STEP 1: Choose the image you want to work with. Take a good look at the image I started with. Quality is very important when working with Selective Coloring as it tends to pixelate images of poor quality. Pictures that have pink and blue work best with this coloring. Crop your image to the size you desire. This is where you sharpen your image if you want. I very rarely sharpen my bases. If anything, I make ample use of the "auto contras" tool.
This is my base:
Take a look at the predominant colors. Your chosen base must have the similar colors.
STEP 2: Duplicate your base layer and DESATURATE. To DESATURATE go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.
You should have something like this now:
STEP 3: Now on that very same layer go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Use a Radius of about 3 - 4. Play around a bit with that. Sometimes a little less looks better than a little more. After blurring set this layer to soft light at 25%.
Now you should have this:
STEP 4: Create a new FILL LAYER using
#ada481. Set this to soft light at 26% opacity. You can tinker the opacity depending on your image and your preferences.
>
STEP 5: Create another FILL LAYER using #7092a1. Set this to soft light as well at a 100% opacity.
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STEP 6: Let's make one more FILL LAYER. This time using #af85bb. Set this purple to 15% opacity or so. It's just a bit to add a bit of liveliness to the cheeks.
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STEP 7: We're going to add one last FILL LAYER. Use a sort of salmon/pink/coral kind of color. I used #de7d96. Set this one at a low opacity too. I used 12%. It's like the purple. We're just trying to add slight hints of color to her skin.
STEP 8: We're going to start up with Selective Coloring. To make a Selective Coloring layer go to Layers > Adjustment Layers > Selective Coloring. I used to following settings but please remember that you CAN tinker with them. Whatever works for your chosen base/image.
REDS
-100
+50
+50
+10
YELLOWS
+100
-100
-100
+100
MAGENTAS:
+100
+100
-100
+100
NEUTRALS
+12
-14
-20
+10
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Pretty, right? You could leave it as is. However, I have a habit of always having two layers of selective coloring. You can move on with me if you like or stop here. ALSO, notice, I didn't use all of the tabs in selective coloring just the colors I wanted to tinker with. You can do your own experimenting. I
encourage it.
STEP 9: Create another SELECTIVE COLORING layer and put in the following numbers:
REDS:
-100
+10
+15
+10
YELLOWS:
+100
-100
+100
+100
MAGENTAS:
+100
+20
+50
+10
NEUTRALS:
+5
-5
-5
-5
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What I did was add a little more OOMPH. A little more vibrancy. But now her skin is a bit....mm jaundice looking if you catch my drift. Let's try to fix that.
STEP 10: Let's add a BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST layer.
Brightness: +15
Contrast: +10
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I know...it's still jaundice-y looking. >__> Just stay with me. I promise to fix it.
STEP 11: Becaaauuuuse I seriously like bright colors man, let's add a HUE/SATURATION layer. Saturation +10 OK?
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Soooo much color. G__G If you like it like this you may leave it but I want to tone it down a little. The name of the tutorial is Pink and SOFT. There's not a lot of soft going on, if you ask me. And definitely not pink enough. *pink freak*
STEP 12: Add one more FILL LAYER. I used a hot pink color like #ff49b8. Set this bright baby to multiply at 5% opacity. OR something low like that. Maybe 10% opacity maximum. I don't recommend more than that.
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STEP 13: Alright, our last step. Add a sort of...burnt sienna color. Ha. I don't know. I used this one right here: #9a5a0e. Set that honey to Exclusion at 20-26% opacity and you should end up with something like the following:
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Now it's soft, right? **On occassion you might need to add a screen layer between the base and the blurred and desaturated layer and an extra contrast layer.
Remember, tutorials are meant to be guides for you experiment. It is to learn and better ones graphic editing skills with. =D If you make anything pretty with it or if the coloring inspires an EXPERIMENTATION FRENZY of your own and you end up with something cool pleaaase show me.
I like seeing the pretty.