Filter FX: Texturizing & Artistic Effects

Photoshop Elements has a staggering range of filter effects, so many it's often hard to know where to start or stop. Some filters are quite obscure and seemingly hard to use—possibly because they are legacy features from years ago. You'll also discover that while some, like the Mosaic Tiles filter (demonstrated below) get a bit lost in all the picture detail, others work quite dramatically. To make the most of these filters here's some working advice:

• Consider the end product. Some filters look good onscreen, but once printed the effect might be lost. One solution is to increase/decrease the filter intensity and test again.
• Intense filter effects can flatten the contrast. After applying, try using Brightness and Contrast or Levels (Ctrl/Cmd + L) to inject contrast back to the image.
• Sometimes it's more effective to increase both the contrast and color saturation before adding...