a newbie photoshopper's first tries... dialup beware

fiveohpatrol · 01-24-2003, 08:29 PM

Just started messin with photoshop recently, and thought I'd share my first few pathetic attempts at paintjobs. So here they are:

original:

heres a grey-ish color i kinda like

This one is the color of baby puke, but figured I'd throw it up anyway (pun intended

)

a bad job on red...

i really like the fade (or whatever its called) tool

feelin a little patriotic with this one

I'm gonna learn to change wheels, hoods, etc here soon, but I think thats gonna take more practice than the colors

Something about the paintjobs just doesn't look right, any suggestions?

Stang_Crazy · 01-24-2003, 08:47 PM

Not bad at all for your first time. I'm still trying to nail down Freehand 7 before I move onto Photoshop. The grey is my fav of the bunch.

Crazy Horse GT · 01-24-2003, 10:25 PM

i like the grey one & the fade to black, not bad man.

srv1 · 01-25-2003, 02:05 AM

i have photoshop and i could never figure out to change a certain object a certain color. How do you do it?

joe4speed · 01-25-2003, 06:53 AM

I suck at photoshop, I have 7.0 and the only thing I ever use it for is to resize images... LOL

bigbandjohn · 01-25-2003, 08:07 AM

wish I could find my copy of photoshop... :-(

Simply put, your starting colors are too bright/saturated. you want to decrease saturation or use slightly less "bright" colors. if you notice, your first alteration from the original looks great. In fact, the darker colors all look better than the brighter. However, since you are starting with a darker color, the reflections may not be as prominent, so you are losing "whiting" in the reflections, and the darker areas aren't as shaded as they should be.

Stiil, great job. Outdoor object color converting is probably the toughest thing to do, due to so many uncontrolable environmental factors.

BLACK85GT · 01-25-2003, 08:47 AM

I like the blue into grey. Keep it up, it is giving me ideas on a new paint job.

fiveohpatrol · 01-25-2003, 12:13 PM

srv, our very own 2fastLX wrote up a 'how to' article on it, and thats what I followed. Its very basic, and easy to follow. I had never messed with photoshop, and was able to get these (although needing some work) on the first few tries. Its one helluva program.

here's his writeup: color change

he was also just made the moderator of a new "virtual bodyshop" forum over on stangnet. pretty cool idea for a forum

bigbandjohn, which way would you reccomend getting rid of the saturation. Using the desaturation button, or going through hue/saturation and changing the parameters manually?

tireburner163 · 01-25-2003, 12:40 PM

the blue to grey paint-job looks bad-***

1969Mach1 · 01-26-2003, 09:52 AM

Pretty sweet... I think you would need to wax your car every 20 minutes if you painted it those colours.

Very Sweet though!
I like the Red... it looks like a Chrome Red.

§am.

429mustang · 01-26-2003, 01:32 PM

Anyone kow how to get the colors to look more solid, but still have the reflections/shading/etc instead of looking like anodized metalloic colors. Even when I try black the color still has a blueish silver tint.

cad614 · 01-26-2003, 03:15 PM

Here's a nice little "how to" site.

http://www.photoshopjunkie.com/tutorials.html

2FastLX · 01-29-2003, 04:06 AM

Drew,
Check out that web site cad614 posted and take a look at the tutorial on converting a black car to white. That's the way I do it and it works. Going all the way to white is ok, but I find it works best to take a car to a medium gray for the most realistic looking paint jobs in the end. Otherwise you can sometimes lose too much detail depending on image quality.

I see you took the tute one step farther and started messing with some gradients. Very nice! The only things causing your paint jobs to look oversaturated is the fact that you are working with a black paint job underneath. That's what is causing the "colored chrome" look you are getting. What's happening is the car is so dark that the color overlay is making it look like the image has too much contrast because the black paint is hiding the shadows of the car.

Lighten the body up a bit by following that tutorial then play with the saturation of the overlay layer by either lowering the opacity of the overlay layer a tad, or go to IMAGE>>>ADJUST>>>HUE/SATURATION and tweak the overlay layer until you get the desired effect.

