Separating Colors

[caligula]

Hi, My friend is trying to separate colors on an image. He is working in PS6 on a windows platform. He wants each color to be on a separate layer. We posterized the image and tried making selections by color with the magic wand tool but the selections are crude. Any suggestions for getting more accurate selections. Thanks.

[Jason_The_Adams]

Unless there's some slick technique for doing this that I don't know about, I tend to work per basis on replicating flat images into multiple layers. For example, if the graphic is simple enough, I tend to recreate the graphic from the ground up, while keeping it as accurate as possible and the layers separate. On the other hand, this simply isn't practical with some, more complicated issues. In such situations I tend to break apart the objects (or colors) of the graphic as I can, after copying the initial layer multiple times. From there, I use vector and/or layer masks to begin to pull apart the image.

If you were to post the image, we could likely give you more accurate instructions on how to specifically achieve what you're looking for. Otherwise, I'm very interested to see if anyone else has any ingenious ideas.

Hope this helps.

[combiBob]

For display purposes, you already have the colors in layers, sort of. (Preferences>Display channels in color)

For printing in CMYK, make 4 separate images for each color by selecting all and filling the channels you DON'T want with white. It's fake but it's quick.

Hope that helps,

bp

[NEMESIS]

Hello Caligula,

As Jason said it would be nice to see picture. Anyways you want it for print? If yes is it for Silk Screen printing or Offset printing?

Now i don't really remember what features Photoshop 6 does have (it was a while since i ain't used it :D i think it was from 1999 or it was 2000 :D, but what a heck )
but if have Color Range under Select menu and if your colors are "flats" that will do the trick and play a little bit with fuzziness too. As a quicker solution this might do the trick.

[caligula]

Thanks for your responses. I got very good results using the color range selection. I haven't tried the other suggestions. I would like to post the image for everyone to look at, but am not sure how to do that. It is a photograph of a woods in fall with lots of variations in colors, a real selection problem. Please tell me how to post images?

My friend is only going to make an inkjet print from it and the image will not go to a commercial press. The image is basically only a reference for a semi-abstract, semi-realistic oil painting he is doing. He wants to try out different color schemes before starting the painting. Should the image which is now in RGB be converted to CMYK for the purpose of isolating each color onto its own layer?

[NEMESIS]

Hello Caligula,

To post image here just go to photobucket.com or imageshack and upload image there and you will get code to paste here. When you post here that code with your message it will be visible in forums.

[caligula]

Here is the image. We want to put the leaves, trees, sky and ground on separate layers. Thanks a lot for your suggestions.


http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t208/cesspoool/smalltrees.jpg