Adjustment Layers

[mhamil8]

Hey guys I am pretty new to Photoshop...

I am getting tested to see how well I know Photoshop, and I came across one question that was difficult for me. I was asked to take a photo with a woman wearing a white shirt and make it magenta using masking and any adjustment layer. *(I am not positive if I can remember this one or not, but I think it asked me to select the white shirt with the pen tool). The one rule was to not flatten any image...

How would I do this? (Either with the pen or without, I would be greatfull to know).


Thanks!!!!

 

[ALB68]

Couple of different ways.
Easiest for me would be to add a Color Fill Layer . Layer/New Fill Layer/Solid Color. Pick the magenta color from the color picker. Then when you apply it, everything will be magenta. Now, click in the mask to select it and enter Ctrl i (eye) which will invert the layer. Then take your paint brush as white, start painting the shirt in the mask. You will have to change the amount of fill and possiibly the opacity to make it look right.

Now, if an adjustment layer is required, you can outline it with the pen tool, make a selection, enter Ctrl J. This will put the shirt on a layer by itself. You can then use Hue and Saturation Adjust Layer, etc. Masks are provided as you call the adjustment layer.
Does this help you?

 

[MrToM]

Excellent advice there Larry but aren't you rather making work for yourself?

You've already made a mask so....
You can get a selection for the adjustment layer by Ctrl + Clicking the mask you just made.....but, why even do that when you can copy the mask using Alt + Drag...?

You'd have to delete the Auto mask on the adjustment layer first but that's no biggy.

Might as well use what ya already got eh?

Regards.
MrTom.

 

[ALB68]

Excellent advice there Larry but aren't you rather making work for yourself?

You've already made a mask so....
You can get a selection for the adjustment layer by Ctrl + Clicking the mask you just made.....but, why even do that when you can copy the mask using Alt + Drag...?

You'd have to delete the Auto mask on the adjustment layer first but that's no biggy.

Might as well use what ya already got eh?

Regards.
MrTom.

Well yes, but he asked about using the pen tool. I am just assuming that is from scratch and have no existing channel,

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi mhamil
I'll through in another approach.
- Use your own desired selection tool to select the white shirt (Quick Selection tool often works well)
- Add curves adjustment Layer (it will automatically mask to your selection)
- In the drop down choose the Green curve by itself in the Curves Adjustment Layer
- Reduce the straight line the the upper right straight down.

This is a standard question to see if you understand color theory. If you start with white and reduce the green, then red and blue are then dominant resulting in a Magenta color. You can optionally adjust the curve (bend down or up) to get the right contrast for various portions of the shirt.

Just one more way of many.

 

[hawkeye]

Hi mhamil
I'll through in another approach.
- Use your own desired selection tool to select the white shirt (Quick Selection tool often works well)
- Add curves adjustment Layer (it will automatically mask to your selection)
- In the drop down choose the Green curve by itself in the Curves Adjustment Layer
- Reduce the straight line the the upper right straight down.

This is a standard question to see if you understand color theory. If you start with white and reduce the green, then red and blue are then dominant resulting in a Magenta color. You can optionally adjust the curve (bend down or up) to get the right contrast for various portions of the shirt.

Just one more way of many.

If the shirt is pure white that won't have any effect on it.

 

[MrToM]

If the shirt is pure white that won't have any effect on it.

What do you mean by 'pure' white hawkeye?

With the whitest white that I can muster up thebestcpu's process works just fine.....white-green=magenta.
That's basic subtractive colour theory isn't it?

@hawkeye, can you show us how you get 'pure' white and how this process doesn't work on it please?
I'm intrigued.

Thanks.

Regards.
MrTom.

 

[hawkeye]

White with a curves adjustment on the green channel.

 

[MrToM]

That's not the process described by thebestcpu ...

...- Reduce the straight line the the upper right straight down...

If you follow the instructions it works as he described.

Regards.
MrTom.

 

[ALB68]

That's not the process described by @thebestcpu ...



If you follow the instructions it works as he described.

Regards.
MrTom.

I had to try it too. I used ACR to push the whites to the whitest (255,255,255) . Pulled the green curve to the bottom and walllla ..magenta!

 

[hawkeye]

I stand corrected. Weird, couldn't make that work as you could see from my screenshot unless I changed the white slightly, but now it does. Photoshop acting strangely today...

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi Hawkeye

I may not have elegantly described the steps I took so here is the image with the single Curves Adjustment Layer shown. The model on the left does not have the adjustment curve applied and the one of the right does have the adjustment curve applied (of course with a quick mask done)

Hope this added clarity helps with any confusion: