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bartonlew
bartonlew
Legend
April 24, 2020
Answered

convert b&w image to color

  • April 24, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 2844 views

I downloaded an image that is a b&w pdf and converted it to a jpg.  I want to add color to the image in Photoshop.  I can't find a single tutorial on how to do this, nor at Adobe.  Plenty on how to go from color to b&w, but not vice versa.  Is it really impossible?  

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3 replies

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 24, 2020

There's no magic bullet for this.  In the absence of any RGB color information, you must create those channels manually.

 

Try this tutorial:

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    bartonlew
    bartonlewAuthor
    Legend
    April 25, 2020

    very helpful, thank you.

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 24, 2020

    The reason there aren't any tutorials is that there's no recipe. This is all manual work. There's no trick.

     

    Technically it's simple enough: add a new empty layer and set it to Color blend mode. Then start painting.

     

    To get a realistic result you will probably need to adjust the lightness in some areas as well. Again, there is no recipe. You decide. If it looks right, it is right.

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