b&W to color

I want to colorize a black & white image. What is the best way to do this? I'm trying to create a realistic effect.
Thanks

First off, don't expect it to be easy.

It's like when somebody wants to make a 72 dpi JPEG into a billboard. You can do it, but it ain't pretty.

Your image only has so much data.

but, you CAN make lots of layers, paint on them what colors you want to put into your BW image and mess around with the layer modes, you may come up with something close to realistic. chances are you'll end up with an artsy paintbrush effect.

be patient and have fun with it.

good luck

newbie idea:


select the area you want a specific color with the wand or marquie and use the colorize in image>adjust>hue/saturation


thats how i've been doing that lol :D


but i think i have the wrong idea :confused:

No, no , no - Sorry!

There isn't a right and wrong way to do it, sorry if I made that impression.

You could aslo use selective color or curves or levels or.... with your selection. Layer modes is a bit more complicated.

stick with what's working for ya, for sure. Don't be afraid to use a bunch of layers and features you're unfamiliar with. best way to learn!

Yeah. Graphicsguy's method is my pick as well. The best way to colorize a b&w image is to add new layers above the picture, place colors on it, and then mess around with the layer blending modes.

But colorizing any b&w image will never look totally realistic. There's just too many tones/hues that go on in real-life photographs that cannot be reproduced without an effort on the scale of painting each individual pixel.

In all likelihood, you will end up with a Ted Turner colorized film look. But if thats what you're looking for, you can definitely do that with no problems. :D