grunge effect on text, background, or edges of images

How, in short, would I do this?

I know that I can make a brush or use an existing one but how should I get this effect over text or a whole backgrond or the edges of an image?

tom

The easiest way - make your image layer above a background color and use the grunge brush as an eraser.

another way (opositie) - create a color layer above the image and use the brush as an eraser on that.

yet another way - use the brush on its own layer above the image and draw, scribble, scrape, spit, step-on, smash the colors on using grunge brushes.

This style is well used and doesnt really have any particular method. Kind of like messing up your hair with glue-like gel. Add gel, then mess. Its quite simple. =)

To do it to text - rasterize it first - when you sure the text is as it should be...

Right on - but what if you're not using brushes. I was using a tutorial to get an overall background grunge effect(clouds, noise, emboss, select highlights, fill with black) ...is there any way to use this on the edges of pictures or text?

tom

Just use brushes... not everything can be done with filters.
A little work never killed someone... and in the end it will look much better and you have more control over the result too.

Just get used to it.

yeah, with NL (again)..

even though grunge is mostly 'random' dirt it still needs as much work as anything else if it should look good..

if you dont have the patience, then wait with grunge untill you get the idea for a 'piece' that means something.. then you wont mind putting a little effort in it..

good luck, now go post some grunge!!