How To Change The Color Of An Image In Illustrator

How To Change The Color Of An Image In Illustrator

Have you ever spent numerous hours working on a vector art piece only to have someone stroll in at the very last second and say they don’t like the color scheme or don’t want any color at all? Don’t worry; we’ll show you how to quickly modify the image’s color in Illustrator.

Open the color palette and select Simulate Colored Paper to simulate colored paper for background images. Click OK after selecting your color. Finally, insert your transparent-background PNG picture. For full images, select Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to Grayscale. This will turn them black and white. You can now select any color by clicking the Swatches option on the left bar.

Let’s move forward to our detailed color-changing guide.

Changing Image Colors In Illustrator: A Guide

The background picture and the whole image are the two types of images that are the subject of the tutorial that follows. Keep reading!

For more detailed instructions on how to change image colors in Illustrator, check out this video below:

For Background Images

Image editors often look for ways to change the color of Illustrator images, especially the color of the image in the background. It’s possible that you’re using stock photographs that clash with the backdrop image or that the customer wants them modified. 

Whatever your reason, you can quickly alter the background color of an Illustrator image by following these easy steps.

  1. Illustrator must first be launched before you can begin altering the images’ colors. 
  2. Create a new document after that and make the proper selections for the artboards, color mode, and dimension. 
  3. Once you’ve finished with that step, select File > Document Setup. A pop-up box will then appear. 
  4. Open the Color Palette after checking the Simulate Colored Paper box.

You should now be able to see a color wheel that you can freely alter. Here, you can experiment with different colors. Simply choose one color for the background and click OK when you are satisfied with your selection. Then return to the Document Setup and click OK. 

Voila! You’ve finally converted the background color of your image, so you can start designing your new document. Just add the transparent-background PNG image, and you’re done.

For Whole Images

What if you wanted to alter the color of an entire piece of art? You can simply change all of the colors in a vector graphic in a few easy steps, so you don’t need to change each one individually. Opening the file you want to recolor in Illustrator is the first step in changing the color of the image.

Check the right top bar to see if the image is embedded rather than linked.

Select Edit > Edit Colors > Convert to Grayscale to turn an image into grayscale. You can now select any color by clicking the Swatches option on the left bar. This is a helpful tip for converting the Illustrator image’s color to a single shade.

Start with the original image if you want to alter the color in a variety of tones or get rid of certain hues. A pop-up window will appear after selecting Edit > Edit Colors > Adjust Color Balance. If the document is in RGB mode, you can modify the slider or remove any color entirely. 

The CMYK mode works the same way.

Last Words

With Illustrator, you may change the color of an image in a number of different ways. It seems rather straightforward, doesn’t it? It is much simpler to change the image’s color in Illustrator compared to using any other editing tool. 

However, perfecting these techniques still takes a considerable amount of time and effort. With the information shared in this article, we hope you’ll be able to do some editing of your own.

How To Color In Photoshop Without Going Over Lines

Photoshop provides us with many features and tools that may seem difficult, but we only need to learn the techniques. Once you master these techniques, you may even find this famous program easier. Coloring in Photoshop without going over the lines is one of these techniques. You can employ multiple tricks to ensure your artwork or image looks as neat as you want. How can we do that? 

If you are working on an image with no lines in different layers, you can use the pen tool to carefully trace and select the lines between which you want to work and then fill in colors layer by layer. We can be even more careful by using the Brush Tool with 100% hardness and small size while working near the lines.

It is not an overly complicated process to be able to color without going over the lines in Photoshop; you just need to be mindful of a few steps. In this article, we will discuss how you can make the coloring in your work, whether it is an image or Lineart, look as perfect as you want it to be. 

Coloring In Photoshop Precisely Within The Lines

To ensure that your coloring does not go beyond the lines in Photoshop, you just have to follow a few simple steps. 

Define The Lines

First, we will show you how you can select the area you want to color on your image to make sure that you define the lines you don’t want to go over. Many people use the Image Trace feature in Photoshop to convert their images into vector graphics for easier editing, but you can also use the selection tools or pen tool. 

