HOW TO REPLACE COLORS IN PHOTOSHOP: Step-By-Step Guide

How to Replace Colors using the Color Replacement Tools in Photoshop, and Swap Colors Shortcut
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A variety of artistic circumstances call for the use of Photoshop’s Color Replacement tool. Along with the Color Replacement tool, Photoshop also offers a Replace Color tool, and a shortcut to swap colors. You might want to alter a photo’s color or coloring for a variety of reasons, such as to make it more consistent with your brand or to add a little flair to your photos. Whatever your motivation, there are a lot of helpful tools in Adobe Photoshop that can help you make your images come to life. This guide will also demonstrate how to alter an image’s color using several Photoshop features. These default Photoshop keyboard shortcuts are the most helpful ones, and they can help you work more quickly. 

How to Replace Colors in Photoshop 

Applying the Hue/Saturation adjustment to the selected objects will enable you to produce astounding results with incredible flexibility and precision. For options that are grouped, use the Replace Color dialog. Try the Color Replacement tool as well for an effective color replacement that happens quickly. Photoshop makes it simple to change an object’s color or experiment with contrasting colors.

#1. Hue/Saturation Method

Other platforms, including Adobe Lightroom, offer comparable tools with hue/saturation options. It is the most straightforward place to start when changing an image’s color in Photoshop. The lightness slider can be used in conjunction with the hue and saturation sliders. This makes your pictures look more matte. Here is a tutorial for using the Hue/Saturation tool in Photoshop.

  1. Choose the item that you like best. To achieve successful results, utilize the Quick Selection tool.
  2. The Adjustments panel’s menu will appear; choose the Hue/Saturation icon. Your choice will be used to create a mask that will be applied to the adjustment layer.
  3. To alter the color of the object, use the Properties panel’s Hue and Saturation sliders. If the first color has a propensity to tint the new color, after choosing the Colorize option, make any necessary adjustments.

To maintain contrast, leave the Lightness slider at 0. When choosing a blending mode for the adjustment layer, choose Hue to keep the contrast and saturation constant.

#2. Use the Replace Color dialog

The Replace Color dialog features tools in photoshop for choosing a color range as well as the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders. The Color Picker also allows you to select the replacement color. The Colorize option of the Hue/Saturation adjustment is absent from this dialog, which prevents a full-color change. You might also find that using the adjustment layer method to change particular objects is simpler. In contrast, the photoshop Replace Color dialog helps make significant color changes, especially when printing with non-gamut colors.

Steps to Replace Colors in Photoshop

#1. The first step is to click Image > Adjustments > Replace Color.

#2. Select a preview option from the Replace Color dialog’s menu.

#3. Use the Eyedropper tool to pick a section of the image, or the preview box to pick the colors you want to replace where the mask exposed some of the image. 

#4. Choose one of the following actions to further narrow the selection:

  • Adding areas is easy with the Add To Sample Eyedropper tool.
  • Use the Subtract From Sample Eyedropper tool or Alt-Option-click (Windows) to select and remove areas.

Selecting the Selection Color Swatch will cause the Color Picker to appear. Use the Color Picker to choose the color you want to replace. As you select a color using the Color Picker, the mask of the preview box modifies. 

#5. To change how much a group of related colors is included in the selection, move the Fuzziness slider or enter a Fuzziness value.

#6. Indicate a replacement color by selecting one of the options below:

  • Sliders for hue, saturation, and lightness can be moved. You can also type values into the text boxes.
  • Choose the replacement color by double-clicking the Result swatch in the Color Picker.
  • You cannot substitute a color for pure white, black, or gray. The Lightness setting, however, is adjustable.

#7. Click OK to save the adjustments to your image. You can also save these settings using the Save option so that you can use them with different images of your choosing in the future. 

Color Replacement Tool Photoshop 

In Photoshop, painting a new color over the existing one is one of the simplest ways to change the color. The tool known as a “color replacement” aids in changing any object or section of a document’s color to one of the user’s choosing. It is regarded as the quickest method for changing an object’s color. 

Utilizing the Color Replacement tool modifies the original image. Duplicate the Background Layer after that. The tool is no longer destructive after duplicating the background layer. If you decide against it, you can turn the color off. Go to the Layer drop-down menu and choose Layer > Duplicate Layer to create a duplicate layer.

Utilize the Color Replacement tool

The Photoshop Color Replacement tool allows you to choose a different color to replace the one you have selected. This tool can be used to make quick edits, but when working with black or other dark colors, it might not produce the desired effects. When experimenting with tool options and failing to achieve the desired outcomes, refer to Adjust hue and saturation.

