Colour Tinting Black & White Photos with Spectrum Noir
- Read time: 5 minutes
- Written by: Crafters Companion
I'm back again today to share with you more projects I had commissioned for my huge HSN shows that start tonight over in America! I'm really excited to be bringing so much of the Spectrum Noir range to the shows over there - they always go down a storm.I had a project in mind, colour tinting black and white photos, and I asked Lori Barnett, one of the top designers on the Crafter's Companion US design team, to work on it. Lori is also part of the Spectrum Noir design team, which is an amazing group of of people from all corners of the earth (more on that later in this post!).One of Lori's daughters is a photogrpaher, and to create this project Lori used pictures of both her daughter and granddaughter. Isn't that the sweetest?
Here's what Lori has shared:Looking for a fun and unique way to use photos on a scrapbook page, greeting card, or other crafty project? Try color tinting b&w photos with Spectrum Noir Markers. Create amazing hand-tinted photos, simply by adding a dash of color to black and white prints! Whether you are looking to re-create a nostalgic vintage looking photo, or a bright and colorful masterpiece, this technique will deliver!Things to know before you begin:Select photos to print for your project. If it’s a color photo, have it printed in black and white. You may want to print a few photos in both matte and glossy finish to see which works best. Experiment to find which type of photo paper you prefer to color on. The photos used for these projects were printed at a local photo center with a matte finish. It’s a good idea to always print extra photos so you can practice.Always test the markers on a sample photo to check for ink smearing or bleeding. Different photo papers and inks may react differently.The marker color tinting will not show up well on dark images or dark shadow areas. Your b&w photo should have lighter areas where you will be coloring. Areas that are lighter or white will show colors the best. However, with larger white areas, you will notice marker lines.
Keep it simple. Color a few focal areas rather than tinting the entire photo for the best effect. Color items such as a hat, hair bow, flower or other parts of the picture you want to feature and stand out. Try adding a pale pink color to lips, or color to the eyes.
The Blender marker works great to remove or “erase” marker from the photographs. If you go out of the lines, or want to “erase” the color and start over, give the Blender marker a try.
Make sure to scribble off on a scratch paper until all the color comes off the nib after each “swipe” of the Blender marker. It's easy once you get the hang of it. Test on a practice photo to make sure it works with your photo paper and ink.
Photos that have areas with more contrast and slightly darker areas are easier to color and look more realistic. The flowers around the baby in the basket are good examples. The flowers around baby in basket are colored with CR3, CR6, PP2, LG4, and LG5.
Photos with large areas of light tones or white space will show more marker lines and look less realistic.
Another fun effect to try is creating edges and puddles. When you color the Blender marker (or lighter color) over a darker color, the lighter color will cause the darker one to move. Color flower the desired color, then use the Blender to push the ink and lighten the area desired. As the color begins to move, you will notice the ink may puddle some. When the ink dries, you will see the edges. This takes a little practice to get a feel for how the ink plays on the photo paper. The colors used on the sample flowers are PL3, PL1, Blender, TB3, JG1, and BGR3.
Here's a bit more about Lori, from her bio on the Crafter's Companion US blog: About 10 years ago I became hooked on art stamping and paper crafting. In 2008 I started designing and teaching classes here in Arizona. There's nothing better than sharing my creative journey with other crafters who love stamps, inks and paper as much as I do!Clean and Simple (CAS) cards are my favorite, but, I love trying new styles and techniques.I live in Gilbert, Arizona with my husband and youngest daughter. 
You may recognize Lori's name as she did the Spectrum Noir masterclass in our Crafter's Inspiration magazine a few issues ago - she shared some fabulous projects using Spectrum Aqua pens. And remember how i mentioned she was on the Spectrum Noir design team? If you head over to that site today you'll find even more tips using this technique from Lori (and there's still more over on the Crafter's Companion US blog). While you're over on the Spectrum Noir site poke around a bit, because they share loads of helpful tutorials in inspiration. Keep checking it regularly for new ideas!Ok.... if you didn't see my update on Facebook, it took 24 entire hours to get here to Florida for the HSN shows! I'm off to treat myself to a mani-pedi before I head to the studious tonight!Crafty hugs,Sara xx
Here's what Lori has shared:Looking for a fun and unique way to use photos on a scrapbook page, greeting card, or other crafty project? Try color tinting b&w photos with Spectrum Noir Markers. Create amazing hand-tinted photos, simply by adding a dash of color to black and white prints! Whether you are looking to re-create a nostalgic vintage looking photo, or a bright and colorful masterpiece, this technique will deliver!Things to know before you begin:Select photos to print for your project. If it’s a color photo, have it printed in black and white. You may want to print a few photos in both matte and glossy finish to see which works best. Experiment to find which type of photo paper you prefer to color on. The photos used for these projects were printed at a local photo center with a matte finish. It’s a good idea to always print extra photos so you can practice.Always test the markers on a sample photo to check for ink smearing or bleeding. Different photo papers and inks may react differently.The marker color tinting will not show up well on dark images or dark shadow areas. Your b&w photo should have lighter areas where you will be coloring. Areas that are lighter or white will show colors the best. However, with larger white areas, you will notice marker lines.Keep it simple. Color a few focal areas rather than tinting the entire photo for the best effect. Color items such as a hat, hair bow, flower or other parts of the picture you want to feature and stand out. Try adding a pale pink color to lips, or color to the eyes.The Blender marker works great to remove or “erase” marker from the photographs. If you go out of the lines, or want to “erase” the color and start over, give the Blender marker a try.Make sure to scribble off on a scratch paper until all the color comes off the nib after each “swipe” of the Blender marker. It's easy once you get the hang of it. Test on a practice photo to make sure it works with your photo paper and ink.Photos that have areas with more contrast and slightly darker areas are easier to color and look more realistic. The flowers around the baby in the basket are good examples. The flowers around baby in basket are colored with CR3, CR6, PP2, LG4, and LG5.Photos with large areas of light tones or white space will show more marker lines and look less realistic.Another fun effect to try is creating edges and puddles. When you color the Blender marker (or lighter color) over a darker color, the lighter color will cause the darker one to move. Color flower the desired color, then use the Blender to push the ink and lighten the area desired. As the color begins to move, you will notice the ink may puddle some. When the ink dries, you will see the edges. This takes a little practice to get a feel for how the ink plays on the photo paper. The colors used on the sample flowers are PL3, PL1, Blender, TB3, JG1, and BGR3.Here's a bit more about Lori, from her bio on the Crafter's Companion US blog: About 10 years ago I became hooked on art stamping and paper crafting. In 2008 I started designing and teaching classes here in Arizona. There's nothing better than sharing my creative journey with other crafters who love stamps, inks and paper as much as I do!Clean and Simple (CAS) cards are my favorite, but, I love trying new styles and techniques.I live in Gilbert, Arizona with my husband and youngest daughter. You may recognize Lori's name as she did the Spectrum Noir masterclass in our Crafter's Inspiration magazine a few issues ago - she shared some fabulous projects using Spectrum Aqua pens. And remember how i mentioned she was on the Spectrum Noir design team? If you head over to that site today you'll find even more tips using this technique from Lori (and there's still more over on the Crafter's Companion US blog). While you're over on the Spectrum Noir site poke around a bit, because they share loads of helpful tutorials in inspiration. Keep checking it regularly for new ideas!Ok.... if you didn't see my update on Facebook, it took 24 entire hours to get here to Florida for the HSN shows! I'm off to treat myself to a mani-pedi before I head to the studious tonight!Crafty hugs,Sara xx