Make a new layer and carefully trace the lines you want to work on with the Pen tool. Alternatively, you can also use the Lasso Tool for selection; it does not let you color beyond the selected area. 

Here’s a video that defines the steps to color like a professional: 

Coloring

Now that you have the lines in the new layer change the color mode to Grayscale for this layer so that there are no missed color spots while coloring later on. 

Next, you need to make a new layer and color the background white for coloring precision by using the paintbrush tool or Edit > Fill and lock this background layer with the lines layer. 

Proceed to the coloring by making new layers for each different color that you will color. To make sure you don’t go beyond the lines, set your brush tool hardness to 100%. Using a smaller brush around the edges of the lines will also help in precisely coloring. 

Conclusion

Photoshop gives us various features to make sure we can color our work precisely; this includes tools like the Lasso tool and the layer-by-layer working methods. Such features ensure we don’t color beyond the lines in Photoshop. We explained how you could use these features to your advantage. 

How To Convert RGB To CMYK Without Photoshop

It is essential to know which color mode to use for your images. The CMYK color mode is primarily used to print because it gives high-accuracy results on paper. However, the RGB color mode is better to use when viewing images on screens. So, how can you convert an RGB to CMYK without Photoshop?

Although converting RBG to CMYK in Photoshop is easy, several other methods can also be used for this conversion. These include using the free online software GIMP, an online CMYK converter, asking the print company to do the conversion, or using Adobe Illustrator.

This article will guide you through the abovementioned methods of converting an RGB to CMYK without using Photoshop, so continue reading! 

Converting RBG to CMYK using GIMP

GIMP is an online editing software and is helpful because it requires no purchases. To use GIMP to your RBG file to a CMYK, go through these steps:

1. Having downloaded GIMP, install the “CMYK separation plug-in.”

2. Open GIMP and select the image that needs to convert to CMYK.

3. Then, choose “separate” from the drop-down menu list by right-clicking on your image.

4. Next, select where you want your CMYK file to be saved, and press “ok.”

If you cannot install GIMP, you can also use an online CMYK converter. 

Using an Online RGB to CMYK Converter

This method is useful as it does not require any additional software to be installed on your device. It is also time-saving if you only need to convert one file. The process is as follows:

1. Open your image in the online converter.

2. Select the required CMYK profiles from the listed options. If you are unsure about which profile to use, choose the default settings.

3. Convert the image to CMYK by pressing “ok.”

The following video describes the online conversion method:

If you forget to convert the image and are already on your way to get it printed, the printing company can also change it for you. 

Using the Printing Company

Before you resort to this option, you must call the print workers to ensure they have the required facilities to convert your files to CMYK. Although most print companies will be able to get the work done, it is advised not to leave the image conversion to the last minute.

Another way to convert your RGB file to CMYK is through Adobe Illustrator. 

Converting RGB to CMYK Using Illustrator 

This method is not widely practiced or known by people because RGB is the default setting in all Adobe software. However, you can still convert your file to CMYK using these guidelines:

1. Open your file, go to “document color mode,” and select CMYK.

2. Alter the colors as they are required using the different tools in Illustrator.

3. Next, press “ok” to complete the conversion and save your file. 

Conclusion

There are numerous ways to convert an RGB file to CMYK without using Photoshop. These methods include using GIMP, an online converter, referring to the printing company, or using Adobe Illustrator.  

How To Change Skin Color in Photoshop

The skin appears washed out or pales in the photograph you just shot. You enjoy the stance and setting but detest the skin tone. Do you know that you can quickly adjust the skin tone in Photoshop? Let’s examine how to alter the color of skin tone in Photoshop.

With the help of the Color Range command, we’ll choose the skin tone. The specified section will then be filled with skin tone. Finally, we’ll use Layer Mask to make some adjustments.

Below is a detailed guide on changing skin color in Photoshop.                   

Guide to Changing Skin Color in Photoshop

Portrait photography often shows skin tones that are too pink, orange, or red. This can happen for many different reasons. After Photoshop has opened your picture, it’s easy to fix the slightly off-color skin tones.

