50+ Best Photoshop Actions for Stunning Art Effects

The process of editing photos can be time-consuming, but with the power of Photoshop actions, you can effortlessly streamline your workflow and achieve stunning, professional-looking artistic results in no time.

Finding the best Photoshop actions may seem daunting, so we are here to help with our handpicked collection of art-inspired Photoshop actions that will take your photos to the next level. Whether you’re a graphic designer, illustrator, or photographer, these actions will infuse your work with visual interest and a touch of creative flair.

Our extensive selection of art Photoshop actions offers diverse effects to suit every style and taste. From the simplicity of pencil sketches and watercolors to the intricacies of modern and pop art, there’s something for everyone. These actions will breathe life into your photos, transforming them into captivating masterpieces that exude the charm and essence of traditional painting and drawing techniques.

With just a few clicks, you can turn your ordinary photos into mesmerizing oil paintings or evoke the nostalgic vibe of a vintage film. Unleash your creativity and achieve the artistic results you’ve always dreamed of!

What are Art Effects in Photography?

Art effects in photography refer to creative techniques that transform photos into unique and visually captivating works of art. These effects allow you to express their creativity and convey emotions, making their images stand out and engage viewers on a deeper level.

To achieve art effects, photographers often turn to Photoshop actions. They provide a wide range of artistic possibilities, from turning a photo into a stunning watercolor painting to giving it the appearance of an oil canvas. They enable photographers to control various elements such as color, texture, and style, allowing them to create diverse art-inspired effects.

Whether you want to give your photos a painterly touch, a vintage look, or a surreal atmosphere, art effects Photoshop actions can help you achieve your desired artistic vision.

By using them carefully, you can transform your photographs into captivating pieces of art that showcase your skills and leave a lasting impression on your audience. It’s a powerful way to explore the limitless possibilities of photography as an art form.

The Top Art Effect Actions for Creatives

Cartoon Paint Photoshop Action

A cartoon action like this transforms everyday photos into fantastic artwork. It lends a stylish aesthetic to your favorite shots. When you work with 2000-4000px dimension photos, this action serves up maximum style. It’s quick and easy to use, and no artistic talent is required!

Pencil Sketch Art Photoshop Action

Pencil sketches are a creative way to illustrate. And with this Photoshop action set, you can bring a sketching style to your photos in a flash. This set also includes brushes and patterns for added extra effects.

GlowArt Photoshop Action

Are you searching for a funky modern feel in your photography? GlowArt is the Photoshop action for you. In a single click, it adds flashy designs to any photo. Make adjustments when you use the action to dial in the perfect settings. When you do, you’ll enjoy impressive results each time.

Vintage Art Photoshop Action

Vintage effects add a timeless element to your favorite photos. They never go out of style and work well with portraits and landscapes. By clicking to apply the action, you will see your photos transform before your eyes.

Photo Art Gaming Photoshop Action

These Photoshop actions will style your images to look like video game covers. They’re especially useful if you’re a gamer sharing your work on social media. As well as actions, inside the pack, you’ll also find pattern sets.

Creative Art Photoshop Action

For an abstract effect, the Creative Art Photoshop action is tough to beat. It is well-suited for action and sports photos. With a few clicks, you’ll create stunning effects that almost seem as if they are in motion.

Vintage Effect Photoshop Action

Here is another Photoshop action with vintage styling. You’ll see photos convert to a faded, sepia tone, and it adds retro hues to every image you edit.

Movie Poster Art Photoshop Action

Movie posters have a unique style all of their own. Now, you can bring that style to your favorite photos, courtesy of these Photoshop actions. Prepare to see colors pop and contrasts enhance when you apply these effects.

Cyborg Photoshop Action

Cyborg is a sci-fi effect for portrait photos. With two actions included, you can choose your preferred character design. Plus, the pack includes Photoshop brushes and varied color options.

Halloween Photoshop Action

Are you searching for spooky effects for your favorite Halloween photos? This is a purpose-built action pack for scary photos. As you edit, choose from the resolution options. This one adopts HDR effects that boost colors and contrast, and you can apply it with just a single click.

Sport Poster Effect Photoshop Action

Designed for sports posters, these actions add a starry red backdrop. It’s perfect for use in posters, marketing materials, and much more, and it works best for photo subjects that are in motion. The modern styling here applies instantly, and you’ll notice the geometric styles drop into place. It’s a futuristic design for all of your sports photos.

Art Work Photoshop Action

Art Work helps the subjects of images stand out. With this pack, you’ll see backgrounds disappear, replaced with an abstract 3D concrete layout.

Posterize Effect Photoshop Action

Try your hand at building sleek poster designs with this Photoshop action pack. Any portrait photo can become a stunning, eye-catching poster with a single click.

