Summary: Make your photo look like it's been folded and unfolded like a map by learning how to create simple folds and creases.

Written by Steve Patterson
Exclusively for Photoshop Essentials.com.

Part of our complete collection of Photo Effects tutorials.

In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we'll learn how to add folds and creases to a photo as if it had been folded and unfolded like a map!

We'll use guides and selections to create the folded sections of the image, some gradients, a layer blend mode and one of Photoshop's filters to add highlights and shadows, and we'll give the fold lines a worn out look to them using a custom brush!

Here's the image I'll be using for this tutorial:

And here's what the final result will look like:

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Let's get started!

Step 1: Add A New Blank Layer

Let's begin by adding a new blank layer to our document. Click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Nothing will happen in the document window because our new layer is blank, but if we look in the Layers panel, we see the new layer, which Photoshop has named "Layer 1", sitting above the original image on the Background layer:

Step 2: Turn On The Rulers

We're going to drag out some horizontal and vertical guides to help us out, and to do that, we first need to have Photoshop's rulers turned on. Go up to the View menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choose Rulers. Or, press Ctrl+R (Win) / Command+R (Mac) on your keyboard to turn the rulers on with the shortcut:

The rulers will appear along the top and left of the document window:

Step 3: Drag Out Two Vertical Guides

Click anywhere inside the ruler on the left, then with your mouse button still held down, begin dragging towards the right. You'll see a vertical guide emerge from the ruler. Drag the guide to roughly a third of the way across the image, then release your mouse button to place the guide. Don't worry about getting the placement exactly right. As long as it's close to being one third of the way across, you're good:

Click again inside the ruler on the left and, again with your mouse button still held down, drag out a second vertical guide, placing this one roughly two thirds of the way across the image:

Finally, click anywhere inside the ruler along the top and, with your mouse button still held down, drag out a horizontal guide, placing this one in the middle of the image. When you're done, you should have two vertical guides and one horizontal guide dividing the image into six roughly equal sections:

Step 4: Select The Rectangular Marquee Tool

Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools panel, or press the letter M on your keyboard to quickly grab it with the shortcut:

Step 5: Drag A Selection Outline Around The First Section

With the Rectangular Marquee Tool selected, drag out a selection outline around the first section (the one in the top left of the image):

Step 6: Select The Gradient Tool

Select the Gradient Tool from the Tools panel, or press the letter G on your keyboard to select it with the shortcut (the keyboard shortcuts for the Rectangular Marquee Tool and the Gradient Tool will come in handy in a moment):

Step 7: Select The Black, White Gradient

With the Gradient Tool selected, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document window to quickly open Photoshop's Gradient Picker, then select the Black, White gradient by double-clicking on its thumbnail (third thumbnail from the left, top row). Double-clicking on the thumbnail will select the gradient and close you out of the Gradient Picker:

Step 8: Draw A Black To White Gradient Across The Selection

With the Gradient Tool in hand and the Black, White gradient chosen from the Gradient Picker, click and drag out a black to white gradient inside the selection. I'm going to drag mine diagonally from the bottom left corner to the top right corner:

Step 9: Draw A Selection Outline Around The Next Section

Switch back to the Rectangular Marquee Tool by pressing the letter M on your keyboard, then drag out a selection around the next section (the one in the top center):

Step 10: Draw A Black To White Gradient Across The Selection In A Different Direction

Press the letter G on your keyboard to quickly switch to the Gradient Tool, then click and drag out a black to white gradient inside this second selection. Make sure you draw this one in a different direction, though, so both gradients look different. This will add variety to our lighting effect, as we'll see shortly:

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