Hi, all I just thought I would share this one with you. Its a relatively simple photo restore with a retouch and then a re-colour. It went very well. The hand colouring was done on separate layers per colour and then and set to a mixture of colour overlay modes, mostly “colour” but some to “soft light” and others to “colour burn.” If you haven’t picked up what this jargon is by now then dig around in the blog or post a message here with any specific question.
Retouch a portrait and hand colour
Photo retouch and hand colour closeup
You can visit the blog here All colouring posts on the blog to read everything we have posted so far. With some in-depth articles and videos on how to colour a photo. There are so many different ways to colour an image. You can use overlay layers, tone maps, tints, digital painting colour and many more.
My favourite method is to paint the colour onto the image with masks. Basically, colour is added to the photo above the image on a layer and then hidden. It is revealed by painting with a brush. This way using layers and different colours, a realistic skin tone can be achieved. the basic set up is to start with pale skin tones at the bottom of the layer stack and adding darker and richer colours towards the top. Finishing with colours that have blue in them, such as magenta and paler blues for under eyes and veins in necks and beards where the appear less red.
Darker reds on corners of eyes and lips and ears and in the shadow areas can all help make a realistic skin tone. It takes a bit of practice to get the amounts of colour right so the skin looks natural but learning from mistakes is the best way to learn with colouring skin.
Colouring does get complicated, so to make your life easier visit the main colourizing a black and white photo page to see how you can hire me to do if for you.