14

Go toFilter> Noise>Add Noiseand use thefollowing settings: Amount: 400%; Distribution: Uniform; Monochromatic.

Step 15

Now add thePatchwork effect usingFilter>Filter Gallery>Patchwork and use thefollowing settings: Square Size: 0; Relief: 0.

Step 16

Go toImage>Adjustments, select Threshold, and set it to 240.

Step 17

Double Clickon the layer and use the following settings: Blending Mode: Screen; Opacity: 100%.UnchecktheRed and Blue channels.

Step 18

Now you will need to Duplicate thelayer,Check the Red and Blue channels,andUncheck the Green channel.

Step 19

Move this new layer, holding Shift,60 px to the right.

Step 20

Create a new layer usingShift-Control-N andFillit with black. Changethe Fill optionto 0%.

Step 21

Double Click on the layer and selectthe Stroke parameter. Use the following settings: Size: 25 px; Position:Inside; Color: Black.

Step 22

Now you need to rasterize the layer style:Right Click> Rasterize LayerStyle.

Step 23

Go to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blur and use the following settings: Radius: 4px.

Step 24

Resize your frame to fill the canvas using Control-Tand holding Shift.

4.Color Corrections

Step 1

Now you will need to create color correction layers to make our image look more “VHS”. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves.

Step 2

Duplicate your curves layer and put it above the first layer.

Step 3

Double click on the first curves layer icon and use the following settings:

Step 4

Now Double Click on the curves layer and change theOpacity of the curves to 35%.

Step 5

Double click on the second curves layer and select the standard Photoshop preset “StrongContrast”.

Awesome Work, You’re Now Done!

In this simple way, we can create VHS-style glitch artworks from any photo using only standard Photoshop tools.

You can alsocheck the animationcreated with theAnimated VHS Creation Kitfrom the same picture.