This technique works when the skin tone is reasonably close to what is required. It may be used before or after other adjustments, although it is preferable to get the skin tone right as soon as possible in the editing process.

Check out this video to learn how to change skin color in Photoshop quickly:

Step 1: Specify The Skin

Picking your desired skin tone in Photoshop CS6 or later versions is not too difficult. With Photoshop’s Color Range command, we can do the task quickly and easily. Go to Select > Color Range.

Next, select “Skin Tones” and enable “Detect Faces.” To improve the color choices, move the Fuzziness slider to the left or right. The choice is displayed in the window’s preview area, which is just below. 

The region that will be chosen is indicated by the color white, while the undetermined portions are shown by the color black. Now, click OK.

Step 2: Change Skin Color 

Here’s how you can change the skin color in this step:

  1. You may access the layer panel by selecting Window > Layers or by hitting F7. 
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + N or Ctrl + Shift + N to add a new layer. 
  3. Make color the new blend mode. Select the foreground color by clicking it.
  4. Pick a decent skin tone. 
  5. Enter this value into the HEX code. Click OK. 
  6. This chosen skin tone is now the foreground color. 
  7. If you press Opt + Delete or Alt + Backspace, the foreground color will be filled into your chosen area. 
  8. To deselect, use Cmd + D or Ctrl + D.

Step 3: Finetune the Picture

We can remove the skin tone color from areas where it does not belong by using Layer Mask. In the layer panel, choose the layer mask. This will apply a layer mask to the layer that is colored to match the skin tone. 

To use the Brush Tool, either select it from the tool panel or press Shift + B repeatedly. Blacken the color in the foreground. The region where you wish to remove the skin tone color will now be brushed. Now, lower the skin tone layer’s opacity to approximately 50 to 70%.

Final Words

Navigating Photoshop can be difficult for a newbie. This article covers the basics of changing skin tone in Photoshop. We hope that you’ll find it helpful for your work.

Happy editing!

How to Change Units in Illustrator

When you start a new project in Adobe Illustrator, you’ll see a variety of pre-made document templates with various dimensions, measured in either points or pixels. You can also choose from different measuring units, including millimeters, centimeters, inches, and picas.

In Illustrator, select Edit > Preferences > Units from the top menu. You can choose the General, Stroke, and Type Units of measurement using the options given. Click OK after choosing your preferred choice from the drop-down menu.

In the tutorial below, we’ll dive more deeply into how to use the Rulers tool in Adobe Illustrator as well as how to modify a document’s measuring units.

How to Change Units in Adobe Illustrator in Two Ways

Units are often chosen when making a new document, but you may need to change them later for different image uses. This is a typical scenario that occurs to a lot of people. Fortunately, Illustrator makes changing measurements simple.

Check out this video to learn more about how to change units in Illustrator:

Method 1: Change Units Of A New Document

The unit options are located next to the Width on the right-hand side panel when you open a new document. Just click the downward arrow to open the menu and choose the right measuring unit.

If you already have a document and want to save different versions of it, you can change the unit of an existing document by following the steps below.

Method 2: Change Units Of An Existing Document

You can alter the units in the Properties panel, which is where you can view the document units if there isn’t an object selected.

To access the settings menu, click the down arrow and select the units you want to switch to. You can, for instance, go from pt to px, pt to mm, etc. For the document units to appear in the Properties panel, make sure that no object is chosen.

Suppose your version of Illustrator doesn’t enable you to do that or, for some other reason, it doesn’t appear. In that case, you can also select File > Document Setup from the overhead menu to change the units from the Document Setup window.

Navigate to Illustrator > Preferences > Units to adjust the stroke or type units individually. You can select a different unit for type, stroke, and general objects there. The standard unit of measurement for text is the point, whereas for a stroke, it may either be px or pt.

How to Change Units of the Ruler in Adobe Illustrator

The units of the rulers mirror the units of the document; therefore, if your file units are points, the units of the rulers will also be points.

So, follow these steps to modify Adobe Illustrator’s ruler units.

Step 1: Open The Rulers

Open the Rulers by pressing Command + R (or Ctrl + R for Windows users). As a result of the document’s use of inches, the rulers’ measurement units will also have changed.

