Learn how to create five different styles of glitch effects in Photoshop using channels, using Smart Objects, using Blending Options, using Noise, and using Colored Layers. We’re going to cover so much coolness in this tutorial, you’re absolutely going to love it! If you’d like to download these glitches as a free action pack, hit the link to the written tutorial below and enter your email address in the download form and you’ll be able to download the action right away!
1. Channel Glitch
This is a very destructive, but very easy to create glitch. Open your image and go to the Channels Panel and choose your Red channel. Then go Filter>Distort>Wave and choose a Wave that is square and has only 1 Generator. Also, get rid of any vertical distortion offset by reducing the very last slider to zero. Play with the other sliders and use the “Randomize” button to see what kind of effect you can create. Check out the video at the 02:36 minute mark, or download the free glitch actions above to really dive into creating this glitch effect.
2. Smart Object Glitch
The beauty of this glitch effect is that once you have created it, you can simply replace the contents of one Smart Object to automatically change the glitch effect from one image to another. In this effect we will combine many color fill layers, Wave effects, layer groups, and Blend Modes to get a very cool glitch effect that you can quickly change to make it very subtle or very noticeable. Check out the video above at the 08:54 second mark to see how to make this OR download the free glitch action pack above!
3. Blend Mode Glitch
This is a great glitch effect because it’s so easy to create. We convert our image to a smart object and duplicate it 2x and then set one duplicate to display the red channel in the Blending Options and apply a Wave filter to it, and we set the other duplicate to display one or both of the remaining channels in Blending Options and apply a different Wave filter to this layer. Add a little blending, a Color Lookup Adjustment, and we’ve got a killer effect. Check out the video at the 16:15 mark or download the free glitch action pack above to dive into this one!
4. Noise Based Glitch
This is a very unique glitch effect and when it’s used on the right kind of image (you just know it when you see it,) it’s probably my favorite of these five glitch effects. We build a selection pattern from a Noise Gradient and modify the image only within those selections. It’s really cool and probably something you’ve never tried in Photoshop before. Check out the video above at the 21:44 mark or download the free action pack at the top of this post.
5. Colored Layer Glitch
This glitch effect breaks out three layers and colors them Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow and applies a Wave filter to each layer and uses Blend Modes to create a very cool, early 90’s, VHS style of washed out image. You’ve got to check out the tutorial above at the 30:57 mark or just download the free glitch action pack provided at the top of this post to check it out on your own images.
