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Making color appear glossy


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puppychew

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Hi
Attached is a photo of part of a house that is painted but the paint appears dull and flat. I had applied new paint colors but the existing paint is old and dull.

I would like to make it look more glossy. Is this possible?paint.jpg
 
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Hi puppychew

With the curves tool I set the white point first. (Red circle 1).
Then I lightened the midtones with the curves tool.
Used a little TOPAZ clean filter.
Then I added some highlights.

paint chrisdesign.jpg
 

Tom Mann

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In some selected areas, you might get lucky and be able to add some interest using the "plastic wrap" filter, but it's easy to have this come out looking completely fake, so use it with care, LOL.

In the attached I added a bit of bling to the green shingles (starting with Chris' version). It's obviously fake, but when done selectively sometimes one can get away with it.

Tom M

chrisdesign-paint_hilights-tjm01.jpg
 

Tom Mann

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BTW, in your original post, you said, "...I had applied new paint colors...". Do you mean that you actually painted the house in the real world, or did you do it in Photoshop. If it's the latter, there may be better ways to apply paint that retains more of the original surface texture, reflections / glints, etc.

Tom M
 

puppychew

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BTW, in your original post, you said, "...I had applied new paint colors...". Do you mean that you actually painted the house in the real world, or did you do it in Photoshop. If it's the latter, there may be better ways to apply paint that retains more of the original surface texture, reflections / glints, etc.

Tom M

I applied the paint through photoshop - the colors were different before. The surface was dull with old paint to begin with.

Thanks for the info!
 

Tom Mann

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Would you consider posting a high rez version of the original? As I said, even though the original colors were dull, we may be able to improve on the technique you used to recolor it. However, we can't possibly know this until we see the original.

Tom M
 

Tom Mann

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I think we have different ideas for what the word, "glossy", means.

When I hear the word, the first thing that comes to mind is the shiny, mirror-smooth, highly reflective paint jobs on brand new cars. This is what Hawkeye was showing in Post #2. With the exception of an occasional door or some relatively small features / adornments, I don't think I have *ever* seen the major walls of the exterior of a house reflective like a car, unpainted corrugated metal buildings notwithstanding.

In fact, even if one applied (in the real world, not PS) a glossy interior paint to (say) the tan exterior walls of this house, it would not look glossy because of the underlying surface appears to be far from being smooth, let alone ultra smooth like a car exterior. Being able to see the texture of the wall in the un-retouched photo was one of the reasons I asked you to post it.

Are you sure that's what you mean when you say, "glossy"? If so, that means we would have to simulate things like a fairly detailed reflection of the red brick wall in the brown (formerly tan) wall facing to viewer's left, just the same way you see reflections of the sky and everything else around them in photos of new cars. That's a lot of work, and, to be honest, it's requires pretty advanced PS skills.

By any chance, do you really mean bright highly saturated colors? Or, maybe, those colors on a highly textured stucco-like surface?

Tom M
 
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Tom Mann

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For example, this is definitely not "glossy", but how does this grab you? Right track, or not?

I added some fake highlights and shadows, a bit of texture, and a bit more saturation to the brown walls of my last version.

T
 

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  • 04-chrisdesign-paint_hilights-tjm01-acr0-ps01a_16bpc_sRGB-01.jpg
    04-chrisdesign-paint_hilights-tjm01-acr0-ps01a_16bpc_sRGB-01.jpg
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puppychew

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That's a good question. I do not want car glossy. I think I am looking for more depth and saturation in the color. The brown in the sample above looks better.
 

puppychew

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It doesn't look like I am visualizing it. I think I need to saturate the colors more. If I could only change the surface.
 

Tom Mann

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Since it seems to be difficult for you to put into words what you are looking for, why don't you spend a half hour or so browsing through Google Images and pick out some pix of houses that have the color / surface texture that you envision. Post the links and we'll see what we can do.

Tom M
 

puppychew

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I think I will have to put this question on hold for now. A few months ago when searching on the web for house colors I stumbled upon a house similar to what I am working on with beautiful rich glossy colors. I have been searching for that house ever since with no luck. I would love to repeat that look and hopefully I will stumble upon that image again. Thanks for your help. I will be back when I can better articulate what I want.
 

Tom Mann

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I hate to give up so easily. By any chance, might the exterior walls have been stained wood with a coating of shellac over it, not painted? Sort of like the back of a guitar or a parquet floor?

Also, have you tried a brute force approach like this?
http://bfy.tw/26fN

If there isn't one that looks like what you have in mind somewhere on those pages, then I'll be willing to call it quits, LOL.

Cheers,

Tom M
 
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puppychew

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Wow - those are some bright colors! The look I was trying to replicate used the same dark colors I was using. It was probably just a gloss paint but an oil base which gave it so much more depth. I spent a lot of time searching for the photo with no luck but I will be keeping an eye out for it in my searches and post it here. Thanks!
 
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