The object of this tutorial is to show you how to selectively color your image using a layer mask in PSCS2. These steps should also work in previous versions of Photoshop.
Tools Used
Brush Tool
Layer Mask
Here's a screenshot of the before & after for this tutorial.
1. The first step is to duplicate your image before working - you don't want to work on the original image. Image>Duplicate. You then should close the original.
2. After you have a duplicate image to work with, make a duplicate layer of the background layer. You may use the menu bar, or the quick icon on the bottom of the layers palette by just dragging the layer downward to the icon and releasing the mouse when you are over the icon.
3. Highlight the duplicated layer in the layers palette by clicking once on that layer, and then remove the color by going to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.
Many of the tutorials you may have seen before have been the same up to this point, but now things are going to venture into a new direction. Rather than erasing part of the desaturated layer to let the color show through, we are going to be using a layer mask to accomplish this. One big advantage of the mask method is that it is much easier to make changes.
If you want only a subtle amount of color to show and you use the "eraser" method at a percent less than 100%, each time you accidentally go over a portion that has already been erased, it continues to erase even more. By using the "mask" method, the amount of color showing through is determined by the shade of gray used on the mask. Going over an area again will not change the amount of color showing.
4. So let's start by adding a mask to the desaturated layer. You can use the menu bar Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All, or with the desaturated layer highlighted, click on the mask icon on the bottom of the layers palette.
5. To paint unto the mask, be sure to click on the white rectangle that was added next to the thumbnail. In earlier versions of PS, there was a box next to the "eye" symbol that indicated if you were on the image or the mask, but CS2 does not do it that way. CS2 puts a small black border around the mask. You may need to click back and forth between the mask the thumbnail so you can see the difference.
6. a. Now you'll want to set the foreground color. Black will allow all the color from the layer beneath to show, and white hides everything. I like to start with about 50% gray which will let a nice subtle amount of color show through. You can always go back over it with a lighter or darker shade if you're not happy with what you started with. I also work with the background color set to white.
b. Next step is to switch to the brush tool and set your size and as you want. This will be different for each image, so I can't make any recommendations as to what size you'll like to use. If you have small delicate areas you want to mask, you'll need a smaller brush tip. For the sample image I started with a hard-edged brush set at size 60.
7. Now you'll just paint onto the mask. As you paint, the color will show through. If you go outside the area where you want to have color, just quickly switch the foreground and background colors and paint over the mistake with white. It also helps if you zoom in on the image as you paint. And you can switch the brush size also.
The following screenshot shows what my mask looks like after painting on it. You can see that I used two different shades of gray on the mask. You may use as many different shades as you want, or just use one. Using a couple of different shades helps create a better blending of the image. Adjust it as much as you want until you have just the right amount of color showing.
As a last tip, you can also use the lasso tool, select the area on the image, and then use the paint bucket to fill with the shade of gray you want. This works well for images that have a well-defined edge where you want the mask. For the below sample, I used the polygon lasso tool, and the paint bucket to fill the selection. To eliminate the color from the fingers that also were included in the polygon selection, I then switched to the brush tool, switched the color to white and went over the area of the fingertips so they would not show color.
Practice with this method of selective coloring on several of your images, and I think you'll like the "masking" method more than the "erasing" method. If you have questions regarding this tutorial, please post them in the Photoshop section of the forums.
