Hey!
I got an email from my old buddy, Nate, who asks, "How can I change the color of a dress in Photoshop?"
It's always much easier to explain something via illustrations than it is using words. This is my best "step by step" explanation of how I change the color of an object in PS, keeping detail and realism as intact as possible.
First, I pre-select the area of color change. This will insure that only the object I need will be changed, and will lessen "clean-up" later on. In this photo, it's the lady's dress (Don't try to be precise when selecting, it will only hinder clean-up later!):
I pre-selected this area using the "Lasso" tool.
After selecting, I copied and pasted the selected area to make a new layer. This will make clean-up much easier later.
So....now we have TWO layers, but we will only be working with the top layer (the selected area). Be sure that the new layer is selected in your "layers" options (It will be highlighted in blue, as seen below).
Next, I go into IMAGE / ADJUSTMENTS / REPLACE COLOR, as seen below:
This will allow us to select the colored object that you would like to change.
Using the "eyedropper" tool that is built into this, start selecting areas of the red dress. Hold down the SHIFT key as you do this. Click on ALL of the various shades of red in the dress (shadows, highlights...etc). Once you do this, use the slider on the left to fine-tune your selection. The white area will be the area that will change color, the black area will be left intact.
If some undesired areas are still showing up, use the eyedropper tool with the - sign next to it (minus sign) to "un-select" areas the same way you selected the desired areas. (I had to un-select areas of her arm skin). You can either fine-tune it this way, or clean it up in the last step...it's up to you.
Once you have the desired area selected, use the "HUE" slider to choose the new color:
I chose blue. You can then use the "saturation" and "lightness" sliders to fine-tune your selection of color according to the desired result. I did not use these since I am just making a simple illustration.
Once you have your color selected, click "OK". Once back to your regular screen, you are ready to do your clean-up. Choose the "eraser" tool and adjust the size and hardness of your brush. Don't make it too hard, or the edges will look un-natural.
Be sure to toggle from "hidden" to "show" of the original layer, so you can see how your clean-up is looking. You can clean up with both layers showing if you'd like. I usually keep both layers showing, but this view showed the clean-up brush better.
I also cleaned up her arm some more (the black in the tattoos turned blue-ish in the conversion).
Once you are all cleaned up, you just need to "flatten" the image (in the LAYERS option) and save it.
Then you have a nice blue dress where once was a red dress. All without having to buy the lady a new dress:
I got an email from my old buddy, Nate, who asks, "How can I change the color of a dress in Photoshop?"
It's always much easier to explain something via illustrations than it is using words. This is my best "step by step" explanation of how I change the color of an object in PS, keeping detail and realism as intact as possible.
First, I pre-select the area of color change. This will insure that only the object I need will be changed, and will lessen "clean-up" later on. In this photo, it's the lady's dress (Don't try to be precise when selecting, it will only hinder clean-up later!):
After selecting, I copied and pasted the selected area to make a new layer. This will make clean-up much easier later.
So....now we have TWO layers, but we will only be working with the top layer (the selected area). Be sure that the new layer is selected in your "layers" options (It will be highlighted in blue, as seen below).
Next, I go into IMAGE / ADJUSTMENTS / REPLACE COLOR, as seen below:
This will allow us to select the colored object that you would like to change.
Using the "eyedropper" tool that is built into this, start selecting areas of the red dress. Hold down the SHIFT key as you do this. Click on ALL of the various shades of red in the dress (shadows, highlights...etc). Once you do this, use the slider on the left to fine-tune your selection. The white area will be the area that will change color, the black area will be left intact.
If some undesired areas are still showing up, use the eyedropper tool with the - sign next to it (minus sign) to "un-select" areas the same way you selected the desired areas. (I had to un-select areas of her arm skin). You can either fine-tune it this way, or clean it up in the last step...it's up to you.
Once you have the desired area selected, use the "HUE" slider to choose the new color:
Once you have your color selected, click "OK". Once back to your regular screen, you are ready to do your clean-up. Choose the "eraser" tool and adjust the size and hardness of your brush. Don't make it too hard, or the edges will look un-natural.
I also cleaned up her arm some more (the black in the tattoos turned blue-ish in the conversion).
Once you are all cleaned up, you just need to "flatten" the image (in the LAYERS option) and save it.
Then you have a nice blue dress where once was a red dress. All without having to buy the lady a new dress:
