How to add Color to a Scanned Picture Using Photoshop

Adding color to a scan enables you to combine the precision of digital art with the freedom of painting. It also allows you to create combinations of light and dark not found in a natural photograph. The color pallet of your photo editing software is your only limitation.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose the drawn or black and white picture you want to colorize and scan it into the computer.

2. Open Photoshop. Go to the File menu and choose "Open." Browse to find the saved image and select its file.

3. Set the "Blending Mode" to "Multiply." This keeps the colorizing from affecting the black tones of the original scan.

4. Select the "Lasso" tool and then choose an area you want to color. The area can be as small as an eye or a lip to an entire flower.

5. Save the "Lasso" selection as its own layer. Select "Save As" while the selection is highlighted and choose "New Layer."

6. Choose the color in the photo you want to colorize from the color pallet. Make the color change and save.

7. Slide the "Opacity" level to 60 percent on the opacity slide bar, otherwise the color will be too dense and dark and you'll loose the underlying lines that define the shape of your scanned picture.

8. Repeat Steps 4 through 7 for every area you want to colorize.

9. Add drama to the scanned picture. Select "Equalize" from the Command menu. This makes the darkest pixels of the scanned picture black, makes the lightest pixels white and redistributes the mid-range pixels between these two extremes. The result is an increase in contrast and texture that gives the scanned drawing a photo-realistic effect.

10. Soften the final colorized effect. Select the Watercolor brush from the Effects menu. Move the cursor over the picture and let the brush blend the colors to create the watercolor effect.

[looptheloop]

on 4/19/2009 I tried this method but it didn't really colorize anything but there are many useful tools in Photoshop for colorizing.