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the basics of a contrasty and coolish coloring
Hi, my name is Blue and everything I drank today had caffeine in it.
in other words, I'm hyper.
also I found it very amusing that after I posted my last tutorial on the basics of Vibrant Coloring suddenly a lot of tutorials popped out of nowhere showing how to achieve the same effects with only very slight changings of the techniques I've showed.
heee. no, honestly, it was amusing. I'm not bitter or offended. I'm all for the knowledge sharing, so I guess the more tuts that show the same, the better, eh? *g*
and I left some icon comms that I don't like how they are handled by the mods a long time ago anyway, now I should only stop to check them out from time to time out of curiosity. heee.
so here are some "new" techniques that are a bit underused even though they are powerful. here are only the basics, you'll see that they can do a lot for you when playing around with them :)
||
We're starting with this cap that I got from Screencap-Paradise
Step 01: the standards
Filter - Sharpen - Sharpen the cap
duplicate the background layer, set it on Blending Mode Screen
if it is very dark, repeat the last step, if it gets too light, lower the opacity
Step 02: the nifty contrast trick
Duplicate the top layer again, set it on Blending Mode Softlight with an opacity of 100%
Use Filter - Other - High Pass at full strength (250)
Step 03: the other way to intensifying...
we're using my beloved Curves as an Adjustment Layer, don't go for the S-shape this time, but for a hmm, logarithmlike curve (in lack of a better description, heee, my English sucks...)
this increases the brightness a lot, and intensifies the colors
as we don't want it so bright...
set the Adjustment Layer to Blending Mode Softlight and lower the opacity to your suitings (here I used 50%)
Step 04: Color Balance
another Adjustment Layer: Color Balance.
it's one powerful tool to achieve all sort of color changes.
I don't want to give you only the settings I've used for this one, as it depends on your cap and the effect you wanna see.
so here's the way I'm normally handling it.
first I try to imagine what the end result has to look like. (when you like something better while playing you can still change your mind *g*)
I'm starting out with adjusting the sliders for the Midtones.
as I want a coolish tone on this cap, I'm using a lot of Cyan and Blue, but as i don't want the skin color too greenish, as this looks so sick, I'm also adding some Magenta.
and the result so far:
then I continue with the Shadows.
I want more Blue, (and as the Highlight will bring back some light I don't care if the pic gets very dark, now). I try to keep the skin tone at a level I can live with, and don't use too much Cyan...
and the very dark result so far...
at last I'm adjusting the Highlights. I basically use the Highlights only to bring back some Yellow and Light in the pic.
and the result:
Step 05: More Light, more Blue
on top of everything make a new layer, fill it with a light blue (here is used #BBE5FA), set it on Blending Mode Softlight
and lower the opacity to your liking (here: 20%)
that's what your Layer Palette looks like right now
and the result of our coloring:
more contrast and a coolish blue shading
Step 06: Cropping and final touch ups
tadaa.
Examples using these techniques on random caps
have fun fiddling around with these techniques :)
and feedback gives me a happy ;)
in other words, I'm hyper.
also I found it very amusing that after I posted my last tutorial on the basics of Vibrant Coloring suddenly a lot of tutorials popped out of nowhere showing how to achieve the same effects with only very slight changings of the techniques I've showed.
heee. no, honestly, it was amusing. I'm not bitter or offended. I'm all for the knowledge sharing, so I guess the more tuts that show the same, the better, eh? *g*
and I left some icon comms that I don't like how they are handled by the mods a long time ago anyway, now I should only stop to check them out from time to time out of curiosity. heee.
so here are some "new" techniques that are a bit underused even though they are powerful. here are only the basics, you'll see that they can do a lot for you when playing around with them :)
||
We're starting with this cap that I got from Screencap-Paradise
Step 01: the standards
Filter - Sharpen - Sharpen the cap
duplicate the background layer, set it on Blending Mode Screen
if it is very dark, repeat the last step, if it gets too light, lower the opacity
Step 02: the nifty contrast trick
Duplicate the top layer again, set it on Blending Mode Softlight with an opacity of 100%
Use Filter - Other - High Pass at full strength (250)
Step 03: the other way to intensifying...
we're using my beloved Curves as an Adjustment Layer, don't go for the S-shape this time, but for a hmm, logarithmlike curve (in lack of a better description, heee, my English sucks...)
this increases the brightness a lot, and intensifies the colors
as we don't want it so bright...
set the Adjustment Layer to Blending Mode Softlight and lower the opacity to your suitings (here I used 50%)
Step 04: Color Balance
another Adjustment Layer: Color Balance.
it's one powerful tool to achieve all sort of color changes.
I don't want to give you only the settings I've used for this one, as it depends on your cap and the effect you wanna see.
so here's the way I'm normally handling it.
first I try to imagine what the end result has to look like. (when you like something better while playing you can still change your mind *g*)
I'm starting out with adjusting the sliders for the Midtones.
as I want a coolish tone on this cap, I'm using a lot of Cyan and Blue, but as i don't want the skin color too greenish, as this looks so sick, I'm also adding some Magenta.
and the result so far:
then I continue with the Shadows.
I want more Blue, (and as the Highlight will bring back some light I don't care if the pic gets very dark, now). I try to keep the skin tone at a level I can live with, and don't use too much Cyan...
and the very dark result so far...
at last I'm adjusting the Highlights. I basically use the Highlights only to bring back some Yellow and Light in the pic.
and the result:
Step 05: More Light, more Blue
on top of everything make a new layer, fill it with a light blue (here is used #BBE5FA), set it on Blending Mode Softlight
and lower the opacity to your liking (here: 20%)
that's what your Layer Palette looks like right now
and the result of our coloring:
more contrast and a coolish blue shading
Step 06: Cropping and final touch ups
tadaa.
Examples using these techniques on random caps
have fun fiddling around with these techniques :)
and feedback gives me a happy ;)