Gradient Map Tutorial
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:37 pm
This is the second installment of the tutorial suggestion Betty made last week. I found this interesting and fun to play with. I had never tried using a gradient map adjustment layer to tint an image, always using a photo filter adjustment layer in the past. this brings in some additional elements of control.
I personally like "text tutorials" better than video tutorials but this is so easy, if you watch it twice you will probably have it down pat. I did type out the steps if anybody wants some text to refer to . You will also note there is a download link that you can use to save the video on your PC.
Tint with Gradient Map
Karen Brockney
http://www.pixel2life.com/viewtutorial/ ... dient_map/
Select image to tint
Make colors: Foreground-Black, Background-White
Click Adjustment Layer Icon and select Gradient Map
Double-click the left side of that gradient map adjustment layer (the gradient icon) to bring up the “gradient bar”
Click the “bar” to get the Gradient Editor
Click below the “Edit Bar” to add a stop about ¼ to 1/3 over from the left
Select whatever color you want using the color picker – it should be rather dark
Click again below the “Edit Bar” to add another stop about ¼ to 1/3 over from the right
Select a complementary color using the color picker – it should be rather light
Note that the spectrum bar in the video example now ranges, left to right, from black to dark brown to light tan to white. And that’s how the grayscale image is going to be tinted: pure black is going to be black, dark gray is going to be dark brown, light gray is going to be tan, medium gray is going to be somewhere in between dark brown and tan, white is going to be white.
If you want to reveal some of the original color in part of your now tinted image, go back to the gradient map adjustment layer and click the right side (the white square). That white square is a layer mask. White reveals and black hides. With black as your foreground color, get the brush tool and paint over whatever part(s) of the original image (100% opacity) where you want the original color to show.
Have fun,
Rusty
I personally like "text tutorials" better than video tutorials but this is so easy, if you watch it twice you will probably have it down pat. I did type out the steps if anybody wants some text to refer to . You will also note there is a download link that you can use to save the video on your PC.
Tint with Gradient Map
Karen Brockney
http://www.pixel2life.com/viewtutorial/ ... dient_map/
Select image to tint
Make colors: Foreground-Black, Background-White
Click Adjustment Layer Icon and select Gradient Map
Double-click the left side of that gradient map adjustment layer (the gradient icon) to bring up the “gradient bar”
Click the “bar” to get the Gradient Editor
Click below the “Edit Bar” to add a stop about ¼ to 1/3 over from the left
Select whatever color you want using the color picker – it should be rather dark
Click again below the “Edit Bar” to add another stop about ¼ to 1/3 over from the right
Select a complementary color using the color picker – it should be rather light
Note that the spectrum bar in the video example now ranges, left to right, from black to dark brown to light tan to white. And that’s how the grayscale image is going to be tinted: pure black is going to be black, dark gray is going to be dark brown, light gray is going to be tan, medium gray is going to be somewhere in between dark brown and tan, white is going to be white.
If you want to reveal some of the original color in part of your now tinted image, go back to the gradient map adjustment layer and click the right side (the white square). That white square is a layer mask. White reveals and black hides. With black as your foreground color, get the brush tool and paint over whatever part(s) of the original image (100% opacity) where you want the original color to show.
Have fun,
Rusty