Step 2: Change Units

To change the rulers’ measurement units, right-click on a specific ruler.

Final Words

When you start a new document, you can select and modify units in accordance with the goal of your work. While pixels are primarily used for digital or screen displays, millimeters and inches are frequently used for printing.

How To Color Hair Paint Tool SAI

Paint Tool SAI is a graphics design software that helps painters and artists draw different kinds of illustrations and artwork through its lightweight yet powerful interface. You can use its simple vector tools to draw whatever idea you have in mind and then fill it with all the colors you want. It could be a landscape, still life, or some comic characters. However, you may need some help learning how to use its features to color your characters’ hair.

You can start by filling base colors in your hair Lineart. Use the basic Brush tool in Paint Tool SAI to shade over the base colors; you can also use this tool to blend the hair later on. You just need to keep changing the brush settings for each purpose, such as changing the blending and density settings. Finish it off by highlighting and giving the hair in your work some final reflections.

Although everyone has their own technique around art, such as coloring hair the way you want, knowing how to manipulate the right tools for this is also crucial. Our article will discuss how you can color hair in Paint Tool SAI through some simple steps.

Coloring Hair In Paint Tool SAI

It is actually quite simple and straightforward to color hair in Paint Tool SAI. To start off, we need to create a new layer for coloring. It is preferred that you only work with one layer to make the blending and shading look more natural. 

However, several layers can make working on different hair strands easier, so whether you want to work on several layers or just one layer depends on your preference. 

Alternatively, you can also refer to the following video to learn different tricks for coloring hair in Paint Tool SAI:

Add The Base Color

You can use the airbrush tool in the color and brush panel to fill in the layers with the base colors that you want. 

You can make several layers for each set of hair strands if you want to give your character’s hair a multi-color look, as it may help set such strands apart, but a single layer is also fine if you don’t color over the lines.

Shading And Blending

You can change your brush settings for the shading to the hue color you want. For example, if you want to give the hair a lighter shade, you can use less opacity or a lighter tint to the color that you choose. 

To blend the shades out, set blending in your brush settings to 100%. This will only blend the shades and add nothing new to the hair colors. 

Highlights 

To add any highlights to the hair, set your brush size to make thinner brush strokes. You can either change the color to its lighter shade or slightly change your brush’s saturation or hue. Blend it out a little after you are done.

Conclusion

We gave you a detailed explanation of the basic method of coloring hair in Paint Tool SAI. You only have to use the brush tool for the coloring process, but you can change its settings to shade, blend, and highlight.

How To Color In Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint is a famous software program that is mainly used for the digital creation of illustrations, comics, and 2D animations in general. Since it is designed specifically for drawing, naturally, it provides and makes features such as coloring more convenient to be used, and with various variations. Its Lineart tools and brushing/coloring tools are advanced and provide you full control over their customization. So how do we use these tools to color in Clip Studio Paint?

We start by making a background layer. You can use the brush settings to make your ideal color brush in Clip Studio Paint. For this, you can use the default oil paint brush or any other brush type you find fit from the settings. Before you use these brushes to color, you can also use the flattening method, in which you can use the eyedropper tool to generate a color palette from which you can “Fill” in colors. 

Since Clip Studio Paint provides you with so many choices, the coloring process may seem a little complicated. But it can be very easy if you learn its techniques. In this article, we will explain how you can use its tools to color your work as you want.

Coloring In Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint has many built-in brushes, and you can change their settings in the Sub Tool Detail panel. But before you start, you have to follow a few steps to make your drawing ready to be colored.

  1. First, we make sure that our Lineart is fit to be colored in. This means that we should have clearer lines and remove any extra pencil lines that we don’t want. 
  2. Then, we have to create and set a new background layer and lock it in place with the lines layer. 
  3. We can create this by clicking New Raster Layer on the Layer palette. It is preferred that you change this layer to either a completely white fill or 50% gray in the grayscale.
  4. You can generate a color palette from the eyedropper tool by using some other image for help in your drawing, or you can simply use the color wheel palette. 
  5. Next, use the fill tool to fill your drawing with the colors; you can use the Pen tool to fill in areas that are too small. 

