Coloring a Black and White Photograph in Pixelmator

Coloring a Black and White Photograph in Pixelmator

In this tutorial, you will discover a quick and easy way to add color to black and white photographs.

Video

Step 1

Begin by opening the black and white photograph in Pixelmator. For this tutorial, I have used a photograph of Laugharne Castle I took recently when on holiday in Wales. I have chosen this photograph because it has only three main colors, making it easier to show the technique of coloring a black and white photograph.

Step 2

Begin by creating a new layer above the black and white photograph. To keep yourself organized, name the layer “Color.”

Step 3

On this layer, you will paint a solid color. The idea here is to choose a color that should be dominant in the photograph. In this particular example, I have chosen a Sky Blue color.

Step 4

So that the blue interacts with the photograph, change the Blending mode of the layer to “Color.”

Now the photograph will be completely blue.

Step 5

Next, you will change the color of the building only. To do this, use the Lasso tool to select it.

It is important in this example to change the Lasso Tool to the Polygonal Lasso Tool to help with the straight edges of the building. Plot the points around the building, eventually joining up the First and Last points to make the selection.

Step 6

To add or subtract anything from your selection, change the Selection mode to “Add” or “Subtract.” Below, you can see where I have cut out the window where the blue sky would show through using the “Subtract” mode.

Step 7

Once you are satisfied with the selection, Choose Image > Hue and Saturation.

This will present you with a color wheel. This wheel allows you to map the colors of an image. In this example, I will rotate the wheel 180º so that the blue handle sits on the yellow edge of the wheel.

Step 8

This will make the building look like a golden sand castle. To fix this, drag the saturation slider to the left to desaturate the color slightly.

Step 9

The next step is to color the trees green. First, deselect the building but leave the trees selected. To do this, change the select mode to “Subtract” and draw around the building only.

Step 10

Now choose Image > Hue and Saturation.
Drag the yellow handle towards the green, and increase the saturation to achieve the desired color.

Step 11

At this point, if you hide the black and white photograph layer, you will see all of the colors that have been generated so far.

Step 12

Using the Brush Tool, fill in any missing details.
Hold down the “Option” Key, and click on the color with which you wish to paint.

I have begun with the green of the trees that were too difficult to select earlier.

I then added some orange highlights to the bricks and added lighter yellow shades and darker gray shades to the trees. Finally, using a bigger, softer brush, I painted grey over the clouds to make them appear more real.

Conclusion

The final image should appear something like this.
Although the image you are trying to color may be different than the image used in this tutorial, the techniques still will be the same. The more attention you give to the colors you are adding, the more realistic the results you will achieve.

Download this photo and practice this technique.