Partial Desaturate in Photoshop

In this tutorial you will learn how to perform partial desaturating to an image. This means some parts of the image will remain black and white and other part will be in colour. You will need to use the quick mask tool for this tutorial, but you can also use the pen tool if you wish.


Partial Desaturate

Step 1

Open an image in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer (Ctrl + J). Then reset the colour palette by pressing the ‘D’ key.

Step 2

Select the Quick mask tool and hit the ‘Q’ key on the keyboard to enter quick mask mode. Now paint over the areas of the image where you don’t want the black and white effect to appear. Note that this is the opposite way around. If you make a mistake you can use the eraser tool.

Step 3

Exit Quick mask mode by selecting the ‘Q’ key again. Then choose Select > Inverse and your image should look like below:

Step 4

Now select Image > Adjustment > Desaturate and deselect the selection (Ctrl + D) and your image should look like below.

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Install gradients in Photoshop

I recently wrote a blog post about free Photoshop gradients, so have decided to write a post about how to install gradients in Photoshop. There are two ways to install gradients in Photoshop and both are very simple. The first method requires that your Photoshop is shut down, and the second method allows you to load a gradient when Photoshop is loaded up.



Method 1:

• Make sure your Photoshop is shut down.
• Locate the ‘Presets’ folder directory and select the subdirectory ‘Gradient’ folder. The default location is in the C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS\Preset
• Extract the ‘.grd’ file into the Gradient folder. If your gradient is in a zip file, then simple extract the ‘.grd’ into the gradient folder.
• The next time you start up Photoshop the gradient will appear in Presets.
• Done.

Method 2:

• Double click on the gradient bar shown below.
  
• Then select the ‘Load’ button from the gradient editor.
• Location your ‘.grd’ file and click open.
• Done.

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Using Textures in Photoshop – part 2

This is the second part of the using textures in Photoshop tutorial. In this tutorial I will be adding texture to image with a person rather than a still object. There will be some additional steps from the previous texture tutorial, but most of the steps should look familiar.

Using Textures in Photoshop – part 2

Step 1

Open an image you wish to use and a texture in Photoshop.




Step 2

Select the selection tool (V) and drag and hold down the Shift key and drag your texture on top of your other image. Holding down the shift key centres the texture layer when you drag the layer.

Step 3

Change the blending style to either overlay or soft light. I have selected overlay, but you can experiment with the various options. The blending style will soften the texture on top of the background layer which will give a nice textured effect.



Step 4

You should notice the skin on the image has also been texturized. If you had a darker coloured texture, the skin would look very odd. Now add a layer mask by selecting Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All. Select the brush tool with the opacity at 40% and paint away the texture from the skin. The opacity is set low to give a more natural effect. If the opacity was at 100% the skin tone would stand out too much.



You should now be able to add texture to an image.

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Using Textures in Photoshop

I recently wrote a blog post on free textures for Photoshop, so I have decided to make a tutorial on how add textures in an image. For this tutorial you will need a high resolution texture and any image. When you add texture to an image, it enhances the feel and look of the image.

Using Textures in Photoshop – part 1

Step 1

Open an image and a texture in Photoshop. I have used a texture of plywood and a free stock image of a dune race.

(image)

(Texture)

Step 2

Firstly, make sure your images are side by side. Now choose the selection tool and hold down the Shift key and drag your texture on top of your other image. You layer panel should look something like below:




Step 3

Change the blending style to either overlay or soft light. I have selected soft light, but you can experiment with the various options. The blending style will dissolve the texture on top of the background layer which will give a nice textured effect. You can lower the opacity of the layer if you wish.



Easy, you should now be able to add texture to an image.

Checkout out using texture part 2.

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