How To: Color Change in Photoshop
 

In this tutorial I will be teaching you how to change the color of virtually any car that you wish could be different. You must remember that when changing the color that you don’t make it to saturated. That means that it doesn’t make the paint pixilated (fake). You can tell when you add to much of a color more importantly to light. There are many variations when it comes to changing the color, but the simple color change will be explained here. But, before we begin let me explain a few of the tools we will be using and what different actions can be taken to get different results.

Polygonal Lasso Tool: This tool we will be using a lot in every tutorial. If you want to select an object I.e. a vehicle you would just follow along the edge. If you want to subtract a selection of it without the selection disappearing you would want to press alt then left click the mouse in the selection area. You cannot subtract outside of the selection since there is nothing to take away there. When you want to add to the selection press Shift and left click outside of the selection to add to the selection. You wont have to worry because in either situation the selection will not disappear. To make it easy once you are done with your selection and you have done what you wanted right click and select “deselect”.

Burn Tool & Dodge Tool: These tools are both the same yet different in many ways. The burn tool is used to make areas dark. The dodge tool is used to make areas lighter. Yet both can be used together to create depth in a picture. Both tools can be adjusted by the way you want to use them. The burn tool will darken light areas and make shaded areas darker. The dodge tool is opposite of that, it makes dark areas lighter and light areas almost white.

Eraser Tool: Just as the name says it is. Except this tool can be your foe or your enemy, just depends on how it is used. When opacity is used correctly you can erase parts very lightly and make things blend in, if your not careful it will make parts disappear (UNDO is your friend).

Lets get started….

First lets open the picture we want to be using. I chose the Blazer I used in the past two tutorials. In this case the Lowered Blazer.

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3097/lowered.th.jpg

Once open, follow along and your vehicle will be different in color and will also add some nice style.

First duplicate the background layer.

Step 1: Color change

First things first go to Image > Adjustments> Desaturate (Shift + Ctrl + U)

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2...estep1a.th.jpg

Second: Image > Adjustments > Levels (Ctrl + L). Now this up, you want to slide the 3 arrows ( under all the mountains) in a way that lightens the vehicle ( If it is dark you want almost white in light areas, if it’s a light vehicle this step may not be needed). Be careful that you don’t go to light otherwise the next step will cause it to be pixilated (over saturated).

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/220...estep1b.th.jpg

Third: Image > Adjustments > Color Balance (Ctrl +B). Slide the sliders in the direction of the color you want. You can mix it up and choose what you want. Do this to all options (Shadows, Midtones, Highlights). You should come up with a good color ( again make sure you do not over saturate the color).

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8...estep1c.th.jpg

Fourth: Image > Adjustments > Levels (Ctrl + L). This step is not needed but if done right you can darken your color (light blue to dark blue). Doing this can over saturate it but if you do it carefully enough it will add depth to it and make it appear more realistic. This picture can be seen further down.

Step 2: Selecting

Now select the Polygonal Lasso, you will want to select all body of your vehicle (do not add the wheels). Once that is done you will be wondering about the windows, headlights/taillights, and grill. This is where Shift/ Alt comes into play. You want to subtract (Alt) the windows and headlights also emblems. If you mess up after everything that you have done you can press (Shift) and select areas that you missed but remember to add to your selection by going into it. Don’t worry about the grill just yet. Now that everything is selected, right click, and select ( select Inverse), press delete. All that should be left is the shell of your vehicle (Colored). The grill you can select separately and either delete it or use the Eraser tool and on a big size setting and using the opacity of 55% erase it in one swipe (don’t take finger off left mouse button). If it still has color do it one more time. I’ve noticed leaving some color on the edges adds realism.

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6...gestep2.th.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3...gestep3.th.jpg

Step 3: Adding Depth

This is a total option. The only reason I include this option is because it adds depth and realism to the picture. If not done your picture can appear “flat”. To do this you will be using the Burn Tool. You will want to set the opacity (strength) to 79% ( if its to dark set it lower) and the size can be set by right clicking ( I set mine to 24) its not to big yet not terribly small, yours can be set bigger its just what the user prefers. Now you want to start darkening the areas that should be shadowed, you can use the original background picture as reference by clicking the little eye on the side of the colored layer. The areas that are dark on the original picture are the areas you want to be dark on the colored layer. If you don’t like the outcome you can always undo it, just take your time and you will get it right. Once you think you are done you can flatten image or merge all layers and your color change is complete.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4...gestep4.th.jpg

Finished result:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5...omplete.th.jpg

Great write up.