TPhotoshop Photo Effects CookbookT T"Selective Coloring"T (TPages 24, 25 from the Tonal And Color Effects section of HTTUPhotoshop Photo Effects CookbookUTTH - courtesy of HTTUO'Reilly MediaUTTH.)T

TSTEP 1T The first step is to duplicate the background layer by dragging it to the new layer icon in the Layers palette or hitting Ctrl/Cmd+J).

TSTEP 2T Since we want most of the image to be monochrome, on this duplicate layer go to TImage > Adjustments > DesaturateT (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U). To add to the effect, give this monochrome layer a subtle blue tint. Go to TImage > Adjustment > Hue and SaturationT. Check the Colorize box, and move the Hue slider to 221, and the Saturation slider to 12.

TSTEP 3T Now we’re going to add a layer mask to the monochrome layer, which we’ll use to manually restore color to parts of the image. Go to TLayer > Layer Mask > Reveal AllT.

TSTEP 4T Check the Layers palette to be sure that the layer mask thumbnail is highlighted, which means that we’re working on the layer mask, not the layer itself. Set the foreground color to black and select the Brush tool. Click in the Brush Picker and select a hard round brush. Hit F5 to display the Brush Options and ensure that Shape Dynamics is unchecked.

TTIP: Layer Mask Or Actual Image Layer?T It’s very important when working with layer masks to make sure that you’re painting on the mask and not on the associated image layer. There are three ways to check this:

1. Check for a bold outline around the thumbnail for the layer mask in the Layers palette.

2. Check for the mask symbol in the margin of the Layers palette (PC only). When you’re working on the image layer, a Brush symbol will appear, but when you’re painting on a mask, it will be replaced by a small rectangle with a circle at its center.

3. Since masks operate on a purely grayscale principle, when you’re working on a layer mask, your foreground/background color swatches will always be white, black, or gray.

TSTEP 5T Paint over all of the blue and red areas on the coat and hat with black. This will hide these areas of the monochrome layer, thus revealing the colors on the background layer underneath. We can adjust the size of the brush as we go with the square bracket keys on the keyboard. Zoom into the image with the Zoom tool (Z) to ensure accuracy.

TSTEP 6T Accuracy is all-important here, so take the time to follow the edges of the colored sections very carefully. If you accidentally paint over any other part of the image, simply swap your foreground/background colors and paint over it again with white instead of black. Remember, when working on layer masks, black conceals and white reveals. Continue to paint over all of the red and blue sections.

TSTEP 7T Only mask out the areas of this layer that cover the red and blue sections of the costume, leaving the white areas as they are.

TSTEP 8T As we paint, the black areas will appear on the associated layer mask. We can check the mask by holding down the Alt/Opt key and clicking the layer mask thumbnail. This enables the actual mask to be seen in isolation.

TSTEP 9T We can control how vividly the colors show through the mask. Working on the mask itself, go to TImage > Adjustments > LevelsT. By dragging the Black Point marker under the Output Levels bar to the right, the black tones within the layer mask are turned to gray. Where black on a layer mask is completely transparent, gray tones are only semi-transparent, which makes the revealed colors in the image layer more subtle. We can control just how subtle they are by adjusting the luminosity of the gray color on the layer mask.

TFINAL IMAGET

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