:: How to filter color using Photoshop ::

There are not so many color filtration tutorials out there seriously , so we’ve come up with a very simple one that anyone can do. The beauty in colors never ceases to make a wonderful impression. It simply has a way of getting anybody’s attention, from bright colors, even to the mild ones, the power in color is highly expressed and seen when creating a monochrome effect on an image. This can be achieved by using what we would like to call color filteration. It is a way of drawing the attention of viewer to the focal point of any image.

This effect is mainly achieved by graying out the parts you do not want the focus to be on and then bringing out the initial color of the image. The major tool used to achieve this is the Layer mask. It is so easy to achieve this effect, even a photoshop newbie can learn this.

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Step 1 – OPEN IMAGE AND DUPLICATE BACKGROUND
Now our very first step of course would be to open photoshop, but hey, i choose, opening the image as our first step. Next we duplicate the layer background by either clicking on Layer – New- Layer from Background, or just drag the layer to the new layer icon /wp-content/pix/tutorials/colorfilter/1.jpg located in the Layers Palette. By the way i got this image from here: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1010825

Step 2 – DESATURATE

Now in order to make our image monochrome at least most of it, on the duplicated layer, Hit Ctrl + Shift + U or click on image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Step 3 – HUE AND SATURATION TINT
I’ve been messing around with the tint effect lately, so i would add a tint effect to the desaturated image, just to make it look nicer, go to Image > Adjustment > Hue and Saturation. Check the Colorize box, and move the Hue slider to 200, and the Saturation slider to 15.

Step 4 – LAYER MASK
Here comes the major step that changes the image forever, well…literally..the Layer mask.To add a layer mask to the monochrome layer, click on Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All

A very important thing you must do is to make sure that the layer mask thumbnail is highlighted, this will help you know that what you’re working on is the layer mask, not the layer itself.

STEP 5 – BRUSH TOOL
Next, you have to set the foreground color to black and select the Brush tool. make sure you selct hard round brush in the Brush Picker Palette. You could simply tap F5 on your computer to display the Brush Options, uncheck the shape dynamics checkbox.

You should now have something like this

STEP 6 – PAINT TIME
Time to get dirty!, You need to zoom into the image by using the zoom tool or simply pressing Z when painting. First, paint the parts that have bright colors, this is where the effect starts taking shape. you should adjust the brush size in order to paint accurately.

You can mask out the areas of this layer that cover the blue and red sections of the little boy’s image, leaving the white and grey areas the way they are. Keep switching the foreground and the background color to add or remove colors.

Nice and easy, there’s no rush.

STEP 7 – LEVELS
This is my last effect, the reason i added this, is to tone down on the brightness of the image, i still want the kid to look real you know. Anyways, to balance the colors showing through the mask, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Still making sure that the layer is selected, make the output level 70 to 255, to give it a subtle look and feel. You can also adjust the luminousity, but i didnt. That brings us to the tail end of the tutorial.

Your final Image should look something like this, if it doesnt, sorry.. but you’re on your own! ;D

Hope you liked it, don’t forget to leave your comments or links

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