How do I achieve this effect in photoshop

[emily20044]

Basically I have this picture of a cardboard box, however I want to make it look like it is wet. This is for school homework and I'm not sure how do I go about achieving this effect.

The first photo is the photo of the cardboard box I want to make look wet/soaked in water.

The second photo is what I want the 1st photo to look like.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rich54]

What is your skill level in Photoshop? I did many things—a lot of trial and error—and was able to get this.
If this close enough to the effect you're after, I can tell you what I did... if I can figure out myself what I did.

 

[emily20044]

What is your skill level in Photoshop? I did many things—a lot of trial and error—and was able to get this.
If this close enough to the effect you're after, I can tell you what I did... if I can figure out myself what I did.

View attachment 137745

Im pretty new to it. Although if you could step me through it that would be amazing

 

[IamSam]

Well................this would be a challenging effect to create from scratch requiring multiple steps. Maybe for a more advanced user.

The simplest way would be to just place the watered cardboard image/layer over the dry cardboard image/layer, and set it's blend mode to "Darken".
It's not an exact texture match, but it's close enough.

 

[Rich54]

Im pretty new to it. Although if you could step me through it that would be amazing

The sample image that you provided contains white highlights from the reflections of the wettest areas. I've been struggling for years to realistically draw "wetness" containing these kinds of specular highlights, with mixed results. Sometimes I get it right, but then I can't repeat it on other images. Very frustrating, and it requires Photoshop techniques that are probably too advanced for you at the moment.

Instead, here's a much simpler way to get an effect similar to this wet box:

• Select a normal round brush
• Set the Hardness to about 50%. Set the Flow to about 20%. Set the brush color to be the same as the dry part of the cardboard box.
• Open a new layer and set the layer blend mode to Multiply. This blend mode will darken whatever you draw on it, while allowing the underlying texture of the cardboard to show through.
• Paint some splotches on a dry portion of the box. The Flow setting of 20% allows you to gradually build-up the darkness as you repeatedly brush over the same area. The idea is to make some areas darker than others to simulate varying degrees of wetness.
• Something like this: