Photoshop Tutorial: Altering the Color
Coloring Tutorial
Photoshop
From:
To:
You can do this two ways:
a) right click on the background image in the Layers Palette and select DUPLICATE IMAGE
b) “Select All” (CTRL A) and then copy the image Edit à Copy or CTRL C. Then paste the image in the same window. Edit --> Paste or CTRL V.
--> This just brightens the image up a bit so it won’t be so dark.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> HUE/SATURATION
Set the Saturation to 50
I bumped up the saturation until the pinks looked good, but not so much so that the yellows went crazy. Different images will call for different settings, play around with different values to see what they look like.
FILTER --> SHARPEN --> UNSHARP MASK
Amount: 25% Radius: 25 pixels
The radius will depend on the effect you want and the resolution of your image. You can play around with the settings to see what you like.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENT --> SELECTIVE COLOR
Magenta: +70
Yellow: -75
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> LEVELS
I set the middle triangle to .75
I wanted to lighten the image a bit. I tried to bring out the highlights without washing out the image. Again this is a setting you can play with and won’t be the same for every image.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> SHADOW/HIGHLIGHTS
Shadows: 68
I did this step because I wanted the wood of the color pencils to standout a bit more (they were rather dark and hidden in shadows). You can skip this step if you’re happy with what you have.
And there you go:
From Start:
To Finish:
Photoshop
From:
To:
- Duplicate your image.
You can do this two ways:
a) right click on the background image in the Layers Palette and select DUPLICATE IMAGE
b) “Select All” (CTRL A) and then copy the image Edit à Copy or CTRL C. Then paste the image in the same window. Edit --> Paste or CTRL V.
- In the LAYERS PALETTE make sure your new layer is selected and change the image to “SCREEN” and set the Opacity to 65%
--> This just brightens the image up a bit so it won’t be so dark.
- In your LAYERS PALETTE select the background layer again. Once you’ve done that go to your command bar and select Hue/Saturation
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> HUE/SATURATION
Set the Saturation to 50
I bumped up the saturation until the pinks looked good, but not so much so that the yellows went crazy. Different images will call for different settings, play around with different values to see what they look like.
- Next I UNSHARP MASK the image. To do this:
FILTER --> SHARPEN --> UNSHARP MASK
Amount: 25% Radius: 25 pixels
The radius will depend on the effect you want and the resolution of your image. You can play around with the settings to see what you like.
- Next I adjusted the Selective Color.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENT --> SELECTIVE COLOR
Magenta: +70
Yellow: -75
- Following that I changed the Levels.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> LEVELS
I set the middle triangle to .75
I wanted to lighten the image a bit. I tried to bring out the highlights without washing out the image. Again this is a setting you can play with and won’t be the same for every image.
- Lastly I played with the Shadow/Highlights.
IMAGE --> ADJUSTMENTS --> SHADOW/HIGHLIGHTS
Shadows: 68
I did this step because I wanted the wood of the color pencils to standout a bit more (they were rather dark and hidden in shadows). You can skip this step if you’re happy with what you have.
And there you go:
From Start:
To Finish:
- If you want to make it into an icon then the last step is to CROP your image.
Crop your image. Using the crop command, hold down the shift key (this allows you to draw a square crop) and crop the area of the image you want to use.
In your tool bar go to IMAGE --> IMAGE SIZE
Set your image size (pixel dimensions) to 100 x 100
