Hand-coloring selections on a layer

You’ll start to add special effects to your montage by hand-coloring the pears, beginning with the pear on the right. To select it, you’ll simply load the first selection you created in the previous procedure. Then, you’ll remove the color from the selection so that you can color it by hand. Finally, after adding a layer above the pears, you’ll be ready to apply new color by adding it to the new layer. In this way, you can simply erase the layer and start over if you don’t like the results.

You could do most of the following tasks in ImageReady rather than Photoshop, but this is not recommended. ImageReady has the same Load Selection command and filters, and many of the same color-collection options, blending modes, and tools for applying and tracking color that you find in Photoshop. ImageReady uses a slightly different technique for creating gradients, as noted in that topic, “Adding a gradient” on page 372, and cannot create or edit an adjustment layer, as discussed in “Changing the color balance” on page 374. Because of this, it’s better to do these procedures in Photoshop for this project.

Desaturating a selection

You’ll use the Desaturate command to desaturate—that is, to remove the color from—the selected pear area. Saturation is the presence or absence of color in a selection. When you desaturate a selection within an image, you create a grayscale-like effect without affecting the colors in other parts of the image.

1.	In the Layers palette, select Layer 1, the layer with the pears image.
2.	Choose Select > Load Selection.
3.	In the Load Selection dialog box, select Right Pear from the Channel pop-up menu, and click OK. A selection border appears around the right pear in your image.
4.	Choose Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. The color is removed from the selection.
5.	Choose Select > Deselect.
6.	Choose File > Save to save your work.

Creating a layer and choosing a blending mode

Now you’ll add a layer and specify a layer blending mode for painting the desaturated pear image. By painting on a separate layer, you won’t permanently alter the image. This makes it easy to start over if you aren’t satisfied with the results.

You use layer blending modes to determine how the pixels in a layer blend with underlying pixels on other layers. By applying modes to individual layers, you can create myriad special effects.

1.	In the Layers palette, click the New Layer button () to add Layer 5 to the image, just above Layer 1 in the palette.
2.	Double-click Layer 5 and type Paint to rename the layer.
3.	In the Layers palette, choose Color from the pop-up mode menu to the left of the Opacity text box.

The Color mode option is a blending mode. These modes determine how the pixels in this layer blend with underlying pixels on the Background layer.

You can use the Color mode to change the hue of a selection without affecting the highlights and shadows. This means that you can apply a variety of color tints without changing the original highlights and shadows of the pears.

Applying painting effects

To begin painting, you must again load the selection that you created earlier. By applying the Right Pear channel, you protect the unselected areas of the image as you apply colors, making it easy to paint within the lines.

For an illustration of hand-painting the pears, see figure 12-1 in the color section.

1.	Choose Select > Load Selection > Right Pear. Notice in the Load Selection dialog box that the color-mode change you just made also was saved as a selection, called Paint Transparency. Click OK to close the dialog box.
2.	Select the brush tool (). Then, in the tool options bar, set the Opacity to about 50%. Change the brush opacity by pressing a number on the keypad from 0 to 9 (where 1 is 10%, 9 is 90%, and 0 is 100%).
3.	In the Brush pop-up palette, select a large, soft-edged brush, such as the soft round 35_pixel brush.
4.	Choose Window > Swatches to bring the Swatches palette forward, and then select any yellow-green color that appeals to you as your foreground color.
5.	Drag the brush over the entire pear to apply the color. Next, you’ll use a darker and a lighter shade to add highlights and shadows.
6.	Select a darker green from the Swatches palette. In the tool options bar, set the brush opacity to about 30%. Paint around the edges in the pear selection, avoiding the highlight area.
7.	Select a rose color from the Swatches palette. In the tool options bar, select a smaller brush size and decrease the paint opacity to about 20%. Then paint highlights on the pear.
8.	When you are satisfied with your results, choose Select > Deselect, and then choose File > Save.

Adding a gradient

Now you’ll use the gradient tool to add a gradient to the other pear for a highlight effect. (ImageReady does not have a gradient tool. Instead, gradients are created as ImageReady layer effects.)

First, you’ll need to load the selection that you made earlier of the left pear.

1.	Choose Select > Load Selection, and select Left Pear. Click OK. A selection border appears around the left pear in your image.
2.	Click the Color palette tab to bring it forward, and then select red as the foreground color by typing or dragging the R slider to 255 and the G and B sliders to 0.
3.	Click the Set Background Color icon in the upper left area of the Color palette and then select yellow as the background color by setting R and G at 255 and B at 0. Foreground color Background color
4.	Select the gradient tool (). On the tool options bar, select the following options: Select Radial Gradient. Open the gradient picker and make sure that Foreground to Background is selected, so that the color blends from the foreground color (red) to the background color (yellow). Set the opacity to 40%. A. Linear gradient B. Radial gradient C. Angle gradient D. Reflected gradient E. Diamond gradient Selecting Foreground to Background
5.	Position the gradient tool near the pear’s highlight, and drag toward the stem end.
6.	When you’re satisfied with the results, choose Select > Deselect.

Merging layers

The next step, merging layers, helps you to keep the file size relatively small. However, after you merge, you cannot easily go back and restore the image or start the process over, so be sure that you are happy with your results before you choose a merge command.

1.	In the Layers palette, make sure that the Paint layer is selected.
2.	Choose Layer > Merge Down to merge the Paint layer with the pear image. Now the two layers are fused as Layer 1.
3.	Double-click the hand tool () so that the entire image fits in the image window, or double-click the zoom tool () to reduce the view to 100%.
4.	Choose File > Save.