This process is called “flatting.” The following video thoroughly explains the coloring process in Clip Studio Paint:

To proceed with coloring with strokes, use any of the brushes. You can choose any color you want and customize the brush. You can change its opacity, hardness, size, texture, spraying effect, blending mode, and much more. 

Conclusion

Clip Studio Paint has a rich brush engine; you can use it for Lineart and coloring besides the Fill options. We explained how you could use Clip Studio Paint’s tools to color your work as you want to.

How to Combine Objects in Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is one of the most used graphic editing, design, and formatting software that uses vectors and is owned by Adobe Inc. Using this software, allows you to create anything from logos to artwork with professional accuracy. Among its numerous tools, Illustrator can combine objects. So, how does this work?

Combining objects makes it easier and quicker to work, so there are several ways to do so in Illustrator. One of the most used methods for combining objects is just clicking and dragging using the Shape Builder tool.  Alternatively, you can also use the pathfinder tool or the group method.

Continue reading to learn more about each method! 

Combining Objects Using Shape Builder

As the most common method for combining objects, this is also the quickest. To use it, follow these steps:

1. Select any of the objects visible on the screen and drag any one of them into the other, keeping them aligned.

2. Next, open the “view option” from the menu bar on the left side.

3. Choose the “outline” tool and start adjusting the position of the two objects to ensure they blend well with each other without blank spaces in the middle.

4. Lastly, select the “shape builder” tool to finalize the new combined shape of the two objects.

Even though this method is the easiest to memorize and use, the other two methods are as essential because these tips and tricks would allow you to become a master illustrator user. Continue reading this article to learn how to combine objects using illustrator using the other two methods. 

For a more detailed description of combining objects in Illustrator, refer to this video:

Combining Objects in Illustrator Using Pathfinder

For this method, use the steps below:

1. Firstly, click on the objects that you want to combine.

2. Secondly, click on the “path pinder” panel in the menu bar to view 10 different editing modes for your object.

3. Select the “divide” option from the tools provided under the Pathfinder menu. The name of each tool appears when the mouse pointer comes near the options.

4. You can select the ungroup option to move the shapes that have been divided.

5. Lastly, use a crop tool to create the desired shape by combining those objects.

Combining Objects in Illustrator Using Group

If you want to use this third method, the following steps will guide you:

1. Begin by selecting the objects you wish to combine.

2. Align the objects to your desire (only do this if it is required).

3. Click on the “object” option from the toolbar and then click on “group.” After this, both objects will be combined.

4. To add to them or change the color of the grouped objects, simply “double click” on the part of the object that you want to edit. This will appear as a new layer within the toolbar that you can use to change the colors to your liking.

Conclusion

Combining objects allows you to be more creative by making new designs and patterns. There are three ways to do so within Illustrator. However, using the shape builder tool is the easiest method.

How To Convert RAW To JPEG In Photoshop

It is highly beneficial to use RAW images when editing. This is because they allow for greater adjustments while adjusting an image’s exposure, color, and shadows. However, converting an image to JPEG allows for more sharpness in it. So, how can you convert a RAW file to a JPEG using Photoshop?

One of the easiest ways to convert RAW to JPEG in Photoshop is to change its format when you export it. Alternatively, using camera raw, you can also change the format when your RAW file is loaded onto the Photoshop canvas.

Continue reading to learn details about each method of RAW to JPEG conversion! 

How to Export a Raw File as JPEG?

If you are not finished editing your picture in Photoshop, you can continue using it in the RAW format and change it to JPEG as you export it. For this method, use these steps:

1. Open the “export as” panel by going to “file” and then “export.” Alternatively, you can hold the “control,” “shift,” “alt,” and “W” keys if you are using Windows or the “command,” “shift,” “option,” and “W” keys if you are using Mac as keyboard shortcuts.

2. Within this panel, you can choose JPEG from the list of different formats.

3. Next, alter the image quality, height, and width as required.

4. If you resize your image, you need to resample it to adjust it according to the modification in its dimensions.

5. Within the “export as” panel, there are two choices for color space. If your image is for web purposes, select the “convert to sRGB” option, otherwise, select “embed color profile” to maintain your image’s colors.

