Photo Colorization

[binsurf]

I've taken to manually colorizing photos for fun and relaxation (it's surprisingly relaxing) using only photoshop and no plugins or tools. I do touch up the final product, though. Here's some of my favourites that I've done;

[Brownbear]

Beautiful work.

[chauncey]

I might suggest that your work is superlative.

[Chris]

Really like your work.

[kdoc856]

Those are simply fantastic

[FocusOn]

I really like what you have done with these old photos.

I'm going to pull out some of my parents old photos and see if l can achieve what you have.

Well done!!

[binsurf]

Thank you, everyone! I really enjoyed doing them. I want to get into doing more complex images eventually.

[pnodrog]

I have thought about doing it but never tried. It is great to see such wonderful examples. It would be interesting to know your general approach and maybe a screen shot if you are using layers with colour blending etc.
There is obviously a bit of skilled artistry involved.

[binsurf]

Below is a screenshot of my first photo above. The effect is quite easy. After opening the original black and white photo, I make a duplicate layer of it to work from. Then, for each color, I create a new layer, fill it with the approximate color I think it should be, create a mask for it, and begin painting white on the mask. Once done, I click the color, set it to soft light, and use the hue/saturation adjustment and set the color to what looks right. Some sections need more than one color, like the background wall and carpet below. It takes a little time, but it's so satisfying when done. One note of advice, the more saturation you apply a color, the more it merges with the shadow colors.

[pnodrog]

Thank you Jim. I think it will interest a few others as well. The active layer is set to soft light - do you use other blend modes as well?

[binsurf]

Right now, soft light seems to do the trick. I haven't experimented with any others. Still getting a feel for it.

[Karm Redland]

Hi Jim. I have to say I'm also impressed with your work. I would love to stand over your shoulder and watch you do one of these.

Karm

[GrahamS]

Bravo, Jim. You are a true artist.

[binsurf]

Thank you, everyone! I think I might try to put together a tutorial video just for this site, to let you "look over my shoulder" as it were.

[binsurf]

Here's my tutorial video. Sorry for the crappy quality. Set it to 720 at least.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[binsurf]

I've discovered I can do the exact same thing in GIMP, and the results are actually better!

I've only done his head, he's a work in progress.

[Donald]

Just to add my compliments to those already given above, Jim. Superb skill and artistry. A joy to view.

[binsurf]

Thank you very much, Donald!!