Painting Red Brick White

[Elizabeth5D19]

How can I paint this red brick house but keep all the shadowing and details in the brick? I have tried creating a mask, adding my color, then changing to color mode but it ends up looking black and white.  

[Luke Jennings3]

I would start with Image> adjustments> channel mixer, through the brick mask. You want to put the channel with the best texture and detail on the black channel and adjust the CMY to be a neutral cream color. Adjust the levels to fine tune.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Frequency Separation might also be employed. 

[Trevor.Dennis]

Woah!  c.p.  I'm impressed!  

[Matt25358523quuy]

this is really perfect and I'm trying to do the same thing. Can you walk us through the steps you took to get this effect c.p.?

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Please post (a section of) the image in question. 

Edit: 

[marliton]

Hi. Try using the brush tool with the color or hue blend mode. Also, you can create a new layer with color or hue blend mode and paint with any tool.

[davescm]

Make a selection of the brickwork then add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer set to "Colorize"

Dave

[Guest]

Wow, Thanks you for this answer. It was really useful for me!

[Elizabeth5D19]

Thank you Dave!! This is helpful but what if I need the color to be a specific color of Sherwin Williams paint (i have alrady uploaded those colors.)  So I need to be able to put a white paint color on the house AND see the brick detail....is this possible?  Here is a screenshot of what happens when I am trying.  What am I doing wrong?

[davescm]

Hi

Just remember that although you are simulating white paint - the painted area will still take on colour from the light around it - so it will never be pure white

See example below - I also added a curve and layer set to mutiply on which I painted some shadows

Dave

[Elizabeth5D19]

Gotcha...so there is not way to actually put a paint layer of the exact color I want?

Are you putting a color layer on it or just the hue/saturation?

Sorry for all the questions...I am just learning 😞 Wish there was a step by step tutorial for all this. 

[davescm]

You can use a layer set to blending mode Color to give a specific colour but in real life that colour will vary in lightness (and even hue) on different parts of the building. So what you end up doing is using a combination of the Hue and Saturation (given by blending mode colour) and adjusting the lightness with a curve. If you change the image mode to Lab you will be able to separate the Lightness component from the colour components when adjusting the curve. 

But your overall aim should to simulate what the paint colour would look like on the house when lit with the same lighting (clouds, sky , sun - light reflected from teh ground .....etc) used on the photograph. So do it more by the look than by numbers

Dave

[davescm]

In your screenshot you are using a Hue and sat lay as well as a solid color layer set to blend mode colour. Use one or the other

Dave

[Elizabeth5D19]

you have been so helpful...i know its just user error and I want to cry out of frustration. I can not get this to work right and it is imperative i figure this out!!

steps i used

1. duplicate image
2. create mask
3. add specific white color to mask 
4. played with curve tool

still looks like this.  - - flat color

[davescm]

What "specific white colour" are you using and I will set it up here?

Dave

[Elizabeth5D19]

Sherwin Williams, snowbound 

[davescm]

Sorry that is meaningless in Photoshop terms.

What colour space (e.g. Adobe RGB  or sRGB) and what RGB numbers (e.g 246,248,221)

Dave

[Elizabeth5D19]

Sorry about that...i uploaded all the sherwin williams colors so they are in my color section.  Lets use RGB, Grayscale, WHITE.

[Nancy OShea]

Watch this in depth colorizing video by Jesus Ramirez.   I really like his tutorials because I always learn something new from them. 

[davescm]

OK I found your colour on line

Do this :

Make sure your image is in sRGB colour space (if not Edit > Convert to Profile sRGB)

Add a colour fill layer RGB value 237,234, 229

Set the blending mode of that fill layer to colour

Add a curve - set the blending mode of the curve to Luminosity

Select the Color fill layer and the curve and group them (right click in layers panel then group from layers)

Add a layer mask to the group based on the selected brickwork

Adjust the curve to get the lightness without losing the brickwork

Dave

[davescm]

(Duplicate - ignore)

[Norman Sanders]

You may consider doing the work entirely in Lab Color mode where color adjustment is discrete from tone and texture. No sliders, mninum brush work, editable mask and color and texture. 

Step 1. Create the Mask 

1. Change Mode to Lab Color and choose the Channels panel.

2. Duplicate the  a  channel and choose it (a copy)

3. Choose Curves and increase the contrast as shown

4. Touch up with hard-edged brush to complete the mask

5. Choose layers, add a duplicate layer and add the mask to the top layer

Step 2. Change the brick color

6. Choose Curves and the  a  channel.

7. Change the curve to bisect the grid in the center, horizontally, as shown. 

8.  Repeat with the  b  channel 

The brick color is now neutral gray and maintains the texture of the brick. (The gray value is now similar in lightness to the red brick.

Step 3. Change the gray value to white while maintaining texture. 

9. Bend the curve using its Lightness channel to produce your preference of whiteness, contrast and texture. Color will not change.

10. The mask and Lightness curve are available for tweaking. 

11. Return to RGB Mode

[davescm]

Hi Norman - great to see you back here - I hope you are keeping well 🙂

[Norman Sanders]

One more suggestion:  If you want to match your Photoshop color to a specific Sherman-Williams color you will find the closest match equivalent RGB values at their site. Unfortunately there is no mention of the specific RGB Profile on which their RGB numbers are based. Chances are the Profile is sRGB.

It would be prudent not to make assumptions. If you consult the Sherman-Williams site: Spektran.com, you will have the opportunity to enter the Sherman-Williams color number and see its matching LAB Color value. That value is device independent. By entering those numbers in the Lab section of the Photoshop Color Picker you will see the proper closest match RGB values for your current file’s RGB profile.