Creative Color Gels Effect

Here's another cool thing you can do with b/w images. You can actually colorize parts of the b/w image using gel effects in Photoshop. You create these different gels quite easily, and I have a step-by-step description that I modified from an article I read in Layers Magazine from Adobe. This is a fun trick, so try it out when you get the chance or if you need a Photoshop project to study!

Open a color digital image to begin with, preferably with a person or animal in it in Photoshop. Click on the ‘create new adjustment layer’ icon at the bottom of the layers palette, and choose ‘channel mixer.’ Click the monochrome check box, and then adjust the sliders to get the b/w look you want (the three sliders add up to roughly 100% as a rule of thumb). Click OK. Using the rectangular marquee tool (M) make a selection of the first area you want to colorize by enclosing it in a ‘box.’ After making the selection, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Check the colorize box, and move the hue slider to get the color you want. You can also raise and lower the saturation by moving that slider as well. Click okay. Based on this selection, a layer mask is created that limits the area to be colored.

With the Hue/Saturation layer still active, click on the Add a Layer Style icon at the bottom of the layers palette and choose Stroke from the menu. Click on the color swatch and pick a color from the picker that’s similar or contrasting to the color tint you chose on that layer. Click OK to close the color picker. While the layer style dialog is still open, add a drop shadow and position it so that the shadow acts more like an outer glow. Click on OK to close the Layer Style dialog. Press Ctrl-J (PC) to duplicate the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and then use the Move tool (V) to reposition the new colored box by dragging it to another area of the picture you would like to see this effect on. Open free transform or rotate tool and rotate the picture to where you would like it oriented.

Repeat the last step to create as many colorized boxes as you want. In my example above, I rotated the other copies and had each box overlap the other slightly.

Note: you can choose the stroke to be white that surrounds the boxes rather than a color that matches the hue chosen for each. It’s all up to you, the artist!