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Ideas3 min readUpdated 1 October 2026

Creative filters for Photoshop: 12 looks to try.

Twelve looks designers keep reaching for in posters, covers, flyers and social posts, with the filter and preset behind each one.

Acid Blur Effect

Op Art Background

Chromatic Aberration Effect

Each look below is one filter and a preset, sometimes with a second filter stacked on top. Click through for eight more examples of each.

1. Riso poster

Halftone effect on a portrait of a man with spiky red hair on a blue background, made with the Dual Halftone filter in Filter Archive (Two Colour preset) — Dual Halftone, Two Colour preset. See halftone effect examples

Two inks, a line screen and a dot screen: the look of a risograph print. Start from Dual Halftone's Two Colour preset and swap the Shadow Ink and Highlight Ink for your own pair. Halftone effect →

2. Zine cover

Photocopy effect on a portrait of a woman with black hair, hands on her head, made with the Receipt filter in Filter Archive (Sixth preset) — Receipt, Sixth generation. See photocopy effect examples

A photo copied six times over, so the midtones collapse and the paper fogs. Receipt's Sixth preset gets you there; raise Generations for something rougher. Photocopy effect →

3. Retro game sprite

Dither effect on a portrait of a woman in a red jacket on a blue background, made with the Bitmap filter in Filter Archive (Handheld preset) — Bitmap, Handheld preset. See dither effect examples

Four greens and a coarse pixel grid. Bitmap's Handheld preset does it in one click; Scale sets how chunky the pixels are. Dither effect →

4. Heat-map flyer

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman with copper red hair, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (True Heatmap preset) — Thermal, True Heatmap preset. See thermal camera effect examples

A thermal camera palette that follows the body, not just its brightness. Great for club and rave flyers. Try True Heatmap or Ironbow. Thermal camera effect →

5. Phosphor screen

CRT effect on a portrait of a man with spiky red hair on a blue background, made with the CRT filter in Filter Archive (Blown Phosphor preset) — CRT, Blown Phosphor preset. See CRT effect examples

The picture rebuilt from phosphor dots on a glowing tube. Blown Phosphor pushes it into a single-colour glow; Consumer TV keeps it closer to the photo. CRT effect →

6. VHS still

VHS effect on a portrait of a woman with red hair in a studded beanie, made with the VHS Tape filter in Filter Archive (Tracking Lost preset) — VHS Tape, Tracking Lost preset. See VHS effect examples

Smeared colour, ringing edges and a tracking band rolling through. Tracking Lost is the dramatic one; SP Transfer is a clean copy. VHS effect →

7. Glitch cover art

Datamosh effect on a portrait of a man with spiky red hair on a blue background, made with the Datamosh filter in Filter Archive (Smear preset) — Datamosh, Smear preset. See datamosh effect examples

Datamoshing on a still: blocks dragged along motion that was never there. Smear and Melt are the strongest presets. Datamosh effect →

8. RGB split portrait

The colour channels pulled apart for a fashion or editorial feel. Hard Split is graphic; the Lens kind is the subtle fringe of a real lens. Chromatic aberration effect →

9. Manga panel

Ink drawing effect on a portrait of a person with goggles looking up, made with the Edge Ink filter in Filter Archive (Blueprint preset) — Edge Ink, Blueprint preset. See ink drawing effect examples

Turn the photo into inked lines and hatching with Edge Ink, then stack it over a speed lines background from Burst for an impact frame. Ink drawing effect →

10. Topographic portrait

Contour line effect on a portrait of a laughing woman with pink curly hair, made with the Contour Field filter in Filter Archive (Sonar preset) — Contour Field, Sonar preset. See contour line effect examples

Map-style contour rings wrapping the face. Contours sets how many lines; Smoothing keeps them from chasing skin texture. Contour line effect →

11. Y2K glow

The subject melted into a spectral glow with a print screen over it. Pair it with Star Filter on a separate image for sparkle. Acid blur effect →

12. Op-art backdrop

Op art stripes and rings that seem to move, generated from nothing. Two flat colours, so it prints clean at any size. Op art background →

Make your own looks

Most of the looks above get better with a second filter. Stack them in the Filter Archive panel, reorder until it clicks, then save the stack so the next image takes one click. See all 35 effects or the ranked list of the best Photoshop filters.

Questions, answered.

What are creative filters in Photoshop?

Filters that change the look of an image rather than correct it: halftone, dither, CRT, VHS, glitch and drawing effects. Photoshop has some built in, in the Filter menu and Filter Gallery; plugins like Filter Archive add many more.

Can I make these looks without a plugin?

A few, roughly. Color Halftone and Bitmap mode give basic halftone and dither. Looks like CRT, VHS, thermal and datamosh need a plugin or a lot of manual work.

Do these filters work in Affinity and Figma too?

Yes. Filter Archive runs in Photoshop, Affinity and Figma, and one licence covers all three.

Keep reading.

All 35 effects

ListBest Photoshop Filter Plugins35 filters for Photoshop that do what the built-in ones can't: print, screen, glitch and drawing looks, plus nine…GuidePhotoshop Effects PluginSome effects are one click in Photoshop. Others, like a real phosphor mask or a datamosh, are hours of manual work.…GuidePhotoshop Filter Gallery AlternativeThe Filter Gallery is still in Photoshop, but its effects are the painterly classics, and they don't run on 16-bit…

Filter Archive

35 filters, one plugin.

Halftone, dither, CRT, VHS, thermal, ASCII and 29 more, with a live preview and 166 presets. Photoshop 2024 or newer on Mac and Windows, plus Affinity and Figma on the same licence.

Get Filter Archive Browse all 35 effects The best Photoshop filters