Color swap on difficult piece

[macnauj]

Hi there. I have a photo of a linen top, where the coloring of the piece is a gradient running from the top to the bottom. I would like to take the "non-white" color and swap it with another while maintaining an authentic look. I've tried my typical methods of swapping colors, but I've never worked with a gradient or a fabric like this. The nuances in shading seem to make it really difficult, and an overlay effect also gives the white a colored hue. Any ideas?

 

[Tom Mann]

There are many, many ways to make such a change, the easiest of which is probably just to move the hue slider for orange colors in a hue/saturation adjustment layer.

However, from the name of the file and other clues, my guess is that you are doing this for commercial purposes, and hence, need to get the work done in the most efficient manner. So, instead of using native Photoshop tools, I used a classic plug-in called, "Color Mechanic" to make the change. It's very, very simple to use. It probably took me under 15 seconds to make this change. If you are interested, I think you can download a trial version of Color Mechanic before you purchase it. If you are interested in this method, and are having any problems, I can help you out.

HTH,

Tom M

 

[Tom Mann]

And here is a different color using the hue slider in a hue/saturation adjustment layer, masked to change the bottom more than the top.

T


PS - Now that I've done it both ways, there actually isn't much time saved using "Color Mechanic", so you may be quite happy with the hue/sat method.

 

[macnauj]

Thank you for this awesome response! So, I'm on a Mac which I believe rules out the option of using the Color Mechanic. If I were going to use the hue/sat method and was looking to change it to a specific color...say #70cca6, how would I go about that?

 

[IamSam]

Hi and welcome to PSG.

This is easy to do without the plug-in, but will require a little work.

First, you must remove the shirt from it's background so we can work with the shirt only on it's own layer.



Create a new layer below the shirt and fill with white to replace the background.



Add a Hue & Saturation adjustment layer above the shirt layer and clip it to the shirt layer. (It come's with it's own layer mask)

Use your Gradient Tool and your Brush Tool create a mask on the H&S layer.

Set your Brush tool to Opacity 20% and your Fill to 1% to make the fine adjustments on the mask.





Then it's just a matter of using the H&S layer set to COLORIZE to adjust the color of the shirt.

 

[macnauj]

This has been beyond helpful, and I really appreciate it. Would you mind walking me through the second half of the process - "colorization" etc. The screenshots were extremely helpful.

 

[IamSam]

I have to leave for work at this time........but I will gladly add them later, sorry.

Any other member can also help you out with this.

 

[macnauj]

Not a problem, whenever you have a chance. Again, your help is seriously appreciated.

 

[IamSam]

Not sure why someone else didn't jump in here to help you out......................

This is fairly simple.
The Hue & Saturation Adjustment layer has a COLORIZE box that can be checked, see the white arrow in the screenshot below.



Once this is checked, then it's a matter of adjusting the the HUE slider to the color of choice, then adjusting the saturation and brightness sliders to your liking. You can always come back to the same file and change the color!

TIP: If you find a particular color that you really like, turn off the layer (make it inactive) by clicking on the eye, then just add another Hue & Saturation layer above, right click in the body of the layer and choose 'add clipping mask, hold the Alt/Option key and drag the layer layer mask from the previous H&S layer to the new H&S (duplicates the layer mask---will ask if you want to replace the previous mask....click yes), and select COLORIZE, then create a whole new color.





Simple. Sorry, I had a long work day and I'm only just getting around to answering this.

 

[macnauj]

So helpful, and again, thank you. I'm assuming when it comes to selecting the hue it's essentially a try until you find it method...there's no way to pick an exact HEX to change it to...

 

[macnauj]

Found a HEX to HSL converter - didn't even realize they existed!

 

[MrToM]

You just beat me to it but you can do it this way:

1. Change the Foreground colour to whatever you want.
2. Note down the "H" value of the HSB equivalent colour values...



3. Enter that value into the "Hue" property of the H&S Adjustment layer.
4. Adjust the other two values (Saturation & Lightness) to taste.

Regards.
MrTom.

 

[ALB68]

Here is somewhat of an "off the beaten path" method to put the exact Hex color you want on the image. With a BLACK & WHITE ADJUSTMENT layer.
Simply apply the B&W Adjustment layer to the image, then click Tint. A window will open and allow you to choose the color. (see screenshot). If you know the hex just plug it in the box. Then use a black brush to paint away what you don't want on the shirt. You can also do it in reverse by Clicking Ctrl I (eye) to invert the mask. Then take a white brush and paint the color as desired. Control opacity etc with the adjustment for same.

 

[macnauj]

What do you guys think would be the easiest way to modify this process for a shirt like the one below, where you're changing both the top and the bottom color to two different hues.

 

[ALB68]

You don't happen to have Topaz Restyle do you?

 

[Tom Mann]

...If I were going to use the hue/sat method and was looking to change it to a specific color...say #70cca6, how would I go about that?

We get this sort of request (ie, for a specific "color") with some regularity, here on PSG. Unfortunately, I have a problem with the way it is phrased. Specifically, the hex value for a "color" specifies the R, the G, and the B values for the "color". So, if one were to make some relatively uniformly colored area of the shirt the HEX "color", in the area you changed, you would lose all texture, shadowing, changes in saturation from point to point, etc. That area would look more like a paint sample card with completely uniform color and brightness, not anyone's shirt.

I think that what you are really asking for is to change the hue of that area to a different hue, but leave the luminosity (brightness) information alone. However, once we start talking in HSB terms, not RGB numbers, we also have to think explicitly about how we want to handle point-to-point variations in saturation. These variations help make the texture look real, particularly, in the shadow and highlight areas.

For example, if one puts a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above the part of the image that needs to be changed, and one does what I suggested (ie, move only the hue slider), then the point-to-point variation in the saturation and luminosity will be identical to what one has in the original image. In contrast, if one clicks the "colorize" box in the Hue/Sat adjustment layer, then the only information preserved from the original will be the luminosity.

Sometimes, the first approach is better, particularly if you are starting with an area that is neither very bright, nor very dim. Sometimes the 2nd (ie, "colorize") is better, especially when one is dealing with very bright or dark areas.

The bottom line, however, is that using either of these approaches, you'll wind up with hardly any pixels that have the exact same RGB hex code as you specified, but the new colors will have the hue (and possibly the same saturation) specified by the Hex code.

Just a thought,

Tom M