Two popular effects in one guide: the portrait background blur is built from a Pen path plus Gaussian Blur, and the Douyin glitch look comes from channel offsets and a color overlay. Shortcuts and example images are included, so beginners can keep up — and both are well worth learning.
Tutorial 1: Portrait Background Blur
This produces the "blurred background + sharp subject" look for a person or object: draw a path with the Pen tool, then apply Gaussian Blur.
- Duplicate the layer
Select the original layer in the Layers panel and press Ctrl+J (⌘+J on Mac) to create "Layer 1". - Zoom in and trace the subject with the Pen tool
Press Ctrl++ to zoom in, which makes accurate work easier.
Select the Pen Tool (P) and click point by point along the outline of the person and the chair to build a closed path. - Turn the path into a selection and invert it to pick the background
In the "Paths" panel on the right, right-click the path and choose "Make Selection"
(or press Ctrl+Enter).
Press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection — the background is now selected. - Apply Gaussian Blur to the background
Menu Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur (Ctrl+F)
Set the radius to 20‑35 px (adjust to your image resolution) and confirm. - Fine-tune the path with the Path Selection tool
Press A to switch to the Path Selection Tool, then drag the anchor points to refine the outline so the subject's edges line up closely. - Finish and save
If you're happy with the result, save it with File > Export As > PNG/JPG/PSD. Ctrl+Shift+S opens the "Save As" dialog.
Tip: after step 3, feather the selection first with Ctrl+Alt+D (radius 10‑15 px) and then run Gaussian Blur — the transition comes out much more natural.
Tutorial 2: Douyin Glitch Art Effect (TikTok Glitch)
Desaturate the image, offset the RGB channels and paint a noise gradient mask to reproduce the "glitch art" look you see in Douyin videos.
- Desaturate
Open the image, then press Ctrl+Shift+U (⌘+Shift+U on Mac) to convert it to black and white. - Duplicate the layer (Layer 1)
Press Ctrl+J to duplicate the current layer as "Layer 1". - Remove the red channel
Double-click "Layer 1" to open the Layer Style panel.
In the list on the left, open "Channel Mixer" and clear the "Red" checkbox (remove the √), then confirm and close the panel. - Offset the layer
Select "Layer 1", activate the Move tool with V and press the → key to shift it 3‑5 px to the right, which produces red/blue fringed edges. - Merge everything into a stamped layer (Layer 2)
With both "Layer 1" and the original layer visible, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E to create "Layer 2" — a snapshot of all visible layers. - Add a mask to Layer 2
At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the "Add Vector Mask" icon to get a white mask. - Paint a noise gradient on the mask
With the new mask selected, switch to the "Gradient Tool" G (the 12th button in the toolbar).
In the options bar, open the gradient editor, create a new gradient and set it up as follows:
- Type: Noise
- Roughness: 100 %
- Color model: HSB
- Drop "Saturation" to its minimum (0) to get pure black-and-white noise bands
- For a random arrangement, click the "Randomize" button at the bottom right
- Move the mask to create the glitch offset
With the mask (the white square) still selected, switch back to the Move tool V, hold Shift and press → to shift it 2‑8 px to the right; irregular blocks of color will slide out of place — that's the glitch effect. - Fine-tune and export
For stronger color separation, nudge "Layer 1" horizontally again, or add a "Hue/Saturation" adjustment layer above "Layer 2".
When you're done, save the artwork with File > Export As > PNG/JPG.
Tip: after step 6, you can first use "Edit > Fill > Noise" on the mask to generate a pure noise layer, then change its blending mode to "Difference" or "Overlay" for a much punchier glitch texture.
References
- Online PS
- Adobe official documentation
- PS tutorial sites