14 September 2008
Photoshop: The sky’s the limit
17/09/08 18:02 Filed in: Photoshop
Hi everyone,
2. The first thing to do is to create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Do this by clicking on the little CND icon at the foot of the Layers palette and choosing from the list. Next select 'Blues' from the pop-up menu in the ensuing dialogue box. Click in the blue of the sky and an eye-dropper icon will appear enabling you to fine tune the areas of the sky that you wish to change. Now drag the Hue and Saturation sliders until you get the colour that you want.
3. As is usual when creating an adjustment layer, a layer mask is automatically created. For the majority of the time this is perfectly adequate for masking purposes. However, in an image like this one, creating straight edges with a brush would prove difficult. Instead, we're going to mask out the building by creating a vector mask. Do this by clicking on the Add Vector Mask button at the foot of the layers palette. Now choose the pen tool and begin drawing around the building. As you draw, the red of the sky will begin to appear.
4. Draw around the building carefully to complete the mask. Close the path by clicking on the original anchor point that you drew. Hit Apple-H to hide the mask so that you can get a better look at what you have done.
5. Now you're at liberty to adjust the colour of the skies however you like. You do this by double clicking on the leftmost icon in the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and changing the settings. How about green skies?
6. Or an electric blue? The sky's the limit... (aaargghhh!!)
For today's exercise I'm going to be using a vector mask in combination with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to radically alter the colour of a sky.
We're all familiar with masks in Photoshop, but some of you may never have used a vector mask. They are ideal for quickly masking out sharply defined edges, such as those of a building. Here's how they work…
1. I took this picture in New York a few years ago. It's the sort of picture that many of us find ourselves taking in built up areas. Let's see if we can spruce it up a little by making the sky a little more dynamic.
2. The first thing to do is to create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Do this by clicking on the little CND icon at the foot of the Layers palette and choosing from the list. Next select 'Blues' from the pop-up menu in the ensuing dialogue box. Click in the blue of the sky and an eye-dropper icon will appear enabling you to fine tune the areas of the sky that you wish to change. Now drag the Hue and Saturation sliders until you get the colour that you want.
3. As is usual when creating an adjustment layer, a layer mask is automatically created. For the majority of the time this is perfectly adequate for masking purposes. However, in an image like this one, creating straight edges with a brush would prove difficult. Instead, we're going to mask out the building by creating a vector mask. Do this by clicking on the Add Vector Mask button at the foot of the layers palette. Now choose the pen tool and begin drawing around the building. As you draw, the red of the sky will begin to appear.
4. Draw around the building carefully to complete the mask. Close the path by clicking on the original anchor point that you drew. Hit Apple-H to hide the mask so that you can get a better look at what you have done.
5. Now you're at liberty to adjust the colour of the skies however you like. You do this by double clicking on the leftmost icon in the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and changing the settings. How about green skies?
6. Or an electric blue? The sky's the limit... (aaargghhh!!)
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