Grunge Portrait Photoshop Action

Grunge portraits are black-and-white designs that seem hand-drawn. But you don’t need to be an artist to create them. The Grunge Portrait Photoshop action does the work for you. Brush and action files are both included in the download pack. Once again, you’ll see the most significant benefits from this action when you use a portrait-style photo.

Old Newspaper Photoshop Action

Old newspapers have an unmistakable look and feel. Whether it’s the typesetting or the slightly blurry photos, they’re impossible to miss. And with this PS action pack, you can bring this aesthetic to your photos. For maximum impact, wider photos are recommended here.

Watercolor Photoshop Action

Watercolor artwork is a popular style, especially for landscape photos. With these actions, you can apply watercolor styling to any photo with a single click. Though designed for portraits, you can use these actions for any type of photo. You’ll see a heavy focus on red and pink hues in the finished edits.

Plastic Wrapped Overlay Photoshop Action

The Plastic Wrapped Overlay Photoshop action pack is ideal for portrait subjects with a neutral yet stylish backdrop. This one focuses on color contrasts. With a single click, you can apply a solid 3D background to the portrait photo of your choice. It’s a top option for crafting eye-catching portrait artwork from everyday snapshots.

Crack Stone Photoshop Action

These actions help you add a cracked stone effect to images. They work with portraits and landscapes alike. It’s not a style you’ll likely use every day, but it’s valuable to include in your editing toolbox. Multiple files are included, with documentation available. Single-click editing makes the process a breeze from start to finish.

Mirror Effect Photoshop Action

Mirror effects are powerful edits that work well with many types of photos. With these actions, you’ll see mirrored rings around your portrait subjects. It’s a sure way to help your photos get a second look from casual viewers.

Engraved Money Photoshop Action

Think of the portraits you’ve seen on printed money. Remember the iconic green stripes and portrait effects? Add them to your photos with these custom actions. Try these for fun designs for posters, blog posts, social media, and more.

Aquarelle Photoshop Action

Aquarelle is an artistic option for adding watercolor and abstract effects to images. With the color presets, you can easily tailor a photo’s palette to fit your style.

Sketch Painting Photoshop Action

Sketch paintings are a great way to be creative. Apply their aesthetic to the photos of your choice, just by using this Photoshop action pack. These work with just a single click, and are well-suited to editors of all skill levels. You can create spectacular artwork in moments.

Pixel Sorting Photoshop Action

Pixel effects give the illusion of motion in still images. Add them to your top shots with the Pixel Sorting Photoshop action pack. This effect stands out best when you’re sharing an action photo. But it will also serve up cool effects for still objects like buildings, too.

Fake Blueprint Photoshop Action

Have you ever wanted to create blueprint designs for your image collection? It’s a terrific way to create modern art, geometric designs, and much more. Now you can, with these Photoshop actions. Blueprint images are artsy and add a dose of contemporary cool to a wall or workspace. Create your own today with these actions.

Code Art Photoshop Actions

Code Art is an excellent choice for adding cool art effects to your photographs. It works with both portraits and full-body photos, and it contains ten different color effects. Apply the action, and your image file will be layered and organized accordingly. This one’s a real time-saver.

Pencil Art Photoshop Actions

This action helps to imitate the look of a pencil drawing in your photographs. It’s easy to use and can be applied with just a few clicks. Once the action has generated the graphical elements, you can adjust them to suit your needs. It is non-destructive and includes six paper textures, eight color corrections, 28 brushes, and 14 patterns.

Mixed Art Photoshop Action

Another great option is the Mixed Art action. This Photoshop action can be applied with just one click, resulting in a look that mimics a watercolor painting. While pros can use this action, beginners can also use it, right out of the box.

Retro Art Photoshop Action

If you want to add a retro look to your photos, you’ll want to check out the Retro Art Photoshop action kit. It adds an exciting artistic effect to your photos.

Chroma Art Photoshop Action

The Chroma Art Photoshop Action makes it easy to transform your photos into pieces of art that look like mixed-media artwork. It also comes with ten color presets that can be applied with a single click.

Drawing Art Animation Photoshop Action

The Drawing Art Animation Photoshop Action adds a cool effect to your photographs. Not only is it a time-saver, but it also makes it straightforward to add the look of a hand-drawn piece of art to your images.

Grunge Art Photoshop Action

This Grunge Art Photoshop action adds a dark and gritty look to your photographs. With a few clicks, you can give a real moody look to your images with minimal effort. While this action works predictably, the results can be different each time to create a truly unique effect.

Piratum Map Art Photoshop Action

The Piratum Map Art Photoshop action offers a pretty novel effect. When applied to your photos, it turns the image into a vintage-looking graphic like that of a hand-drawn map. The result is an old-style image with tons of tiny details.

