So for this exercise, I felt like the easiest part for me was getting the hang of removing imperfections using the healing brush, spot healing brush, and clone stamp tools. I used a combination of those three tools to fix the edges of the image as well as any folds or wrinkles. The colorizing part was harder for me. I suppose I succeeded in making it appear to be hand-tinted but I wish I could’ve figured out how to have more control of the values of the colors. I am pretty happy with how the skin colors turned out. I used a youtube video to get an idea on how to make the skin realistic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Y8YcKnRm0). If you watch the video, his technique is very in-depth and I didn’t have enough skin in the photo to make utilizing this technique seem worthwhile or effective but I did take the idea of using a reference for the various colors in the photo. I just used a rough reference for the colors of the skin, snow, and trees (https://www.123rf.com/photo_90305578_man-with-beard-in-winter-forest-with-snow-hold-axe-wanderlust-hiking-and-travel-winter-holiday-and-c.html). I think I could improve this image by utilizing some of the different blending modes beyond just the color mode. I experimented with that a little but didn’t want to get too far into it for this exercise. I also think that changing around the brightness and contrast values could improve this piece but ultimately I decided to leave it as it is.
I really like the blue tints you added in to the snow scape. Makes the sepia tones of the jacket, box and fur pop. After doing the same image, I wish I had added in more color variation in the snow to make the image have that “hand tinted” look.
I wanted to leave a comment to point out that the Video Rob shared on creating a Gradient Map was extremely useful and sped up the Colorization of my project immensely.
Yes, nice find on the video – Unmesh is one of the best PS gurus on YouTube and a great one to subscribe to. Using a gradient map is an advanced technique for colorizing that can work on any area of an image. Nice work on both the color and healing of this image. I agree also that adjusting the contrast (through a levels adjustment) could also be beneficial on this image.
Good job! you kind of went for the same subtle color background that I did but you were far more thorough with it.
Awesome job! I really liked your blue tone and I liked the colors you picked for the jackets.
I agree with everyone else – the colors you chose for their clothing are fantastic and really pop against the background tones. I appreciate the gradient quality and texture you achieved in your blue wash over the sky and snow.