Colorizing B&W Photos

**sallybode** · 23 November 2005, 03:32 AM

Very easy with Xara. The outline view shows how few shapes are used. Of course, transparency but not just stained glass, also bleach, highlights for the brow ridge and blush on the cheek.

And all the detail is preserved better than with a bitmapped approach.

**John Rayner** · 23 November 2005, 03:59 AM

Pretty neat Sally Thanks...

Now I can paint the roses red...

**Kman** · 23 November 2005, 10:21 AM

Thank you, Sally ... Ken

**Koinonia** · 23 November 2005, 05:43 PM

BOTH IMAGES ARE ELEGANT!

Xara Xtreme is only limited by the artist's imagination.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wayne D

**cybrnetico** · 24 November 2005, 09:51 PM

sallybode that is some awesome, you make it look so easy.

**Craig1128** · 25 November 2005, 05:25 AM

I do photography as a hobby also and would be very much interested on a little more detail in how this is done... perhaps a small tutorial. Much thanks to anyone who would help!

**sallybode** · 25 November 2005, 08:25 PM

I'll copy and paste your comment into an email to Gary and see if he would like something like that.

It is something that many people may want to do as well as photo-restoration and photo-composition.

These same techniques can be applied to your own work in drawing people's faces. It is sometimes easier to work on the drawing first, even just grayscale so that you can concentrate on detail and not on color.

I can remember spending semesters not dealing in color at all, learning to observe, like in life drawing.

I still do this if I have a piece which will take me longer, do the first rendering in grayscale and work out my tonal values.

Even if when I add color (I would do all the color on one layer and the black and white, often on several layers) I can still go back and edit the grayscale layer, if need be.

**Craig1128** · 26 November 2005, 05:33 AM

Thank you, you're awesome!

**sallybode** · 26 November 2005, 06:56 PM

Actually, in the meanwhile, I am posting the Xara file, as a pick-apart file. That way you can see what percentage screens I used and what mode of transparency.

This B/W photo was in good shape when I found it on the web. Retouching a bad photo to restore it is another kettle of fish.

**Craig1128** · 28 November 2005, 12:20 AM

Thank you once again, I really appreciate you posting the file so I could have a look-see. I'll have to sit down and try out the whole thing with some picture on another day, it's nice to know I'll have some steps to go by. I'm getting the hang of the controls on the program (have only owned Xara X since July), but it takes awhile to learn all the tricks; especially since outside of some very generic photo programs and MS Paint, I've done diddly in the area of graphics!!! I imagine the quality of the original pic does make a difference in the outcome, but I will probably be doing this with photos that I take, so the quality will be good. In fact, I took pictures for a friend's one-year-old boys 1st birthday and she mentioned to me that she loved B/W pictures and would like to be able to add color to them, the very technique you've helped me to discover. Much thanks again!! Oh, maybe if I learn how to post pics to this forum, I can show an example of something I did create on Xara...