Critiques - - First Try at Coloring a B&W

imann08 · #1 04-11-2006, 10:38 PM

I think this turned out pretty well but would like to hear everyone's opinion on it. I put the radial gradient on the background just for fun but I'd like to know if you think it's a good idea or bad. I think the color may be a bit too saturated but don't know. I think it's lacking something but I'm not sure. It just doesn't look as realistic as I would like it to look. I think it may have to do with the fact that I took all the noise out of the skin and should have left some behind. Let me know. The original can be found at http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/critiques/13283-tell-me-what-i-did-wrong.html

aylaah · #2 04-11-2006, 11:53 PM

Personally I think it looks great!

I really love the coloured B&W and selective colour and B&W look, it is probably my absolute favourite thing to do, lol.

I'm sure those with a much more discerning eye will have some more constructive comments than I do, but I really like it!

NancyJ · #3 04-12-2006, 01:42 AM

Its a good start! I think the skin colour is a little on the yellow side and the teeth are a bit 'hollywood'

The other thing is the lack of colour variation, nobody is a flat colour all over, try to vary the colours, eg for skin the darker areas will usually have more red and the lighter areas more yellow, just the subtlest variations will make a good picture great!

Ziaphra · #4 04-12-2006, 01:57 AM

I love your colourization!

The problem for me, with this image is that it is too soft. I hope you don't mind me making a few adjustments. First I did a skin enhancement and warmed the picture up overall. Then I sharpened it and added some noise. Then I did a bit of copy and paste to try and bring the hair into focus a bit and I enhanced her eyes and lips to give them a tad more focus too. Also...as much as we would like it, teeth and the white of the eyes would not be such a pristine white so I added a touch of colour there too. I have linked to imageshack as the pic is 540kb and I didn't want you to lose any of the size or quality in trying to upload it here.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3862/rtp17gz.jpg

NancyJ · #5 04-12-2006, 02:09 AM

Had a quick go at demonstrating what I was saying about colour variation - its not a great job I know, but I dont want to be late for work

imann08 · #6 04-12-2006, 02:23 AM

aylaah: Thanks for the high. I appreciate it

NancyJ: Thanks for ruining that high. jk

Seriously, I think you are right about the skin color being a little too yellow. I did use a second tint on this picture though. It is not totally flat. If you look at the end of the thread I posted in my first post you will see what it looks like with just one color. I also did add some color in the cheeks. I think color is maybe my biggest problem. If you know of any good skin color swatch palettes out there I'm all ears. The colors I used are off a swatch palette that I found. I can't lie, the teeth are not colored at all. They are just the black and white. I kept looking at them throughout the coloring of the picture but decided to leave them as is. I definitely know what you are talking about.

Ziaphra: The softness of the picture is the main thing that I was concerned about while doing this. I do feel that you went overboard on the noise addition though. The print I scanned was one of those old ones with a texture so I was trying to get rid of all of it and just went a bit too far. I would just bring it back very mildly though myself. Since this is the first one that I have done I was kind of liking it even though it had a sort of fake retouched look to it. That's not something I will want to continue though so you are right.

For those who didn't look at my first thread on this where I was simply retouching the black and white, this is a picture of my mom's graduation picture.

imann08 · #7 04-12-2006, 02:32 AM

NancyJ: Yours really makes mine look yellow when it's next to yours. Like I said in the post I just wrote, I have a hard time with colors. BTW, I did this in LAB instead of RGB. I think it works better. It is very difficult to know how your color is going to show up on the picture when you are working in color mode. At least for a novice such as myself. thanks for the input, I appreciate it very much. Without a board like this where everyone is so helpful it is difficult to improve. A second opinion is always worthwhile.

Ziaphra · #8 04-12-2006, 02:44 AM

You did a damn fine job for a first timer!

I had already had a second look at the pic and had noticed I had put too much noise, so removed some of it, gave her skin more of a peachy colour and deepened the shadows a tad to give it more depth.

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2797/rtp23gw.jpg

imann08 · #9 04-12-2006, 03:34 AM

Ziaphra: That look a lot better but I still have a problem with the noise. It may just be me but I have a big problem with noise. Even that second one you did looks like it was taken with a 800 ISO. In my opinion, noise is not to be that noticeable. It should simply be just enough to make the image not look as smooth as mine and adjust for any corrections or blurring that might have been done. I notice your noise more than I notice the person in the picture. Like I said though, you are right about mine not having enough and what I am saying here is just my opinion and am interested in hearing what others say about it. Due to a lack of experience I only have my opinion and what I read in books which doesn't cover everything. Thanks again.

NancyJ · #10 04-12-2006, 04:09 AM

Another thing I noticed - is you missed a bit

On the left hand side where her hair meets her face.

Verywierd · #11 04-12-2006, 08:44 AM

Nice job overall.

It may be my monitor, but the skin tone still seemed a bit off, so here is my try, with a little sharpening around the sides of the face and a little pearl in the teeth and very little additional grain or noise (I hope).

http://www.photography.verywierd.com...1_Color2bj.jpg

imann08 · #12 04-12-2006, 11:38 AM

NancyJ:

I saw that missed spot before I posted it but just posted this anyways cause I wanted to hear what people had to say. I didn't realize that I had missed it until I actually printed it out on photo paper. Do you have any info on skin tone swatches that are available? Just wondering.

imann08 · #13 04-12-2006, 11:47 AM

Verywierd:

That was very nice. NancyJ originally pointed out about the skin color so I agree with that. I like what you did with that plus the sharpening of the sides of the face. Basically all the little edits you made made a difference. Could you tell me the numbers of the colors you used in the face? I'd appreciate it. I don't know if I'd use those exactly but I'm looking to collect some colors to develop a skin swatch of my own. Oh, also the pearl that you used for the teeth. What kind of opacity did you use for that? Less than 100%? Just wondering.

klassylady25 · #14 04-12-2006, 12:32 PM

Attached you will find skin and hair colors.

Also, remember that "noise" level is subjective based on the artist's perception.

Verywierd · #15 04-12-2006, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imann08

Verywierd:

That was very nice. NancyJ originally pointed out about the skin color so I agree with that. I like what you did with that plus the sharpening of the sides of the face. Basically all the little edits you made made a difference. Could you tell me the numbers of the colors you used in the face? I'd appreciate it. I don't know if I'd use those exactly but I'm looking to collect some colors to develop a skin swatch of my own. Oh, also the pearl that you used for the teeth. What kind of opacity did you use for that? Less than 100%? Just wondering.

I'm afraid that the skin tone was done visually. I find that unless you intend to revert to black and white and start over, using a "standard" tone on top of what is already there does not usually work. Either the new layer is so heavy that it looks like stage makeup or the previous shade still show through and blend into something that you do not want.

As for the the teeth, it was a blurred cream yellow applied at a very low opacity, something like 5-10% in soft light blending mode.