What you have done is great though. Your selection of the body looks to have been done very well. Now since you seem to have the selection tool down try this - Increase the image size to 2400 pixels by whatever the proportional heght comes out to. Then try a flame selection and lets see some flames. Increasing the image size makes the selection tool a LOT more accurate.

Hope this inspires/helps you out

01-24-2003, 08:29 PM	#1
fiveohpatrol I'd rather be basketweaving Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 2,551	a newbie photoshopper's first tries... dialup beware Just started messin with photoshop recently, and thought I'd share my first few pathetic attempts at paintjobs. So here they are: original: heres a grey-ish color i kinda like This one is the color of baby puke, but figured I'd throw it up anyway (pun intended ) a bad job on red... i really like the fade (or whatever its called) tool feelin a little patriotic with this one I'm gonna learn to change wheels, hoods, etc here soon, but I think thats gonna take more practice than the colors Something about the paintjobs just doesn't look right, any suggestions? __________________ NMRA O/C 9516 NA pumpgas stickshift 347 10.65@125.6, 6.73@100, 1.41 60ft

01-24-2003, 08:47 PM	#2
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	Not bad at all for your first time. I'm still trying to nail down Freehand 7 before I move onto Photoshop. The grey is my fav of the bunch. __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

01-24-2003, 10:25 PM	#3
Crazy Horse GT Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sale Creek, TN. C. S. A. Posts: 4,652	i like the grey one & the fade to black, not bad man. __________________ 95 gt vert, lot's of stuff, it aint slow. 04 sonic blue v - six my beater 89 rs camaro iroc turbo hood, other stuff, my wifes ride 84 lx stang cammed up 289 hi po, etc 65 falcon, maybe by the year 2020. black 00gt, gone but never forgotten. R H C- member # 1 o.b.c. da prez- member # 1 if your under 40 dont ask. goodbye for now odie,r.i.p. 11-27-03

01-25-2003, 02:05 AM	#4
srv1 Get down..... Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Room 103 Posts: 2,095	i have photoshop and i could never figure out to change a certain object a certain color. How do you do it? __________________ Cobra brakes are on! Finally..... ------------------------------------------------

01-25-2003, 06:53 AM	#5
joe4speed He said Member...heh, heh Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Jupiter, Florida U.S.A. Posts: 3,718	I suck at photoshop, I have 7.0 and the only thing I ever use it for is to resize images... LOL __________________ *Joe!* 1988 GT, 13.58@101mph Check out my listing! Click here! Or my website:www.joe4speed.com

01-25-2003, 08:07 AM	#6
bigbandjohn Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: The South, USA Posts: 143	wish I could find my copy of photoshop... :-( Simply put, your starting colors are too bright/saturated. you want to decrease saturation or use slightly less "bright" colors. if you notice, your first alteration from the original looks great. In fact, the darker colors all look better than the brighter. However, since you are starting with a darker color, the reflections may not be as prominent, so you are losing "whiting" in the reflections, and the darker areas aren't as shaded as they should be. Stiil, great job. Outdoor object color converting is probably the toughest thing to do, due to so many uncontrolable environmental factors.

01-25-2003, 08:47 AM	#7
BLACK85GT Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Tampa,FLORIDA Posts: 340	I like the blue into grey. Keep it up, it is giving me ideas on a new paint job. __________________ 5.0, Holley heads, 1.7 Scorp Rockers, Stealth intake, Holley 600 carb, Holley Mech. Fuel pump, MSD 6Digital, MSD distributor, Hotchkis upper/lower rear control arms, FMS B Springs, 3:73 (8.8) rear. Production # 9,377

