Gradient Background for Tintype

[SonicMax]

People,

Found myself in possession of a tinted tintype of my Great Grandfather (tinted tintypes were typically black & white flash photos onto a black enamel plate; & then colorized in oil paint by a portrait artist. They replaced the earlier "daguerreotypes" around 1860, which were flash photos onto silver coated copper plates.)

I had it scanned by a local digital imaging outfit; & am in the process of a restoration in Photoshop (6.0.) The subject, in the form of a bust (head & upper shoulders) is in OK shape . . . just a few scratches & blemishes.

But the gradient background, in the form of a tall oval around the bust, is largely faded & blemished on the left side. The right side is mostly in tact; & consists of a shaded area around the subject, graduating to a lighter area (which comprises most of the background area); & then fading to a darker shade near the edges of the oval. The original portrait artist did a great job on the gradient blending of the colors.

What I'd like to do (using the original 3 main background colors), is to first isolate the subject; & then create a new gradient background following the blend lines of the original.

Is there a way in Photoshop, using layers, to draw 3 color-filled shaped areas, overlap them along the edges; & then blend the colors together as a gradient? I know it seems simple enough . . . but I'm not sure of the functions involved. If someone could help with this, or point me in the direction of a *layering gradient blend* tutorial, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks much,

SonicMax

 

[rickwells]

Try this for starters. Make your background layer a solid colour representing the extreme outer area. On a new layer above, draw the shape of the next inner colour, feather and fill with desired colour. Now do the same with the final inner colour on another layer above. Experiment with layer blending modes if needed.

 

[SonicMax]

Rick,

Thanks, man.

Took me tons of time (& a few inquiries at other boards), but I finally came up with a successful working method.

Selecting the colors of the 3 primary background areas, I used the Airbrush tool to recreate those areas in roughly their original shape & form [the 1st, a light bluish hue directly around the subject (the head & shoulders), the 2nd, a graduated light beige to muted pewter (with a steel blue tint), representing the majority of the background's field (this one was weird . . . it was like the original portrait artist couldn’t make up their mind); & the 3rd, a blended ash gray border, running along the inside edge of the oval cutaway.] I airbrushed very carefully, so as to dissolve the edge of each area evenly.

I made the field (beige/pewter) area the bottom layer; & applied a reverse radial gradient, foreground to (a lighter shade of beige) background, pointing from the center outward to the rim. Came out spectacular . . . with just the perfect amount of center glow around the subject.

I then layered the bluish subject hue over that; & washed out that layer to 15% opacity. That seemed to recreate that original highlighting to just the right degree.

Then on the ash gray outer band (which I placed as the top layer), I applied the same type of radial gradient; & washed out the opacity there to 25%. (To set the opacity for both layers, I moved the scale until the airbrushed edges just disappeared.)

Now, the background looked tremendous . . . just the right amount of gradient blending . . . but it was too beige. So I created another layer, in a light violet blue; & tried washing out the opacity to get the desired shade. 25% gave me the right amount of luminosity, but the color wasn't right. So, just on a hunch (& probably with your post in the back of my mind), I tried applying different blend modes.

As soon as I got to *Multiply* . . . that was it!

Man, this thing looks sensational. (Sorry to go on so long . . . but I really got into it; & learned a lot about Photoshop, to boot.

Thanks again,

Sonic

 

[rickwells]

Glad to be of some help. Cheers.