THE IDEA: Simply tinting a layer to the color in the Foreground color box is a haphazard thing. The following is one of several techniques for matching the tones in a layer to a single color. You should be working in the RGB color mode for this technique to work.
Note: On the Technique below you must first print out the color chart with the HSB colors. You find the color you want to match to from this printed out chart. There is a chart like this included in my book Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design or you can make your own chart. The dot you draw on the screen will not look the same on the screen but when it is printed out it will match the color on the printed out color chart . Therefore all the tones of the layer that you tinted should also be tone of the color chart when printed out.
LETS BEGIN
- Open up your design and separate a layer with a lasso tool via cut (Layer→ New → Layer via Cut). Your new layer is Layer 1.
- On a HSB color chart (you can use the one found in Color Charts “A La Carte” by Frederick L Chipkin or found on the CD included with the book Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design also by Fredrick L Chipkin or create your own chart) find a color that you would like to match to. Click on the Foreground color box and enter the H,S,B values of the color you had just found on the chart then click OK.
- Click on the create a new layer icon on the bottom of the Layers palette and create a new layer.
- On top of the layer you just made (Layer 2) make a very large dot with your pencil tool (make your pencil size about 200).
- Select Layer 1 on the Layers palette (make sure its highlighted).
- Click on Image, drag down to Adjustments, then drag over to Hue/Saturation.
- Put a check in the box next to the word Colorize.
- Play with the sliders under the words Hue, Saturation and Lightness until the some of the colors in your layer match the color of the dot on Layer 2.
- After your layer is tinted dont forget to throw your layer with the dot away (drag Layer 2 to the trash can on the bottom of your Layers palette).
This is not a exact science. You will have to practice this technique in order to get good at it. Try practicing this by making multiple layers and tinting them different colors.
I hope this was a help,
Frederick Chipkin author of Adobe Phothoshop for Textile Design Copyright 2001-2006 Origin inc. All rights reserved.
To find out more about Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design and to view a sample from the book please visit us at http://www.designtextile.com or its mirror site http://origininc.tripod.com/BOOK.htm . You can also view sample pages at Google Book Search just go to http://books.google.com/books and type in the ISBN# 0972731709 .