Inspiring

Question

Changing color and keeping texture of the original layer., using paint brush

Forum|Forum|8 months ago
June 9, 2025
3 replies
494 views

Hi

I have a client who changes frosting colors on cookies for each holiday. 2 weeks ago, I was able to select the frosting I wanted to change then change my foreground color to (red), which is the color I am trying now. I open the paint brush and select color mode. When I painted 2 weeks ago, I got the color selected and the frosting texture below showed through. Now I am trying to do 4th of July colors and the red is coming out a very light pink, even though all opacities are 100%. What changed? The hue saturation layer does not work either. Thank you

Joe

Windows

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Aside from the advide you already got, could you please post screenshots with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible?

Trevor.Dennis

Community Expert

It depends on the underlying tonal value. Full white and full black will show no colour. 50% grey shows full colour.

I have used a black white gradient to demonstrate, with a mask over half of the canvas to show what is below the layer set to Color.

If you use a Hue/Sat layer with Colorize checked, you can control the underlying tonal value with the lightness slider. You can only control one end of the tonal range with the one Hue/Sat layer though. You can see I have darkened the whites below. You can chose any method you like to control those tonal values.

joecos55Author

Inspiring

Thank you, what I am trying to do worked fine a month ago it was an easy edit, I selected a cookie the color I wanted, put the paint brush on color and painted it in. Now a month later I have made no changes t=except update to photoshop with the ne hue/sat and its not working.

Joe Cosentino

c.pfaffenbichler

Community Expert

Arguing the case without posting the requested screenshots (or the image in question itself) seems pointless to me.

And your approach (painting with Blend Mode »Color«) might be less than ideal in the long run, a non-destructive approach seems preferable

Claire H.

Community Manager

Hi @joecos55, Thanks for reaching out to the forums! Let's try a few things first to solve this issue:

1. Check for Adjustment Layers: If you have a Levels, Hue/Saturation, or other adjustment layer above your painting layer, it could alter how the color appears. Try temporarily turning off those layers to see if the red returns to normal. Also, when sampling colors, make sure your Eyedropper tool is s "t to "Current "Layer" to avoid picking up adjusted colors

2. Brush Mode: Double-check that your brush is still set to "Color" mode. Sometimes, it can accidentally switch to another blending mode, like "Lighten" or "Overlay," which can affect how colors appear.

3. Opacity and Flow: You mentioned both are 100%, but check the brush's "Transfer" settings in the Brush panel. If "Pen Pressure" is enabled for Opacity or Flow, it could still be applying less color depending on your stylus pressure.

4. Layer Stack: Make sure you're painting on the correct layer and that it's not set to a blending mode like "Screen" or "Soft Light," which can lighten colors.

If none of these checks are fixing the issue, can you send us some screenshots of your Photoshop workspace? Or, even better, a screen recording of the exact steps you're taking when you encounter the issue. Thanks! ^CH

joecos55Author

Inspiring

Thanks sorry for the delay, I will do some screen shots and post them

Joe Cosentino

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