How To Perform Selective Coloring In PaintShop Pro
There are many ways to do selective colors in all photo editing programs. Today, I’m going to show you one way to do it in Corel Paintshop Pro 2021.
Corel PaintShop Pro is fairly inexpensive and you can try if for FREE for 30 days. Click Here.
Selective coloring is a popular post-processing technique where most of a photo is converted to black and white, but some parts are left in color.
In this tutorial, youll learn the techniques on how to apply color on selected part(s) of the image using layers and masks in PaintShop Pro.
Step 1 Setting up the file
Open an image file of your choice in PaintShop Pro by going to File > Open (Ctrl+O). In this tutorial were going to use SELECTCOLOR.JPG.
Step 2 Duplicate the background layer
Create a copy of the background layer by Right clicking on it then choose Duplicate. Double click the duplicated layer then change the name to BNW as this will become the black and white part of the image.
Step 3 Black and White
Turn the BNW layer into a black and white effect, choose the Black and White film filter by going to Effects > Photo Effects > Black and White Film. The setting should depend on your preference or by the suggested setting of PSP.
Step 4 Masking
Next step is to create a mask. Masks are used to hide part(s) of the image or the whole image. Masking is a very useful tool in image editing as it allows you to edit part of the image without having to worry that you will lose information, as masking can be done and undone just by using the paint brush.
To create a mask, go to Layers > New Mask Layer > Show All. Your layer palette should now have the following:
Using the Paint Brush tool and a black foreground color, brush over the pencil as shown below.
In masking, a BLACK mask reveals the layer underneath while a WHITE mask reveals the mask itself.
You can easily clean up the edge of the pencil by zooming into the image press and hold down the right mouse button. This will then add a mask back to the “unmasked” area.
Step 5 Merging and Saving
Merging the layers is an optional step. To merge the layers, right click on any layer then choose Merge > Merge All (Flatten) or go to Layers > Merge > Merge All. Now go to File > Save As Choose JPG then give it your desired file name. Save. If you wish to further edit the image in the future, do not merge the layers and save it as a .PSPIMAGE file.
FINISHED PRODUCT
Before
After
Our Eyes Open 
Comments
22 responses to “Selective Color Tricks #1 – Corel PaintShop Pro 2021”
Fascinating and helpful information, Lisa. I have been curious how photographers achieve this effect. Thank you. Erica
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This is only one of many options. There are smartphone aps that have similar features for those who are glued to nothing but their phones. I’ve never used one, but I know they exists. 🙂
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Good lesson Lisa 😀
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Thanks! I posted the second one today with all your content links. Hope people get some use out of them. 🙂
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Thanks for the detailed explanation of how to do this, Lisa. I have never used that technique but I’ll give it a try. I thought you used Photoshop for photo editing.
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I do use Photoshop and I have a post coming out on that tomorrow or Tuesday. I’m just providing options. I use CorelDraw in my day to day and I know their photopaint editor is pretty good and a less expensive option. 🙂
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Nicely explained, thanks 😉
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You are welcome. It is only one way. 🙂
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I always thought this was such a cool effect; thanks for the easy to follow directions on how to do it!
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You are welcome! It is only one of many programs that have that capability. 🙂
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Is the program you used with the Black Crowned Night Heron?
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Nope. I used Photoshop for it and use Photoshop for all my photos. I was planning on doing that blog today, but I have no electricity. I can’t get to my files. I’m on my laptop at the moment. There was an accident near our house and 400 people are without electricity and have been for 2 hours. No idea when it will be restored. I use CorelDraw for other things like graphics and my business. 🙂
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Photoship is the granddaddy of all of them. I’ve used it once or twice, but I have never had the ambition to try and learn it so that I am comfortable with it…
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Yes it is the granddaddy of them all. The Mac Daddy! I took 3 courses of it in college when it was not that old. It has gotten to be gigantic since that time. 🙂
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wow – you were an early adopter! Were you a graphic design student?
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I have two associate degrees. One in Marketing Management and the other in Advertising and Design. I took a lot of graphic design courses and during my second degree, I got a job at the sign shop at the Florida State Fairgrounds. I was there for 5 years. It was my passion and I’ve been doing it for 23 years now. 🙂 Sore subject on why I didn’t finish my bachelors. He is an ex-husband now. LOL! 🙂
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How nice that you’ve been able to pursue your passion for so long. And it’s funny how life gets in the way of our plans. 🙂
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It has been good that I’ve had careers in something I enjoy doing. Not a great career path for making a lot of money but enjoyable. I made the most when I owned a sign company. Now, I hope to get back to my retirement fund having my own business again. 🙂
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I like your entrepreneurial spirit!
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Thanks! 🙂
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[…] to be monochrome with a spot of the original color left in. Yesterday, I posted some tips using Corel PhotoPaint Pro 2021. Tomorrow, I will post some tips and tricks in Adobe Photoshop […]
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[…] CorelPaint Pro […]
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