Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual

Changing Color

Photoshop is the ultimate recolorizing tool because it gives you the power to put a fresh coat of paint on anything. You can repaint your car, change the color of your cabinets, and even recolor your hair. You can also create cartoonish pop art or reverse the color in an image (see Posterizing: Your Ticket to Cartoon Art). The next few pages describe how to do all that and more.

Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layers

If you’re experimenting with color, start by creating a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer, which offers a friendly set of sliders that let you change either the overall color of an image or a specific range of colors (see Targeting a Specific Range of Colors). Because you’re working with an Adjustment layer, any color changes take place on a separate layer, leaving the original unharmed. And since a layer mask automatically tags along with the Adjustment layer, you can use it to hide the color change from certain parts of the image.

If you select an object or specific area of the image before adding a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer, you can change the color in just that one spot. Here’s how:

1. Open an image and create a selection using one of the techniques discussed in Chapter 5.

   For example, if you want to change the color of a car, you could use the Quick Selection tool to select the car. Once it’s surrounded by marching ants, you’re ready for the next step.

   Note

   To practice the following technique, download the file Corvette.jpg from this book’s Missing CD page at ...