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elena.fx
elena.fx
Participating Frequently
August 13, 2021
Question

Remove black from complex stock art lens flare gradients for use on white backgrounds

  • August 13, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 5208 views

Hello! First time poster here.

I have a logo that has used stock art of lens flares which have the gradients set to fade into black. 

Is there a quick way to change all the blacks to white and change their opacity to 0 so there's no muddyness? 

Thanks for any suggestions in advance. 





    2 replies

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 13, 2021

    If they are in fact gradients (and not blends) you could use "Recolor artwork" to change the color from black to white. But you cannot change the opacity with that.

      elena.fx
      elena.fxAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      August 15, 2021

      Thank you! 

      I tried this and then used the select similar fill colour to adjust the transparency to 0% of multiple white points at once just with the transparency menu. Some of this I had to do manually but I definitely saved some time and sanity. 

        Brad @ Roaring Mouse
        Community Expert
        Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 13, 2021

        These stock illustrations are built with a transparency effect that requires something behind it to work properly. Try that.

          elena.fx
          elena.fxAuthor
          Participating Frequently
          August 15, 2021

          Thank you! I didn't even think to try this. This worked but the colours in the art did vary with the colour of the background and blending modes. I need to build out assets that will remain true no matter the colour of the background so will get in there and ajust the art as best I can.

          Brad @ Roaring Mouse
          Community Expert
          Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          August 31, 2021

          Ah ok, I see what you mean about the grey halos.

          Do you have any idea what would be the best course for translating this design for use in print / providing finished artwork assets to the client? The design has been approved 😕😕 

          Should it be provided as a RGB file only to then be exported out by whichever program for print once it's overlaid on an image? I'm really stuck for how to resolve this, any jelp much appreciated. 


          Build your cover in RGB. I assume you are providing PDFs at the end?

          You can make the decision there whether to leave it as RGB (in this case, that would be my preference) and send it that way in PDF (Export to PDF > No Conversion). Alternatively, you can also do a PDF where YOU convert it to CMYK at the end, in fact, it would be a good test before you go too far (Convert to Destination), but you need to make sure you have appropraite color settings. If the printer has a recommended output profile, use what they want, otherwise use something high quality like GRACOL coated.

          Do test PDFs, open it in Acrobat, and take a look at the flares and see how they look, either way.

          Personally, I would consider rendering the main part of cover into a flattened image in Photoshop so that you can be certain things work the way you want, and just layer the remainder (like type copy, etc) as vector on top of it.

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