6. Once done, click “export” to save your image as a JPEG file.

This is the most preferred method of converting RGB to JPEG because you can easily edit your RAW file in Photoshop and quickly transform it to JPEG later. 

The following video guides you on converting an RGB to JPEG in Photoshop:

Converting RGP to JPEG Through Camera Raw

To use this method, begin by opening the RAW file on your Photoshop window. When doing so, the RAW file gets opened within “camera raw.” This is to allow for detailed edits to be made before the file goes to Photoshop. Then, follow these steps:

1. After editing the file, you can turn it to JPEG within the camera raw.

2. Press the “save” icon presented as a down arrow between squared brackets. This is found at the top right corner within the “camera raw” panel.  

3. The “save options” panel will open. Here, turn preset into “save as JPEG.”

4. Next, select the JPEG file’s saving location from the “destination” options and name your file.

5. Then, go to “quality” to modify your file’s quality. If your file is for printing purposes, set the quality to either “high” or “maximum.”

6. Having adjusted all the settings, press “save.”  

Conclusion

Converting an RGB file to JPEG is important for higher quality images. As stated above, there are two different ways of doing so, but changing the format while exporting it is quicker.   

How to Clear Recent Files in Photoshop

There are a few ways you can remove the list or hide it if you’ve used Adobe Photoshop and don’t want your most recent files or documents to be shown on the app’s opening home page. We’ll demonstrate how to do just that in this tutorial.

First, go to Files in the top menu bar. From there, open Recent and choose Clear Recent File List. This will remove all files from your Photoshop Home Screen. You can also hide the list by Edit> Preferences > File handling and set the recent file contains list to 0.

Keep reading below for a quick guide on how to clear or hide your recent files from Photoshop.

How to Clear Recent Files on Photoshop?

We can quickly find relevant content and documents by keeping a history or list of the files we’ve recently opened. However, if you don’t require it and don’t want to see the list of your recent works, it’s recommended that you remove these files from Photoshop’s recent files list.

For detailed instructions on how to do this, check out this video:

This is a really simple process, and we’ll teach you how to accomplish it just below.

  1. Launch Photoshop.
  2. From the menu bar at the top, select “Edit.”
  3. Open the drop-down menu and choose “Preferences.”
  4. Select “File Handling” from the side menu.
  5. Select “Clear List” from the “Recent Files” menu.
  6. Exit the Preferences dialogue box.

How to Hide the Panel That Shows Recent Files?

Although Photoshop’s Recent Files workspace is by default disabled, you may find that it is really quite useful. If you regularly need to reopen previously closed files, this is especially true. 

But if you change your mind, you can quickly open Photoshop’s General Preferences.

  1. Simply use the Ctrl+K (Windows) or Command+K (Mac) keys on your keyboard.
  2. Next, make sure that the Show “Recent Files” Workspace option is not selected in order to disable it when the box for opening a file is unchecksed. 
  3. It is necessary to shut down and then restart Photoshop for the changes to take effect.

How to Hide the Recent File List in Photoshop?

As you can see above, Photoshop makes it simple to clear the Recent File List. However, if you go on to open other files, the list will show them again. 

  1. Click “Edit” in the toolbar to get rid of the Recent File List and hide the recent files from the “Home” page. 
  2. Then pick Preferences and “File Handling” from the list.
  3. Once the Preferences window appears, scroll toward the end of the window and use the text box next to the “Recent File List Contains” item to adjust it to the value “0” (zero).
  4. The Preferences box will shut, and Photoshop will store your changes once you click “OK.” 

The list of recently opened files will not appear in the File menu or on the Home screen going forward.

But keep in mind that Photoshop still keeps track of files you’ve used or changed recently, even if you don’t see them. If you change “Recent File List Contains” to a number other than 0, you can show recently opened files again.

Final Words

If you don’t want to see your recently opened or edited work on Photoshop, you can simply hide or clear this list of recent files. The tutorial above covers the necessary steps to do that.

Happy editing!