#1. Launch Photoshop and open the image. Open your image in Photoshop first, then begin the process.

#2. Choose the tool for Color Replacement. Holding down the Brush tool will bring it up if it is not already visible.

#3. Choose a brush tip and then adjust the other settings in the workspace’s options bar. Generally speaking, you ought to leave the blending mode at color.

#4. Select one of the following options for the sampling option:

  • Continuous: As you drag, the colors are continuously sampled.
  • Once: Only change the targeted color where it overlaps the first color you choose.
  • Swatch for the background: Only change the background color where it already exists.

#5. Pick one of these options from the Limits menu:

  • Discontiguous: Modifies the sampled color anywhere it appears below the pointer.
  • Contiguous: Swaps out hues that are close to the color that is currently under the pointer.
  • Find Edges: Enhances shape edge sharpness while replacing linked regions with the sampled color.

To replace colors in Photoshop that are strikingly similar to the pixel you have chosen, set the percentage for tolerance to a low value; increase it to replace a wider range of colors. Make the Tolerance setting in the options bar larger if the range of replaced colors is too narrow. Also, choose Anti-alias to give the areas that have been corrected a smooth edge.

#6. Select a foreground hue to take the place of the undesirable hue.

#7. Choose the color you want to change in the image. 

#8. Move the image around to change the selected color.

Photoshop Swap Colors Shortcut

To accelerate your Photoshop workflow, use keyboard shortcuts. You might discover that some of the tools you frequently use do not have keyboard shortcuts. Changing the foreground and background colors could be the difference that helps your design win a nearby competition or create the ideal setting for your logo.

Press the “X” key. The quickest method to swap colors between the selected Colors in Photoshop is by using the shortcut for color selection. Press X to alter the colors of the foreground and background. Push the D key to return to black and white if you have gotten into the habit of changing colors and want to do so. This will make the foreground and background colors return to black and white, respectively. 

Because coloring requires a variety of tones, choosing the right color is essential. When right-clicking and launching the color wheel, hold down Alt and Shift to quickly choose your colors.

There is a quick and easy method for flipping the colors in your project. By choosing a layer’s line color while pressing the command or control key, you can invert the colors. 

Where Is the Color Replacement Tool in Photoshop? 

The Color Replacement Brush, located in the Tools panel, allows you to change colors in Photoshop. The Photoshop Color Replacement Tool can be found here by selecting it from the Edit Toolbar if it is not already visible in this panel. 

What Is the Easiest Way to Replace Colors in Photoshop? 

It is simple to quickly alter the color characteristics of a particular image using the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. You can use this layer in Adobe Photoshop to modify particular colors in your image.

How Do I Recolor an Image in Photoshop? 

The hue and saturation layers ought to be your first go-to method for object recoloring. Simply use the adjustments panel to add a hue or saturation layer. To get the precise color you want, choose “Colorize” from the drop-down menu and start adjusting the hue.

How Do You Use a Color Replacement Tool?

Continuous color samples are taken below the crosshair in the middle of the cursor as the Photoshop Color Replacement Tool is moved across your image. The process of replacement will substitute your current foreground color for this one.

  • Select the tool for Color Replacement.
  • The workspace’s options bar allows you to choose a brush tip and customize the other settings.
  • To swap out the undesirable color, choose a foreground hue.
  • Pick the color you want to change in the picture.
  • If you want to change the color, drag the image into the image.

Can You Select by Color in Photoshop?

Using the Magic Wand tool, you can quickly click on areas of an image that share the same color and tone as the area you clicked.

How to Change the Color of an Image in Photoshop Without Losing Texture?

You can add color to an image while preserving the texture of the layer beneath by using a layer with the color setting on top. Altering the brush’s or layer’s opacity gives you additional control over how much.

Conclusion 

The most efficient way to change the colors in an image is not to use Photoshop’s Color Replacement Tool, which does not always yield the desired results. However, it frequently works well for straightforward tasks and is such a simple tool to use that it is worth trying it out before moving on to more complex and time-consuming techniques. You must press the X key in Photoshop to change the foreground and background colors. Hotkeys can be used for more than just changing and swapping colors; once the colors have been switched, pressing the B key will change the screen to black and white. 

  1. HOW TO CHANGE COLOR OF OBJECT IN PHOTOSHOP: 5 EASY Methods
  2. How to Delete Background in Photoshop: Fast & Easy Methods
  3. LAYER MASKING IN PHOTOSHOP: What Is It & How Do You Do It?

References 

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