01-25-2003, 12:13 PM	#8
fiveohpatrol I'd rather be basketweaving Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 2,551	srv, our very own 2fastLX wrote up a 'how to' article on it, and thats what I followed. Its very basic, and easy to follow. I had never messed with photoshop, and was able to get these (although needing some work) on the first few tries. Its one helluva program. here's his writeup: color change he was also just made the moderator of a new "virtual bodyshop" forum over on stangnet. pretty cool idea for a forum bigbandjohn, which way would you reccomend getting rid of the saturation. Using the desaturation button, or going through hue/saturation and changing the parameters manually? __________________ NMRA O/C 9516 NA pumpgas stickshift 347 10.65@125.6, 6.73@100, 1.41 60ft

01-25-2003, 12:40 PM	#9
tireburner163 It's a lot like a race car Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Meridian, MS Posts: 4,130	the blue to grey paint-job looks bad-*** __________________ 1987 Buick T-type 1998 HD Electra Elide

01-26-2003, 09:52 AM	#10
1969Mach1 HEY I CAN SET A NAME NOW! Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,556	Pretty sweet... I think you would need to wax your car every 20 minutes if you painted it those colours. Very Sweet though! I like the Red... it looks like a Chrome Red. §am. __________________ 1969 Mustang Mach 1Sold 351-4V Windsor, 4 Speed MACH 1 - Moving At The Speed Of Sound. 1979 Mustang Indianapolis 500 Pace Car For Sale - Email me for Info 302-2V, 3-Speed Auto One of 2,106 made One of 405 sent to Canada. Yes those are caution lights, and No you can't pass me when there on. Ricer Hater's Club - Member #4

01-26-2003, 01:32 PM	#11
429mustang Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: westerville, OH USA Posts: 618	Anyone kow how to get the colors to look more solid, but still have the reflections/shading/etc instead of looking like anodized metalloic colors. Even when I try black the color still has a blueish silver tint. __________________ 1990 Notchback: BBK Ceramic Coated Full length headers, Dr. Gas 3"- 2 1/2" x-pipe, Flowmaster 40's/turndowns.

01-26-2003, 03:15 PM	#12
cad614 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: San Angelo, TX Posts: 377	Here's a nice little "how to" site. http://www.photoshopjunkie.com/tutorials.html __________________ Mike '95 GT Convertible

01-29-2003, 04:06 AM	#13
2FastLX The Photoshop Guru Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Mecca, Indiana Posts: 1,419	Drew, Check out that web site cad614 posted and take a look at the tutorial on converting a black car to white. That's the way I do it and it works. Going all the way to white is ok, but I find it works best to take a car to a medium gray for the most realistic looking paint jobs in the end. Otherwise you can sometimes lose too much detail depending on image quality. I see you took the tute one step farther and started messing with some gradients. Very nice! The only things causing your paint jobs to look oversaturated is the fact that you are working with a black paint job underneath. That's what is causing the "colored chrome" look you are getting. What's happening is the car is so dark that the color overlay is making it look like the image has too much contrast because the black paint is hiding the shadows of the car. Lighten the body up a bit by following that tutorial then play with the saturation of the overlay layer by either lowering the opacity of the overlay layer a tad, or go to IMAGE>>>ADJUST>>>HUE/SATURATION and tweak the overlay layer until you get the desired effect. What you have done is great though. Your selection of the body looks to have been done very well. Now since you seem to have the selection tool down try this - Increase the image size to 2400 pixels by whatever the proportional heght comes out to. Then try a flame selection and lets see some flames. Increasing the image size makes the selection tool a LOT more accurate. Hope this inspires/helps you out __________________ Project: 1988 Coupe - EFI 5.8L Twin Turbo with Victor intake, Canfield heads, F303 cam, March aluminum underdrive pulleys, TKO (or T56 if funds permit), PBR twin piston calipers and 13" rotors up front, 94 Cobra rear calipers and 12" rotors on the rear, 3.73's, Griggs K-member, tubular front control arms, torque arm and panhard bar, polished 99 Cobra wheels. "The GR-40 kit installation is now complete, and the humble Fox-chassis car will now out-corner and out-stop a ZR-1 or a Viper, and support massive horsepower additions with perfect balance." Griggs Racing ICQ# 42269241