gimp erase to transparent all of one color

#Gimp erase to transparent all of one color how to#

In this example I restored the original color from the color image, but there is no reason that you couldn’t paint other colors onto the second layer.For photo retouching you don’t need any bigger than a 4x5 model. For this kind of fine paint work, a pen tablet like this Wacom one is very useful.Then zoom out and have a look. Voila! Tips ¶

When your all done, go over the colored part carefully to see if there are any gray (opaque) specks that you missed. If for some reason you can’t undo, don’t worry: just switch to white paint and paint opacity back over your mistake to repair the mask. If you only paint a little at a time it makes it much easier to use GIMP’s excellent undo feature if you accidentally stray outside the boundary. Switch to a small, feathered brush and very carefully paint the edges. Step 7 ¶Īt the very boundaries of the colored image I typically zoom in to 300% or so. When you get to the edges of the colored part, zoom in to make life easier. Begin painting the interior of the parts you want to be in color. In the toolbox, select the paint tool ( ). We’re going to paint transparency into the layer mask to reveal the color image below.īring up the Brushes dialog ( Dialogs → Brushes) and select a big brush. Make sure that Black is selected as the foreground color in the toolbox. In the Add Mask Options dialog, select White (Full Opacity). In the Layers dialog, right-click on the B&W layer and select “Add Layer Mask”. You can close the B&W image window you just copied from now, if you want. The B&W image should be pasted into that layer, obscuring the color image.Ĭlick the anchor button in the Layers dialog to anchor the pasted image. Then go to the color image window and paste ( Ctrl+V). Go to the B&W image and select all, then copy ( Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C). Make sure the new layer is selected in the layers dialog. Click on the new layer button at the bottom of the dialog. Make sure that the original color image is selected in the Image drop down box. In this example, I tried the channel mixer, but ended up in this case preferring a simple conversion to grayscale ( Image → Mode → Grayscale), then back to RGB. Once you have gotten the B&W version that you like, change it back to RGB mode ( Image → Mode → RGB). Step 1 ¶īy whatever method suits you best, convert the duplicate image to B&W.

Here is the original example image, loaded into GIMP. I adapted it for GIMP from a reader comment I saw in a “hand-coloring” tutorial on (great web site by the way, I recommend it). Giving credit where credit is due: I did not come up with this method. Add an opaque layer mask and then selectively paint transparency into the upper mask, exposing the color photograph underneath. The basic technique is to duplicate the color photograph, convert the duplicate to B&W, and paste it as a new layer on top of the color image. This technique is elsewhere referred to sometimes as “hand coloring” :-) With the right subject this can give really striking results, as you can see for yourself.

#Gimp erase to transparent all of one color how to#

In this tutorial I will explain how to convert a color photograph to a B&W one with color restored to selective areas. Jeschke and may not be used without permission of the author. Text and images Copyright (C) 2002 Eric R.