S K I N
(To do the skin, I started out with a size 9 brush.)

1. Okay, we're going to start on the skin first. Take a new layer (Layer >> New Layer), label it 'Skin 1' and, using your paintbrush tool, cover the skin with #dbba74. Be sure to avoid the eyes because we'll be using those later. After you have covered the skin (don't worry about the hair, we can erase that in a minute), change the opacity to COLOR at 45%.
2. New Layer, label it 'Skin 2'. We label it just to keep track. Cover the skin with #f4e4c3 and set the opacity to COLOR at 27%.
3. Again, new layer, and label it 'Skin 3'. This will be the last skin layer we do. Cover the skin with #f2b0d4 and set the opacity to COLOR at 20%.
4. Erase all the bits you got on the hair or the surrounding background (if you're a messy painter like me, then that's a lot!).
5. OPTIONAL I like to merge all the layers and start over with a new image. You don't have to if you don't want. To me, it's just better organized this way and I don't accidentally draw on other layers.

E Y E S
(To do the eyes, I changed the brush from a size 9 to a size 3 to get into the smaller places.)

1. New layer, label it 'Eyes 1' (obviously :) ). Color on the whites of the eyes, including the small glares near the pupil with #FEFEFE. Set the opacity to SOFT LIGHT at 75%.
2. Now for the irises and the actual color of the eye. I chose #14684b for this because I wanted to change the image up a little. If you look at the actual color image before I desaturated it, she has brown eyes. So, using another layer labelled 'Eyes 2', paint over the outside of the iris with the green and set it to COLOR at 100%.
3. Then, to give the eyes a little spark (this step is also completely optional), I created a new layer and called it (can you guess?)...and painted over the green we just added with #6fc895. Of course, that's just changing the eye color, not enhancing it like I wanted. Instead of setting the opacity to COLOR at 100%, I changed it to VIVID LIGHT at 20%. There, see? It's much lighter and more attractive than just some dull old dark green.
4. Now, as far as I'm concerned, eyes are finished. You can't really make the pupil any more darker than it is, so we're going on to the next step, which is...

M A K E U P
(For the makeup, I changed it up from a size 3 to a size 5 brush. Not quite as big as a 9 or as small as a 3, it's small enough to get into those hard to reach places, and large enough so that we don't have to double back and spend too much time filling in the smaller places we missed.)

1. Again, I flattened/merged the image so there aren't any extra layers hanging around, and I added a new layer entitled 'Makeup 1'. So we don't detract from her very lovely eyes, we're going to make her eyeshadow gray. At least for the top lid. In actuality, it's a very, very pale pink. It's #c5bdc3 and we're just going to paint the top lid (right between the crease of the lid and the eyelashes) this color, and set the opacity to COLOR at 50%.
2. Now for the lips. New layer, new name. We will begin with the color #e971b8 and cover the lips, then set the layer to SOFT LIGHT at 100%. That's just the first lip layer, however.
3. Next, we attack the lips again, this time with a paler shade of pink. New layer, new name. The color will be #f2b3d8 and we're going to paint over the already-pink lips with it. When we're done with that, set it to LINEAR BURN at 21%. There, we're finished with the lips. Now, to move onto the blush.
4. The final makeup layer. For this, we need to change the opacity of the brush from 100% to 28% and the hardness down to zero. This is going to be very subtle. Paint over the cheeks where, you know, blush goes with the same color as the second layer for the lips, then change the opacity of the layer to COLOR at 46%. There, now, isn't she pretty? But there are two more sections to complete before we have ourselves a fully colorized photo.

H A I R
(To do this, I am changing the opacity of the brush back to 100% from the makeup, changing the size to 9 again.)

1. Flatten the image again and start over. New Layer, this time label it 'Hair 1'. For the hair, I'm going to choose one shade, one layer. Unfortunately, the hair is far too dark to actually dramatically change the color, so wer'e just going to paint over the "shiny" parts. The shade will be #8c7840 and it will be set to OVERLAY at 100%.

B A C K G R O U N D
(Keep brush at its current opacity and its current size. For the smaller parts, however, please reduce the brush's size to 5.)

1. New layer, new name. The main background will #9e9067 and set to COLOR at 100% to get that rich brown color. Paint over it, excluding the weird pattern running up the wall and behind the model's head.
2. New layer, new name. Now, for that weird little squibbly thing on the wall. We're going to paint that dark red so it stands out. Lower your brush size to 5 for this since it's not as big as the background is, and paint over it with #6d0921. Don't worry about mistakes here or erasing, unless you drew all over her face :D. Set the layer to SOFT LIGHT at 30% so it's dark and stands out, but not too dark that you notice your little mistakes.
3. Now, go back to 'Background 1', your first background layer, and, using the size 5 (or even the 3, should you need it) brush with the first brown color (#9e9067 to refresh your memories), go over the gray spots you missed the first time. Don't be afraid to go over the dark red; it actually looks pretty sweet if you go over the edges of it.

If you're satisfied with that, then go for it. But if you want a little more (and I do, too), you can always use color balance to give it a little more...umf.

1. Start a new COLOR BALANCE layer. You don't need to label this, don't you worry.
Midtones: +25, +9, +2
Shadows: +7, -6, +12
Highlights: -5, +6, +17

2. New Hue/Saturation layer.
Saturation (the only one you're going to change): +25

And that's it! You're done! Now, just add whatever effects you want (brushes, textures, and the like) and make it yours.

great tut! thanks so much for posting this, i've been wanting to learn just how to color a picture but i've got a couple of questions. i hope you don't mind!

o1. -ish stupid- i WAS supposed to start off with a black and white, right?
AND!
o2. how would i come about finding the colors to work with other racial skin tones, like african american or asian?

First off, thanks for reading my tut. I'm glad that you found it useful! And to answer your questions:

1. Yeah. You have a regular RGB grade picture (in color) and you need to desaturate it completely so it's black and white. If you want to do this quickly, just press SHIFT + CTRL + U when you have your image ready. Then you're ready to go and colorize your picture.

2. I guess it's all about experimenting. I think the darkness of the african-american skin tones will show through no matter what colors you might use to colorize them, so whatever you'll use, it'll still seem darker. But I don't have a lot of experience with that kind of colorizing. Just never really tried it. But I'm sure you can find either a good tut out there, or you can figure it out yourself with plenty of practice.

well, as for number two, i was thinking about trying to take a caucasian model and turning them african american.

well, at least i've got the gist of things and now i'll just have to find the patience to figure out the colors. thank you so much!

Ah, well sorry I can't help you, but I only started doing this myself as well. I'm glad this was helpful -in part- though!

If you want to turn a caucasian model african american, then pick colors that match best how light/dark you want her to be. Keep in mind that skin has different colors in it, all blended to make on color, so if you do that as well when coloring, you can't go wrong. For example, a caucasian, very light skinned girl will have some pink in her skin (soft lighted so she doesnt look like a pig!) as well as a whitish color picked from the "yellows" range. Caramel colors will call for light yellows and tan or mocha colors, and dark skinned girls will have very dark brown, a small hint of yellow and even a very light shade of pink, burned a bit.



See her skin? Its very dark but the highlights in her skin show a bit of yellow.

Oh, and don't mind the horrendous hair lines, I never blended lol

ooooh i love this tut!

i havent been able to get the knack for colorizations, but ill hopefully get a better result with this tut.
thanks !