color to B&W

[kd1659]

How do I add color to a certain part of a B&W pic , such as a bikini on a model ? Thanks

[wds937]

There are several ways to accomplish this. For starters, you may want to select the bikini, and then add color to the selection. For example,
1. Use the Magic Wand Tool, with the Mode set to "Add" and the Match Mode set to "Brightness," to select the bikini. Depending upon the contrast, you may have to experiment with the Tolerance and other settings. Using the Add mode allows you to make several selections (probably at least two or three, for a bikini) in the same picture.
2. Use the Dropper Tool to select a color in the Materials palette.
3. Use the Color Changer Tool to add the color chosen in Step 2 to the selected areas.

This may require a bit of trial-and-error to obtain the desired results. If there is not sufficient contrast between the bikini and adjacent areas of the picture, you may need to try other settings for the Magic Wand Tool, or you may need to use the Freehand Selection Tool instead.

[LeviFiction]

You would also have to make sure you set the "contiguous" option to make sure it only selected connected pixels or else it would select matching pixels throughout the whole image.

Also don't be afraid to mix selection tools. They all work together and should be used that way. Relying on one tool and then giving it up when that tool doesn't deliver doesn't make sense. Mix and match to get the most out of all of the tools.

However, it's best, especially for this, not to draw over the actual pixels. It's harder to clean up, and if you don't get the selections right it's harder to fix.

For maximum flexibility I suggest using layers. On a layer above the image you can again use selections to narrow the drawing area, and select the color in the materials palette like was suggested but if you mess up you can use the eraser tool or draw over it later and really fix it up. Also messing around with the blend modes for the layers offers you more control than just the Color Changer Tool.

All you actually need, besides the layer, is the paint brush tool and have fun. These non-destructive methods are always best in my opinion, as they allow you to make mistakes without having to hit "undo" each time you mess up.

[teknisyan]

Hello kd1659,

You can use the COLOR CHANGER tool of Paintshop Pro, here's a tutorial that I created on how to use the COLOR CHANGER tool, this is for PSP X2 Ultimate but you can still apply the tutorial on PSP X3.

How to change the color of an object using Corel PaintShop Pro X2 Ultimate?

[kd1659]

Thats all , great forum as I'm pretty overwhelmed with the program . Is this better than photoshop as I have it also ? Thanks

[teknisyan]

It depends on who you ask and what kind of project you are using, since both software have their advantage and disadvantages. But if you compare the price... PSP is much cheaper than PhotoShop.