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I have a black & white graphic, which I want to turn into a blue & yellow.

Black → blue,
white → yellow

I can do the first part by creating a solid color layer and change the blending options to "lighten", but then I have a blue & white image.

I have a vague idea that I should select highlights and shadows, resp., and turn the selections into masks for a solid color layer, but I don't know how to do this. Also, I'm not sure this is the best route to go.

Photoshop is version CS6.

EDIT:

I think I found it, but I'm not completely satisfied yet.

In the "select" menu I select "color range" and then "shadows". I then add a mask using the selection. I make that layer yellow. Underneath I place a solid blue layer.

The problem is that the edges are very hard and jagged, like when you convert an 8-bit grayscale to an indexed color image. So the mask seems to consist of black and white only. Any ideas how to solve this?

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1 Answer 1

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The way I would do this is using a 'Gradient Map' adjustment layer.

  1. First make sure the Adjustments panel is visible. Go to 'Window → Adjustments' and make sure 'Adjustments' is checked.

Window Menu

  1. Click 'Gradient Map' in the 'Adjustments' panel.

Gradient Map

  1. Click the gradient in the pop-out(Properties panel), and edit. There will be default options, but you can click to edit any of them. Right hand side = black, left side = white.

Gradient

  1. You can click on the layer in 'Layers' to edit as you need. You can also edit how sharp of a drop off the gradient has... IE. where the parts between white/black become a combination of your new color combo. This isn't a hard re-color, but as it states a 'mapping' of a 'gradient', so it might not be the exact result you were hoping for. Give it a shot.

Layers Panel

Final result:

Final Result

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  • Then what? ................ Jul 10, 2015 at 9:13
  • Just updated-- apologies. I submitted it too early. Added a visual guide- let me know if that helps. Jul 10, 2015 at 9:16
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    Good job. It's just a bit better to have the images in between the text so it's more clear which image goes with which step. Jul 10, 2015 at 10:10

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