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Changing Color of Individual graphics Within a PDF

Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Hello!

 

I believe that what I want to do is very simple, but I don't know where to begin.

 

I have a single-page PDF of a musical score, and all I want to do is change the noteheads to different colors. The PDF is originally in black and white, and I do not want to change the color of anything other than the noteheads.

 

Could you please tell me the steps?

 

I have attached the score. You will see that the noteheads are attached to other graphics, so I will have to isolate them from these.

 

Thank you!

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Hello,

 

Thank you for your reply. What do you mean by the proper image? I have attached the PDF which I am working with.

 

Cheers,

Thomas

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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The PDF contains an image. Photoshop would be the best app to do this.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Really? Could you please tell me the steps to doing it in Photoshop?

 

Thanks,

Thomas

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Sure, this is what I would do:

Open the PDF in Photoshop.

Select Images.

Choose: Image > Mode > Grayscale

Choose: Image > Mode > RGB

Select a Foreground Color and use a Brush with Lighter Color mode to paint over black areas.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Hello,

 

Thanks for the reply. Is there a way to isolate each of the noteheads, though, so that the color can be applied as a fill? This would save a huge amount of time and work, and would ensure accuracy.

 

Cheers,

Thomas

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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No, everything is the same black.

Just paint over the noteheads as described above.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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This is no solution. This would take ages, require painstaking work, and possibly suffer from inaccuracy.

 

Illustrator is able to recognize objects of different shapes and will allow you to isolate them. This is what I'm asking how to do.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Illustrator is not able to isolate the noteheads because they are connected to areas of the same pixel color.

Illustrator is a vector application and does not know what a notehead is in an image and cannot recognize it.

As far as I can see, manually changing color is the only way.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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It does allow you to edit the things that it recognizes. Then I could simply isolate the individual noteheads from the black around it. 

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Illustrator can do that, but there are no objects in this file other than a pixel image.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Can it be converted in Illustrator to an editable format, which will keep the current resolution exactly as it is?

 

Thanks.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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The image bitmap resolution is too low to convert it into a reasonable looking vector file.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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I might be able to make a higher quality scan of the original document. Do you think this would make a difference?

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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It would certainly make a difference for the overall quality, but not for the recoloring you want.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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Yes, I'll see if I can make a good scan of this. Thanks for your advice! 🙂

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Community Expert ,
Mar 11, 2022 Mar 11, 2022

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As a raster (pixel-based; Photoshop) image, you can't separate the note heads from the rest of the black area.

 

Even if the art was a vector (Illustrator) image, most likely the entire note would one piece; that is, the head would not be selectable separately. Even if it was, you would still need to find some way to select just the heads, which would probably be manually.

 

You need to see if the original program can perform what you want--or recreate the music in a program that can. Also, you need to learn/understand the limitations of what software can and can't do. This is not a limitation of Photoshop or Illustrator--it is a limitation of the art you are trying to edit. 

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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Explorer ,
Mar 11, 2022 Mar 11, 2022

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There is no "original program" that created this. This is a scan of something that was originally published many decades ago.

 

As I said, I want to work with the original document, not recreate it in engraving software.

 

Your claim that the original document is limited rather than the software that interprets it is like saying that an ancient language is limited because people haven't figured out how to read it.

 

Some of the commenters here have already given solutions to the problem which don't involve anything you've suggested.

 

 

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Community Expert ,
Mar 11, 2022 Mar 11, 2022

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I read the posts--the only solutions were to do it manually, one at a time. While a solution, you appear to be looking for an automated one. That's unlikely. (I remember making short scores with Letraset rub-on sheets, so I know what you are asking for.)

 

Your analogy with an ancient language is appropriate, but that doesn't change the current state of software. While our brains can recognize the note heads, it just a bunch of colored pixels to software. Or, you can just wait until developers find the Rosetta Stone. 

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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Explorer ,
Mar 11, 2022 Mar 11, 2022

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You'll see that I had already aquiesced to a solution given by Kenneth Kawamoto. Also, you're framing this as if I was complaining about the software, which I never was.

 

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Community Expert ,
Mar 14, 2022 Mar 14, 2022

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>>Also, you're framing this as if I was complaining about the software,

No, but you didn't seem to understand the limitations of the software. I believe you have a better understanding now, however. 

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

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Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2022 Mar 23, 2022

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Any time somebody asks whether a piece of software is capable of doing a particular thing implies that they don't yet know what the limitations of the software are with regard to that thing.

 

Your initial comment was arrogant and unhelpful.

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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The other thing I want to do is even simpler. I simply want to crop parts of the score (as if I were to use scissors to cut it in real life) and reassemble them on a page. I would like also to change the size of one or two of the cropped pieces.

 

All of this I would do after having recolored the noteheads.

 

Thanks!

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Explorer ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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If someone could please provide the steps for this, either in Illustrator or Photoshop, I would be very appreciative.

 

Thomas,

Thomas

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Community Expert ,
Mar 10, 2022 Mar 10, 2022

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> The other thing I want to do is even simpler. I simply want to crop parts of the score (as if I were to use scissors to cut it in real life) and reassemble them on a page. I would like also to change the size of one or two of the cropped pieces.

 

This is PS job, not AI. In PS select an area and cut, then paste - this will create a new layer, which you can resize/reposition.

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