How to Make Jeans Have a Second Life in Photoshop

Give old jeans a new life on-screen using Adobe Photoshop.

Whether they're boot cut, high-waisted, capri or cutoffs, jeans take up space in nearly every closet and drawer. After a long run with a favorite pair or an accidental shrinking in the wash, they're sometimes destined to the donation bin or the garbage. Taking a picture of your jeans and using the Adobe Photoshop graphics software gives you the opportunity to let your jeans have a second life. Experiment with jean design work in Photoshop, making repairs or adding embellishments, or simply brainstorm ideas for your next pair.

Instructions

1. Open Adobe Photoshop. Click the "File" menu and select "Open." Browse to the picture of the jeans and double-click its file name. The picture opens on the Photoshop canvas.

2. Brighten the color from having been faded by clicking the "Lasso" tool on the "Tools" column. Draw an outline around the jeans or, if fading only occurs in a specific spot, just that spot.

3. Pull down the "Image" menu, click "Adjustments" and select "Vibrance." Slowly drag the "Vibrance" bar to the right to bring out the color in the jeans or the faded spot. Click "OK" when satisfied.

4. Replace a ripped or frayed part of the jeans by clicking the "Clone Stamp" tool on the "Tools" pane. Hover the cursor next to but not on the ripped spot. Press and hold down the "Alt" key and click the left mouse button one time to copy the "good" part of the jeans into Photoshop's memory.

5. Release the "Alt" key, move the mouse on top of the ripped spot and click the cursor one time to deposit the copied area, making it look as if the bad spot was never there.

6. Add "patches" onto the jeans by right-clicking the shapes icon, an icon of a gray square, gray circle, line or gray star near the bottom of the "Tools" pane. Select "Custom Shape Tool" from the fly-out menu.

7. Pull down the "Shapes" menu at the top of the work area and select a patch shape. Click into the "Color" box and select a color for the patch. Click "OK." Position the cursor on the jeans, click and drag to form the patch. Repeat to add additional patches to the legs.

8. Click the "File" menu. Click "Save As." Type a new name for the jeans picture file and click the "Save" button.

References

• University of Washington: Adobe Photoshop: Selections