sixty two
to
Photoshop CS3 Extended
steps
Medium
Requested by whoopsallgone over in coloring_help , the original is by peacer77 .
1. Duplicate your image, and set to 100% Opacity Screen.
Screen caps always tend to rather dark, so i just used this layer to brighten the image up.
2. Duplicate your base image again, drag above the Screen layer and set to Soft Light 29% Opacity.
When adding a Screen layer, it can sometimes wash out the detail and color in the cap, so i tend to use Soft Light layers to add what was lost back in. You may want to leave this layer out, as it can make images to dark, just play around with it.
3. Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Sat
Master:
Saturation -14
Becauase oh what we are going to do to the image later you will need this layer. Without this layer this image will look way to red, like a burning red that just looks horrible! So reducing the saturation with take out of the of the color, so it wont be so vivid later on.
4. Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves
RGB:
Output - 134
Input - 121
RED:
Output - 140
Input - 116
GREEN:
Output - 67
Input - 50
Output - 137
Input - 110
Don't be scared of Curves! They may seem a little intimidating, but once you know what you are doing, they are very useful! I used them here to brighten the image up massively, and add more color. Before adding the Curves the image was too blue and purple, so i played around with the red and the greens to reduce the blue and purple, while adding some more reds and green to make the image look more natural. I actually quite like the image as this stage! So you can leave it here, if not keep reading.
5. Duplicate the previous Curves layer, and set to Multiply 32% Opacity.
I still wanted more color in the image, and now some contrast. As i used the last layer for color i just duplicated it, making things much quicker. I set it to Multiply as i wanted some more contrast, this layer darkened all the colors adding some more depth.
6. Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance
SHADOWS:
-8
-8
-12
MIDTONES
12
-4
10
Although i had added color with the last layer, i wanted to be more specific with the new color. The skin and lips looked a little washed out from the green, so i wanted more reds/pinks/oranges in the skins. I love color balance layer for color application, it just easy and works well. I left the highlights alone, as i never normally touch them, i can't get the hang of them. I upped the reds in Midtones to really warm the image up.
7. Create a Fill layer and flood with #cf9175, set to Soft Light 69% Opacity.
I wanted to add a warm fuzzy feeling to the image. So i used a warm orange to do so. I set it to Soft Light as i helps give it that glowing effect. You can remove of this layer if it makes you image to orange or red. You could change the color and the Opacity, depending on your image.
8. Create a Fill layer and flood with #d68d6c, set to Screen 22% Opacity.
This layer is here for the same reason as the last, only i set it to screen to add a lighter glow effect.
9. Duplicate the base, drag to the top and set to Soft Light 100% Opacity.
Coloring with inevitably take the detail out of your image. So using the untouched base, with all it's original detail and contrast it a great way to add it all back!
10. Duplicate your base again, drag to the top of the layer and set to Screen 82% Opacity.
Done! So it was so long, work with caps tend to be hard work, and takes a lot of a step!
As i always say, this color with never work the same for any other image, change the setting up and play around a little. This is meant to help show you ways to achieve a particular coloring, just make it work for you.
Any questions please feel free to ask! Enjoy!