Photoshop’s Replace Color adjustment is a quick and efficient way to swap one color for another. In this tutorial, we’ll change the blue of the sky and the Aloha logo on these skateboards for a sunny yellow.

Step 1

Start by going to Image > Adjustments > Replace Color. Tap in the image to select the color to replace– I always begin with the purest part of the color. Fuzziness sets the tolerance of the Replace Color mask. Set the hue you’re changing to with the Hue, Saturation and Lightness sliders.

Step 2

Next, choose the eyedropper with the plus sign to add to the selection. Tap on any areas of blue remaining to change them to yellow. (If you accidentally click in a spot you don’t want to change, hit command/control-Z to undo.)

Step 3

When you’re finished selecting all the blue that needs to be changed, hit the OK button. Save under a different name (yellow_aloha.psd) to keep both the original and the replaced color boards.

10 Comments

1. lilly said on — May 13, 2008 @ 6:55 pm

   thank you so much for this.

2. mc said on — June 4, 2008 @ 3:46 am

   Thanks
   I can’t get this to work with black.
   How can you change black to another color?

3. Gman said on — July 15, 2008 @ 4:11 pm

   Thanks!!! Never used this tool before. Always tried to correct manually. This was quick and to the point and worked perfectly! Great job!

4. Kal Hoone - PS, AI, ID Guru said on — October 2, 2008 @ 8:00 am

   Simple tutorial. One thing is missing – where exactly to find the tool in photoshop for the beginners. Image > Adjustments > Replace color.

5. Kal Hoone - PS, AI, ID Guru said on — October 2, 2008 @ 8:02 am

   lol………my applogies, only NOW read tutorial in entirety.

6. orion said on — October 2, 2008 @ 8:11 am

   It’s okay dude, we all make mistakes. I like the tutorial.

7. Tanzanite said on — May 5, 2009 @ 10:23 am

   Excellent tutorial – I have struggled with this for ages and always ebded up with a big mess. It really is simple when you know how!

8. James said on — May 14, 2009 @ 1:08 am

   In my experience the color replaced will allow you to change from blue to a slightly darker blue or perhaps a greenish hue, but never a full range of colors let alone all the way to yellow.

9. pam said on — October 12, 2009 @ 11:03 am

   Everything is changing except what I want to change…My sky is slightly blown out and I want to put blue back into it..its not working. e
   Everything else is changing.
   help!

10. Jeff said on — October 16, 2009 @ 6:35 pm

    Also had trouble with black, then realized you don’t have to use the sliders. Just click on the color box at the bottom and pick any replacement color you want.

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