How to Make Car Paint in Photoshop

See what your car will look like in various different colors with Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop is image-editing software used by many graphic designers and artists. This powerful software helps designers and other users enhance photographs with various effects and make changes that sometimes are unrealistic. A common enhancement made to photographs with Photoshop is changing a vehicle's color. If you have ever wondered what your vehicle would look like in a different color, Photoshop allows you to use its various tools to change the color with a relatively simple process.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Photoshop
• Digital photograph

Instructions

1. Open the Photoshop software on your computer. Select "Open" from the File menu and browse for the desired car photo. Select the photo and click on "Open" to open the photo in Photoshop.

2. Hit "Ctrl" and the "+ =" keys on your keyboard simultaneously to zoom in to the photograph. Click "Cmd" instead of "Ctrl" on a Mac.

3. Pan around the photo to the desired area of the car, such as the beginning of the hood by clicking the space bar to prompt the hand tool.

4. Select the Pen tool by clicking "P" on both a Mac and PC. Trace the outline of the vehicle with the pen tool. Place a first point in the desired area by clicking on the left mouse button. Drag a line and place a second point. Click "Alt" on a PC or "Option" on a Mac to adjust the handles at each point. Do not outline parts of the car that you will not color, such as headlights or the windshield.

5. Open the "Paths" palette from the Windows menu and double-click on "Work Path". Type in a name for the path such as "Car's body" and click "Ok" to save the path.

6. Click on the saved instance of your path in the Paths palette. Select the "Load path as a selection" button from the bottom of the Paths palette. This will prompt a selection around the car.

7. Open the "Layers" palette from the Windows menu. Select "Hue/Saturation" from the "Create a new fill or adjustment layer" drop-down menu from the bottom of the Layers palette. This will prompt a new "Hue/Saturation" window.

8. Click the "Colorize" option at the bottom of the Hue/Saturation window to activate the option. Adjust the hue and saturation levels as desired to change the color of the car. Close the Hue/Saturation window.

9. Save the image by navigating to the "File" menu and clicking "Save." Enter a new name for the image so you do not overwrite the original file and click "Save".

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different blending modes on the Hue/Saturation layer in the Layers palette. Select the "Hue/Saturation 1" layer and click "Shift" along with the "+ =" key simultaneously to change blending modes on both a PC and a Mac. Notice the blending modes changing at the top of the Layers palette from "Normal" to "Multiply" and so on.

• Zoom out of the image by clicking "Ctrl" and "-" on the keyboard for a PC or "Cmd" and "-" on a Mac.

References

• Adobe Photoshop CS4: Adjust hue and saturation
• University of Washington: Selections
• Tutorials-Photoshop.com: Car Color Change
• Republic of Code; Changing a Car's Color in Photoshop; Rashad Nsouli