Paper Textures: Best Images and Resources

Lots of designers—and even photographers—like to layer paper textures over their work to add dimension or use a paper background to create a handmade look. 

Read on to learn more about where to find free textures and how to start using them creatively.

Where to Find Paper Texture Files

Check out the sites below for hundreds of free textures and paper backgrounds. Search for the specific texture you’re looking for to narrow things down, such as:

• Old paper texture or vintage paper texture
• Crumpled paper texture or wrinkled paper texture 
• Watercolor paper texture
• Folded paper texture
• Ripped paper texture

1. Behance

2. Pixelbuddha

3. Deeezy

4. GraphicBurger

5. Pexels

6. Pixabay

How to Add Paper Texture in Photoshop or Illustrator

If you’re wondering how to make paper texture in Photoshop or Illustrator, there’s really no need. Better to use one of the many free textures that exist, and follow the steps below to add it to your work!

1. Find (or Create) Your Texture

If you can’t find the exact texture you’re looking for, try making your own handmade textures and scanning them into your computer. You can also snap photos of paper textures you find. 

2. Import Your Paper Texture

Bringing the paper texture into the design you’re working on is usually as easy as copying and pasting, though you may need to change the file type depending on the program. Some paper textures you can leave as-is—others you may want to change to grayscale and increase the contrast to get the look you want. 

3. Play With the Settings to Achieve the Desired Effect

Some of the most common settings you’ll want to tinker with are where your texture sits in the layers of your design, the blending mode you’re using, and clipping masks to limit your texture to a certain area of your image. Learn more in this step-by-step guide on how to add textures to Photoshop illustrations!

Add Texture to Your Designs!

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