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Epson Computer Tip - Color My World
(Using Colorization, Saturation and Posterizing Effects)
By Barbara Kotsos

For project ideas and more, visit www.epsoncreativezone.com


Do you dream in color? Create dream-like designs that will add vibrancy and life to otherwise moderate pages and projects. Colors convey life and trigger memories – pump up the color of your images with the click of a mouse
1.

Choose a favorite photo. Photos of people or of a individual subject tend to work best with this technique.

2. Open Adobe PSE 5.0 and go to File > Open and select your picture with which to work.
3.

Go to Image > Mode > Grayscale. Instantly, all color information will be removed from your photo. If you want to tweak the contrast of the photo for a more dramatic effect, now is the time to do so. Click on Enhance > Adjust Lighting and select Brightness and Contrast. Move the Contrast slider bar to amp up the contrast, if desired.


4. Select the Crop Tool (Press C) and crop the image. For this example we’ll crop to a size of 9”x9;” confirm the action. If you’ve already purchased frames for your wall art, make sure the crop and final print size will fit.

5.

Next, open four blank files with the specifications of :



a. Size: 12”x12”
b. DPI: 300
c. Background: White

We’ll use these larger blank files, as our “canvas” in creating our wall art.

6. Go back to your gray scale image. Click on Image > Mode > RGB.
7. To begin applying the colorization effect, click on Enhance > Adjust Color > Hue/Saturation (Control Key + U).
8.

Check the Colorize Box and move the Hue Slider to the desired color for your first print. Adjust the Saturation, using the Saturation Slider, as desired.

a. In this sample, we will choose Blue

9. Once satisfied with the Hue and Saturation levels, click OK.
10. At this point in time, it’s important to save this newly colorized image. Click on File > Save As and choose a new name for this file, so you don’t save over your original image.
11.

One image in blue is now complete. Repeat the colorization process (steps 7, 8 and 9) and create three more images in different colors. Make sure you save the additional images, with new file names, so you don’t save over your original image.

12. Now you should have four white 12x12 files and four colorized 9x9 image files.
13.

Next we will create two mirror images by clicking on one of the four colorized images and then clicking on Image > Rotate > Flip Horizontal


a. Using a mirror image will create a more artistic and dramatic effect when the images are displayed in a group.

b. Repeat this step with another colorized image. You should now have two colorized images facing left and two facing right.

14.

Choose the Move Tool (Press V) and drag each one of the newly colorized images to the top of the white 12”x12” sheets (one per sheet), centering the image in the middle, so there is a generous 3” white border.



a. If you need help centering the image in the middle of the sheet, turn on the grid view by clicking on View > Grid.

15. Save the newly created, layered files. Print each individual file and insert into frames.
If monochromatic isn’t your style, trying experimenting with touches of extreme color, like Gabe Grunbaum did in these cool examples:
 
To create a funky posterized effect, choose a favorite photo. Photos of people or a single subject work best with this technique.
1. In Adobe PSE 5.0, open your image and crop it to the desired size. If you’ve already purchased a wall frame, make sure the final print will fit the frame.
2.

Go to Image > Mode > RGB. If you want to tweak the contrast of the photo for a more dramatic effect, now is the time to do so. Click on Enhance > Adjust Lighting and select Brightness and Contrast. Move the Contrast slider bar to amp up the contrast, if desired.

3. Next, click on Filter > Adjustments > Posterize. Start experimenting with your Levels at about 4. The lower the level, the more intense the effect.
4. Go to File > Save As and save your photo with a different name, so you don’t save over your original.
5. Print your image.
 



Barbara Kotsos

Sponsor: Epson America, Inc.





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