Exercise 7 – Colorizing an Image
In this exercise we will add color to a greyscale image. This procedure is very similar to the one in exercise 6. Remember only the various shades of grey will accept color, pure black always stays black and pure white stays white.
Learning Objectives:
a. Getting started.
b. Increasing color depth.
c. Additional experience with layers and masks.
d. Adjusting color.
e. Completing the task.
Note: Black and white photographs in the traditional sense have many shades of grey. True Black and White photos have only two colors, pure black and pure white. True black and white photos cannot be colorized. We will work with the greyscale image shown below. . .
1. Start a PSP application and open the graphic known as "p0264.jpg" from the "images" folder located on the CD.
2. From the View menu on the menu bar select "Normal Viewing (1:1)".
3. Next locate the "Image Information" command and click on it to determine what type of image it is. Notice it is an 8 bit / 265 colors image which is 454 x 662 pixels in size. The memory used is 295 K, this includes a lot of overhead for PSP's functions such as "undo". The actual file size of the image in storage on the CD is 45 K.
1. Before you can add color you must increase the color depth such that the application can store the added information.
2. Select the Colors command from the menu bar and the select "Increase Color Depth" at the bottom. From the pop-up menu select "16 Million Colors (24 bit).
3. Now recheck the amount of memory used in RAM. Did it increase from 295 K to 882 K? Why?
c. Additional experience with layers and masks.
1. We will now add and name some raster layers for the content of the image. Create the following layers; lips, skin, dress, ribbon, ball, and barrette.
2. Now using various dark hues of color, create the various masks on the corresponding layers. Use the paint brush and change the brush size to fit the detail you are trying to achieve. Do not forget to change layers when you change items to mask. The layers palette come in very handy.
3. Do not paint the teeth, eyes, or locket. You may paint over the letters as they are black and hence they will remain black. It also is easier to handle small detail if you zoom in on it.
4. Create another raster layer and name it wall. Paint a mask over the entire image except for the border. Note, the easiest way may be to outline it first by painting with the shift key held down (i.e. straight lines between end points) and then using the flood fill tool.
5. On the Layers menu use the Arrange tool to send the wall to the bottom. Now use the erase tool to remove the wall mask from the eyes, teeth, and locket. The hair is black so it does not matter, you can leave it masked.
6. Now use the Layer Palette and change the "Normal" to "Color" for each layer, including the wall. All that now remains is to adjust the colors to suit your eye.
7. Shown below is what the masks looked like with the colors I used, the first one is without the wall mask which was added in steps 4 & 5.
1. Adjusting the colors can be accomplished in many ways, the idea is to get something that looks good to you. Some of the layers may just require making the layer more transparent such that more of the underlying grey comes through. Others may require a lot of adjustment to the Hue/Saturation/Lightness commands. Skin tones are always most difficult.
2. Below are some of the examples created by adjusting the colors on all the layers. Notice you can even change the color of the wall.
Take your pick.
1. Once you have all the masks created it is a good idea to save them. This can be accomplished by saving a copy of the image in the psp format. Any time in the future you can then open it and manage the color of the various items.
2. Also save any of the finished product you wish to keep. Notice how the quality of your work increases with experience.
3. Can you create a collage of your results similar to the one shown above?
4. With a little practice you can achieve professional results with little effort. It can be a great pass time to colorize photos and share them with others. Have fun.
In addition to gaining more experience with Paint did this exercise fulfill it's learning objectives? They were...
Learning Objectives:
a. Getting started.
b. Increasing color depth.
c. Additional experience with layers and masks.
d. Adjusting color.
e. Completing the task.
Navigation Bar
Course Contents Advanced Features Exercise 6
Prepared 12/31/01
Revised 12/31/02
For Class Members use.
By: Dean Christensen
