Coloring a Background

[Louis Sander]

Simple need, I think, but I forget how to do it.

I scanned a typed letter, black letters on a white background. It is now a PSD file, with the whole thing as a background layer.

I want to color the background yellow, to simulate an old manuscript. How?

[Jeff Arola]

One way is to put the "color" layer over the text and change the layer blend mode of the "color" layer to Multiply.

[Louis Sander]

This did not work for me. I changed the Background layer to Layer 0. Did I do something wrong?

[99jon]

Nothing wrong although changing the background layer to layer 0 really makes no difference.

1. Open your B&W document in the Expert workspace
2. From the menu choose Layer >> New Fill Layer >> Solid Color >> OK
3. Choose Yellow from the color picker dialog
4. Change the layer blend to Multiply

You could also use the opacity slider for a more subtle color, as required.

If you want to experiment with different colors simply double-click on the color thumbnail on the fill layer.

I think Jeff also added a pattern layer to give some texture but that’s optional.