Colorizing Black And White Photos - Need More Tips

Hi Mike...

This is the best I have come across...

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/black-white-colorization-tutorial.78508/

bob

No green for the urns. That doesn't look right at all. Try the terra cotta color you used on the other parts of the building. I don't mind the ladies looking a bit pastel. It reminds a little of Technicolor film colors.

Oh also... once you have colored something [ assuming the color is on a separate layer over your BW image ] bring up the layer effect/blending options. Play with the blend if sliders. You will have to split the slider by alt clicking on them, the you can move the halves separately to feather the transitions. These will allow you to bring back white highlights and also to remove some of the color from the dark shadow area. Gives a much more realistic to the colored image.

Umm.. for some clarity.. I don't have any images prepared so image a black and white image of a man with a white beard... You can fill a layer above it and cover the whole face including the beard, mustache etc. Then with the blending options move right hand slider on the underlying layer to the left until you see some of the color disappear. Then split that slider by alt clicking on it an move the right half back to the right. This will feather the transition.

this should work to make the pastel ladies less monotone.

I use selection with the polygon or masking or a combination of the two. Masking can be quicker when there's larger areas that are one color. Painting can give uneven color. Are you using the brush with your tablet set to "color" mode? That keeps the shadows and highlights so they don't have to be reworked.
The only other way to do it if not with a brush is color balance layer by layer, but that's tedious as well, but can work with something like the surgery; you'd have a skin layer and clothing layer that you'd just erase or delete to reveal the colors.
This was a restoration and colorizing I did a few years ago; the fur was the hard part, I had to blow it up to about 200% to refine it:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150313353298297&set=a.10150203584553297.307182.197753638296&type=3&theater

Edit to add: Use colors that are period. That red car would probably not be that bright.

@ Mike: once you colored you photo, generate a grey-scale and compare it to the original. the variations of the shades will be picked up by the viewer. also, used a transparent grey scale to tone down areas of color that are too vivid. for the most part, homogeneous monotones do not exist in nature and the colors around one object is reflected to the adjacent object.

i've been making each on it's own solid color layer, using color, overlay, color burn, etc as a mode.

i did check for period colors, and they did have red, but the base layer of this car was black, i'm not sure the best way to darken it down. on the other hand i needed a base that stood out. i have to play with ideas more. for now i have to get bigger scans of some thing, i'm hoping i have the pictures, i kept some for myself, knowing the relatives wouldn't know it's missing from the collection.

---Mike Savad

Also: use histograms comparing sample colored images to one colorization attempts. best wishes to your artistic endeavors:
peace, Drew

Mike are you using Photoshop? In one of my university classes I had a colorization project to do; B&W to Color. I was taught to use Hue/Saturation adjustment layers and masks on CS6. It'll be tricky to explain here in detail, but you pick something to color say the building. Using a Hue/Sat adj. layer you bring the color to what you think is correct or you like. This could take 1 or 10 adj. layers to achieve.

Yes everything else is the wrong color but don't worry about it. After you get the color you want, add a mask to the layer(s) that is filled with black (on a mac I think it's OPT + click on layer mask icon at bottom) and then color in just the building with a brush to reveal. Some larger things are quicker if you use a work path with the Pen tool and it's more precise to active to make quick work of revealing w/o worry of messing up. You continue doing this with each item you need to color.

I did this my first time out of the box and I couldn't have picked a harder pic to do. :( It took me about 30 hrs., but got the A and best of the class projects for my efforts. lol The more I work this type of project, I get quicker. So with time, it will be easier and faster.

are you cutting out the building? masking it out? brushing in the color and adjusting that?

---Mike Savad

I knew that would throw ya, as it's so difficult for me to explain. Much better at showing people how to do this. Ok how I would work the building:

Use Pen tool to create a path. Of course there are some short cuts that you already know I about I think. The wand tool, magic wand and lasso.

Next I would use Hue/Sat adj. layer(s) to achieve the color I want. In other words, I use 1 for yellow and maybe one for blue or orange, though might need others. While you're working the H/S adj. layers don't worry that the entire image will be the color of the building. Just concentrate on the building color.

Once I got the color I wanted, I would add layer masks to each adj. layer using OPT + click on layer mask icon at bottom so it's fill with black, not white. As you know that will conceal all the color and you'll be back to the B&W image.

Highlight your first adj. layer and be sure you're have the mask activated. Now go to Paths pallet, click on your building work path (remember always change the name of Work Path to save your work) and activate. Back in your layer pallet you'll see the marching ants. Now with a brush that is the soft/hardness you require, brush with white to reveal. Don't worry about being precise here as the marching ants will only allow you to reveal just within them. Meaning if you go outside the ants, nothing will happen. Deselect and you'll see your building now in color.

Once done with that, I would I might use a Levels adj layer and use the same workflow as above. And perhaps use color brush to define some details and add some contrast.

One thing to remember is, which you prolly already know, you can use the wrong hardness setting for something. That could soften your details or harden some you don't want that way. Again, I would be better at showing you this than this attempt of articulating it here. Especially since I'm on about 3 hrs. sleep. lol Sowwy.... :(

@Charly.... next time make a group of all the layers dealing with [for example your building] then you only have to apply the mask to the group.

Skin tones... especially, are not one color. You can use this same technique so see what the subtle colors are in other things besides skin of course...
Understand this is just for help visualize what colors are there.

@Bob.... I do that, but just didn't remember to add it. Thanks for mentioning it!

I probably shouldn't have replied to this thread cuz I know how I can botch explanations w/o a tutorial prepared. :(

Indeed skin is not just one color. I think I had 10 in a group for it to be right. Since I was dealing with skin, war paint, worn off war paint with partial skin, etc.

i'm more picture oriented so most descriptions fly past me. near as i can tell i need either to cut it out, make a mask or paint it directly. seems to be the only real way near as i can tell.

---Mike Savad

Mike.. one other technique to get a more modulated tone [like maybe the woman's dresses and cars ] is an overlay of something like a fractal cloud layer [ you know --- filter render clouds ] Not sure if there is a blend mode that would work for all situations.. try them all ;O)