Sketch Art Photoshop Action

The Sketch Art Photoshop Action turns your photo into a realistic-looking painting that still has the underlying sketch visible. It automatically creates all the requisite layers, which can be adjusted manually. Additionally, this action comes with ten brushes, five textures, and a quick start guide.

Spray Paint Photoshop Action

The Spray Paint Photoshop action is a set of 10 different effects you can apply to your photos immediately. Each effect creates the look of spray paint art. It can be applied to logos, text, and portraits. The result mimics street art, and it’s super impactful.

Pixel Art Photoshop Action

The Pixel Art Photoshop Action is another fantastic choice for your creative projects. It adds a retro, pixelated look to any image you apply it to. With just a few clicks, you can take your images from boring to works of art.

The result is a photo that looks like it came from the 80s or 90s. Once applied, you can adjust individual layers and gradient masks to further refine the look.

Blood Art Photoshop Action

The Blood Art Photoshop Action turns any photo you select into a moody and distinct artwork. Once applied, it adds a sort of cloudy blood effect. It comes with ten color effects.

Pixel Art Photoshop Actions

Another option is the Pixel Art Photoshop Action. This action turns your photo into a retro-looking image that looks like it came from a vintage video game. It comes with 21 actions, 32 tones, various color palettes, and more.

Ink Art Photoshop Action

The Ink Art Photoshop Action turns your photos into something that looks like it’s been hand-drawn. The result mimics Sumi-e-styled ink wash artwork. After you apply the effect, you can tweak various settings to customize the outcome.

Street Art Photoshop Action

You might also want to consider the Street Art Photoshop Action. As its name would suggest, this action transforms your images into pieces that look like street art. It works best with portraits and inanimate objects, and the result makes it appear as though a graffiti artist has drawn parts of the photo.

Modern Art Photoshop Action

Another option is the Modern Art 3 Photoshop Action. This action combines the look of real photography with watercolor and acrylic paint effects, which can create a truly unique look. To use it, all you need to do is fill the subject of your photo with a color and then click play on the action. That’s it!

Mix Art Photoshop Action

As its name would suggest, the Mix Art Photoshop Action makes it easy to turn your ordinary photos into pieces of mixed media art. It comes with ten color presets, is easy to use, and allows for customization once applied.

Newspaper Art Photoshop Action

Give your images the appearance of newspaper print with the Newspaper Art Photoshop Action. It will turn your image into an abstract piece of art by adding letters and tidbits of newspaper graphics into geometric patterns that make up the subject of your photo.

Digital Art Photoshop Action

What an excellent effect this action creates! The Digital Art Photoshop Action turns your photographs into images that look as though they’ve been hand-painted. The result is highly realistic, with all the textures expected from an oil or acrylic painting. It works best on portraits and inanimate objects and can be customized to suit your needs.

Oil Paint Animation Photoshop Action

Instead of fiddling with settings endlessly, you can take full advantage of the Oil Paint Animation Photoshop action set to give your photographs the appearance of being manually painted.

Vintage Art Photoshop Action

Still another option you might wish to consider is the Vintage Art Action. This set combines splashes, brushes, and colors to create a vintage look. It’s easy to apply and creates a professional look with minimal effort.

Street Art Photoshop Action

Here’s another action that brings the look of street art to your photographs. It comes with 11 graffiti tags, five wall styles, and ten color effects to achieve many different looks.

Concept Mix Art Photoshop Action

The Concept Mix Art Photoshop Action would be an excellent addition to your collection. It turns your photos into mixed media pieces with the look of watercolor splashes and pen marks. Use it on portraits, figures, and inanimate objects.

Fine Art Mobile Photoshop Action (and Lightroom Presets)

The Fine Art Mobile Photoshop Action comes with 11 different presets, making it easy to give your photos a modern look.

Watercolor Splash Art Photoshop Action

Last in our collection is the Watercolor Splash Art Photoshop Action. This set gives your photo the appearance of being created using watercolors and plenty of splatter effects. Use it on any image you’d like, and feel free to customize the final layers the action creates to suit your fancy.

How to Install Photoshop Actions

1. Download and unzip the action file.
2. Launch Photoshop.
3. Go to Window > Actions.
4. Select Load Actions from the menu and go to the folder where you saved the unzipped action file to select it
5. The Action will now be installed.
6. To use the newly installed action, locate it in the Action panel.
7. Click the triangle to the left of the action name to see the list of available actions.
8. Click the action you want to play and press the play button at the bottom of the Actions panel.

Conclusion

There you have it! Our complete collection of art Photoshop actions. Each action set offers something a little bit different, so it’s well worth the effort to check them all out.

What you’ll likely find is that they can be used in different circumstances. So feel free to experiment and play around. These actions are non-destructive, so your original images will always stay intact. Enjoy!

---