How to paint black and white photos with Photoshop

This tutorial will explain in detail how to paint black-and-white photos with Photoshop software. In the past, people used to color Black-and-white photos by hand, directly using a brush paint in black and white photos, with such a method of high difficulty, easy to fail, and then the opportunity to modify is very small.

Each Photoshop image file has its own different channels, and each channel stores a grayscale image of different types of information. The channel for color information is automatically created each time you open a new image, and you can create a new channel yourself to store the range of selections in the image, and so on. In fact, changing the information on different channels is equivalent to changing the color of the image.

The example in this section is to use different methods to change the information of the channel in the image to achieve the effect of color change, as shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 Comparison of Black-and-white photos and color effect graphs

　First, creative thinking

First use the extraction method to make the background color, and then to the image of each part of the color, to achieve the final colour effect. The entire coloring process is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Production process

Second, the knowledge point

1. Use the Pen tool to sketch the selection channel

2. Adjust the channel color using the curve feature

3. Use "Channel Mixer" to adjust channel color

4. Adjust the channel color using the Brush tool

5. Use the "Burn tool" to adjust colors from the channel

Third, the operation steps

In the operation of this example, the final effect can be achieved by converting the image mode, adjusting the background color, the color of the ducks and the color of the kitten.

1. Scan and Open File

First through the scanner to scan black and white photos into the computer, and save as the image file original. jpg. When you scan a photo, you often sweep the clutter, as shown in Figure 3.

Fig. 3 Original Black-and-white photos

2. Convert Image mode

When you make a scan, if you save the format of a photo scan image as grayscale, you must convert it to RGB or CMYK image mode at this point. Select the menu "image" | "mode" and choose the CMYK color feature, at which point the channel of the image becomes as shown in Figure 4.2-4.

Figure 4 "grayscale" channel and "CMYK" channel

　3. Check and make the background color

Select the Pen tool to check the range of the background, as shown in Figure 5.

Fig. 5 The map of the King's constituency

When you finish the closed path of the background, press the shortcut key "Ctrl+enter" to create the selection, and then press the key combination "ctrl+alt+d" to feather the selection, and set the value to 2 pixels, and press OK, as shown in Figure 4.2-6.

Figure 6 Feathering a selection

Tips:

The role of feathering a selection is to make the edge of the image more vivid and realistic, not like a paper-cut dead version.

Click the "Create New channel" button from the channels panel and double-click the new channel name "Alpha 1" and name it as the background and press "Alt+delete" to fill it directly into black as the channel for saving the background selection, as shown in Figure 4.2-7.

Figure 7 Saving the background selection channel

Tips:

The function of saving a selection channel is to make it easy to select a range for processing when you modify the image later.

Next is the channel color adjustment, press "ctrl+m" to bring up "curve" function, first to the magenta channel adjustment. The effect is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Adjusting the magenta channel effect

Then the yellow channel is adjusted, at this time the background becomes green and bright, the effect is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 Adjusting the yellow channel effect

Press "Ctrl+s" to save the background of the palette, the file name is the original. psd.

4. Give the duckling a color

Using the same method, sketch out the small duck's selection, feather it, value 2, and save the selection as a duckling channel, as shown in Figure 10.

Fig. 10 The channel to save the duckling selection

Click "Image" | "Adjust" | "Channel Mixer", Bring up the dialog box, select the output channel as yellow and set the parameters, as shown in Figure 11.

Fig. 11 give the Duckling a color

Reduce the color of the duck's beak and duck's foot. Also tick the selection and feather the selection to 2 pixels, then save it in the channel, named Duck Mouth and foot, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 Saving a selection's channel

Click the Brush tool and set its parameter options, set the foreground color to be darker orange, and directly spray the selection image on the four-color channel, as shown in Figure 13.

Fig. 13 Duck mouth and foot color

5. To the kitten color

Using the same method, tick the kitten's selection, feather and save the selection, as shown in Figure 4.2-14.

Figure 14 Save the kitten selection channel

Select the "Burn Tool" and select magenta and yellow channels for the current work area, and evenly deepen the kitten color, as shown in Figure 15.

Fig. 15 Color for Kittens

Can be in the kitten on the different parts of the color, its back to the tiger skin color, the abdomen under the light gray, this will be more vivid, the final effect as shown in Figure 16.

Fig. 16 The final color work completed

Small tip:

Channel has a very useful function, it can be used to save the selection, in the image modification, if you want to adjust the image, you can use the saved channels to adjust the selection, which can easily modify the image, improve the efficiency of the image adjustment.

　Iv. Knowledge and difficulties

1. In the practice of black and white images on the color, just learned friends can first use a more simple color photos, copied as a copy, through the Photoshop CS processing for grayscale images, and then again on the color processing. This can be a color pattern for the control exercise, you can more quickly grasp the painting skills.

2. In the various operations of image processing, the use of channels to save some useful selections, can avoid the trouble of repeated operation.

3. The use of "curve" and "channel mixer" for color adjustment is more flexible, other methods can also be color. For example, "color level", "Color balance", "hue/saturation" and other functions can be used, according to their own hobbies and habits, but also according to the effect of their comparison to choose.

4. When using the brush tool, be careful to set its mode to color, which is used to paint the image color with the foreground color.

5. Use the "burn tool" to make the color of the channel even and adjust flexibly.

Category:

• PS Palette Tutorial