Workshop Index

Using a layer to burn in or dodge

The burn in and dodge tool in the standard toolbox is a somewhat blunt instrument. Here's a technique that does not bruise your pixels. First ensure your foreground and background colours are pure white (RGB values 255,255,255) aka Dmin and pure black (RGB values 0 0 0) aka Dmax. In the example below the blue foreground colour is being changed to black. To do this you set the RGB values in the bottom LH boxes and click OK.

You can also click on the small icon in the bottom LH corner of the foreground/background palette.

Open the layers palette and open a new layer by clicking the new layer icon. This needs to be an empty layer, do not make a copy of the background. By default this will be called ‘layer 1' At the top of the palette change the box that reads ‘normal' to ‘soft light' in the drop down menu that appears when you click the arrow at the side of this box. Also adjust the opacity to 30% either by using the slider that is accessed by clicking the arrow at the side of the box or by high lighting the shown value and typing the new value into the box.

Next in the toolbox right click the icon, fourth from the top on the RH side and select the brush tool, as shown above. If you have the options box checked in the windows dialogue you will see the panel at the top of the screen change to show the brush properties, as shown above. Select a feathered brush diameter suitable for the area you want to work on, change the mode to soft light, opacity to 30% and, to start with, the flow to 50%.

With ‘layer 1' highlighted you now ‘paint' over the area you wish to darken, you can go over the same area as often as needed so you build up the burning in, if you are a bit impatient you can increase both the opacity and flow percentages. To lighten an area simply click the change over arrow to make white the foreground colour and paint over the area you wish to lighten.