Hands On 6: Duotones and Spot Color

Here is a chance for you to work in Duotone mode and with spot color channels. In this Hands On project, you ll convert a grayscale image into a Tritone to enhance its tonal depth, create more drama in the image, and bring out its details. Then you ll apply a spot color to a prominent area on the image and to some type. Finally, you ll convert it to an entirely different mode to be able to observe the channels as separations.

Getting Started

Discard your preferences file before beginning this Hands On exercise. The Modifying Photoshop s Settings section in Chapter 5, Setting Up Photoshop, shows how to reset your preferences to Photoshop s defaults. After you ve launched Photoshop with default preferences, here s how to begin the Hands On project:

1. Insert the Photoshop CS Savvy CD in the CD-ROM drive.

2. Choose File ’ Open; select and open the sun_god.psd image in the HO6 folder on the CD (see Figure H6.1).

   
   Figure H6.1: The beginning image

   Full-color versions of the beginning and final stages of this project are included in the color section (see Figures C51 and C52).

3. Save the file to your disk.

4. Choose Image ’ Mode ’ Duotone. The Duotone Options dialog box appears.

5. From the Type list, choose Tritone.

6. Click the top color swatch. The Color Picker appears. Choose Custom. In the Book field, choose PANTONE Solid Coated. Enter 289 by using the keypad, or scroll down the list and find PANTONE 289 C (it s a dark blue). Click OK.

7. Click the second color swatch. On your keypad, enter 436 to designate PANTONE 436 C, a medium-value warm gray. Click OK.

8. Click the third color swatch. On your keypad, enter 467 or click in the middle of the slider and move the slider until you find PANTONE 467. Click OK. The Duotone Options dialog box should look like Figure H6.2.

   
   Figure H6.2: The Duotone Options dialog box after the colors have been chosen

9. Save the image.