Changing color in Photoshop

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

What is the best way to substitute TEAL for the Purple on this pickup with Photoshop (CS2 if it matters) and still retain the highlights and gradients?

[Command-Z]

Well, the BEST way would be to trace around all the purple areas with your Pen tool, make it a selection and use Hue/Saturation. (IMAGE/ADJUSTMENTS?HUE SATURATION)

Another way would be to DESATURATE that area, in other words make it grayscale, and then make a new layer using Overlay mode, and fill the selected area with Purple.

You could fiddle with color settings, but the best ways to change the color would be to isolate the purple areas... and the bast way to do that is with the Pen (vector) tool.

[Screened Gear]

Not sure if this is the best way.

Make a new layer
Go to the layer attributes (its the pull down menu in the layers pallet (set on normal)
Set the Attributes to "color"
Then in your new layer color the truck with the color you want it to be. use whatever selection tool or brush you want.
When you have the selection the way you want, lock the transparency of that layer and you can then change the color over any over without making the selection again.

Below is a quick one I did with your image as an example.

[myseps]

First, you color range "blues" to make a mask of the blue truck.  (Adjust levels to get desired result) .  Use magic wand to select and remove the background blue from your mask.

Then create a layer above the truck and fill it with the color you want.  Change the layer to "Hue"

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Thanks for the quick responses Command-Z, Screened Gear and MySeps! I'm going to try to work through these techniques, and I might ask some specific questions.  It probably won't be today.

Photoshop is a powerful tool that is pretty unfriendly for new users.  I'm not a new user by any stretch, but I'm pretty much a one trick pony. It's time I stretch my skills.

Stan

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Thanks, Andy.

I debated on where to place this thread.

Stan

[Frog]

No worries. I got your back 

[starchild]

What is the best way to substitute TEAL for the Purple on this pickup with Photoshop (CS2 if it matters) and still retain the highlights and gradients?

Hello I know this post is not current, but I thought I would post this link for anybody who's interested in this-

Deke's Techniques 033: Changing the color of a car
http://www.deke.com/content/dekes-techniques-033-changing-color-a-car

[starchild]

Drop shadows are also important so-

Deke's Techniques 053: Capturing a Real-Life Cast Shadow
http://www.deke.com/content/dekes-techniques-053-capturing-a-real-life-cast-shadow

[Gilligan]

Another way would be to DESATURATE that area, in other words make it grayscale, and then make a new layer using Overlay mode, and fill the selected area with Purple.

Man, I'm good... this is exactly how I did some photoshop experimenting with paint schemes for my bike.

I had no clue what I was doing, I was just hammering through it a couple years ago and ended up doing exactly that.  Glad I did it "kind of correct" (if there is such a thing in an adobe product.

Here is what I was able to do with this technique.

As you can see, playing with desaturation (in sections) I was able to actually remove the original paint scheme completely not just change it's colors.  I basically made the red and black all one color of grey and then I was able to draw my own lines.

[GraphicDisorder]

There are a ton of ways to do it.  I used to do about 500 renderings a year, stopped doing them though because they ate up so much time.